62. Blake
BLAKE
I’m so cold I can barely think straight. My muscles are so exhausted from shivering that they’ve lost all power, and I’m struggling to keep my eyes open.
Every time I drift off and my head starts to tip, I jolt awake, a flush of adrenaline running through my body.
“Stay awake.” My speech is way more slurred than it was last night.
The longer I’m out here, the drowsier I become, and I can feel the danger nipping at the edges of my brain.
I’m in trouble.
Big trouble.
My face feels frozen, and even though I want to cry, I’m not sure I can.
Everything is so cold.
I’m gonna die up here on this lonely little ledge.
And all I can think about is Grady.
It’s so sad that our perfect forest escape couldn’t become something more. It’s all so complicated, and Wily’s so mad, and my parents are so ashamed of me. Even if all that wasn’t in the way… Grady’s in love with Teah, and there’s no place for me.
Our bubble was popped the second we left the forest, and my heart is breaking.
I fell in love with him between these trees.
I fell in love with him as we watched the sun lighting up these rocks.
I blink, staring at the golden glow warming the rock face in front of me. It’s so beautiful. Dawn is here. A new day. A fresh start.
Or a fresh end in my case.
Shit, I don’t want to die.
I whimper, tucking in my chin as a fresh set of shivers rush over me. It’s like my body is instinctively fighting, putting in a last-ditch effort because I don’t want this to be over.
“I just want to make things right,” I whisper, thinking of my brother, my parents… Grady.
Grady.
Grady.
“Blake!”
I can hear his voice in my head, calling to me even though he’s miles away.
“Blake!”
He’ll be at the hospital, yet I can still hear him so close.
“Blake! Where are you?”
My forehead wrinkles in confusion, my eyes blinking as I hold my breath and wait.
“Blaaaake!” His voice carries across the air, over my head and…
He’s close .
He’s…
“Grady?” I scream, my throat aching as I force the word out of me as loud as I can manage. I hold my breath and don’t hear anything, so I try again. “Grady!”
“Blake!” There’s a scrambling, a rustling above me, and a fresh shot of adrenaline punches through my veins.
“I’m here! I’m here!” I shout, my body screaming at me when I try to move.
“Blake! I’m coming!”
“I’m here!” I shout once more for good measure and strain to look up the rock, willing him to appear. To…
There he is. His face pops into view above me. I crane my neck back and drink him in, confirming that he’s not just an apparition my delirious brain is trying to conjure.
“Bee,” he rasps, and my chest deflates with relief, a watery laugh punching out of me that quickly turns into a sobbing wail.
He has never been more beautiful.
Even as his expression crumples in concern, I soak him in. I want to proclaim my love right here and now, but my throat is aching, my mouth dry and swollen.
With a thick swallow, Grady takes in my precarious position and is doing a shitty job at hiding how horrified he is. “How the hell did you get down there?”
My chin bunches, my voice quaking as I try to make a joke. “Never hike in the dark on a trail you don’t know. Hiking 101.”
He tips his head with a frown, obviously calculating how he’s gonna get me out of this.
And all I can do is gaze up at him, softly whimpering. “You came looking for me.”
“Of course I did.” His eyes dart to mine .
I want to ask why he’s not with Teah, but I don’t want to bring her name up right now. I just want to soak him in.
He found me.
I’m not gonna die anymore.
“Just give me a second, okay? I’m not going anywhere.
” His face disappears, and I can’t help another whimper, but then his voice carries down to me and I cling to it.
“I’ve found her… Yeah… I don’t know yet…
” He huffs. “Look, I gotta go, but she’s alive and I’m bringing her home, okay?
… Yeah… yes, Wily… Yes, I promise. Now I gotta go… I gotta go!”
And then he’s above me again, flashing me a quick smile before he starts studying my position and the surrounding terrain.
“How’d you find me?” I croak as he cautiously starts making his way down the side of the steep embankment. “Be careful,” I quickly warn him.
He pauses to stabilize his footing, then looks at me with a grateful grin. “You left tracks everywhere, baby,” he calls down to me. “Thanks for doing that.”
My laughter is once again watery and completely hysterical. Yeah, I really am losing it.
But I’m not gonna die! I think there’s a serious place for hysterical laughter in this moment.
He pauses on a safe spot above me, his face that much closer.
I stare up at him, my belly still rumbling with this ridiculous laughter as I drink him in, studying every line and angle of his worried expression.
“Are you injured?” His brown gaze is rich with concern .
I sniff, forcing my arms out from the jacket cocoon I’ve been shivering in. Pointing to my leg, I indicate the problem. “I think I’ve hurt my ankle pretty good. I don’t know if it’s broken. I haven’t exactly been able to assess it.”
“Okay.” He nods. “We’re gonna get you out of here.”
“Be careful,” I warn him again as he inches closer. “It’s really slippery.”
“Yeah.” He keeps looking around me, no doubt tracking the safest path to reach me.
He can’t make it down this far.
I’m gonna have to stand up, spin around, and reach for him.
The idea is terrifying. Now that the sun has risen, I can see exactly where I am on this rock face, and it’s a miracle I didn’t plummet to my death.
Sucking in a sharp breath, I try not to look down as I ignore the pain in my ankle and start to shuffle myself around.
“Slowly.” Grady’s voice catches. I can tell he’s trying to stay cool and calm for my sake, but did his heart just jackknife the way mine did when my foot nearly slipped off the edge?
My hands are shaking as I place them on the ground and very slowly turn my body around. I’m now on my knees, facing the rock and cautiously trying to straighten myself up.
He can’t reach me unless I put in some effort, and there’s no way I’m risking his life for mine.
I don’t want him coming any farther away from the ledge he’s on.
“That’s it. Nice and slow. Nice and?— ”
A gasp flies out of me as the jacket slips off my shoulders, tumbling down the edge and showing me exactly what’s gonna happen to my body if I don’t take care.
My breath catches, my heart about ready to explode as I rest my head against the cold rock face and beg my body to work for me.
“I know you’re hurting, baby.” Grady coaxes me to look up at him. “But you can do this.”
I snap my eyes in his direction to see him lying on his stomach, positioning himself perfectly so he can reach down for me. His big, strong hand is stretched out just above me.
All I have to do is take it.
“Take my hand.” He wiggles his fingers. “Use the wall to balance yourself and rise up on your good leg. You can do it.”
Clenching my trembling jaw, I slither up the wall, waves of fear-filled nausea surging through me.
My legs protest as I put weight on them, my bum ankle stabbing me with a sharp complaint.
I hiss and lift my foot off the ground, the sudden movement making me flail, then lose my balance.
“Blake!” Grady’s shout is overrun by the terrified scream popping out of my mouth as gravity does its best to end me.