Page 112 of Wonderstruck

“I trust you enough to know it.” My eyes glidedbetween his.

“Forget knowing it. I’ll protect it with everypromise I can make you,” he said, leaning in just a little closer.

I think I’m in love with this man.

And then, just as the space between us started toshrink, the front door burst open.

A heavy thud slammed into the silence,reverberating through the room. My heart stuttered, then plummeted—deep, brutal, like it had been yanked straight down to the core of the earth.

For a split second, neither of us moved. The airtightened, the kind of stillness that only came before something shattered. Then we spun around, my body twisting so fast Inearly lost my balance. My pulse pounded in my ears as my gaze darted to the doorway, expecting a thousand different things. My mind was running too quick to pick, so all of them it was.

The dim light of the fire barely reached far enoughto reveal the shape standing there. A figure, hunched, trembling. My breath caught in my throat, my mind scrambling to put together what I was seeing.

Then, through the fractured light, came the sound.

A broken, gasping sob. And a flash of onyx.

Cora.

Her hands clutched at the door frame like it was the only thing keeping her upright, her face pale, eyes wide and glassy. Another sob tore from her chest, raw and aching, and whatever breath I had left disappeared.

“Oh my God,” I muttered, stumbling up andheading towards her on the floor. “Cora?” My voice was trembling as bad as she was.

I held her, and what scared me even more than thenoises she was making was how badly she was shaking.

My hands wandered to hers, wanting to tug her into me, but it was useless, her hands were embedded on the door frame. “Honey, talk to me.”

Fear wrapped around my heart.What on earth could have happened for her to end up like this?

“Okay, okay,” I muttered to myself, as I managedto lift her shoulders enough for her back to straighten. “Honey, I’m going to get you to sit up, okay?”

I turned to find Finn, and before I could ask hewas on the other side of her in a heartbeat, lifting her body at the same time I did and somehow getting her upright.

But her wails didn’t stop, and her laboured breaths wereonly getting more erratic.

“I’ll get some water,” Finn said, before rushing tothe kitchen.

I threw my arms around Cora as I sat by her side,tucking her into my chest finally. I smoothed her hair out of her face, revealing streaming mascara and identical blotchy cheeks.

“I've got you. I've you got.” I reassured her, rocking her out of instinct. “What happened.” My arms held her tighter. “What on earth happened?”

Those barely-there breaths spluttered, but I felt her trying to calm down, to stop crying. Finn was back with the water then,handing her the glass. She took it from his hands, the water inside shaking so much I had to reach out and steady the glass for her. She took a sip, and it was the first time I could see her face clearly.

Her normally porcelain cheeks had turned maroon, as thoughshe’d painted them that way. There were marks on her cheeks, trailing down the skin of her neck where the skin had turned red. I had to stop my mind from jumping to conclusions, but anger began to bubble inside me.

If anyone had put their hands on her…

She moved the glass from her lips, Finn taking itfrom her, before she dragged her hand across her face, wiping away the tears as her breathing settled a little.

Her chest heaved, her voice a breathless whisper as she said, “Jamie…”

My heart dropped another ten stories.

No.

“Jamie?JamieJamie?” I asked, my stomach twisting.

She nodded, two more tears spilling down hercheeks. “He tried to—”

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