Page 199 of Three Reckless Words

I go to look it up, but remember my phone’s dead. My hand falls uselessly against the ground.

No phone.

No hope.

Right.

Heat pricks along my limbs and sweat seals my clothes to my neck. I’m shivering with the heat, and it’s almost impossible to string a single coherent thought together.

The only thing that stands out in my delirious mind is Archer Rory.

I miss him so much I can almost see him standing in front of me.

And I must be terminally sick because my hallucinations look real enough to touch when he appears in front of me like a guardian angel.

Is this how it works?

Do you get to see your favorite people before you die? Even if they’re still alive?

“Hey, Archer.” I grin up at him, still tasting sticky honey on my lips.

He answers by sweeping me up in his arms and flinging me over his shoulder.

Don’t pinch me.

If this beautiful delusion is my grand finale before the lights go out, I never want to know when the fireworks end.

I never want to wake up when he holds me, cradling me, his eyes so bright with love and concern.

“Winnie, stay with me. I love you,” he whispers.

Love you too.I try to mouth back those three reckless words.

But I think I’m too far gone.

I pass out smiling, ready for the great beyond.

26

TAKE THE STING OUT (ARCHER)

“Winnie, stay with me. I love you.”

Those words sear my throat like a prayer to a God who won’t listen. I know what it feels like now when a man throws himself down, begging for divine intervention, everything hanging by a thread.

And all I can give her right now is the truth.

Truth and a smile.

Even when she’s worn ragged in this terrifyingly fragile state, shestilltastes like honey. Hard to believe, but she settles against my chest like she’s content to stay there forever, a small smile on her face.

Seeing her like this with her hair matted, scratches and bug bites all over her arms, her face too pale and still somehow flushed, it’s enough to turn my insides liquid.

I fucking found her.

If it wasn’t for those bees making noises that could rival a jet engine, I might have lost her for good. I searched for hours, tracking deeper into the woods, far off the trail, using an old historic map on my phone from the days when a company came out here clearing trees and looking for coal to mine.

The paths are long overgrown, but barely traceable in some areas if you stop and look.

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