“Lincoln?” she squeaked from behind me.
I spun around, finding her standing there, her arms wrapped around herself. Her body shivered and shook. My anxiety snapped, and a downpour of relief washed over me.
“Lincoln?” she said again, and leaped into my arms, spreading heat throughout my body.
Thank God. Thank God. Thank God. Thank God. Thank God.Those two words kept echoing in my head, and with the raging gratitude in my chest, I could barely hear her.
In a second, she withdrew, her chest still rising and falling tooquickly for that oxygen to be useful. “There was something in the road and I didn’t want to hit it and then my car—” She paused, taking a few shaky breaths. “And, Lincoln, I’m—”
“Are you okay?” I said, interrupting what I thought may be an apology I wasn’t ready to hear, and right now, it was less than important. A cold breeze whipped by and sent me shivering too.
She nodded.
I wanted to touch her, hold her. I wanted to tuck her into my jacket. But I tried my best to regain control of my still-beating heart.
“I’ll pull you out.” I walked over to my truck and stepped on the tow bar, lifting myself into the bed. I rummaged around until I found the tow rope. Elizabeth stood exactly where I had left her.
“Get inside.” I pointed at her car as I fastened the rope between our vehicles.
“Do you need help?”
I stepped away from her; if I got too close, I’d grab her and never let her go. “You need to steer.” I reached my truck. “I’ll tow you all the way there, just in case.”
I climbed in my truck, and as soon as I closed the door, everything I’d worked so hard on suppressing bubbled up to the surface. I remembered the exact moment that took my dad away from me.
Elizabeth could have been hurt.
For the first time in a long time, I sobbed. I rested my forehead on the steering wheel and cried for a few seconds while Elizabeth climbed into her car and waited.
She was okay.
She was alive.
And I was undeniably in love with her.
38
ELIZABETH
[44 weeks ago]
@theanswerisno:
Thanks for saving me
@pancakesareelite:
That’s twice now. You owe me
@theanswerisno:
I’m storing them up for one big save
Lincoln came.
Even without calling him, he came. My body shuddered as the adrenaline wore off and the fear finally settled. I gripped the steering wheel and stared at the rope tying my car to his and thinking about all the threads that bound us. I knew, without any doubt, that wherever Lincoln went, I would follow… if he let me.
How I hoped he’d let me.
