Chapter 24 #2
Mist hangs in the air, cool droplets clinging to my skin as I follow Madison up the dirt path.
The scent of wet stone and moss fills my lungs the higher we go, and I grip the twisted roots along the edge to keep myself steady on the narrow trail.
My hand hovers behind her lower back, careful not to touch, but there, ready for every time her foot slips on loose dirt or the sticks snaking across the path.
Sunlight flickers through the trees, breaking into shards across her shoulders.
I spot a small cut in the path that twists off to its own hidden spot, shadowed by a large tree.
I catch her elbow gently before I can think and steer her off the path and into the shade with me.
My instincts take over, logic not standing a chance against the pull she has on me.
I need to taste her first.
Her back grazes the rough bark, her chest rising as she looks at me, eyes wide but not afraid.
They’re waiting, questioning, like she’s holding her breath to see what I do next.
I press my hand to her chest, right over her heart, feeling the flutter of her pulse beneath my palm, and watch as she bites down on her lower lip.
It’s a tiny movement, but it sends heat rippling down my spine, urging me closer.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“I needed a second to breathe you in.” My thumb skims the edge of her collarbone, and her breath hitches. “To feel you.”
I swallow, trying to steady the storm in my chest as I search for the right words.
“There’ll be no going back after this. If we jump…” I lower my head closer to hers. “We’re jumping straight into our future together. Us against the whole fucking world.”
Her gaze drops and lifts between my mouth and my eyes, her fingers digging into my waist like she’s bracing herself for whatever comes next.
“You and me, baby girl,” I rasp. “After this? I’m done hiding. I’ll climb every damn rooftop in Sunlit Cove and tell everyone you’re mine. That you own me.”
Her lashes fall, hiding the flash of emotion I couldn’t quite catch as her shoulders drop. Something between us shifts, the tension stalling. Her hands loosen on my waist, a tremor running through her as she tilts her head away, letting out a shaky breath.
Have I… read this all wrong? My chest clenches, heartbeat spiking, palms growing cold as she pulls away. Mist from the falls clings to my skin, and the trees above us rustle in the breeze. The roar of the water fills the space between us, matching the thundering in my ears.
She steps back, sliding back onto the main trail, head shaking. The corners of her mouth dip into a frown that cuts through the moment.
“No.”
“What?” I step forward, panic flaring in my gut, sticks cutting into my feet.
“I can’t do this,” she whispers, taking another step back.
Her arms wrap around herself, and she looks at me, devastatingly beautiful, with her mind made up. The mist catches in her hair, the sun glinting off the strands, and my chest tightens even more at her hesitation.
“What do you mean? Baby, I thought we were there. What happened in the last twenty-four hours? Why are you pulling back?” My voice cracks slightly, and I step closer.
Her jaw tightens, she takes another step away, eyes darting back down the path for a moment before snapping back.
“What the fuck did Xavier say to you?” I scoff, the edges of my calm fraying.
Her eyes flare—hurt, anger, desperation, all colliding—and she jabs a finger at my chest. “Don’t do that!” she snaps, voice cracking in the humid air. “He didn’t say or do anything. This is all on you, Hunter.”
She takes a breath, but it only seems to feed the fire in her. “I want to jump. God, I want to go all in you. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. But you”—she jabs at my chest again—“are the one who’s held us back.
She steps further back, arms flying wide.
“You left!” she yells. “And then you came back, and I forgave you so easily because I got it, understood that you’re hurting, that those letters were dragging you under.
” Her chest heaves, chin wobbling. “I even tried to keep some distance between us, but you got under my skin. Crawled your way back into my heart.”
Another step back, the dirt shifting beneath her feet.
“You gave me your pretty words. You gave me mind-blowing orgasms that I am apparently addicted to”—she waves her hand up and down in a furious gesture, and I fight back a smirk at what she just admitted—“and yet after all that, you still can’t put us first.”
My stomach drops like a stone.
“You still cling to your past. You’re making me hide things from my best friend. You’re not letting go. Not for me.” Her voice breaks, then hardens. “I want to jump. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do with you.”
Rocks slide down the slope behind her. She doesn’t notice.
“Madison—”
“But will you catch me?” she whispers. “Will you truly catch me? Because I’m not so sure anymore.”
She steps back, not realizing she’s at the ledge, and the ground gives out beneath her heel.
“Madison! NO!”
I lunge, fingers grazing empty air as the trail crumbles. I skid to a stop, choking on my breath as she falls, her scream tearing through the trees.
“Madison!” I roar, lungs burning, heart free-falling with her. “Madison!” I scream again.
Her body hits the lower rocks with a sickening crack before the water swallows her.
Seconds stretch—feeling like minutes, hours—before she resurfaces, face down. The glare reflecting off the water blinds me, a harsh flash of white and yellow light. I blink rapidly, yanking at my hair, and when my vision clears, all I see is the blood rippling across the surface.
Shouts explode below. Water splashes as people dive in.
But it all feels far away.
My heart fractures. My body goes numb. The world mutes itself.
Where the sun shatters across the water, I lose her.