Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 102167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
I’m not just noticing her now—I’ve always noticed Avery Banks. But this island has painted a complete picture of the woman she really is in a way our lives at home never could.
Don’t misunderstand. I don’t think she’s different.
She’s still entitled and on her own schedule and work-averse in an almost startlingly selfish way. She flirts her way through town and sweet-talks her daddy into giving her more money and puts herself above others a fair amount of the time.
But beneath the surface, she’s always been soft in the center, a veritable statue in a blowing wind of friendships and life and circumstances. For all her quirks, she’s still one of the most reliable people I’ve ever known and never begrudges you the space to feel your feelings. She doesn’t judge, even as she’s judged relentlessly.
There’s a reason her friendship with June transcends decades and a reason her family would do anything for her, and it isn’t because they’ve all got their heads in the sand. These are smart, caring people.
And they pay enough attention to know Avery is too.
Being here has acted as a highlighter, emphasizing her compassion, humanity, and humor over the rest of it.
I hope I can be what she needs until someone finds us. I hope…someone finds us.
Thirst finally satisfied—but stopping before making myself sick—I hand her the pack, and she drinks until there’s a small amount left for later.
When she finishes, she closes the top, tosses it up onto the sand by our always-smoldering fire, and turns around to face the infinite water, stretching her limbs. She’s skinnier than she used to be—not that she was plump to begin with—and her skin is nearly tawny.
I step forward and wrap my arms around her from behind, pressing my chest to her back, and she falls into the gesture with ease, leaning her head back on my shoulder and sighing.
“You know, this place would be beautiful if it weren’t such a shitty situation.”
I nod.
“I wonder how far outside of the realistic search grid we are,” she remarks then, her voice flat.
I shake my head, burying my lips in her neck. “Don’t go there.”
“It’s hard not to at this point,” she argues, pulling out of my arms to face me, her expression as serious as I’ve seen it in a long time. “We’re approaching two weeks, Henry. That’s a long freaking time to be searching for someone and not find them. At some point, they’re going to give up.”
“We’re a long way off from that. Your family?” I shake my head. “They’ll look forever.”
She snorts. “And to what end? Will we be alive when they get here?”
My jaw grinds. “Yes.”
“But you don’t know that!” she explodes, the frustration of being out of control getting to her. I don’t blame her. For as good of a front as we put on, we’re both ticking time bombs of anxiety and unknowns. “You don’t know that they’ll find us, and you don’t know that we’ll live! You can’t! Just admit it.”
She smacks my chest hard, and I grab her wrist as tightly as I can without hurting her.
“Avery, stop.”
“Admit it, Henry! Fucking admit it!” she yells, pulling at my grip with noticeably weakening strength. Her muscles are eating themselves, and so are mine.
My chest explodes, the mountain of pressure I feel to make this right without an ounce of ability crushing me. “Of course! Of course, I don’t fucking know! Is that what you want to hear? That I’m just as terrified as you? Because I’m fucking scared. Fucking scared I won’t be able to protect you. Scared I’ll injure myself and burden you even more than I already have. I’m fucking petrified, okay?”
Avery steps forward and puts a soft hand on my shaking arm, the jump in my heart rate sending my already strained nervous system into a spasm. “A burden?” Her voice is a whisper. “How can you say that about yourself?”
I shake my head, and my voice is undeniably hoarse. “I planned that jump. I insisted on it being part of the trip. I teased you that morning until you agreed to get on the plane, and if I hadn’t…”
“You’d be here by yourself, and I’d be terrified at home. Sick and scared and still very much out of control. I’d have to wonder where you were or if you were okay.”
“Avery…”
“There are no winners, losers, or burdens here, Henry,” she says and moves her hands to my face, locking our gazes together. “It’s just you and me, fighting for our lives together.”
“Avery,” I say her name again, the sting of available tears piercing a pain into my dry eyes. An unspoken line of three little words sits at the tip of my tongue, one I can’t bring myself to say, no matter how much I’m feeling it.
I love you.