Page 55 of Tell Me It’s Right

“Hello—?”

“I’m here” comes Liam’s voice, followed by a car door slamming and an engine revving to life. “I always fucking lose signal here. Just stay on the line with me until your phone dies, okay?”

“Okay,” I say, my voice barely a whisper.

“Gracie.” His voice is suddenly hard, firm. “You’re going to be fine.”

“Okay.”

“I’m going to be right there.”

I squeeze my eyes shut and pull my wrap tighter around my shoulders. “Okay.”

“It says you’re about twenty-five minutes out.”

I nod, my teeth starting to chatter.

A few moments of silence pass between us, save for the howls of the wind, some chirping bugs nearby, and the low hum of Liam’s car through the phone. I press my forehead to my knees, trying to keep my breathing calm.

Lowly, he asks, “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

I gently touch my lip, and my fingers stick in the drying blood. The pain feels distant now, unimportant. I’d almost forgotten about it.

“I’m fine,” I rasp.

“Gracie…”

“I’m fine,” I repeat, forcing my voice to come out a little more evenly, but when I glance at the screen again and see a single percent of battery staring back at me, my chest starts to shake.

“Gracie—”

My phone dies.

My head drops against my chest like it’s too heavy to hold up anymore, and the tears fall from my cheeks into the dirt. But the longer I sit here, the more violent the shivers become, so I push to my feet and pace back and forth, trying to force some warmth into my limbs.

I want to go back to a few hours ago and slap myself for deciding against a jacket because it didn’tlook goodwith my dress. Hell, I should slap myself for thinking this was a good idea in the first place.

But kicking me out of the car and leaving me here like this?Who does that?I guess part of me thought he’d turn back after a few minutes, but that window has long since passed. Not that I’d want to get in his car if he did, but I flinch at every branch cracking in the distance, my heart lodged in the base of my throat like my body is preparing for a threat to lunge out at any second.

I search my purse for anything I could use as a weapon, but I don’t know what good some pepper spray would do me against a bear. Are there even bears around here? Wolves, maybe?

With every step, my heels sink into the uneven ground, threatening to throw me off balance. Sighing, I pull them off and toss them beside my bag. They’re open-toed and strappy, so it’s not like they were keeping me warm anyway. But after a few minutes—maybe seconds, I can’t tell—I realize the pacing isn’t helping. I’m shivering, my teeth are chattering, and my toes are starting to feel numb.

I crouch next to my things and wrap myself in a ball, hoping to conserve what little body heat I have left.

Liam will be here soon, I remind myself over and over.He’ll be here. He will. He will.

When I lift my head again, headlights appear on the horizon. My breath catches in my throat, and I scramble to my feet.

The lights grow quicker than I would have expected, like he’s driving much faster than he should be. I take a few steps back from the road, my arms wrapped around myself. As it gets closer, the car takes on the familiar form of Liam’s truck, and what was left of the apprehension in my shoulders finally relentsas he pulls up. And I can’t help it—I let out a sob. He jumps out of the car so quickly I’m not sure it fully stopped first.

He hurries toward me, stripping his bomber jacket off as he goes, leaving him in a thin white T-shirt. He wraps it around my shoulders as he reaches me. I can’t stop trembling as he tightens his hands on my arms, his entire body going still as he takes in whatever damage is visible on my face.

I don’t remember choosing to do it, but I collapse against his chest. He pulls me in, one hand cradling the back of my head. I can’t tell if the frantic heartbeat is coming from his chest or it’s my own echoing in my ears.

He loosens his grip and gently says, “Get inside.”

I start to turn back for my things, but he nudges me toward the car. “Go on. I’ll get those.”

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