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She closes her eyes. The stars wink out.
It’s not a heart attack.
Fuck.
It’s love. It’s Nathaniel.
Morning comes. Too soon. Too bright.
Groaning, Ash tucks her chin into her chest and covers her eyes. She feels like shit.
Dammit. By the smell of the salty sea air, they’re still on the island.
Beside her, Nathaniel wakes with a lurch and a whisperedshit.
A big, tentative palm lands on her back. Like he’s gauging her breathing. “Ash?”
“I’m alive.” Slowly, she rolls over. Sand digs into the knobs of her elbows as she sits up and scans the beach. “Anyone?”
A rattle of a breath shakes out of him. “Not yet.”
With trembling hands, she grabs her phone. Tosses it back on the sand.
“My phone’s dead,” she tells him. But she doesn’t need a phone to know she’s fucked. She can feel it. The edge of her blood sharpening. Clammy skin. Blurry vision. Numb lips.
Still, she forces a smile. “I’m okay.”
“That’s the first lie I think you’ve told.”
She huffs a laugh. “Yeah, well, let’s just say a twinkie sounds fabulous right now.”
“We’ll get you a twinkie,” Nathaniel says, slipping his sandals on. “All the twinkies you want.”
His words blur as her head, her whole body sway a little.
“Ash?”
She blinks herself back at the sensation of his hand on her shoulder.
“It hurts, Nathaniel.” Fire. It’s the only way she can describe how her blood feels.
Pain flashes in his eyes. “I know it does.”
He scoops up his phone. “I’m going to walk east again. Try to get a signal.” Expression grim, he takes her chin, angles her head so she’s forced to meet his gaze. “Iwillget a signal.”
Ash licks her dry lips. “Okay. What can I do?”
He dips down so they’re eye to eye. Kisses her brow. “Stay here. Stay in the shade. Save your energy.”
Ash nods.
After one last long look at her, Nathaniel jogs off. He’s panicking but trying to keep it under wraps. For her.
As she watches his broad-shouldered form determinedly jog across the sand and disappear, she doesn’t move. She scans the beach. The gravity of the situation dawns.
If she has to go another day here, she’s fucked.
More than fucked. She’s dead.
