Page 35 of Wreckage

I let out a slow breath and shook my head. “Of course I care,” I said quietly.

Elena didn’t respond. She didn’t look at me, didn’t acknowledge the words. She turned her face to the side and let the silence stretch between us.

And fuck, that hurt more than I wanted to admit.

I had spent so long pretending she didn’t exist, and now, when I finally saw her—really saw her—she was shutting me out the way I had shut her out for years.

I hated myself for it. I hated that I had let it get to this point. But I wasn’t going to let it stay that way.

I was going to be better.

I didn’t know how much time we had left out here. I didn’t know if we would make it out alive. But if we did, I swore I would fix this.

I would fix everything.

Before I could say anything else, Adrian returned, carrying a bundled-up shirt filled with snow.

He moved past me and crouched beside Elena, carefully pressing the makeshift ice pack to her ankle. She let out a small gasp at the cold and pain, but she didn’t pull away.

For a long moment, none of us spoke.

We just sat there, the quiet stretching between us, thick with unspoken things.

Then, finally, Adrian broke the silence.

“We need to figure out our next move,” he said, calm but firm. “We can’t just sit here and hope someone finds us.”

I nodded, dragging a hand through my hair. “We need to build a big fire outside. One that can be seen from the air.”

“Yeah.” Adrian shifted, adjusting the snow on Elena’s ankle. “We also need to ration food. We can't afford to waste anything if we’re out here for a few more days.”

A few more days.

I swallowed hard, pushing back the gnawing dread in my stomach. We didn’t know how long it would take for rescue teams to find us. It could be days. It could be weeks.

And Elena…

I glanced down at her ankle again. The swelling hadn’t gone down. If anything, it looked worse. If we didn’t get her help soon, there was no telling what kind of damage it would cause. That could ruin her ballet career before it started.

I clenched my jaw and looked back at Adrian. “We should gather as much wood as we can. Anything that will burn.”

He nodded. “Agreed.”

The plan was forming, but all I could think about was Elena.

Her ankle.

Her pain.

She looked fragile sitting there, her shoulders slumped, her eyes filled with something too close to defeat.

No. I wouldn’t let her give up. I wouldn’t let her think for a second that this was the end.

I reached out, my fingers brushing lightly against her arm, and this time, she didn’t flinch.

“We’ll be just outside,” I told her. “Trying to gather everything we need.”

She blinked up at me, her expression unreadable, before nodding tiredly. “OK.”

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