Page 23 of Broken Bonds

“Don’t look at me!” I screamed, my voice hoarse from sleep, embarrassed of my burned and scarred legs. I didn’t even know why I was panicking. I’d been wearing shorts yesterday, and he hadn’t looked then… had he? I didn’t think he had.

God, I was always so discombobulated after a flashback.

“What are you talking about?” He looked so confused, but I was already shoving my legs into the pants before he could possibly see them again. I was too raw. Too splayed open.

“Why did you wake me?” Ace pulled open my closet, found a backpack, and then began throwing clothes into it. He rushed through our bathroom to Ryan’s room and threw some of his things into the bag as well. Why was he panicking? What in the hell was going on? It was too early for this, and I was too tired and hungover.

“Ace, what the hell are you doing?” I rubbed my eyes, trying to make sense of why he was acting like a maniac. My head hurt, and I just wanted to go back to sleep.

Ace ran back into the room and came to stand in front of me, his blue eyes wide with panic. I frowned. He hadn’t even been panicked when he realized we were stranded here until the hurricane passed. Why was he panicking now?

Oh, God, it was somethingbad. I could feel it in my gut.

“It’s flooding, Celine.” I swallowed thickly, his words sending a spike of fear through my blood. “The sandbags didn’t work. The water is coming in downstairs, and we have to get out of here. “

Water.Inside the house. Was he crazy? It couldn’t be flooding, could it? My parents had taken extra precautions on this house to try to prevent that. Was it really flooding?

Ace shook me, making my stomach slosh dangerously. “Celine, wake the hell up. The water is rushing in downstairs, and we need to get out of herenow!” Ace was standing in front of me, one hand on my shoulder, the other handing me the backpack. Then, he grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room.

I could hear the slosh of running water now.Oh, no.

He was running down the stairs, skipping steps, and I couldn’t keep up with him. I ripped my hand from his, staring in horror all around me. Water had started to climb up the wooden stairs, and all the furniture was getting wet. The cards we left out last night on the coffee table were floating all over the place. Everything was going to be ruined. Mom and Dad were going to be so mad at me for not keeping the house safe. Their dream house—one they worked so hard to have.

Ace didn’t stop when his bare feet hit the water on the stairs. He kept going, running through the water to grab a few water bottles and my phone from the kitchen counter. He looked at me for a moment where I stood on the last dry step, looking at my ruined living room and kitchen. At the vacation house where I shared so many memories with Aidan.

Just like the man himself, it was ruined now.

Ace ran up the few stairs to where I stood frozen, handed me my phone, and ran back down the stairs without a word. He was rushing around the house like those people on Black Friday, who ran and fought for the flat screens, water splashing up with every step he took.

He didn’t seem to notice that his pants were getting soaked. He was too focused on gathering essentials.

“No. We can’t leave. We’re safe here,” I finally managed to utter. He didn’t answer me. “Listen to me!” I shouted. He must have heard the panic in my voice because he stopped and turnedto me. His eyes were encased with fear, but there was a steely determination too that I envied.

“I am listening, princess. Now,youneed to listen tome. We have to get out of here and get to dry land. We have to go on foot, so put your damn shoes on and march your ass out the door.”

“We can take the Jeep,” I tried. He shook his head.

“Your car and my bike won’t be any good in the water, and you have a flat. We don’t know how bad it’s going to get out there. Hell, I don’t even know where we’re going to go. All I know is we can’t stay here. The waves are too rough, and it could destroy this house. We can’t be in here if it does.”

He was standing in the kitchen now. Water was rushing up his legs, and he kept running his hands through his thick, black hair. He was losing it, and he was supposed to be the sane one.

I slid the heavy backpack onto my shoulders and stepped into the cold water. Goosebumps trailed up my arms and neck as I rushed through the water, soaking my sweatpants, and sloshed over to his side. Taking his hand, I pulled him to the garage where we left our shoes. Once we had them on, he nudged me toward the door and ran through the house again.

It was pouring outside, and the wind was blowing furiously, so I stood close to the door under the little archway, trying to stay dry for as long as I could. Ace ran out the door, his hands loaded with bars and water bottles. I took the backpack off, and he dumped everything inside, then swung it onto his broad shoulders. Tightening the two straps, he looked at me, determination flickering in his blue depths, the panic now gone—like it’d never been there in the first place.

Ace closed the front door and held out his hand to me. Drawing in a deep breath, I took it, deciding now wasn’t the time to remember what he said about me—that I wasn’t his type. Right then, I needed his support. I needed him by my side.

As we stepped out into the pouring rain, the wind blew my hair into my eyes, and I pulled my hand from Ace’s to tie my hair into a sloppy ponytail with the black elastic on my wrist.

We were going to be okay. I was going to survive this. I would see my parents again. This wasn’t a repeat of the accident. Ace would protect me. He wasn’t Aidan, and he wouldn’t put me in danger. In fact, he was already trying to get us away from it.

Ace stepped out into the chaos, leaving our safe haven behind.

“There should be a shelter nearby. We’ll be safe there. They’ll be better prepared than us for this catastrophe.” He turned to squint at me through the heavy rain and held out his hand again, a silent offer. “Don’t be scared, Celine. I’ll keep you safe.”

His words eased the fear ratcheting higher in my body, and I could see the truth in his intense, blue-eyed gaze. So, I took his outstretched hand, and he pulled me into the cold rain. A chill went up my spine as the rain lashed against my skin, instantly freezing me to the bone.

With courage I didn’t know I had, I walked straight into the hurricane, Ace’s hand clutched tightly in mine.

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