Page 73 of Accidentally Forever
My first pass didn’t touch anything, just rocks and wood. I was forced to go for breath again, and then dove back under, ignoring the shouts telling me to stop.
I needed to find him.
He needed to be okay.
And just as my lungs screamed and I was ready to try to break the surface, my hand caught on flesh. I didn’t know if it was Crew or Travis, but in that moment, I needed to get them above the top of thewater. So I pushed on the bottom of the riverbed and pulled whoever it was to the surface.
I sucked in a deep breath as I broke through the water, and looked at Crew, unconscious in my arms.
Tears fell down my cheeks as strangers and my family began to swim toward me. Teeth chattering, I looked around for Travis, but I could only focus on Crew.
Because there was blood on his arm, and he wasn’t waking up.
Someone cursed beside me, and I kicked out trying to get closer to the side of the river. “We’ve got you. Never do that again,” Noah spat as he wrapped his arms around me, and Ford and Daisy took Crew from my arms. We swam to the bank, Noah keeping me upright and above the water.
“Is he okay? Is he okay?” I asked through chattering teeth.
“Let’s get to the bank,” Noah answered without actually answering.
I looked past him and realized that strangers had pulled Travis out of the river, and the man who had tried to kill me and Crew was awake, blood on his forehead, as he shook in the stranger’s arms. I would deal with that later. Travis, the adrenaline, and emotions running in my veins. I’d face it. Face him. But not now.
I just needed Crew to be okay.
We made it to the bank and I couldn’t fully track what was happening, my body shaking.
“He’s breathing,” Daisy said as the authorities came forward, taking over.
And at those words, I leaned into my cousin and burst into the tears I had been holding back since I had woken up in Travis’s hold with a knife to my throat.
“He has to be okay,” I choked through tears against Noah’s chest.
My cousin didn’t say anything. Instead he held me close before the paramedics took me away.
And Crew didn’t wake up.
“Should we call his family?”somebody asked but I didn’t know who. It was hard to think through the fog as I waited to hear that the person I loved more than anyone in the world would wake up. He had to be okay. He had risked everything to protect me. To save the person who had hurt him countless times. And there was nothing I could do.
“No,” Lexington said from my side. He had shown up after I had been admitted into my room, complete with stitches in my forehead, and worried because I hadbeen in the river for long enough it was an issue. I had a few new shots in my arm and they were keeping me warm, watching me in case of infection or shock.
My family was in and out of my room, and I knew others would be doing the same later. All while we waited to hear about Crew. Daisy, Noah, and the others wore scrubs, their hair finally dry, and all looked worse for wear.
“Don’t call them,” I repeated. “We are his family.I’mhis family.”
Lex squeezed my hand but didn’t say anything.
We were waiting for the doctor to tell us when Crew would wake up. Notif. I refused to hear that word. It would bewhen.
Sebastian took Lex’s place soon after and glared at me. “Never do that again.”
I’d already gotten this lecture and while my choices were stupid, I wasn’t going to regret them. I didn’t want to think about how much longer Crew could have been in the water while we waited for others to wade to the center. I’d made the only choice I could, and I’d do it again. “He could’ve died. Of course I was going to follow him to make sure I could save him.”
“I can’t lose my twin. You understand that?”
I swallowed hard, his words hitting hard because I knew it wasn’t just because of this moment. “I’m sorrythat you’re here. In this hospital.” This hospital was where everything had changed for him, but he didn’t react other than squeezing my hand tightly for a moment, before letting out a breath.
“I’m here because I love you, twin of mine. Stop worrying about me.”
“I’m sorry for scaring you. For scaring everyone,” I said as I looked over at my parents and my two other siblings.
