Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 117494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Then I got to a stage where my head was fuzzy, and I stopped running.
I was getting confused. What was going on again?
I looked around.
I wasn’t alone, but I couldn’t see anyone.
Aly! Aly had been with me, but she wasn’t anymore.
I started to take a step back, but I came down on a log and my ankle went one way. My body went the other way.
Crack!
Oh, no. That didn’t sound good.
But I was down, and I lay there a minute. If I could’ve seen anything, I knew I would’ve witnessed birds flying around my head.
Crash.
Snap.
“Kali!”
I sat up, my head all woozy. That was Aly. She sounded so scared.
She saw me, just as we both saw headlights peaking over a hill.
A hill? I thought we’d gone up to the top of the hill?
I must’ve got that wrong.
I think I must’ve gotten a lot wrong.
Where was Shane?
“Kali!” Aly fell to her knees beside me. I heard her sniffling and she was touching my leg. “Oh no. What’d you do?”
I reached forward, grabbing her hand, and I fell back. I couldn’t hold myself anymore. Maybe those headlights wouldn't see us? We weren’t on the road. They should skip over us, easy-peasy.
“I fell down.”
She settled next to me, a heavy dense thud so I knew she landed hard on her ass. I doubted she felt it. She was probably in shock like me, and she leaned into me. “I’m pretty sure we’d only been running for a few minutes, but it feels like hours.”
I grunted. It did.
The shock was wearing off, and I was starting to feel the pain.
I hissed, knowing not to move my foot, but damn. I wanted to move. Had to move, but also couldn’t move at the same time. What a situation we’d found ourselves in. I was hoping it was a strain and not a sprain.
“I’m sorry.”
“About what?” She turned my way.
I shook my head. “I don’t know, but I’m figuring this was because of me. Chances are high, considering Shane. You know.”
“Oh.” She settled even more into my side and arm. Her head rested to my shoulder. “Silver lining?”
I cracked a grin, which also hurt, but I had to play along. This was another thing we did.
I suggested, “Silver lining, I bet Justin never left.”
She barked out a laugh before choking on it, a moaning sound coming out of her throat at the same time. “Jesus. Everything hurts.”
I moved my shoulder a little, lightly jostling her. “Silver lining? Your turn.”
“Right. Um, what Brandon worried would happen did happen so it already happened. Statistics wise, chances are low of it happening again.”
I knew where she was going with that. “See. You can use that logic against him when he’ll argue about you and me being friends.” But my turn. “Silver lining… you can see what kind of guy Brandon is when they find us.”
“That’s true.” She was moving her foot around. I didn’t know why. She whimpered on a hiss of pain. “I really do like him.”
“I gathered. You said I couldn’t give you babies.”
She snorted. “I mean, you could. ’Cause of science, you could give me babies, but you know what I meant.”
“That means you really like him.”
“I do. I didn’t expect it. Never expect it anymore, honestly. Not anymore. I gave up. I thought Scott was my best shot at a family, but knowing how his family was, I had no hope. I was relieved when Harper showed me that image of him kissing that girl back home.”
“Slut.”
She laughed. “I know you’re meaning him, not her.”
“Of course.”
“Thanks, Kali.”
I’d forgotten all about the headlights, but remembering, I lifted my head and I couldn’t see any light anymore. They must’ve gone on. I didn’t even know where the road was because where those lights were didn’t make sense to me. I thought the road was to our side, but now that I was analyzing that, I didn’t see any light posts either.
“I’m pretty sure I got us lost.”
“Let’s make it through the night, and when the sun comes up, we can get our bearings.”
That was a good plan. “I can’t sleep. I might be concussed.”
“Then you can’t sleep.”
“Okay.”
A minute later, Aly was sleeping.
I struggled, but she had settled even more into me, lying by me. She was warm. I moved in, trying to get as close as I could because it was still cold out.
I’d stay awake.
I could do it.
I’d have to do it.
Think of Shane.
Think of Harper. Justin.
Connor.
Claudia.
My mom.
My dad–oh man. They smashed my phone.
I was really screwed.
But…
36
KALI
A wet nose and a pounding headache greeted me when I woke.
Arms swept under me, lifting me, and I was being carried/ran across a field. I looked up. “Wha–” It was Shane. He hugged me tighter. “Hold on, babe. I got you.”
Oh.
That sounded good.
Also, Shane!
I closed my eyes, resting my head against his chest and a feeling came over me. I’d be fine. I’d be safe. Everything would be okay. I’d never got that feeling from a guy. Ever. Even Harper. It was my job to reassure him, but with Shane–I was noting that here.