Page 22 of Wreckage

I squeezed her arm. “Come on. Please. Wake up.”

Nothing.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and reached for her wrist, pressing my fingers against her pulse point.

A beat.

Faint.

Weak.

But it was there.

I let out a ragged breath, my head dropping against the seat beside her.

She was alive.

Barely.

“Please,” I whispered. I wasn’t sure who I was begging, but I’d beg the fucking stars if it meant she got to live. I’d beg her. God. The universe. Anyone who would listen, even if it meant the devil himself.

“Please wake up,” I choked out. “Elena. Please.Don’t go.”

I pressed my forehead to her arm, my ribs screaming at me, my fingers clenching around her delicate wrist.

Regret slammed into me like a fist to the gut.

I had spent so many years hating her, blaming her, ignoring her, and treating her like she didn’t matter.

And now… now, I might never get to know her.

A strangled sound left my throat.

“I swear, if you wake up, I’ll-I’ll be better.” My fingers tightened aroundhers. “I won’t be a dick. I won’t—” my voice cracked again. “Just please, don’t die. Don’t fucking leave me, Elena.”

The ringing in my ears was dulling, replaced by the howling wind outside, the eerie silence of the wreckage filling in all the dark spaces.

And still—she didn’t wake.

I let out a shaky, broken breath.

I was too weak. Too hurt.

My body was failing me, my vision blurring at the edges, exhaustion pulling me down like a weight.

I knew I needed to stay awake. I needed to help her. I needed to help Troy and Dean.

But I couldn’t.

Despite my fight, I was slipping, my strength draining, the cold dragging me under.

As my eyes fluttered shut, my grip on Elena’s hand slackened, and one final thought echoed.

Please don’t let her die before I have the chance to make this right.

And then, darkness.

Chapter 10

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