And for the first time since this started—
I let out a tight breath.
“…good thing I always load up,” I murmur.
Jase huffs a faint, almost laugh.
“Yeah… starting to pay off.”
Jase
She’s calm.
Too calm.
But I can see it—
The edge underneath.
The fear she’s refusing to give into.
“You don’t have to stay,” I say again, quieter now.
Her hands don’t stop moving.
Not even for a second.
“Not an option.”
“You could make it out.”
“No.”
Flat.
Final.
Not even a hesitation.
“You’re not dying out here,” she says, tightening the new bandage with firm, steady pressure.
“That’s not how this ends.”
I almost smile.
Almost.
“You sound pretty sure.”
“I am.”
Her eyes meet mine.
And there’s nothing uncertain in them.
Nothing weak.
Nothing breakable.
