Page 12

Elena

A sharp, aching pain ripped me from the darkness. I gasped, my chest rising too fast, my body locking up as I woke with a soft cry. I was trapped, warmth pressing in on both sides of me. I was tucked between two bodies.

I didn’t understand.

Everything hurt. The room was blurry. It was chilly. My limbs felt heavy and bruised, my skin aching and raw. My head pounded so fiercely I thought it might split in two.

I sucked in a sharp breath, my ribs screaming in protest.

I whimpered again, confused, scared, hurting.

“Elena.” The voice was low, familiar.

Warm hands touched my arm, a firm but gentle weight grounding me.

I blinked, my vision blurry, my chest tight with panic.

“Elena, you’re OK,” Adrian murmured. “You’re safe. You’re with us.”

I swallowed, trying to focus, but my head was spinning, my heart slamming too hard against my ribs for me to breathe properly.

The wreckage. The plane. The storm.

Memories crashed over me, slow at first, then all at once .

I choked on a sob, the move making me hurt even more.

Adrian’s hand curled tighter around my wrist. “You need to breathe. Calmly. You have some broken ribs. We all do. It hurts to breathe, and you’re making it worse by panicking. I promise we have you. You’re OK. You’re here. You’re alive.”

I tried to do what he said—tried so hard. But the pain made it impossible and only escalated what I was feeling.

My body shook violently, and I realized it wasn’t just from the cold. I wasn’t just hurting.

I was terrified.

Adrian exhaled and shifted away from me, rummaging through a small bag.

“Hold on,” he muttered, voice tight.

I squeezed my eyes shut, focusing on the warmth on my other side.

Troy.

I felt him move, his body stiffening as I struggled to breathe through the pain. They both survived. My mind immediately went to Dean, but something about the silence told me all I needed to know. I sent a silent prayer that he was OK and maybe just working on getting us some help.

Adrian cursed under his breath.

“I don’t have much,” he admitted, voice grim. “But I found some pain meds in the first aid kit.”

He knelt back beside me, pressing two small white pills against my lips. His expression was tight, his lips a firm, thin line.

“That’s all I’ve got,” he murmured. “I don’t know how long they’ll last.”

I nodded weakly, parting my lips for him. He slipped the pills inside and offered me a bottle of water. Adrian helped me tilt it toward my mouth.

The liquid was cool and refreshing, but it sent a sharp ache through my throat as I swallowed. I whimpered at the pain but kept slurping the contents down until my belly was full of the liquid.

Adrian stayed quiet, his movements careful as he reached for my injured arm.

“I need to clean this,” he said, his voice oddly distant.

I didn’t protest.

He worked in silence, unwrapping old bandages. His jaw was clenched so tight that I could see the way the muscle moved.

I watched him through teary eyes, my vision still hazy but clear. His hands were steady, but I could see the tension in them—the way his fingers stiffened when he touched a new wound.

He wasn’t talking. He wasn’t looking at me, but he was upset. And not just about the crash.

Something deeper.

Something he wasn’t saying.

I licked my cracked lips, my throat still dry despite the water I’d just had.

“Dean?” I whispered.

Adrian stilled. His fingers tightened against my arm, his jaw locking, his gaze flickering toward the floor.

The look on his face made my stomach turn. My heart plummeted. I already knew the answer. I sucked in a breath, but it was too much. I’d hoped so hard he was scurrying around outside, working his magic to get us home.

A sob wrenched itself from my chest. Adrian inhaled sharply but didn’t say anything.

Troy shifted beside me, sitting up. I felt his eyes on me before I even looked at him.

He didn’t speak right away.

“Here,” Troy said softly, his deep voice trembling slightly.

I turned my head, my vision swimming, as I saw him holding out a granola bar.

I blinked, tears blurring my sight again.

“I— I can’t,” I whispered.

Troy sighed, his mouth turned into a frown. “Just try. Please. You need your strength. You’ve been out for almost two days, Elena.”

I swallowed, my throat thick with emotion. My hands shook as I took the granola bar, picking at the edges. I managed one small bite.

It was dry. Bland. I couldn’t even taste it.

Troy frowned and took it back. “I’ll save it for later.”

I nodded weakly.

The painkillers weren’t helping yet. I prayed they would soon. My ankle screamed at me, but I didn’t want to look. Everything in my future depended on my body. Having my ankle busted could spell disaster.

I let my head fall back against the pillow they’d found, listening as Troy and Adrian spoke and trying to block out the pain.

They were grim, their voices low and serious. I wasn’t so dumb that I thought we were in a good position.

Troy pulled out his phone again. I watched the way his expression tensed as he stared at the screen.

“No service,” he muttered.

Adrian’s fingers curled against his knee as he shivered. “It’s been a full day. Almost two.”

Troy exhaled. “No one’s coming yet. At least that we know of. They have to know we went down. I’m sure they’re looking.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. I could hear the frustration in their voices. The worry. The things they left unsaid that terrified me. I knew what they weren’t saying.

If we weren’t found soon, we were in serious trouble.

I swallowed hard and tried to sit up.

Instant regret swept through my body. Pain flared in every fiber of my being, white-hot and unrelenting. I whimpered and nearly collapsed back down, but Troy’s hands were on me immediately.

“Elena, don’t.” His voice was urgent, his grip firm.

Adrian was already moving, his brows furrowed in frustration. “What the hell are you doing?”

I winced. “I— I need?—”

Adrian scowled. “You need to stay put.”

Troy narrowed his eyes. “She needs something.”

I hesitated, my face flushing despite the cold.

Troy and Adrian exchanged a look.

Troy sighed. “I’ll take her.”

Adrian exhaled but didn’t argue.

Troy helped me stand, bracing my weight carefully as I whimpered. There was no way I could put weight on my right ankle. I leaned heavily against him, his arm around my waist in a tight hold .

The first step was brutal. The second and third steps weren’t much better. I limped beside him.

A sharp, searing pain ripped through my right leg, and I cried out.

Troy’s hold tightened.

“Easy,” he murmured. “I got you. We can check your leg when we get back to bed.”

I said nothing. If I replied, I knew it would be a scream.

We made it to the small bathroom on the plane. Troy opened the door before releasing me. His green eyes met mine briefly, and there was so much turmoil and concern in them that it made my stomach flop. Carefully, I wrenched my focus from him and closed the door on him.

I turned toward the mirror and froze. I didn’t recognize myself. The swelling. The bruises. The dried blood.

My face was barely mine.

My lips trembled, and I covered my mouth, choking back a sob.

A soft knock.

“Elena?” Troy’s voice was gentle.

I wiped my eyes quickly. “I-I’m fine.”

I wasn’t, but I didn’t want him to know that. He was already under enough stress, and I didn’t want to add to it. I quickly did my business, or what counted as quick when bones were broken and your body felt like it had gone through a meat grinder.

When I was done, I opened the door, limping out slowly.

Troy’s expression twisted. The sadness in his eyes broke me.

He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. Instead, he reached out, carefully catching me as I swayed.

“Come on,” he murmured, guiding me back, his arm back to being around my waist. As much as I appreciated his care with me, it seemed odd. He'd never touched me in all the years I’d known him. Hell, he barely acknowledged my existence. For almost ten years, I’d been invisible to him and Adrian. And now they seemed to care if I lived or died.

Deciding now wasn’t the time to dwell on it, I focused on the moment and allowed him to help me back to the makeshift bed they’d created for us.

He helped me settle into the blankets, his movements careful and cautious .

I felt awkward, but I knew it was necessary.

Troy tucked me in carefully. “You OK? Do you need anything?”

I swallowed thickly. “No… thank you. For this. All of it. I appreciate it.”

The cabin was quiet for a long time as he stared back at me, an unreadable expression on his handsome face.

I couldn’t take it any longer. All the feelings I’d been trying to tamp up since I woke came to mind. A sob tore from my throat.

Troy reacted immediately.

His arms came around me, pulling me close, his voice low and soothing. I cried harder from both the effort he put in and the pain I was in.

“It’s OK,” he whispered on repeat. “We’ve got you. It’s OK.”

Adrian watched from beside me, his face unreadable, but after a moment, he shifted closer. His body pressed against mine, his warmth seeping into my skin.

I let out a shaky breath.

And for the first time since the crash, I let myself go. I didn’t question their motives. This was survival, plain and simple. We were humans doing human things and trying to survive. And to do that, we needed one another.

I was still scared, still in pain.

But not alone.

And for that, I was grateful.