Page 173 of Sinful Lies

We both froze.

My heart skipped a beat.

I knew that voice.

Stella’s face went pale, like she’d seen a ghost.

It was Thomas.

“Help! Please!”

I glanced at Stella, and I saw it—the panic flashing in her eyes.

Before I could even blink, she was already running toward the voice.

I froze for a second, cursing under my breath, watching her blonde hair disappear behind the trucks. It felt like the world stopped moving for a moment.

Then, like a switch flipped, I snapped out of it. My legs moved before my brain caught up, and I shouted her name again, my voice tight with fear.

I ran, each step through the mud slowing me down, my sneakers slipping with every move. I cursed under my breath but didn’t stop.

“Stella!” I screamed again, my voice hoarse, but there was no answer.

Finally, I reached a big white truck with a name starting with a C. I slammed my hand against the cold metal, gasping for air, trying to steady my breathing. My ears rang, the world muffled as I looked around. All I saw were bright yellow warning signs—“Private Property” and “No Trespassing”—taunting me, telling me to turn back.

But then, I saw her.

She stood still, just a few feet away from Thomas, her hands at her sides like she couldn’t move. Thomas was the same, frozen, his face drained of color.

When his eyes met mine, they widened in shock.

“Jade! Don’t move! Stay where you are!”

Stella’s face snapped toward me, tears streaming down her cheeks as she sobbed uncontrollably. “Jadie, don’t move! Please!”

I stood there, confused, wiping the sweat off my forehead, my heart pounding in my chest. “What’s going on?” I called out.

Stella’s hand flew to her mouth, and she cried harder, the sobs shaking her entire body.

I took a step toward them, but before I could move any further, Thomas screamed, his voice raw with panic, cracking through the air like a gunshot.

“I stepped on a mine! Stella too! Everything’s going to explode!”

My blood went cold.

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t think. It was like time had frozen around me. All I could hear was the blood rushing in my ears, the deafening silence that followed, and then the absolute terror in Thomas’s voice.

The ground beneath me suddenly felt like it could swallow me whole.

I forced myself to speak, my throat tight. “A mine? Are you sure?”

“Yes,” he choked out, his voice shaking. “I—I called Stella to come help me, to get the cops here, but… but she… she stepped on one too. I didn’t—I didn’t mean for this to happen. I’m so fucking sorry, Stella. So sorry. Please, I’m so sorry…”

His words broke off into a sob, raw and guttural, like a piece of him was being torn apart. His hands were shaking as he ran them through his hair, his face twisted with guilt.

“I swear to God, baby, I never wanted this. I should’ve kept you away. I should’ve—” He stopped, his voice cracking, tears streaming down his face.

Stella cried harder, her hands pressed to her sides like she was holding herself together, but it wasn’t enough. Tears streamed down my face too, feeling completely useless.

---