But then I saw it,NO....
Nate’s Bronco...or what was left of it.It was lit up by the headlights, on its side in the ditch.
The driver’s side, crushed inward, glass glittering everywhere like someone had smashed a jar of stars into the road.Steam and smoke billowed up from the crumpled hood, thick and ghostly in the cold.
I felt something inside my chest tear wide open.“Stop...STOP...ELI, PLEASE...”
He braked hard, and he had to steer to the edge of the road as we hit a bit of the black ice.The seatbelt punched tight against my shoulder, but I was already yanking at it, already throwing the door open, boots slipping on the ice as I hit the ground running.
“TESSA...WAIT...!”Eli shouted behind me.
I didn’t, I couldn’t.My heart was in my throat as my world narrowed to one point.A dark shape on the ground beside the wreck.Chase.On his knees.His head bowed, and his hands stained red.My feet skidded as I reached them, the cold slammed into my lungs so hard my vision spotted, but it didn’t matter.Not when Chase looked up at me with eyes, I had never seen on him before.
A sight I will never forget, they were hollow, devastated...defeated.
“Tessa,” he choked, reaching a hand out as if he could physically hold me together...like he could stop this from happening.“Don’t...”
But I was already moving past him, already seeing properly, already understanding.
BecauseNate...
Oh god, Nate.
As I slid around, I got the full view of him on his back in the snow.Someone had pulled him out of the vehicle, probably Chase, probably more gently than anyone else could’ve...laid him flat to stabilize his airway, protect his spine.It was the right thing to do.
But the sight of him...
Nate.
His skin was… wrong.It was already taking on a gray-blue tint, too pale; it almost looked fake.Like my mind was trying to convince me this wasn't him, this was some sick joke, and Nate would walk out any minute and...
But that wouldn't happen because I was looking at Nate, whose lips had a bluish edge I recognized instantly...oxygen deprivation.
I didn’t need to check vitals...my heart knew.
This was bad....The kind of bad that steals time and turns it into nightmares.
“Tess…” Chase said softly.“We can’t move him.Paramedics are almost...”
I didn’t hear the rest, because Nate made a sound.A low, wet, dragging cough that rattled through his chest like something tearing inside him.
My whole body lurched toward him.I dropped to my knees so hard the shock shot up my spine.My hands found his face, cold, too cold, and I whispered his name like it could fix this: “Nate… Nate, I’m here...I’m right here...”
His eyes fluttered open.I knew he was barely conscious.But he saw me and the relief that hit his face… Like he’d been underwater for hours and finally broke the surface.
“Tess…” he rasped, voice wet, barely audible."The....rs...my angel."
I leaned in closer, my breath puffed white between us.I clenched my hands open and closed at my sides, terrified to touch him, terrified that I was too late and there wasn't anything I could do.
“I’m here,” I whispered.“I’m right here.Just look at me, okay?Don’t close your eyes.”
He blinked slowly, the effort visible in every muscle.His mouth moved, but at first, I couldn’t hear him.Then...
“Is it true…?”
My heart stuttered.“Is what true, Nate?”
His chest hitched.A trickle of blood slid from the corner of his mouth.
