CHAPTER 12 #2
“Sebastian! I swear to God, if you’re fucking with me, I’ll kill you!” I spun around. “Where—”
“You have a habit of screaming first thing in the morning, don’t you?” a familiar voice drawled.
Sebastian came into view a second later. He was wearing the same sweats as last night and appeared perfectly whole, healthy, and alive.
I’d never been so happy to see his stupid smirk.
“Where the hell were you?” I demanded. My voice sounded thicker than usual.
“Nature called. You were sleeping, and I didn’t want to disturb you.” His smirk melted as he looked down at me. “Are you crying?”
“No.” I thought you were dead, you idiot. A tear escaped down my cheek, and I wiped it off with more force than necessary. “I mean, yes, but it’s because I’m so hungry. I get, um, emotional when I don’t eat a proper breakfast.”
He gave me a strange look, but he didn’t question my lame excuse.
“I checked out our situation earlier,” he said. “Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”
“Bad.”
“I can’t get the car unstuck.” He nodded at the tires. He’d placed floor mats beneath them for better traction, but that obviously wasn’t enough. “The mud is too deep, and the SUV is too heavy.”
“Fuck. Okay.” I breathed in deep. “What’s the good news?”
“We can follow the path back to the main road. It shouldn’t be that far. Once we get there, we can look for help.”
It made sense, but the thought of leaving the relative safety of the car to go traipsing through the woods made me antsy. “Are we leaving our stuff here?”
“We can bring the essentials, but anything more will slow us down.”
I didn’t like it, but we had no choice. Our car was stuck, our phones were useless, and our food supply had dwindled to half a bottle of Gatorade and a protein bar. Plus, it was almost noon; we’d way overslept. If we didn’t find help soon, we’d starve to death or worse.
I didn’t mention the chocolate bonbon he’d tossed at me last summer, which was still sitting at the bottom of my purse.
Sebastian and I packed our must-have items in his duffel bag and set off. It started out fine. The path was a straight shot back to the main road—until it wasn’t.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I stared in dismay at the expanse of churned mud and broken undergrowth before us. The remainder of the path had been completely washed away by the rain, and it was impossible to gauge where it used to be.
The universe surely had it out for us, but this was an unprecedented string of bad luck. It was almost comical, except I didn’t feel like laughing.
“Look on the bright side,” Sebastian said. “We can only go left, right, or straight, so we have a decent chance of getting it right.”
“That is not a bright side.”
“I know.” He sounded tired. “But it’s all I got.”
After a short debate, we opted to go straight.
My stomach rumbled, unsatisfied with the half a protein bar I’d fed it for breakfast, but its grouchiness took a back seat to my feet.
I hadn’t packed sneakers, so I was forced to hike through the woods in leather flats. They weren’t made for long distances, but it was either that, my black stiletto pumps, or my fluffy bedroom slippers, the latter two of which I’d left in the car.
“How are you holding up?” Sebastian asked.
“Fine,” I lied.
The discomfort of the flats rubbing against my heels had morphed into outright pain, but unless he had an extra pair of women’s sneakers stashed in his bag, he couldn’t help me.
He slowed down and waited for me to catch up. “You’re limping.”
“I’m okay,” I insisted. “Let’s keep going. I want to get to the main road before it gets dark.”
Based on the sun’s position, it was already past noon. It was also early November, which meant darkness fell much earlier.
I’d been nervous enough sleeping in the car; sleeping in the woods without shelter would be worse. Way worse.
A shudder rippled through me.
The fear helped me push through the next half mile, but after that, a fresh spike of pain sliced through me.
I gritted my teeth. Keep going. We were almost there. We had to be.
My breaths came out in short pants. Something wet smeared against my heels, causing me to nearly slip out of my flats. I stumbled and would’ve fallen flat on my face had a strong hand not grasped my elbow.
Sebastian stared down at me, his face etched with horror. “You’re bleeding.”
“It’s a small cut. It’s not a big deal,” I panted.
“Maya.” His grip tightened. “You’re bleeding.”
I followed his gaze to my feet and almost whimpered when I saw the bloody mess awaiting me. No wonder I was in agony; the skin on my heels had been rubbed completely raw.
“Fuck, I can’t believe I didn’t notice earlier. I was so focused on—” Sebastian stopped. His jaw worked as though he were debating what to say next. “Take off your shoes.”
“I can’t walk through the woods barefoot,” I protested.
“You’re not. I’m going to carry you.”
Something unsettling flickered in my chest before I shut it down. “You can’t. You have no idea how far we are from the main road. It could be miles.”
“I’m well aware,” he said, his expression neutral.
The flicker burst to life again. This time, I couldn’t squash it.
I didn’t want to waste more time arguing, so I did as he said and took off my flats. He wrapped them in one of his shirts and tossed them in his bag.
I hesitated for a split second before I climbed onto his back and hooked my arms and legs around him. Between me and his duffel bag, he was carrying a good amount of weight, but he simply adjusted his grip beneath my thighs and started walking again like I weighed no more than a rag doll.
His breaths were steady and even, and his back was reassuringly solid against my chest. It was… nice. We were still screwed ten ways to Sunday, but there was something about Sebastian’s presence that made the situation a teensy bit better, though I’d never admit it.
We hit a patch of rough ground, and I almost instinctively buried my face in his shoulder before I caught myself.
Stop it. He is not your emotional support companion. You’re here together by default, not choice.
I repeated the mantra until my pulse stopped pounding.
I needed to get back to civilization ASAP. The wilderness was clearly messing with my brain.
The forest was huge, and we continued on for what felt like hours before we took a break. He set me down, and cool air rushed to fill the void left by the warmth of his body.
I looked around at the clearing. It was identical to every other clearing we’d passed that day. “We’re lost again.” It wasn’t a question.
Sebastian blew out a sigh. “Yeah.”
The sun hung low in the sky, and I tasted the first bite of evening chill. It was going to be dark soon, and our chances of finding the main road before then were slim.
I waited for fear to set in, but I didn’t feel anything except numb exhaustion. Was this what giving up felt like? Had I already resigned myself to the fact that we might die in these woods?
I thought I was more resilient than that, but I hadn’t eaten all day, and I didn’t have enough energy to freak out.
“We should set up camp here,” Sebastian said. “We won’t get far before the sun sets, and I want to get a fire going before it does. I’ll handle the fire; you set up something for us to sleep on.”
Normally, I wouldn’t take orders from him, but he was right. Our clothes weren’t warm enough for sleeping outdoors, and if we didn’t get a fire started soon, we really were going to freeze.
Thankfully, we’d had the foresight to bring a change of outfits. I cleared away some branches and twigs and formed a makeshift bed with our sweaters and pants. We could use our coats as blankets again. Hopefully, that and the fire would be enough.
I was a little worried the wood would be too damp from last night’s storm, but Sebastian found enough dry tinder to make it work. He even brought back a bunch of wild berries from his wood-hunting expedition.
“Dinner.” He dropped a handful in my palms. “Don’t worry. They’re safe to eat.”
I eyed them suspiciously even as my stomach leapt with anticipation. “Are you sure?”
“I’m eighty percent sure.” Sebastian popped one in his mouth. “If I fall to the ground and start convulsing, then I guess I was wrong.”
“That’s not funny,” I grumbled. Nevertheless, I cautiously ate one. A sweet burst of flavor exploded on my tongue, and after I confirmed they weren’t poisonous, I scarfed down the rest in quick succession.
“If you were to die tomorrow, what would you want your last meal to be?” I asked through a mouthful of berry juice. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.
If my mother saw me eating like this, she’d have my head, but screw it. This wasn’t a Michelin-starred restaurant, and dining etiquette was the least of my worries right now.
Sebastian side-eyed me. “A bit of a morbid topic given the circumstances, don’t you think?
” But his brow knitted in concentration before he said, “A5 Wagyu steak, medium rare, and freshly caught lobster tail with rosemary garlic mashed potatoes on the side and a perfectly executed crème br?lée for dessert. Plus a glass of 1926 Macallan Adami to wash it all down. What about you?”
“Hmm.” I chewed thoughtfully on my last berry.
“Chocolate, definitely. A nice, big slice of chocolate cake paired with a chocolate milkshake—the good kind that’s so thick it’s almost like ice cream, not the watery kind.
For the main course, I want truffle tagliatelle and burrata pizza with a side of sweet potato fries.
Oh, and lots and lots of strawberries. They’re my favorite fruit. ”
“I know.” Sebastian’s mouth quirked. “I remember when you cleared out that farmer’s stand in the Hamptons. I’ve never seen someone eat so many strawberries so fast.”
“I was twelve!” I said defensively. “I was at the beach all day, and I was hungry. Plus, those strawberries were really good.”
“I didn’t say it was a bad thing. It was kind of endearing.” His grin widened. “Almost as endearing as when you threw up later from eating so fast.”