Page 68 of Past

"Let go, I have to find him."She wriggles against me, the river pulling us both back under the water, but I don’t let her go. We both get pushed up again and hit the surface of the water. The river is curving, and there’s a large tree in the middle of it. I swim us both over, hearing Allie coughing up water. I’m a good swimmer, but I know she isn’t.

"Get to the river bank, I’ll find him. I can swim in this, and you aren’t strong enough, Allie," I promise her through coughs of water. I want to add that if it’s possible, I’ll find him alive for her, but I don’t.

"No, I can help," she mutters. I see lights on the side in the river, and I watch Harley jump into the river. I hold onto Allie as I look around the water, waiting for Harley.

"Take her," I shout over the noise of the water when Harley gets to us.

Allie screams, "No!"

Harley is stronger and manages to take hold of Allie from me, dragging her with him as he swims away using the tree to lead him to the river bank.

I don't know how long I swim down the current, avoiding rocks, until I see a shape in the water. I pick up speed, zoning in on Tris floating in the water.

I pull him to me and, keeping his head above water, I make my way to the side of the river where Harley and Allie run to help me drag a blue-looking Tristan onto the edge of a muddy embankment.

"No, no, no, Tris!" Allie screams, and I move away as Harley starts trying to save Tris’ life.

"Allie," I croak out and pull her to me as we watch. Neither of us move, watching Harley breathe into Tristan’s mouth while doing CPR.

"I don't think this is working," Harley mutters after the third time.

"Tris, don't do this to me. I love you, please don't leave me like this. He cannot win like this. Fucking fight, Tris!" Allie screams at him, falling to her knees with me following while still holding onto her shoulders.

The next moment feels like a miracle when Tris coughs, and Harley turns him on his side as he coughs out a lot of water.

"Tris," Allie screams, crawling to his side and pushing his wet hair out of his face.

"Luke has called the police and ambulance. We knew Tris would need one," Harley says, and I nod at him.

"What are we going to say?" I ask, watching Allie whispering to Tris.

"That we had a party up here, and Allie and Tris fell in. Tris hit some rocks, which will explain his injuries, and you can say you jumped in with me after them and were hit too."

"Got that, Allie?" Harley asks gently, and she nods.

“Arthur will get the police to cover this up anyway. A few of the doctors go to The Cage; I'll make sure one of them treats you and Tris,” Harley says a little quieter to me. They won’t say a thing to anyone about tonight. They wouldn’t want us to mention where they go on the weekends to their families.

The police and ambulances turn up and Luke shows them the way. We are covered in blankets and checked over as they take Tris in the ambulance. I go in the other one, but Allie goes with Tris, which I told her to, and Luke stays with me. Harley decides to stay and explain before catching up with us.

Three hours later, my ribs are set and bound. I'm stuck in a hospital room while Luke is snoring in the chair in the corner. My arm is sore, and I have a few stitches, but it doesn’t matter.

"Hey," Allie says, making my head turn quickly to see her standing in the doorway. She looks amazing with her hair up in a bun. She is wearing hospital scrubs like me because our clothes are drying.

"Come here, angel," I say with my voice full of emotion, almost as much as what is on her face. She practically runs over to me, throwing her arms around my neck and sliding into the bed.

"Are you okay?" she asks quietly, looking up at me.

"I'm good, how's Tris?" I ask gently, and she smiles slightly.

"Already awake and flirting with the nurse." She chuckles before her face turns serious. "He has broken ribs, a broken leg, and had some internal bleeding that they fixed in surgery. The cut on his face is going to scar. It looks terrible, and he hasn’t seen a mirror yet." She breaks into sobs, breaking my heart as I pull her close to me while ignoring the pain in my ribs.

"It’s my fault entirely," she cries quietly.

"No, it's not, Allie," I say determinedly. We don’t speak as I hold her to me, rocking her as gently as I can until she calms down.

"Allie, I love you," I say, and she looks up at me.

"I love you so much, Elliot. Holy cow, I didn't think I could love someone as much as I love you," she says in a strong voice.

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