Page 56 of Stranded

Not wanting to get sand in my eyes, I close them tight as I wiggle my way inside. At some point, I get stuck and I feel the guys pulling the sandout from around me, giving me more room. When I manage to get my arms free, I wipe the sand off my face before finally opening my eyes.

“Zee!” I rasp, the word tearing from my throat as fear slams into me. I don’t know what I expected to find, but it wasn’t this. She’s curled in on herself like a wounded animal, her entire body trembling with silent agony. The sight stops me cold, hollowing out my chest.

She’s always been so strong and brave. To see her like this feels so wrong, like the world’s been knocked off its axis. It physically hurts, a sharp ache spreading across my ribs as I wiggle harder to try and get my hips through the hole, and, with help from the guys, I finally pull free. I try my best to wipe the dirt from my body before quickly crawling over to her.

Her head is buried in her arms, so I touch her shoulder first and she jerks back, her red-rimmed eyes meeting mine in panic and fear.

“Sweetheart, it’s okay, we’re here now.” I don’t bother asking what’s wrong or if she’s okay, I can clearly see she’s not. As I speak, her face turns from fear to anguish so I do the only thing I can and reach my arms around her, pulling her against me as we lay sideways in the dry sand.

Even over the sound of the rain hitting the vinyl of the raft, I hear her sobbing against my chest, so I hold her tighter, one hand holding her head against me as I kiss her hair.

“Everything’s going to be okay, sweetheart. We’ve got you.”

A couple grunts has me turning to see West wiggling through the hole. Although the raft was big enough to hold the three of us under it, it doesn’t have any space to spare. It’s already getting tight.

When West sees her shaking against me, he swears and works faster to pull himself free.

“Do you know what’s wrong?” he asks as he starts to move around me. I shake my head as I watch him move behind her, spooning her tightly as he presses his lips to the back of her head. He pulls strands of her hair away from her face, tucking them behind her ear before his hand finally ends up on her stomach between us.

“Baby, I’m here now, we’re here. You’re okay, you’re okay.” It felt like he was saying that to reassure himself almost as much as her.

We watch silently as Bower enters next, his eyes wide when he sees the position we’re in. He doesn’t say anything though, he just moves above us and strokes her head gently.

As the rain picks up again, she whimpers. I hold her tightly as my chest constricts with pain. I fucking hate this. I wish I knew what was wrong and how to help her. There’s no way this is her first storm out here, was she always this terrified?

That first night we arrived here, were we hiding under here while she was alone and terrified in the hut?

Wanting to do something to distract her, I start humming the tune to‘Lean on Me’. When I get back to the chorus, Bower starts singing the lyrics. At the next verse, West surprises me by joining him, and soon all three of us are singing the song on repeat, our voices rising with each verse, trying to drown out the sounds of the surrounding storm.

Chaptertwenty-three

Darla

Hands reach for my clothes as I struggle to get away. But no matter what I do, I can’t get free.

He grunts when I land a solid kick to his ribs. “Kaa tuli, wewe bitch mdogo!”

“Stop! Get off me!” I beg, as tears stream down my cheeks. Pain explodes in my face as he punches me and my body sags in defeat.

Suddenly, I find myself alone and I glance around to see nobody around me. Slowly, I sit up as a soft melody starts to whisper in my ears. As I strain to hear it, I realize the voices sound familiar, and yet… I don't know who they are. Only the occasional word breaks through the fogginess surrounding me.

“...all have pain… sorrow… lean on… not strong… I’ll be… help you…”

The world around me starts to come into focus as I blink my eyes open.Weren’t they already open?I realize I’m laying in the sand, surrounded by several large, warm, albeit, wet, bodies.

Their voices carry through the storm, the familiar words of‘Lean on Me’wrapping around me like a warm embrace. Speaking of warm embraces, there are definitely multiple hands touching me right now.

Instead of feeling scared, like I was from the hands in my dream, I feel comforted and my body starts to relax against them. I know these men, and they’ve done nothing but make me feel safe since the moment we met.

Someone strokes the top of my head while someone else strokes the back of it. I feel a large warm hand on my bare stomach, their thumb gently moving back and forth. I’m pretty sure that one’s attached to the large body at my back.Is that Weston?

I tilt my head up and am greeted by a beard covered chin. “Kingsley,” I whisper. He immediately tilts his head down until his blue eyes connect with mine, and I see the worry there.

“There you are, sweetheart. Are you feeling a little better?” He moves his hand from the back of my head to wipe my cheeks and under my eyes.Was I crying?

I give him a small nod as I try to figure out what’s going on. I move my head around to see Bower laying above us, his fingers on the top of my head. He gives me a tight-lipped smile. He also looks worried.

As I turn, I notice the yellow of the raft above me and memories start to click into place.

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