Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 47822 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 191(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47822 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 239(@200wpm)___ 191(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
I rubbed the back of my neck, tension coiling there. “River would be stuck here. With us. For who knows how long.”
Byte swung his legs over the side of the couch and leaned forward, forearms resting on his knees. “You think she’d be uncomfortable.”
It wasn’t a question. My brother knew exactly what I was thinking. “Yeah,” I admitted. “She’s only known us a couple days. We just told her we want her. Both of us. And now we might be asking her to be trapped in this cabin with us while a storm rages outside? Feels like we’re backing her into a corner.”
The wind gusted again, rattling the window with enough force that we both glanced toward it. “Roads could be dangerous already,” Byte said. “If we try to leave and get caught in a flash flood or a mudslide…”
“I know.” I stood and paced the couple steps to the window, peering out into the darkness. I heard the trees outside moving violently in the rising wind even if I couldn’t see it because of the total darkness beyond the cabin. “That’s the other side of it. Do we risk her safety trying to get back to town just so she doesn’t feel pressured by being here with us?”
“Damned if we do, damned if we don’t,” Byte said, his voice still low.
I nodded, my jaw tight. “Exactly.”
We fell silent for a moment, the only sound the increasingly aggressive wind and the soft creaking of the cabin’s timbers as they flexed against the pressure.
“We should ask her,” Byte finally said.
I turned to look at him, one eyebrow raised. “Wake her up at three in the morning to tell her we can stay here where it’s safe, or we can go into town so she’s not stuck here indefinitely but would risk her life in ways that make my skin crawl?”
Byte’s lips quirked into a half smile despite the tension. “When you put it that way…” Then his expression sobered. “But yeah. We have to ask her. It’s her life too, Crush. Her safety. Her choice. You heard her before. Anytime something affects someone else, they make the decision. If she’s gonna even think about giving us a chance, we have to give her this. Intentional or not, wise or not, this will be the first test of our promises to her.”
He was right, and I knew it, but that didn’t make it any easier. Every protective instinct in my body screamed to make the decision for her, to keep her safe at all costs. But I remembered how her eyes had lit up when she’d talked about making her own choices, about having control over her life after so many years of having none.
“You’re right,” I conceded, the words feeling rough in my throat. “We’ll wake her up, explain the situation, and let her decide.”
Byte stood, stretching his arms above his head. “She might surprise you, you know. She’s tougher than she looks.”
I thought of River climbing that tree yesterday, her face alight with joy and freedom. The way she’d faced us across that table last night, laying out her fears but not backing down from them. “Yeah,” I agreed. “She is.”
I checked the radar one more time, watching the storm’s inexorable advance. We had time, but not much. I slipped my phone into the pocket of my sweatpants and turned to Byte. “Let’s go.”
As we moved up the ladder, I took one deep breath after another. I’d give this to her. Then, once she’d chosen, I could figure out how to keep her safe. River had the right to choose her own path, even if that choice might put her at risk because she wasn’t ready to trust enough to give us control. It went against everything in me to cede that control, but I knew it was the right thing to do. The storm was coming, ready or not. All we could do now was face it together. However she wanted.
The only light in the loft came from a small solar-powered night-light Byte had strategically placed where it caught sun from three different windows at different angles. As long as there was sunlight, it charged during the day so it could give off a soft glow at night near the stairs. She was curled on her side, her hand resting on the pillow, face peaceful in sleep. Something caught in my chest at the sight of her so vulnerable, so trusting despite everything.
The wind outside picked up another notch, rattling the window frames like an impatient visitor. Byte moved to the bed first, sitting carefully on the edge of the mattress. The bed dipped slightly under his weight, but River didn’t stir. He reached out, brushing her hair back from her forehead with a gentleness I rarely saw him display with anyone. His fingers lingered, tracing the curve of her cheekbone, before he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.