His skin smells like smoke and sweat and that signature woody scent that’s distinctly him.
I grip onto him tighter as he takes the stairs down two at a time. Each step jolts me, making my pounding headache worse, but I don’t care. We’re almost out. Almost safe. Almost?—
Cold air hits my face the second we make it outside. Clean. Fresh. Beautiful. I gasp, pulling it greedily into my lungs, and coughing hard.
We’re out.
We made it.
Relief hits so hard, my whole body goes limp.
I try to lift my head. Try to look at him. Try to say thank you, or I’m sorry, or something that matters. But theedges of my vision are already going dark, and it feels like I’m slipping underwater.
Echo’s saying something. His mouth is moving. But I can’t hear him over the ringing in my ears. I can’t focus on anything except the way his arms tighten around me. Like he’s afraid to let go. Like he thinks I might disappear if he does.
Then… nothing. Just darkness. And the distant wail of sirens fading away.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
FLASHBACK
Dahlia
Age 16, Franklin Springs, Georgia
I crackmy bedroom door open and my stomach growls as the mouthwatering scent of Dad’s Chicken Adobo wafts down the hallway. I didn’t even have to ask him to make it tonight. He just knew.
I stand in front of the mirror and adjust the gold locket necklace they got me, admiring how pretty it looks as it catches the light.
“Happy Birthday, Anak.” Mom said, fastening it around my neck. “I can’t believe my baby is already 16.”
I smile to myself.
It really is super pretty.
My parents wanted to throw a big family party tonight to celebrate the occasion, but I insisted on keeping things simple.
I’m sixteen, practically an adult, and if they threw thekind of party they wanted to, they would’ve absolutely rented a jumpy house for my little cousins, which would’ve been totally mortifying.
A quiet dinner with just the three of us is more than perfect.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The knock on my window startles me and I turn to find my boyfriend Christian standing there grinning with his hand pressed against the glass.
I rush to him and open the window.
“Happy birthday, Dollface.” He says, flashing me a broad smile.
I look at him and my heart does that stupid little flutter thing it always does whenever he’s around.
“What are you doing here?” I whisper, my eyes bright. “My parents are right down the hall. They’ll kill us if they find you out here.”
Irritation briefly flickers across Christian’s face before his magnetic smile slides back into place. “It’s your day, beautiful. There’s no way in hell I was going to let them stop me from seeing you. Besides, I’ve got a birthday surprise for you. Come on.”
My parents don’t exactly approve of me dating Christian. They were open at first, but when my grades started slipping and they found out I was spending almost everyday with him, they insisted I cut it off. I didn’t, of course. I just started seeing him behind their backs and figured with time, they’d eventually learn to accept him.
“I don’t know.” I hesitate, worrying my lip. “We’re about to have dinner and dad made my favorite. I can’t just?—”
