It’s going to explode in my chest.
“Liar,” he scoffs, glancing at me before issuing a command filled with the authority of a man experienced in tactical training. “Stay down.”
What ifJackdies and I’m left alone out here?
A stress sweat cools my skin, the clamminess stifling.
I’ll never survive this on my own, and I’ll never forgive myself if Jack dies protecting me.
My eyes move to the small freckle on his neck. It seems crazy to let my mind dwell on such trivial things at a time like this, but that freckle is both a distraction and an anchor right now.
New goal unlocked: get permission to kiss that freckle.
Jack surveys the area, looking to identify which direction the bullets came from while lifting the hem of his cargo pants to pull a gun from an ankle holster.
“Have you had that hidden there this entire time?” I ask in a harsh whisper.
Where else is he hiding weapons?
He shushes me and gestures for me to stay low as he stands and moves to disappear into the belly of the canyon, leaving me to contemplate my sanity and the resentment I now harbor toward the bullet that just ruined an almost perfect first kiss.
Fixating on tiny, irrelevant details continues to be my coping mechanism as I lie here, dusty, terrified, and low-key panicking over our most current developments.
Why is my heartbeat so loud?
The sounds of the canyon, comforting and deceiving, compete against the drumming in my ears. Every scratch or snap prolongs my paralysis as I question the source of each noise.
I wonder where else Jack is hiding a gun…
I should probably crawl to shelter rather than lying on my back, obsessing over all the places he might have weapons strapped against his muscles.
I’m clearly in shock. Either that or I’ve just discovered I have a thing for a man who’s competent in danger.
Pebbles dig through my jacket and into my forearms as I leopard crawl behind a two-foot shrub that looks like it’d shrivel into a pile of dust if it received so much as a mean look. But you can’t be picky when desperate for the illusion of protection.
My arm stings with every pulse of my racing heart, and the many faces of the mountain snicker behind eerie shadows, whispering that in a place like this, it would be so easy to be forgotten.
Time shifts into slow motion when I realize that I’m truly alone for the first time since I started this adventure. Every question about why I’m here wrestles its way to the front of my mind, a swirling string of words flickering before me.
What if Jack doesn’t come back? Will I survive and find my way out on my own?
Why am I still here? Is this the time to quit?
Why is my arm on fire?
I shift onto my knees with my feet tucked under me and bring a hand to my left arm, wincing at the sting. A wetness coats my fingers as I remove the ruined jacket. My panic grows when a tingling sensation travels down to my fingers. It’s so dark, only hints of cobalt blues cling to the horizon, and soon they’re swallowed into the night, making it impossible to gauge the state of my wound.
A fiery burn radiates throughout my arm, and I curse the stupid piece of rock that must have nicked me when I glance down to find my jacket looking trulygood and ruined.
This really hurts. And that seems like a lot of blood on my jacket sleeve for a small scratch…
My head swims, the canyon rocking as I get a glimpse of the dark streaks running down my arm. The sight of blood has always made me woozy, but this is no time to fall apart. Adding another head wound from passing out would send Jack over the edge.
Jack.
That tremble in my hands from earlier is back with a vengeance as tremors overtake my entire body. This may very well send Jack into DEFCON 1. He’ll blame himself and pack a thousand bricks around that rugged chest of his.
I can’t claim to be of sound mind at the moment, but I want to get past his defenses badly enough that I’m contemplating hiding this from him.
