Page 50 of Wreckage

Safe.

The fire crackled beside us, casting flickering shadows across the wreckage, and I let myself get lost in the sensation of his touch.

Then, softly, he spoke.

“We’re going to make it,” he murmured.

His voice was steady. Certain.

Something about the way he said it made me believe him.

I opened my eyes, finding his green gaze fixed on me, filled with something I couldn’t place.

Before I could say anything, the bathroom door clicked open.

Adrian’s hand slipped away.

I felt empty without it.

Troy stepped out, shaking the dampness from his hair, and Adrian immediately stood.

Without a word, he grabbed the empty bowl from Troy’s hands and turned toward the fire, kneeling to warm another batch of snow water.

He didn’t hesitate. Didn’t look back. Didn’t acknowledge what had just happened between us.

But I felt it.

And I knew he did, too.

A part of me wanted to say something.

But I didn’t.

Because I wasn’t sure I could handle the answer, and life was hard enough already.

Chapter 19

Troy

Iknew I had interrupted something the second I walked back into the cabin.

Elena and Adrian were both acting off.

Elena was settled back into the raft, her damp hair loose around her shoulders, her book open in her lap, but she wasn’t reading. Her fingers kept absently curling around the edges of the pages, her focus darting toward Adrian occasionally before snapping back to the book.

On the other hand, Adrian wasn’t even trying to pretend he wasn’t affected. His shoulders were tense, his hands curled into fists at his sides, and his expression closed off in a way that only I could read. He wasted no time going into the bathroom without a word.

Something had happened. It pissed me off that I didn’t know what.

But I didn’t press it. Not yet.

Instead, I settled beside Elena, sinking into the spot that had slowly become mine over the past few days.

She didn’t say anything. She didn’t even glance at us, but she didn’t move away either.

So I let her be, watching as she finally seemed to relax, her body growing heavier against the blankets.

It wasn’t long before she dozed off, her head tilting naturally against my shoulder.

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