Page 141 of Under the Lies

My parents. My mentor. The people I let in, the people I love, always end up in caskets.

Gabe is the one to move, jumping down to scoop her up. Carefully, he passes her to me and I cradle Sayer in my arms. She feels so small and fragile—like hand-blown glass.

Her chest is barely moving.

Thea hovers close by, taking off her coat and passing it to me.

“You wore two coats?” I ask.

“I thought she might need one.”

I stare at Thea when a small moan hits my ears. Looking down at Sayer, bundled in my arms, her lashes flutter against her cheekbones, trying to open.

I move us away from the group, only for Thea to follow. Reeve and Gabe stay behind, Gabe reprimanding Reeve about his insensitivity.

“Sayer.” My voice is low, but tone is harsh. It’s always harsh. Any softness I had had been pounded out of me years ago. I wish I could make it gentler. “Open your eyes.”

Her eyes flicker and my breath fogs between us, waiting.

I feel Thea peek around me before she begins pacing.

“Thea,” I snap, and she freezes. “Go back to the others.”

“But—”

“GO.”

I wait until Thea’s back with guys before I sweep some hair out of Sayer’s face, my hand resting against her throat. With my thumb tracing her jaw, I wait for the beat of her pulse to meet my palm.

“Open your eyes, Sayer.”

Nothing.

“C’mon, Sayer. Come back to me. I need you to come back to me.”

Thump.

It’s faint—but it’s there.

Thump. Thump thump.

With every beat, it grows stronger against my palm.

And it’s as I’m celebrating that little victory, those hypnotic gray eyes open and meet mine.

She blinks once, twice, two more times. Like she doesn’t trust that it’s me. “Noah?”

“Sayer.”

“Noah!” she cries, throwing her arms around my neck. Her cold lips brush against my skin as she buries in close.

My hand cradles the back of her head and for a moment we just stand like that, locked in this embrace, before I feel something cold and damp hit my skin.

Tears.

She’s crying.

Big, thick droplets roll down my skin, soaking into my clothes as she trembles. My arms constrict tighter, as if trying to reassure her she’s safe. Safe with me.

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