Page 29 of Wreckage

I found an emergency kit and cracked open a hot pack before I shoved it under the blankets to warm them up.

Troy was already watching me when I turned back toward Elena. We held a silent conversation, and without a word, he moved to her and lifted her into his arms.

She was light, too light. I could tell that immediately as he moved her through the cabin to the bed we’d made. Her head fell limply against his chest, her body ice cold. I didn’t need to be the one holding her to know that. The way she was stiff told me as much. That and the memory of her cool skin from when I’d last touched her.

My throat tightened as Troy carried her to the makeshift bed, gently laying her down.

I knelt beside him as we checked her injuries, bandaging what we could with the first aid kit. Something about seeing her this way broke me inside. I swallowed down that new pain, my throat tight. I couldn’t be weak now. She needed me. Troy needed me. All we had was each other.

Carefully, we tucked her in, piling every blanket over her, knowing Troy was sending up as many silent prayers as I was.

By the timeevening rolled in, we had done everything we could. We had secured the plane as best as possible and had gathered all the food and water we could find, setting it in a pile near our sleeping area. It was surprisingly a fair amount. That offered some relief.

Troy and I sat side by side, each of us slowly chewing on a granola bar, neither speaking.

Finally, I exhaled. “We should try waking her again.”

Troy nodded, shifting closer to her.

I reached for her cold hand, rubbing small circles into the back of it.

“Elena,” I murmured. “You need to wake up now, OK?”

Troy brushed strands of hair from her forehead, his fingers lingering. The way he touched her sent shocks through my body. His touch was what I wanted mine to be when I was near her. I didn’t dwell on any of it, though. Maybe the fear of impending doom had me feeling the way I was.

“Elena,” he whispered. “Come on.”

She didn’t stir.

Troy let out a shaky breath, pressing his forehead gently against her temple. The move made my heart jolt. We never touched her. Cared about her. Suddenly, everything had shifted, and she became the most important thing in the damn room. I didn’t want to explore those reasons, nor did I want to speak up and question them.

“We should get in,” I said quietly. “She’s still cold.”

Troy hesitated before nodding. We both crawled under the blankets, one of us on each side of her. The heating pack had done its job—it was warm enough beneath the covers.

I watched Troy shift beside her, his body tense.

Neither of us acknowledged how naturally we had fallen into this. Neither of us commented on the way we hovered over her, the way we kept checking her breathing.

Finally, after a long silence, Troy spoke.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

I sighed. “No. It wasn’t. Some weekend, huh?”

He let out a soft scoff. “I didn’t even want to come on this trip. I tried to get out of it.”

“Same,” I admitted softly. “Wish I’d have missed the flight. Been late for the first time in my damn life. Go figure.”

Troy chuckled softly before going quiet.

“Amanda?” I asked after a brief silence.

Troy scoffed. “What about her?”

I raised an eyebrow as I looked over Elena’s body at him. I knew they had to be fighting. I’d seen his frustration and had caught a glimpse of her text yelling at him.

Troy exhaled sharply. “She doesn’t matter. Right now is what matters.”

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