Chapter 29 #2
“Why were you leaving after the wedding, Pip.” I won’t call it mine. The only wedding I’d consider “mine” is the one where Ellie is the bride.
“Because…” she whispers, so quiet I can barely make out the word. “Because I couldn’t pretend to be happy for Katie. Not when…” She stops, her eyes darting between mine.
“Not when what?” She shrugs her shoulders, looking down at the ground. “Not when you still loved me? Not when you never stopped?” I finish for her.
“Yes.” It’s barely audible, but it’s enough for me.
I lean down and capture her lips, slipping my tongue inside when she gasps at the sudden attack.
I cup her cheek, and tangle my other hand in her hair, eliciting a moan when I tug her closer.
She grabs onto the neckline of my shirt as she lifts up on her toes.
I wrap my arms around her waist before sliding my hands down her ass to the back of her thighs.
I bend slightly before lifting her up. She wraps her legs around my waist, her hands coming up around my neck.
I take my time kissing her, letting her feel what her mouth is doing to my body. We’re sweaty. We haven’t had a proper shower, or proper grooming, in over twenty-four hours. But it’s the most amazing kiss I’ve ever had.
God, I’ve missed this. Being able to touch her, put my lips on her, whenever I want. The last six months having her back in my life, yet so out of reach, have been miserable.
I hate that she was hurting the whole time.
That she had to see Katie and I together and think it’s what I wanted.
Who I wanted. I can’t imagine having to live that hell.
If there had been a man in Ellie’s life, I don’t know what I would have done.
He’d probably be six feet under right now.
I’d selfishly throw away the whole plan, and everyone’s safety, if some other man ever thought he could claim Ellie as his.
A sudden blanket of darkness envelopes our path, causing us to break apart from our kiss.
A sprinkle of raindrops falls from above, kissing the tip of Ellie’s nose.
A faint, ominous rumble reverberates in the distance, as a low growl echoes through the trees above our heads.
An unsettling feeling develops deep in my gut.
The wind picks up and scatters the loose vegetation around us, creating a cyclone of leaves. The trees begin to sway as dark clouds cloak the sky, quickly replacing the bright sun. An eerie twilight settles over the jungle, even though it’s still early in the morning.
“Shit.” I scan our surroundings, looking for a safe place to ride out this storm but find nothing nearby.
The wind howls and thunder rolls as the rain picks up, pelting us with a torrential downpour.
“Fuck. Pip, we need to get somewhere safe.” I lower her back to the ground and take her hand.
I grab our basket and practically drag her in the direction of our shelter.
It’s too far, though. We won’t make it all the way back to the beach, and our shelter likely won’t survive this storm anyway.
Ellie’s eyes are filled with fear, but she manages to keep up as I drag her along the wet terrain.
We run toward the edge of the jungle, hoping to diminish the risk of a lightning strike by positioning ourselves on the outskirts of the trees.
The ground is slippery beneath our feet, the thick moss causing us to trip over the roots and vines jutting out of the forest floor.
I yank us to a sudden stop when we come along the river’s edge.
The calm water from yesterday begins to swell instantly, I can see the rapids raging in the distance.
“Oh my God, Nate. It’s going to flood,” Ellie yells over the continuous thunder.
“We need to get deeper into the jungle and find some sort of shelter. We need to be as far away from the riverbank as we can,” I yell back, my voice barely audible over the roar of the storm.
I pray the river water stays within its confines long enough for us to get somewhere safely, but the river is rising rapidly.
“The rock, Nate! Where was the rock?”
The overhang. I’ll kiss the fuck out of this girl for her brilliance later.
Right now, I have to get her to safety. I abandon our basket, hanging it on a tree, and grab her hand.
We take off in the direction of the rock-wall we saw earlier.
The body of water to our left begins to extend beyond the eroded banks.
I can hear the rush of water getting closer, even as we continue to run deeper into the jungle.
“Nate!” Ellie screams seconds before a flash flood of water sweeps her off her feet, dragging her away from me.
I barely have time to react before the muddy ground gives way, and I’m swept off my feet as well.
My world is a chaotic blur of rushing water and debris as I fight like hell to pull myself from the roaring surge of floodwater.
I can’t save Ellie if I drown. It’s the only thought going through my head.
I desperately search for something to grab onto as the force of the flood slams my body into loose logs and tree trunks, knocking the wind out of me.
I manage to grasp onto a low-hanging tree branch and use every ounce of strength I have to pull myself away from the strong current of rushing water.
I lift myself out of the rapids, and swing my body back and forth, propelling myself several feet away.
I continue to crawl to higher ground, outside the reach of floodwater, coughing as I try to expel the fluid I consumed.
I gather my breath for exactly one second before I’m on my feet again.
“ELLIE!” I run alongside the trees, on the outskirts of the raging river, as I try to keep pace with her. I watch in horror as the water takes her under repeatedly. Each time she comes up, she struggles to grab onto something around her.
I am close enough now that I can see the determination in her eyes. She fights her way to an upright position and grabs ahold of a tree trunk, wrapping her legs around it, much like she did to my waist earlier.
“Ellie! Hang on! I’m coming, baby.” The fear in my voice is apparent as I run through the slippery terrain. I can see her arms shake as the force of the water tries to rip her from her hold on the tree.
“Nate!” she cries. “Help! Oh my God…please help me…” Her helpless whimper awakens a beast inside me.
I climb the tree adjacent to the one she’s hanging on to.
Right now, my strength has no limits. I crawl out onto the branch hanging directly over the tree she clings to.
I wrap my legs tightly around the limb and extend my arms to reach down to her.
Fucking this up means losing Ellie, and I won’t let that happen.
I extend my arms down toward her. “Ellie, let go with one hand and grab ahold of me!”
“I…I can’t. I’m too scared,” she cries out.
“I’m not going to let you go, Ellie. I will fucking die before letting you go! I know you’re scared, but I need you to trust me, baby. Tell me you still trust me.”
“I…I trust you.”
“Good. Now grab my hands. One at a time. I’m going to lift you up onto this branch with me.”
“I’m too heavy!”
“Ellie, look up at me. Look in my eyes.” She does.
“I. Will. Not. Drop. You. I swear. I fucking promise you,” I vow.
She nods her head and removes one hand from the tree as she reaches for me.
A large fallen tree in the distance catches my attention as it races along with the rushing water, headed directly for Ellie.
“Other hand! Now!” I yell, not wanting to scare her, but needing her to move quickly.
She hesitates for a single second before letting go and reaching for my right hand.
I get a good grip on her and lift with a hulking strength that doesn’t match my current physical state. I am working on pure adrenaline.
Ellie dangles in the air above the rapidly moving water. I pull her higher right as that large tree crashes into the one she was just hanging onto. The loud thump reverberates, causing the tree I am sitting on to shake with ferocity.
“Oh my God!” Ellie screams, her grip tightening once she sees what caused the commotion. I keep pulling her up. The higher she gets, the more my muscles strain from her dead weight.
Once she gets close enough to the branch, she swings her leg over as I pull her up the rest of the way. Her small body immediately slams against my chest as she wraps her arms around my neck. She sobs uncontrollably as she comes down from the gravity of what almost just happened.
Lightning cracks above our heads, reminding me that sitting in a damn tree is not the best idea right now. I need to get us down and to that overhang as soon as possible.
Ellie pulls back, cupping my face in her hands. There is so much love reflected in her eyes. A feeling she must have decided she is no longer going to hide from me. “You came for me.”
I look her in the eyes so that she can see the honesty, the devotion, and the sincerity of my promise.
“Always.”