My arms are on fucking fire as I continue to pump onto her chest, muscles screaming louder than my throat while they work to get all the water out of her.
I wasn’t fast enough, and I watched from several feet as she plunged into the raging river.
I didn’t give it a second thought before jumping in after her. I could see her struggle every time my head broke the surface, but as hard as I pushed, I could never catch up.
I was going to lose her…
I was ready to hold myself under because there’s no fucking chance I’m living without her beside me, but as the current brought me farther down the stream, I saw her.
It was a fucking bitch trying to get her hair untangled from the roots. One of my arms was hooked around the tree’s embedment while the other worked on getting Amira free. I held her close by, wrapping my leg around her waist, all while trying to keep us above water.
My arm felt as if it was ripping from its socket, but once I got her free, it was a battle to get us both up the incline and back onto the forest floor before her life slipped between my fingers.
I took a CPR class when I was a junior in high school, and I couldn’t be any more fucking grateful for that than right now.
Ripping the wet shirt off her body, I began pressing down. “Come on, angel! Fucking breathe!” I hiss between my teeth, compressing for another set of thirty seconds before bringing my lips down, blowing life back into her.
After three minutes of non-stop CPR, water finally spurts from her lips.
Relief overwhelms my body as Amira jerks up from the floor, instinctually leaning over on her side to cough up the fluid in her lungs. I’m slapping her on the back to help her choking, but all I want to do is take her in my arms and fucking cry.
I can’t speak as she croaks my name, a constrictor strangling my vocal cords every time I try to get a word out.
“Roman…”
“A-Angel…”
Wiping the soaked strands away from her face, I spread my fingers along her clammy skin and sob, throwing her into my chest and squeezing her body to mine.
“Don’t ever, ever, fucking do that to me again.”
“I fell,” she says breathlessly against my throat, fingers playing with the ends of my dripping hair.
“Well, fucking don’t anymore.”
She shivers against my body, goosebumps spreading along her bare skin as the wind chills the water on her flesh.
Gently, I untangle her hands from around my neck and grip the hem of my shirt, tugging the wet fabric over my head so I can cover her bare torso.
The material is heavy with liquid, dripping water over our laps as I raise it above her head. Amira isn’t paying much attention to me or aiding me in any way to help get her dressed. Instead, her eyes wander wide over the forest, fingers trembling against her lips as she inhales deeply.
“What’s wrong?”
“I made it… I won. And no one… no one came for me.”
Dropping the soiled shirt onto my lap, I take her face in my hands and bring her lips close. “Of course, no one came for you, angel. They’re dead. Do you see that now? No one will ever come for you again.”
“I made it?” She poses it as a question, tears softly gliding down her skin as the realization comes over her.
“You made it, angel. You have survived everything that has been thrown your way, and you did it all without me… you did it all without your mom. You did it because you’re too fucking strong not to.”
It’s like watching clouds disappear from a hazy sky, showcasing the bright clear blue that’s been hidden under a storm for too long.
Slowly, Amira lifts her arms and allows me to dress her. The shirt, heavy with the river’s weight, sags down to her knees, but at least something is covering her quivering chest.
Rising from the floor, I set Amira gently on her feet, keeping one arm wrapped around my neck because her ankle is turning black and blue.
“I think we need to get that ankle looked at.”
