Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
“She’s awake!” he yelled, looking up and away from me. “Get a medic down here right fucking now.”
My head was in his lap, and he brought his canteen to my lips.
“I’m here, Lo,” he said. “The paramedics will be here in just a minute, and they’ll come down here and help you. There’s a helicopter waiting to take you to the hospital.”
We’d fallen into a ravine. I remembered that much. But how long had we been here?
“Linda. Help Linda.”
“There’s someone over there with her right now. She’s okay.”
“Don’t leave,” I pleaded, our dark, terrifying night coming back to me.
He took my hand. “I won’t leave. I promise you. I’ll be hanging on to the outside of the helicopter when it takes off if they won’t let me inside with you. I won’t leave you.”
It was okay to go back to sleep. He wouldn’t leave me. I let my eyes slide shut, murmuring the one thing I most regretted not telling him before.
“I still love you, Archer.”
I couldn’t hear the crashing waves I woke up to every morning, and the wet, earthy smell of our camp was gone, too. When I opened my eyes, I realized why.
Instead of waking up in our island camp, I was in a hospital bed. When I looked down at my arm, I saw an IV needle embedded in my skin, the tubes hooked up to a machine next to the bed.
And in the corner of the room was Archer. He was sitting in a chair with his legs spread wide, arms spilling over the sides of the chair, and chin resting on his chest as he slept.
The competition. The ravine. Linda. I had so many questions.
“Archer?” I said, my throat still raw and dry.
“Mm?” His chin bobbed up and he popped up from the chair. “Lo?”
His shoulders slumped as he walked over to me, crouching next to the bed.
“You’re finally awake,” he said, tears glistening in his eyes. “They said you were just exhausted and would wake up eventually, but…I needed to see it to believe it.”
“Is Linda okay?”
He nodded. “She’s in another room here. Broken leg, sprained wrist, bruised ribs, and severe dehydration. But she’ll be okay.”
“I should have listened to you. About not doing the competition. I was sick, and I lied about it. I’m so sorry, Archer.”
He ran a hand over my hair. “Hey, don’t cry. It’s okay. You’re okay, and that’s all that matters.”
“I was afraid you wouldn’t find us. I thought I was going to die.”
His expression was somber. “You gave me a hell of a scare. That contusion on the back of your head needed stitches, and you lost a lot of blood. You had to get a blood transfusion, and some heavy-duty antibiotics. The doctors think you contracted an infection on the island.”
“What kind of an infection?”
“They don’t know. But the antibiotics seem to be working. They said you’re getting better already.”
I sighed heavily, the gravity of the situation hitting me hard. “Can I have some water?”
“Yeah, of course.”
He picked up a pitcher from a side table and poured some water into a cup, then brought the cup to my lips. I reached for the cup, still weak but able to wrap my fingers around it.
“Thanks,” I said as I took a small sip.
It was cold and wet and everything I’d dreamed of during my time at the bottom of the ravine.
“They said not too much at first,” Archer cautioned. “You’re getting hydration from the IV fluids.”
I passed the cup back to him and he set it on the table.
“I guess we’re out of the show, then,” I said.
He nodded. “Yeah, but really, Lo, who gives fuck. You made it out of there alive. That’s all I care about.”
“You’re right.” I smiled. “What would I have done with all that money anyway?”
“There’s something I need to tell you,” he said, his brows lowered in a serious look. “It’s something I should’ve told you before, but…I don’t know. It just didn’t feel right.”
Oh god. Was he about to tell me he had a girlfriend? I didn’t feel ready for that news.
“Are you sure it’s something you need to tell me?” I asked.
“Yeah, it is. That whole night I was looking for you, I couldn’t stop thinking about not telling you. I don’t know if you even want to know, or if it even matters at this point, but I need to say it.”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
His brows dropped even lower in a look of confusion. “What? No.”
I leaned back against my pillow, relieved. “Okay, then. Let’s hear it.”
He took a deep breath. Then he ran a hand through his hair. Whatever this was, he was nervous about telling me.
“I didn’t just move away and forget you when we broke up,” he said. “When you accused me of that…” He looked away and shook his head, then faced me again. “I came back, Lo. I was so miserable without you in Minnesota that it affected everything I did. Nothing felt right. So I took my first big check and I went to a jewelry store and bought an engagement ring.”