Page 47 of Little Bird
I came up here without a gun, of course, because I was in a hurry, and if there’s a bear close, we’re both in trouble. I jump into the truck, yank open the glove box, and grab the bear spray we keep in every vehicle, then stumble out and start following her trail. As I’m running, the snow somehow gets even thicker, like the sky is opening up, and my desperation ratchets up several notches. She’s in this snow in her fucking shorts without any coat, and now there’s a bear out here with her. I have no idea how badly she’s hurt but she’s definitely bleeding. And she’s got to be absolutely terrified.
I’m going to slaughter my father for causing this. If she’s dead, I’ll never forgive him.
I don’t have on much protective clothing on either—I left the house too quickly to bother with anything more than a coat and shoes—and I’m freezing, my toes and fingers already going numb, but I won’t go home until I’ve found her. If she’s dead out here, I’ll lay down with her and die myself. I’ve always heard freezing to death feels like just going to sleep.
If it means I get to sleep with her for the rest of time, I’ll do it. I won’t even think twice.
But we made a deal when we were twelve and thirteen that we’d never give up on each other, and though I haven’t thought about that in years, the memory is so strong right now that it nearly knocks me over. We were on the roof of the patio watching the stars and talking about how unfair life was, and we swore we’d never stop trying, if it meant we could be together. Hell, we pinky swore on it.
This can’t be the end. We have our entire lives to keep finding each other.
This isn’t the last of it. I know it.
Finally I see her, huddled against a tree with her knees up and her head against the tree. Just waiting, like she knew that if she sat down and stopped moving, I’d come for her. Her eyes are closed though, and her body is completely still, and suddenly I’m terrified that I’m too late.
Terrified that she gave up before I could get here to save her.
Taryn
The world around me is starting to feel very far away. Like a dream I can hardly remember, or a promise I made when I was young that doesn’t mean anything anymore. I can still sense it around me, but it’s all getting fuzzy. My hearing is starting to go, I think, because I’m hearing things that can’t possibly be happening. I heard a bear a while ago, roaring in the forest, and thought it might come for me. Now I swear I hear Gabe calling my name.
Is this what it’s like to die? You get to choose the things you want just one more time, and you get them? Because of all the things in the world, the one thing I want more than anything is to feel Gabe’s arms around me once more. Hear his husky voice telling me that it’s okay, that he’s not leaving.
That he’s never leaving.
But I know he can’t actually be here. I’m in the middle of the forest in the snow. There’s no way he could ever find me.
When I feel arms around me, I’m sure that I’m actually dead. I’ve gone to Heaven and the first thing I get are Gabe’s arms. It’s as simple as that.
“You stupid fucking girl,” the voice says. “Open your fucking eyes. If you’re dead, I’m going to kill you.”
I frown, because it seems strange that Heaven Gabe is cussing. Isn’t that against Heaven’s rules? Would they allow that?
I force my eyes open, curious, and find... that I’m not in Heaven. Unless Heaven is the same snowstorm I just left behind. In the same forest. With the truck twisted around a tree in the distance.
Wait.
I turn my eyes up and see Gabe’s chin. His nose. His face.
“Bubba?” I ask, unable to believe my eyes.
He turns his face down to me, and his blue eyes are growing wider, half furious and half hopeful. “Oh my God, you’re alive.”
That’s the question, isn’t it? “Am I?”
He laughs, the sound suddenly joyous and delighted in the cold air of the woods. “You must be. Dead people don’t talk. At least that’s what I’ve heard. God, Little Bird, you scared me half to death.”
“You came for me,” I breathe, still incapable of understanding what’s going on here. Where did he come from? How did he find me?
This time he doesn’t look down at me. He keeps trudging forward, his eyes on something in the distance. “Of course I fucking did. I promised I always would, didn’t I? We always said we were all in, and that hasn’t changed. We have to go. The snow’s going to get worse soon.”
Moments later he’s climbing into some sort of vehicle, placing me in his lap, and holding me against him, sharing his warmth. I turn my face into his chest, trying to stay away and keep the tears away. Trying to hold myself together while my heart feels as if it’s shattering into a million pieces.
Because Gabe came for me. He chose me, in the face of a snowstorm that must be trying to kill us both.
And I’ve never felt more loved in my entire life.
Gunner
