Page 27 of Hunted
She’s so strong and brave that it’s easy to forget how vulnerable she can be emotionally. It’s part of the reason I think she does need more than one of us. I just hope that equation still includes me.
Chapter nine
Reece
Idon’t sleep a wink. How can I when I caused my soulmate to have a panic attack and cry hysterically?
I’ve never spoken the words out loud, but I knew that’s what she was, my soulmate. I don’t think my thirteen-year-old brain understood at the time, but as the years went on, and I never got over her, I knew. Only losing a soulmate could cause someone to react the way I did, lashing out at the world and refusing to so much as hold another girl's hand.
I had no expectations about how seeing her again would go, since I thought she was dead, but I didn’t expect it to be so complicated.
I knew they were right, that we didn’t know these versions of each other. But I didn’t care either. She was mine, and I was hers. Even if I did have to share her. At least it was with my two best friends… and West. I know he’s a decent guy, but I’m used to being the leader of our trio, and I have a feeling we’re going to butt heads constantly.
But she’s worth it. It sounds like she may need us all in different ways, too. When I was thirteen, I could pull a laugh from her with ease, but these days… I’m not really the laughing type anymore. I’d have no idea how to do it. That’s why she needs Bower.
And King, he seems to understand her on an emotional level that I may never get to. And West… Well, besides being an arrogant ass, he’s obviously protective as hell, but more importantly, he knows how to deal with her panic attacks, probably from his time in the Marines. I, on the other hand, have no experience with them and I’m not sure I would have known what to do with her when she panicked today. I probably would have put her down when she screamed to be let go, but I’m glad he didn’t. He was right, she was going to drown herself over a damn rock.
Noticing the hut is starting to grow lighter with the early morning sun peeking through the trees, I decide it’s time to get up. Being careful not to wake anyone, I slowly stand and get dressed, then grab a full waterskin and head to the beach.
I stand in the sand and stare at the calm morning ocean.
“At least it’s not roasting hot yet,” I say to myself as I drop the waterskin and strip back down to my boxers, heading towards the water. I’m thankful it’s calm, it will help me in my search.
I have to take a wild guess at where I was standing when I threw it, and where it could have gone. When I get to the rough area, I start walking back and forth, using my feet to feel the ocean floor.
Does the tide move the sand? Could her rock be buried much lower? A seed of worry sprouts in my chest, but I keep pushing on.
After an hour, I take a break to get a drink, then go back to work. It’s only after another half hour or so, when I stop, staring out into the depths of the ocean, that I realize a search crew should have been here by now.
“Dad, what’s taking you so long?” I ask into the empty ocean, my eyes scanning for any sign of movement out there. Is this how the others felt, waiting for me to find them? Will I have to wait that long, too?
No,people know where I am, they just have to realize I’m missing before they can send help.
“Reece?” I turn and see King standing on the beach and decide now is as good a time as any to grab some more water.
As I walk up the sand, he pulls some jerky from his bag and offers it to me.
“Thanks,” I say, quickly biting off a piece. I didn't want to admit it, but I was getting pretty hungry and had no idea how to feed myself on this island.
“Enjoying an early morning swim?”
“No, I’m looking for her rock.”
His eyebrows raise in surprise before he looks out into the ocean. “Reece… that’s going to be near impossible. The waves have probably already buried it; it wasn’t that big. Even if they didn’t, do you have any idea where you threw it?”
I shrug, not wanting to let his words stop me from finding it. It’s not like I have anything better to do. “I have an idea of where it could be.”
He sighs, dropping his bag and pulling off his shirt. “Alright, well, at least let me help you.”
I open my mouth to refuse, wanting to be the one to fix this, but close it with a snap, realizing it’s not about me, it’s about her.
I nod my head, and he follows me out. We quickly form a pattern of walking side by side, so we cover a wider area, our feet moving back and forth as we go. We find a few rocks, tossing them all towards the shore so we don’t stumble over them again. Luckily, Kingsley explained to me that hers actually has the nameStevecarved into it, making it easy to identify.
After an hour, we sit and take a break, eating some more jerky and drinking.
“I’m surprised the others haven’t come out here by now,” I say, noting how high the sun is getting.
“I told them to stay at camp today and enjoy some time alone.”
