Page 107 of Undone

She also couldn’t forget the bats.

She shuddered again when her nostrils burned, remembering the pungent smell of lye sprinkled over a hill of human waste. It was still her least favorite memory.

Or so she thought.

She looked around for Ford but couldn’t find him. He stated he’d be working outside today since the weather was perfect, so she began to circle the exterior until she heard him call her name.

When she glanced upward, she spotted him perched on the slanted roof with a nail gun in hand.

No.

Her sight narrowed and suddenly blurred.

No.

Her pulse thumped in her ears and her lungs seized, making it impossible to draw a full breath.

No.

“Ford,” she forced out but not loud enough for him to hear.

No.

“Ford…” she tried again but failed.

Digging her fingernails into her palms, she tried to focus.

He was going to fall.

He needed to get down from there.

No!

“Ford!” He must have finally heard her since his blurry figure jerked into motion. He rose from where he’d been squatting and pointed a huge smile in her direction. “Hey, darlin’! I’ll be?—”

“Ford!” That scream came from deep within her soul.

With a furrowed brow, he made his way to the roof’s edge and glanced down at her. “What’s wrong?”

“Please, please, please.” Her whispered chant came out broken. “Come… down.”

He needed to get off the roofnow.

“I’m fixing—” His dark eyes went wide for a second before he quickly put down the nail gun, moved to the ladder and began to descend. “I’m coming down.”

“I can’t. I can’t. I can’t.” With that, she fell to her knees and pressed the heels of her palms into her eye sockets to block out both the current vision and the past memory. She didn’t want to look until his two feet were planted firmly on the ground.

“You can’t what?” came a deep voice behind her.Dylan.

She tried to block out the sound of Ford’s boots making their way down the metal ladder, but it was impossible. She could hear them over her own pounding heartbeat.

Strong arms engulfed her, and Ford’s soothing whisper filled her ear. “It’s okay, darlin’. I’m safe and right here. Nothing bad happened. It’s okay. I’m fine.”

“Jesus,” came from Dylan.

With her face buried in Ford’s hot, damp neck, she curled her fingers into his chest and clung to him.

He was alive and in one piece. He was talking and walking. He was fine.

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