Page 78 of Wrecked
“Thank you,” she says quietly against my mouth.
“I thought I smelled bad?” I say softly, lips still touching.
“Yeah. Your breath isn’t great either,” she whispers. I feel her smile against my lips.
“Too bad.” I take her mouth again, not giving her a chance to deny my tongue as I slide it into her mouth, capturing her sweet moan.
She pulls back before this can get out of hand, and I can see it in her eyes.
Answers.
She needs answers. If anything can progress between us, she needs the truth.
I know our talk is coming. The one that scares me as much as it excites me. It excites me because I will finally be free of it. No more secrets between us. I don’t want to hurt her with the truth, but it’s a truth I can’t hide from her anymore. This talk can’t wait, not for a rescue that may never come. Not until we get back home. Not for me to properly end things with Katie.
But it has to wait until I get her safe and fed.
I stand up and walk over to our basket of coconuts. I grab one of the larger shells, along with a flat, sharp rock, and bring them back over to the fire. I secure the coconut between my feet and raise the rock above my head. I bring it down hard against the pointy part of the coconut shell, repeating the motion over and over. I hear a faint crack and set the rock back down. I lift the coconut and peel apart the husk, setting it aside to use as tinder for our fire, then I take the coconut shell and bash it against the rock—right in the center. A perfect fissure forms allthe way around the coconut, allowing me to pull it apart evenly, while salvaging the water inside.
My stomach growls loudly as I look down at the meaty center and sweet water. I hand Ellie the bigger side. The side containing the sweet nectar. She takes a large sip, moaning as she swallows, and then hands it back. I shake my head, planning to go out for bamboo shortly. The rain is nothing but a drizzle now, so the trek won’t be that difficult.
“Take some,” she demands. She gives it back to me, nearly forcing it into my hands. “I won’t drink another drop unless you do.”
I smile at her pouty lips and bring the coconut shell to my mouth. I take a small sip of the sweet water, the flavor exploding in my mouth.
We will definitely be looking for more coconuts.
I hand the shell back to Ellie, along with a rock so she can cut into the white meat.
We sit quietly for several minutes devouring our coconuts, hardly even looking at each other. I can almost feel my body refueling itself with the protein and fiber it’s been begging for.
“What now?” Ellie asks, almost like she is dreading the answer.
“Now, we turn this place into a shelter.” I can see my answer surprises her as much as it makes sense. We already have three walls of solid rock. We can easily insulate the interior with clay and mud and build a door of sorts for the opening of the overhang. I look up to tell Ellie as much, but I’m already met with her stare. Her brows are furrowed, and her distant gaze is filled with raw, unfiltered agony. They glisten with unspoken pain, a flicker of anger hidden beneath the surface.
“I don’t want it to hurt anymore. I don’t want to bemadat you anymore. Make it stop, Nate.”
CHAPTER 35
NATE (21 YEARS OLD)
I’m going home.
My sophomore year of college is complete. I already applied for a transfer to Ohio State. Everything is falling into place. These have been the longest two years of my life, but I’m finally out of here.
I drive down the familiar street of the house I grew up in. A house that I haven’t stepped foot inside since the day I left it. No holidays at home. No spring break visits. No summers in hell.
I was lucky enough to meet my friend Asher in my freshman year. He became my roommate, and honestly, the firstrealfriend I’ve ever had. He saw the broken man beneath the mask almost immediately, and for some reason it made me trust him. He was the first person, other than Ellie, that I’ve ever opened up to. I let him know the real me. Not the high school jock. Not the son of a rich district attorney. I let him see the Nate that Ellie knows, not the Nathan the world knows.
After I told him about my dad, about Ellie, he insisted I spend school breaks with him and his family. His girlfriend of five years had just cheated on him, so neither of us were looking to spend our freshman year hooking up.
It ended up becoming a tradition. Every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and summer was spent at the Holden household. I would fly Emmy out to spend the holidays and summer with us too. My mom didn’t care. It’s not as if Emmy mattered to her unless there was a photo op.
Rob and Sarah Holden became our family. The kind we wished we always had. Our joy was their joy. Our successes made them proud. My pain became their pain. I think they may hate my father even more than I do.
Over the last two years, Ash helped me become myself again. As whole as I could be without Ellie. I thought about her every day. I had eyes and ears at home, always checking in to make sure she was okay. I couldn’t go home, though. I couldn’t risk seeing her. I’d throw it all away. Because as much as Ash tried to help, I was still only half of a living and breathing person.
I started the nine-hour drive back home more times than I can even count. Each time, Ash would hop in the car with me and tell me I wasn’t going alone. Each time, he would remind me why I left her in the first place. Each time, he offered to kill her father and get rid of the problem. I’m not even sure the last one was a joke. I couldn’t ask for a better friend. Someone who saw beyond what I could do for them and showed me what they could do for me.
