Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“Oh my god,” I whimper, running a hand over the side of his face as he lifts his head from the steering wheel. “I was so scared. Be careful, Colt,” I tell him as he starts unbuckling his seatbelt. There’s smoke coming from under the hood, and the sight chills my blood.
“Nix?” Colt tries to turn his head to look into the back seat.
“Come on, pal. We’ve got to get you out of there.” The Good Samaritan opens the driver’s side door while I open mine and step out on legs that feel like they’re made of rubber. Where did Nix go? Peering into the dark woods, I can’t see him—he’s good at hiding, too.
Colt groans as he climbs out of the car. I force myself to stop looking for Nix in the shadows and round the car to wrap an arm around his waist, wedging my shoulder under his armpit. Can I bear his weight? Probably not, but I need to feel like I’m helping him somehow.
“He went to his apartment on foot,” I whisper, knowing Colt has to be worried. “He had a cut, but otherwise he seemed fine. He couldn’t come with us.”
Sirens wail in the distance, approaching fast. It’s unnerving knowing they’re for us.
“What about you?”
We stop on the other side of the street from where we crashed, and I have to bite back a whimper when I see the damage from this angle. The whole front is caved in—I’m surprised I could open my door so easily.
“What about me? I’ll probably be pretty sore later,” I admit, “but right now, I’m all right. I’ll probably feel better once you’re checked out, though.”
We sit together on the curb to wait for the ambulance, his head in my lap, and I stare at the wreck as the sirens get louder. “What happened?” I whisper, still shocked.
“The brakes went out. It was either hit that tree or end up in the lake.” He covers my hand with his, stopping me from stroking his hair. Increasing the pressure, he says, “Don’t say anything about the message you got today.”
At first, I don’t understand why he would say that. But then my brain catches up, and I get it. I hadn’t even thought about the message until just now, and my body goes cold. “Do you think…”
“Just don’t say anything about it,” he tells me again as the lights from the ambulance and police car paint his face red and blue.
Because if I mention it, they’ll want to know more, and it will lead them straight to Dennis and Deborah.
“They said I’m fine.” No matter how many times I remind Colt that I’m only a little banged up, he won’t stop worrying about me. “You’re the one who needs to take it easy.”
He’s about as far from taking it easy as can be, sitting up in bed with a tube in his arm, feeding him saline. “Why do they always do this?” he mutters, flicking the tube with one finger. “I don’t need to be hydrated. I just need to go home.”
“They think it’s better for you to stay here for the night, to keep an eye on you. You hit your head hard enough to knock you out.” And there’s a bruise on his forehead as a result. It’s starting to swell, too. “You got lucky.”
“Oh, yeah,” he mutters. “I feel very lucky. Trapped in bed.”
“It will make me feel better to know you’re all right. Unless you would rather me sit up all night watching you sleep at home.”
Some of the frustration etched across his face softens, and he sighs. “Like you won’t sit up here, anyway. Though I wish you wouldn’t.”
“Yeah, too bad.” I try to laugh, I do, but I know it comes out sounding weird and hollow. When he gives me a concerned look, I try to shrug it off. “I guess I’m kind of shaken up still.”
That’s only a tiny part of the story. It’s been hours since the crash. Where is Nix? What happened to him?
It’s like I’m being pulled in half. One part of me wants to stay with Colt to make sure he’s okay and support him through this. The other half wants to get out of here so I can look for Nix. What if he was actually hurt out there? He could’ve had injuries he didn’t feel yet—adrenaline will do that. I didn’t feel anything at first, but now that time has passed, my neck is a little sore, and my shoulders ache. Nothing serious, nothing that would land me in a bed like Colt, but enough to make me wonder how much worse it could have been for Nix.
“He can take care of himself.” Colt’s voice is a whisper, barely audible as he voices the concern I couldn’t say. He settles back against a pillow with a sigh that tells me he might not be feeling as well as he wants me to believe. “He made it after the fire, right? He’ll be okay now, too.”