Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“You are going to be okay,” I whisper. “I promise you; you are going to be okay.” I close my own eyes and put my head against the wall, not wanting to move. Not wanting to disturb her, but knowing, eventually, we have to get out of here. I cradle her to the side and think about how I’m going to get her out of here without waking her. I move on my butt, knowing I have to get out of this crawl space, and then I can have a bit more room to move.
Scooting on my ass to the edge of the wall, I squeeze her to my chest before ducking down on my side and moving sort of like a worm until I’m out of the crawl space. The sweat forms on my brow as I move inch by inch on my butt toward the entrance. I don’t know how long it takes me. “Emmett,” I say softly and he sticks his head into the hole, his face filled with every single emotion that can come to mind: anguish, worry, fear, love, hate, longing. “She’s sleeping, but I can’t get out without waking her. I’m going to hand her to you sideways,” I tell him and he nods, moving out of the way for me to close the distance to the hole. “Ready?”
“Yes,” he says as he reaches in for Lucy.
The minute I move her, she stirs in my arms, and her breath hitches. “It’s okay, Lucy,” I coo softly. “I’m going to hand you to your dad, and we’ll get you in bed.” I kiss her temple before laying her in my arms and moving her head through the hole. Emmett’s hands work with mine as we pull her out of the hole. Once she’s out and in his arms, I crawl out myself. Seeing him sitting on his ass, holding her in his arms, causes my heart to soar in my chest.
“Take her,” he says, “in case she wakes up. I don’t think she wants to see me right now.”
I bend and take her in my arms, the transition not waking her at all. “If it’s any consolation,” I tell him when he gets up and stands in front of me, “she doesn’t want to see me right now either.”
Chapter Thirteen
EMMETT
I watch Lilah take my girl from me and hold her in her arms. Holding her to her chest, she whispers, “She doesn’t want to see me right now either.” She then looks down at Lucy in her arms. “I don’t think anyone is going to be able to make this better but her mom.”
I want to tell her that we are going to be shit out of luck because unless she rises from the dead, I’m all Lucy has. It’s not much, but it’s something. “Let’s get her inside,” I urge Lilah, and she nods at me. Putting my hand on the base of her back, I follow her out of the barn.
“My truck,” she says of the headlights still on, and so is the truck.
“I’ll turn it off.” I run over to it, pulling the keys out and turning off the lights before closing the door.
I watch her hold my daughter in her arms, close to her chest, like she’s trying to give her strength. “I think she needs a bath,” Lilah notes, “but I don’t know how that’s going to happen without her waking up.”
“She was in the crawl space with dust and everything,” I say, walking up the front steps, “she needs to take a bath.” I open the door for them and watch her walk in and stop in the entranceway. She’s never been in my house. She’s driven by my house, and she’s dropped off things for me, but she’s never been inside. I have to wonder if I did this on purpose to protect myself from the images of her being in this house forever. “This way.” I move past her toward Lucy’s bedroom. “I’ll start the bath,” I say, and she nods.
I walk into the bathroom I never expected anyone to be using, but now it’s my daughter’s. Her hairbrush is on the counter beside a couple of hair clips that I have no idea how to use. Her toothbrush is in the holder right next to the toothpaste. One towel on the side looks like she just put it there. I walk over to the bathtub and turn on the water, testing it with my arm before wiping it on the towel on the counter.
“I know you are,” Lilah says, “but as soon as we get you cleaned and in your pj’s, you can go to bed.”
“I don’t want to,” Lucy whines, her eyes half closed as Lilah carries her into the bathroom. I turn and walk over to her bed, sitting down on it, and putting my elbows on my knees as I let out a sigh of relief that she came out. I stood outside that crawl space and contemplated ripping the whole thing off even though Charlie would not be too happy with me. Instead, I sat on my ass, helpless, as I heard the sobs coming from Lucy, sobs that ripped through her. Sobs I hadn’t heard before. Sobs I know I’ll never forget the sound of.