Page 62 of Wrecked
“Nate!” Ellie screams seconds before a flash flood of water sweeps her off her feet, dragging her away from me. I barely have time to react before the muddy ground gives way, and I’m swept off my feet as well. My world is a chaotic blur of rushingwater and debris as I fight like hell to pull myself from the roaring surge of floodwater.
I can’t save Ellie if I drown. It’s the only thought going through my head.
I desperately search for something to grab onto as the force of the flood slams my body into loose logs and tree trunks, knocking the wind out of me. I manage to grasp onto a low-hanging tree branch and use every ounce of strength I have to pull myself away from the strong current of rushing water. I lift myself out of the rapids, and swing my body back and forth, propelling myself several feet away. I continue to crawl to higher ground, outside the reach of floodwater, coughing as I try to expel the fluid I consumed. I gather my breath for exactly one second before I’m on my feet again.
“ELLIE!” I run alongside the trees, on the outskirts of the raging river, as I try to keep pace with her. I watch in horror as the water takes her under repeatedly. Each time she comes up, she struggles to grab onto something around her.
I am close enough now that I can see the determination in her eyes. She fights her way to an upright position and grabs ahold of a tree trunk, wrapping her legs around it, much like she did to my waist earlier.
“Ellie! Hang on! I’m coming, baby.” The fear in my voice is apparent as I run through the slippery terrain. I can see her arms shake as the force of the water tries to rip her from her hold on the tree.
“Nate!” she cries. “Help! Oh my God…please help me…” Her helpless whimper awakens a beast inside me. I climb the tree adjacent to the one she’s hanging on to. Right now, my strength has no limits. I crawl out onto the branch hanging directly over the tree she clings to. I wrap my legs tightly around the limb and extend my arms to reach down to her.
Fucking this up means losing Ellie, and I won’t let that happen.
I extend my arms down toward her. “Ellie, let go with one hand and grab ahold of me!”
“I…I can’t. I’m too scared,” she cries out.
“I’m not going to let you go, Ellie. I will fucking die before letting you go! I know you’re scared, but I need you to trust me, baby. Tell me you still trust me.”
“I…I trust you.”
“Good. Now grab my hands. One at a time. I’m going to lift you up onto this branch with me.”
“I’m too heavy!”
“Ellie, look up at me. Look in my eyes.” She does. “I. Will. Not. Drop. You. I swear. I fucking promise you,” I vow. She nods her head and removes one hand from the tree as she reaches for me. A large fallen tree in the distance catches my attention as it races along with the rushing water, headed directly for Ellie. “Other hand! Now!” I yell, not wanting to scare her, but needing her to move quickly. She hesitates for a single second before letting go and reaching for my right hand. I get a good grip on her and lift with a hulking strength that doesn’t match my current physical state. I am working on pure adrenaline.
Ellie dangles in the air above the rapidly moving water. I pull her higher right as that large tree crashes into the one she was just hanging onto. The loud thump reverberates, causing the tree I am sitting on to shake with ferocity.
“Oh my God!” Ellie screams, her grip tightening once she sees what caused the commotion. I keep pulling her up. The higher she gets, the more my muscles strain from her dead weight.
Once she gets close enough to the branch, she swings her leg over as I pull her up the rest of the way. Her small body immediately slams against my chest as she wraps her arms around my neck. She sobs uncontrollably as she comes down from the gravity of what almost just happened.
Lightning cracks above our heads, reminding me that sittingin a damn tree is not the best idea right now. I need to get us down and to that overhang as soon as possible.
Ellie pulls back, cupping my face in her hands. There is so much love reflected in her eyes. A feeling she must have decided she is no longer going to hide from me. “You came for me.”
I look her in the eyes so that she can see the honesty, the devotion, and the sincerity of my promise.
“Always.”
CHAPTER 30
ELLIE (PRESENT)
“Come on, Pip, we need to move.”
Nate jumps down from the tree, mud splattering beneath his feet where he lands. He reaches up, suggesting he is going to catch me, and I couldn’t be more thankful. My entire body is scratched and bruised. The forest floor tore at my skin as the floodwater sent me barreling into shrubs and trees, scraping me against the rocks beneath me. I feel like I just survived an eight-car pileup. The kind where all eight cars crashed intome.
“I need you to jump, Pip. I won’t drop you.”
“I know.” And I do. Nate hasn’t let me down, not once since we got on that plane to Brazil. I don’t even believe that he let me down in the past either. I have a feeling all the hurt and pain I experienced was another way Nate was putting me first. I just didn’t know it then.
But I do now.
I leap off of the lowest branch into Nate’s outstretched arms. He catches me just like he said he would. He lowers me down his body, but I don’t let him go.I just need to touch him. I wrap my arms around his waist and squeeze him tight. The intenseneed to feel his heart beating has me lying my ear against his chest. The consistent thumping that resonates from his left pec has my own heartbeat slowing down, matching his rhythm and expelling my pent-up adrenaline. He holds my head to his chest, tangling his fingers in my hair as I slow my breathing. That was too close of a call for comfort. Too many things that could’ve been left unsaid between us. Even though I’ve already told him, I need him to really know, to really understand. I pull back to look up into his eyes.
