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She’s breathing.

Thank fuck.

“Shay. It’s me.”

No response.

I search her body for injuries. Her leg is at a bad angle, but I’m worried about things like internal bleeding. The classic Mustang scores points for cool, but the lack of safety features makes me hate it.

“Jameson?” Bree croaks from behind me.

She’s not moving fast, either. Fuck.

“I’m calling an ambulance.” I fumble for my phone and make the call, watching Bree for signs of distress. Shay would want me to make sure her friend is okay.

“What hurts?” I ask Bree when I’m on hold for an operator.

She points to her knee, which looks pretty scraped. Possibly from getting out of the car. Better to keep her from making it worse if there is a serious injury.

“Can you keep still until the ambulance gets here?”

She nods in understanding and reclines on the ground. When I’m satisfied she’s not in imminent danger, I turn back to Shay.

The operator comes on the line and I tell her about the accident, snapping out our location.

When I hang up, I feel Shay’s pulse slow under my fingers.

“Oh no. No, don’t do anything stupid,” I warn.

I’m here and I’ve got her. But what if it’s not enough?

I hold her in my arms, feeling the weight of her. My gaze falls to her elbow, the pins that seem normal now.

No. She’s been through so much already. She’s tough. Too tough to let my father bring her down.

“Come on, Townie,” I try. “I said I wouldn’t let you lose. This would be a terrible time to make a liar out of me.”

No response.

“Wake up, baby. Don’t let him win.” My desperation deepens. “No, fuck him. Do it for me.”

There’s a smudge on her cheek and I brush it with my thumb. The dirt doesn’t come off.

“All the things I said, I didn’t mean them.” The words run together in a desperate voice I don’t recognize. “You’re it, okay? You’re everything.”

Now I’m thinking of her in a sweater and jeans and headphones the first day of school when I looked out the windshield of the Turbo.

I grabbed the wheel, but it was too late. My heart stopped at the impact.

I started to get out to check on her, but I caught Theo’s frozen expression. He needed me.

The next second he was moving, and I was, too. I was afraid I’d lose my brother.

When she stood up and looked at me with those eyes, I felt it in my soul. I didn’t know why then, but I do now.

“I need you more than I’ve ever needed anything, and that’s why I tried to send you away. Because as much as I need you here…I need you to exist even more.”

I swallow, thinking of the ring she gave me.