Page 108 of Wreckage

“I don’t want a future with you,” I whispered, the words sending a shockwave of pain through my chest.

I turned my head, locking eyes with him, letting him see how fucking broken I was, how hurt.

“I don’t want anything from you, Adrian.” I exhaled, voice trembling, “Unless it’s death.”

His entire body tensed, his eyes widening in shock and pain.

“You might just get that wish if Troy doesn’t come home.” His voice was quiet and filled with an endless emptiness. My stomach churned.

When I turned to look at him, his face was pale, his expression hollow, as if he had already accepted the end.

“What?” I whispered.

Adrian slowly exhaled, his voice barely a whisper.

“He’s gone to find help,” he admitted. “If he doesn’t return in a week, I promised him we’d…we’d end it.”

I sucked in a sharp breath, my body shaking harder.

I wanted to hate him. I wanted to drown him in my anger. But all I felt was fear. Pain. Terrible loss.

Adrian reached for me, his hands hesitant, his expression pleading, but I shoved him away, the tears starting again.

“Don’t touch me. I’m not yours to touch.”

He flinched but didn’t try again.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I only wanted to save you, Elena. It’s what we both wanted. To make things right.”

Slowly, he rose to his feet and returned to sitting at the window, his body tense.

I lay there, curled up, drowning in my grief, anger, disgust, and everything else thrown in that I didn’t know how to untangle and survive.

And for the first time since the crash, I wished it had killed me.

Chapter 38

Troy

Ihad been walking for three days. Three days of relentless cold. Three days of gagging down food I didn't want but needed. Three days of pushing through exhaustion, pain, and the unbearable weight of knowing if I failed, Adrian and Elena would die.

I couldn't fail. I wouldn't. But God, I was so tired.

My body ached, my feet were frozen, and my legs barely carried me forward. Every step felt like walking through quicksand, the snow dragging me down and draining what little I had left.

I should have slept. I should have stopped. But I couldn't.

Because every time I thought about resting, every time I thought about stopping, I saw Adrian's haunted face.

I saw Elena's pretty eyes, fragile body, and how she had looked at us after the truth came out.

I heard her voice, torn, wrecked, trembling with devastation.

I swallowed thickly, my breath shaking, my hands clenching into fists inside my gloves.

I wouldn't let it come to that. I couldn't. Making things right is what mattered now. Saving us was the goal.

I forced myself forward.

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