CHAPTER 22
There was light at the end of the tunnel. I had to turn off the flashlight to make sure, but there it was, a bright beacon against the darkness enshrouding me. Hope surged through me; I continued forward at a more rapid pace. Tears flooded my eyes and clogged my throat.
I didn't care what was at the end of this tunnel, didn't care if it dumped into raw sewage or a nest full of aliens. I didn't care if I was scooped up and eaten as soon as I broke free. I only cared about escaping this cramped enclosure and breathing fresh air once again. I heard a gasp from Abby as I made it to the end and heedlessly plunged out of the pipe.
It was a further drop than I'd anticipated; I hit the muddied, wet ground with a loud grunt. Pain shot through my bruised tailbone and elbow. The air was forcefully knocked out of me, and then it blessedly rushed back in. I clawed at the watery ground as I pulled myself clear of the pipe exit. I blinked against the harsh glare of the day burning my eyes.
Though it was wet beneath me, I wasn't in a puddle. I couldn't see yet but I got the sensation of open space and couldn't feel walls around me anymore. Hands seized hold of my arms; I blinked, trying to clear away the tears blurring my vision. I realized then that the sun wasn't the reason I couldn't see, it was the tears streaking down my face and clogging my eyes. "Are you ok?" Cade demanded.
I tried to reassure him I was dazed, but completely fine. Only a groan escaped though as a sob ripped free of me. I was shaken, torn, and very close to coming completely undone. I had managed to keep it together in the awful pipe, but it had been too much. I could feel a shattering forming inside of me and I was afraid it might just destroy me.
Cade wrapped me up in his arms and pulled me against him. He buried my head in his neck to muffle the sounds of my tears with his body. I clung to him as all of the pent up horror of the pipe, and everything else that had occurred, boiled out of me.
"Bethany, Bethy hush. You're out now; you made it. You're free, it's over, and you did great. You did great," Cade whispered against my ear. His hands entangled in my snarled and filthy hair as he held me closer.
I clawed at his skin and clothes as I tried to get closer to him, though it was nearly impossible to do so. It was impossible to be any closer but I had to be, I needed more. I needed him, all of him. The absolute certainty of that was soul shaking, it nearly ripped me in two as I held him, oblivious to anyone outside of the two of us. No one else existed in this world of warm sanctuary within Cade's strong embrace. I wasn't aware my sobs had subsided until I felt the stroke of his hands over my hair, soothing me as I began to tremble. Not from fear this time, or relief, but from the sheer wonder of his tender touch.
I didn't care we were both covered with slime and stunk to high heaven. I didn't even care there were two other people watching us. I didn't ever want to let go. I could hear his answering response to me in the excited beat of his heart, and his ragged breathing.
"Bethany," he whispered, his lips against my ear, his hands in my hair. "My brave Bethany."
I didn't feel so brave today. I felt like a coward, drained and nearly defeated. If it hadn't been for his subtle strength, and unwavering faith in me, I wasn't sure I would have made it this far. I wasn't sure I deserved his faith, especially not after the breakdown I’d just experienced. Jenna may complain about everything, but at least she was keeping it together. I was unraveling faster than a yo-yo. If there had been any aliens in the area, I could have just killed us because I had a problem with small spaces.
"I'm sorry," I breathed.
He didn't tell me it was ok, didn't say anything but simply brushed a comforting kiss over my temple. He may have forced Jenna into that pipe, he may have even left her behind, but I knew he wouldn't have forced me. He never would have left me. He would have done everything he could to keep me safe, even if it meant him dying. I almost started crying again at the realization, but this time I managed to keep my tears at bay. What was this astonishing, horrible, confusing situation I’d been sucked into?
Just days ago life hadn't been perfect, but it had been peaceful. I'd had a home, and a mom. I'd known my siblings were safe, and I would be seeing them again. I'd had a nice, loving boyfriend. I’d been certain that if enough time passed I would come to love him one day, because who wouldn't love Bret? Every other girl in the school loved him, except for me.
Wrapped within Cade's arms I began to understand why I'd never been in love with Bret. Even though I hadn't known it, and might never have recognized it if it hadn't been for the events of today, I understood it now. Ever since those days of fishing and playing, of kind words and small smiles, ever since that night in the garden, Cade had owned my heart, and always would.
What I didn't know was why he’d chosen me, and chosen me he had. Years ago. I was certain of it. Before his parents had been killed, before my father's death, he had chosen me. I recalled the first time Aiden had brought him home. He'd been six at the time, young, reserved, and new to town. I'd been five.
Even at that young age there’d been a strange wisdom in his onyx eyes. A wisdom that had pierced me and held me entranced. He'd been beautiful and perplexing as he studied me in a way I'd never been studied before. There had been confusion in his gaze, disbelief, and a strange yearning I hadn't understood at the time. I understood it now. Just as I understood he would always be a part of me. He had been since that first moment.
I may have forgotten about those earlier days in the aftermath of my father's death, and the subsequent years of being studiously avoided by Cade, but I was acutely reminded of that little boy now, and the unexpected link that had ensnared us. My heart lumbered with the memories, and the love surging through me. I could see the little boy perfectly, standing in our doorway for the first time, his face slack with amazement and his eyes wide as he watched me.
Then, ever so slowly, he had smiled at me. The striking and rare smile had warmed the black ice of his gaze, and caused me to smile enthusiastically in return. He'd been Aiden's friend, but he was far more to me. We'd been together nearly every day of the two years that followed. He'd been my everything then, and though I'd been too young to understand relationships, or recognize I was helplessly in love with him, I knew now I had been. And I still was.
But in one awful night that had all changed. I wondered what it would have been like between us if his parents hadn't been killed. What our lives would have been if we hadn't been separated by hideous chance. I knew there never would have been a relationship with Bret. As much as I cared for Bret, it would have been Cade and I this entire time. There never would have been anyone else. Fate hadn't worked that way, and though we'd been separated then, I knew we wouldn't be separated again, not willingly anyway.
He pulled back from me. His hands cradled my face as his thumbs rubbed over my cheeks. I knew I had to be filthy, he was filthy, we were all filthy, but he didn't care, and neither did I. His breath was warm against my mouth as his lips brushed over mine. My heart leapt, plummeted, and then soared high again. A sigh of pleasure, and awe, escaped me. I leaned into him, savoring the heat of his mouth, and the pleasure flooding my body as his tongue flickered over mine. My fingers curled into his back, my toes curled in my battered sneakers as his hand clenched on the back of my head.
Briefly, I allowed myself to be lost to him as passion blazed hotter between us and he jerked me more firmly against his rigid body.
I panted for breath as I pulled away and blinked his dirt smeared face into focus. I thought he was going to kiss me again, but he regained control of himself as he moved a little further back to put some distance between our bodies. I smiled as I traced my fingers over the striking angles of his face. "We have to go."
"We do." His voice was strained and harsh.
For some reason his simple words caused my smile to grow. I was pleased by the answering spark of merriment I saw in his midnight eyes. It was rare to see any joy in his gaze, but right now it was beaming out at me radiantly. He swiftly kissed me again before rising gracefully
. He held his hand out to help me to my feet. I was shaky but my legs somehow managed to keep me up.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to look at Jenna and Abby. Jenna stared at me with a haughty expression that set my teeth on edge as she smirked at me. I knew she would tell Bret as soon as she saw him, but there was no way to avoid that anymore. There was no stopping this thing between Cade and I, and I didn't want to try to anymore. It had to come from me though; I had to tell Bret about it, not her. This wasn't Bret's fault and I needed him to understand that, I also needed him to understand I did love him. I just didn't love him like this.
Abby had moved away from us; she was studying the area where we had landed. Cade took hold of my hand as Abby turned back to us. She was unable to stop the flicker of relief that filtered over her face at seeing Cade and I apart. "This can't be legal," she muttered.
I frowned as I took in our surroundings for the first time. We were standing in a soppy bowl in the ground. Grass and weeds sprouted up here and there, but the outside of the area we stood in the plants were burnt from the harsh August sun. I looked at the pipe we had tumbled out of and realized it was broken. Five feet to my right, the rest of the pipe was jutting three feet out of the ground. The broken pieces lay in a jumbled heap around us.
"Don't think they knew about it," Cade said.
He released my hand. Climbing up the small hole we were in, he lay flat against the grassy hillside as he scanned the horizon. He turned over to look in the other direction before scurrying back down to us. "The dump is about a mile away. I don't see anything coming this way."
"Where are we?" Jenna asked.
Cade shook his head. "I don't know, but we have to get moving. If they discovered that pipe then they'll know where we went. Let's go."
I refused to look at Jenna as we fell into line behind Cade. The copse of trees we headed toward didn't appear nearly thick enough for my liking.