Page 20 of Leave Before I Love You
I know she’s worried about being stuck here forever, but I’m starting to think about the opposite. Every day we’re here together, I feel more and more like I might not know what to do without her when we leave.
Avery
Henry cradles my head against him, my cheek pressed to the solid warmth of his chest as I trace lazy circles along his abdomen. The fire crackles beside us, its glow casting flickering shadows across his chiseled features, and for the first time since we crash-landed here, my stomach isn’t clawing at my spine with hunger. The two fish he caught this morning, along with the breadfruit he gathered, have left us as full as we can get in a situation like this. And though the night air holds a noticeable chill, Henry’s body heat is more than enough to keep me warm.
Normally, I’d look at my weather app to see how long the chill will last, but without technology, our only choice is to wait it out.
And somehow, cuddling with Henry has become second nature—so natural, it wasn’t even a question.
Henry plays with my hair the way he does every night before we fall asleep. The motion is slow and hypnotic, like he’s memorizing the texture, like he actually enjoys the feel of me against him. And my body sinks more into his, boneless and relaxed, and if I weren’t so aware of the ridiculous crush I used to have on him, I might pretend this is just about survival.
Sister, that crush has never really gone away.And right now, it’s threatening to claw its way back up to the surface.
“I know I’m normally in my own world,” I murmur, my voicequiet in the firelight. “But even I know I wouldn’t be surviving at all right now if it weren’t for you.”
Henry chuckles, the deep rumble vibrating through my body. “You’re holding your own, Ave.”
I huff. “Please. You’re the hunter, the gatherer—the survivalist guru. I’m just dead weight in a crusty sweater.”
He shakes his head, nudging my temple with his chin. “You’re more adaptable than you think. If I’d have guessed before we got here, I’d have put money on you crying for three days straight and refusing to eat anything that didn’t come off a Michelin-starred menu.”
I scoff. “Well, joke’s on you. I lasted a solid hour before my first menty b.”
His soft laugh makes me smile.God, I love his laugh.
For a while, we just exist—him stroking my hair, me melting into him, the fire crackling beside us like we’re the last two people on earth. And maybe we are, in a way.
Though, if it weren’t for him, I’m certain I wouldn’t be alive. Henry is the whole reason we’re both surviving this situation. He’s my rock. My voice of reason. And maybe that’s why letting him play with my hair feels so good, like I’m finally able to give him just a tiny fraction of the comfort he’s given me.
“What do you think Beau is doing right now?” I ask quietly, my mind wandering to what our family and friends must be going through as time with us missing ticks away.
“Probably handling business, like always. That’s part of what I’ve always loved about Beau being a stick-in-the-mud,” Henry says with a laugh that makes his chest shake under my ear. “He’s reliable. Mav and Ronnie? While a good fucking time, they’d probably be out in the ocean on Jet Skis, looking for us in the most inefficient way possible. But Beau? He’s probably got charts, coordinates, a fucking spreadsheet mapping out all possible crash locations.”
“My dad is really good under pressure, too. Between him and Beau, they probably have a whole search party organized, the Coast Guard, and all of Miami-Dade County on high alert.”
“Definitely. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time,” Henry extrapolates. It’s hard to know if he really believes it, but either way, he’s doing a good job of pretending.
“Did Beau ever tell you all the details of how he and Juni got together?”
“Some app they were working on at work, right?”
“Yeah. Midnight. But, like, she was messaging him anonymously and he had no idea it was her, but he was still falling so hard for her that he was sending her all this dirty stuff.”
“Beau?” Henry asks incredulously. “Sending dick pics?”
I giggle and pretend to gag. “I don’t know about actual cock-a-doodle-doos, but they were definitely saying some scandalous stuff. I made June tell me, of course, and let me tell you, I didn’t know she had it in her.”
“And look at them now. One kid here and another on the way. Married. Happy. Settled.”
I nod against his chest, the material of his shirt feeling softer and softer every night from being in the sun all day. He doesn’t smell bad—not sure that I’d notice if he did over the stench of myself—but we’ve been sharing my deodorant for the time being to stave off the BO a little.
“You want that stuff one day?” I ask.
“To be married with kids?” Henry clarifies.
“Yeah.”
“I guess. It sounds nice. Though, I’m not sure I’m ready for it now. I don’t know. Would have to happen with the right woman, I guess. You?”
