Page 47 of Searching Blind

He unzipped his backpack and rummaged around until he found his spare shirt. It was clean, at least. He tore it into strips and pressed them against the wound. Lucy winced, her breath hitching in her chest, but she didn’t say anything.

“All right,” he said, his voice barely more than a murmur. “I need to tie this in place. Can you sit up?”

Lucy pushed herself up onto her knees with a groan, leaning heavily against him so he could wrap the makeshift bandage around her midsection. He worked as quickly as he could, trying to ignore the way her body shivered against his, the chemical scent of her fear mixing with the earthy smell of dirt and sweat.

He tucked in the ends of the shirt and sat back on his heels. “Done.”

Lucy took a shaky breath and then another. “Thanks,” she said after a moment. Her voice had taken on a husky quality that set off alarm bells in his head.

He wrapped his arms around her and could feel the tension in her muscles, the way she was trying to keep herself from trembling. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’ll live.” She managed a small chuckle, grimacing as she shifted against him. “I’m not thrilled about the prospect of climbing out of here, though.”

With a soft groan, she pushed herself to her feet. Her balance wavered momentarily, and Sawyer instinctively raised his hands to steady her. She flinched at his touch, sucking in a sharp breath through clenched teeth.

“Sorry.” He lowered his hands, but stayed poised to catch her if she fell.

“I’m good,” she replied far too quickly. “Just… give me a moment.”

He wanted to give her forever. He’d spent the last few years sitting on the sidelines while each of his friends found love, and he’d always told himself that he was fine. He didn’t need anything like the strong partnership of Zak and Anna, or the fireworks of Ash and Rose, or the sweet devotion of Donovan and Sasha, or the intimate camaraderie of Veronica and Connelly. He had Zelda and fulfilling work and he didn’t need anything else.

But now he knew that was a lie.

When he found Lucy in that cave a year ago, something had shifted in him. He’d realized then he wanted what his friends had. He wanted someone to come home to, someone to laugh with, someone to hold onto at night when the nightmares became too much. And he wanted that someone to be Lucy. It was why he’d run from her all those months ago—he’d only told her a half-truth about his reason for leaving. Yes, he’d thought she needed to heal without the reminder of her ordeal hanging around, but he, too, had needed space. He’d cared too much, too fast for this brave, stubborn woman who could match him wit for wit and who saw through his bullshit better than anyone else ever had, and it had scared him.

But it didn’t frighten him anymore.

He was done running, done denying himself.

Lucy Harper was his forever. He knew it with an unshakeable certainty that left him giddy.

But that definitely wasn’t what she wanted to hear right now, so he backed up, giving her as much space as the cramped hole allowed, his ears tuned to any sign of distress from her. He could hear her breathing, rough and ragged, as she wrestled with the pain. He could only imagine how much it hurt and wished he could do more than just stand there and wait. But she didn’t want him touching her, and until they were topside again, where the first aid kit waited in her bag, he couldn’t do anything about the pain.

After what felt like an eternity, Lucy let out a shaky breath. “Okay. I think I can do this now.”

He unclipped the second harness from his bag and held it out toward her voice. “This is going to hurt. The strap will rub right on the wound.”

“Oh, goodie.” She took the harness from him, her fingers brushing against his as she did so. Sawyer felt a jolt at the contact, and his instinct was to close his hand around hers, but he didn’t. Right now, he needed to be strong for her, be her anchor in this chaos. He had to ignore the way his pulse raced and the way her touch made his heart thud in his chest.

“Just when I was thinking this wasn’t quite painful enough.” She let out a muffled groan as she slipped into the harness, clearly doing her best to smother the pain.

His hands closed around hers, helping her adjust the straps. He could feel her breath hitch, and he quickly withdrew his hands once more. They worked together, mostly in silence, as they secured the harnesses and prepared for the climb.

“Ready?”

Lucy shook her head. “No, but let’s do this anyway.”

They began their ascent with Sawyer leading the way. He reached out with his hand to feel for any stable footholds while Lucy followed closely behind. Every grunt, every gasp of pain made his heart clench.

She was magnificent. The strongest person he’d ever known.

He lost track of time as they climbed, each minute blending into the next, marked only by their ragged breaths. Finally, his fingers brushed against the cool dirt of the surface. He pulled himself up and over the edge, rolling onto his back and gasping for breath.

“Lucy?” he called out, reaching back over the edge, his hand finding hers.

“I’m... here,” she panted. Her grip on his hand tightened as she hauled herself up, collapsing beside him. He heard a soft whimper escape her and he instinctively reached out, his hand finding hers. He gave it a reassuring squeeze, feeling her fingers close around his in response. They lay there for a few moments, both gasping for breath, the sun warm on their faces.

Zelda whined and bounded over to them, licking at their faces feverishly.

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