Font Size:
Not enough that anyone else would notice.
But I do.
Because I’m watching him.
Always watching him now.
“You’re losing more blood,” I say quietly.
“I’m fine.”
Lie.
A bad one.
His steps are heavier.
Less precise.
And then—
He stumbles.
Just once.
But that’s all it takes.
“Jase—”
“I said I’m—”
His voice cuts off.
His knees buckle.
And suddenly—
He’s not standing anymore.
I catchhim before he hits the ground.
Barely.
His weight crashes into me—solid, heavy, real—and for a second I think we’re both going down.
But I don’t let that happen.
I can’t.
“Stay with me,” I whisper, dropping with him behind the rock wall of the ravine.
His head dips forward.
Breathing rough now.
Too rough.
Too shallow.
