Page 64 of Stranded

“It’s from being upside down for so long. You’ll be okay in a few minutes,” Kingsley says, making me turn my head towards him. He guides us into the hut and I’m set down gently on the bed.

They both grab all the pillows in the room to prop up behind me, so I’m not laying flat on my back. Weston sits by my feet, gently propping my sore one up.

“We need to keep your head above your heart for a bit,” Kingsley explains.

“Here, take a drink.” Bower passes me his water skin and I take a few long sips before passing it back and wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

We all silently watch as Weston looks over my right foot without touching it. Even from where I’m sitting, I can see my ankle starting to bruise.

“It’s clearly your ankle, can you wiggle your toes at all?” he asks, his eyes flicking to me before watching my foot again. I take a deep breath, gearing myself up for the pain, then slowly try to move them. Relief fills me when I’m able to do it with barely any additional pain. I move them more and let out a deep breath of air as I smile. “That doesn’t hurt?”

“Not really.”

“Good. That’s really good. Without imaging, it’ll be hard to know if you’ve broken your ankle or just sprained it. What we really need is ice,” Weston says, pushing his hand through his hair in thought.

“I think the ocean water is the coldest thing around here, unless you know of anything, Zee?” Kingsley asks, and I shake my head. It’s been a really long time since I’ve had something cold to drink, let alone ice.

“Okay, I’m on it,” Bower says, passing me my own waterskin. “Drink up, we’ll use two for drinking water and two for cold water packs.” Ifinish it off and he throws the strap over his head as Kingsley does the same with Weston’s waterskin.

“We’ll be back as soon as we can, you good here, man?” Kingsley asks, looking at Weston, who gives him a curt nod. He and Bower say a quick goodbye to me before leaving me alone with the fuming giant.

We just stare at one another for probably about five minutes without either of us saying a word. I can see he’s working through something, and I decide to let him work it out in his head. I was pretty exhausted as it was and wasn’t exactly looking forward to this inevitable conversation.

Finally, he moves closer, reaching out and taking my hand with his, his thumb stroking over my knuckles. “When I heard you scream, I don’t think I’ve ever been so fucking scared in my entire life.”

“Not even when your plane crashed?”

He immediately shakes his head. “No, not even then.” He pulls my hand to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on my knuckles. “I could face death, but losing you, Zee... that’s a pain I can’t survive.”

My breath hitches at the sentiment. That’s an awfully bold statement for someone who just wants to be my friend. Have I got it wrong, did our moment under the raft mean more to them than I thought? Did they see something more with me?

“I can practically see the gears turning in your head.” My eyes snap back to his. He gives me a tired smile before continuing. “You don’t have to say anything right now, just take it easy and try to relax. But I think, when the others get back, it might be time for you to tell us a bit more about what goes on in that pretty little head of yours.”

I swallow heavily, the weight of the words not helping me to relaxat all. But holding onto this pain isn’t helping anything, either. Keeping itto myself hasn’t spared me from my constant nightmares, panic attacks, or fear of storms.

When I first met them, I was weary of them, unsure of their intentions. But now… Now, I feel like I really know them. I may be uncertain about what they want from me or our relationship, but I don’t believe they would ever intentionally hurt me or use my trauma against me.

So, knowing that he’s right, that it’s time to let them in, I give him a single nod and squeeze his hand, before resting my head back against the pillows. I see some tension leave his shoulders as he kisses my knuckles again.

“Close your eyes, Zee. I’ve got you now.”

Chapter twenty-six

Darla

Amixture of hushed voices wakes me, and I try to catch my bearings to figure where I am. Normally I wake up alone, in my hammock, but I’m definitely not on my own now.

“What are they doing?” Kingsley whispers quietly.

“Mo-Mo showed up, and straight away he went to her ankle and sniffed it, like he knew it was injured. Then he left. A little while later, he and his buddies started coming in, with all that,” Weston replies, making my eyes open as I turn to the desk in surprise. Sure enough, it’s covered in more fruit than the four of us could eat in three days.

I see the lemur himself placing two plums down, as Sam, Dean and Coco do the same thing.

“Mo-Mo?” I ask, lifting my head.

“Eep!” He hollers when he sees me awake, running over and jumping on my chest before nuzzling his little head into the crook of my neck. I run my fingers over his fur and close my eyes, a smile playing on my lips at his genuine love for me.

“Worried about me, little guy?”

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