MADE IT LUKE
Darkness pressed against my eyes, heavy and endless, until the weight began to lift, and something soft
surrounded me
instead. Pillows.
| was face down in them, my cheek crushed into their warmth, the familiar scent of clean sheets and faint coffee
wrapping around me.
| blinked, my vision blurry and sluggish, as | tried to lift my head. But my body felt like lead, and my arms refused
to cooperate. | let out a groan and sank back into the pillows.
Then | felt it. Gentle fingers threading through my hair, soothing and rhythmic, grounding me.
"Jess?" | murmured, my voice muffled against the fabric.
She was there, half-
sitting besidewith a mug of coffee cradled in one hand. Her other hand moved through my hair, brushing
back the damp strands that clung to my forehead. She didn't say anything, just kept looking atwith those.
impossibly bright eyes, a soft smile playing on her lips | blinked again, trying to shake the fog in my head, but it
didn't help. "I think I fell off the boat," | muttered into the pillow.
Jess nodded, her smile widening just a little. "You did, babe."
Her voice was calm, warm-so damn Jess. It sent a pang 0.00%
[11]
MADE IT
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through my chest, so sharp it stole my breath.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt| swallowed hard, the lump in my throat growing. "Fuck." My voice cracked, and | closed my eyes, trying to stop
myself from becoming one big fucking blubbering mess. "I wanted to get off that island so bad. | wasn't thinking.
| was making stupid decisions, and | didn't fucking think it through."
Her fingers never faltered, never stopped moving through my hair.
"And now..." My voice broke completely as | buried my face deeper into the pillow. "Now, | probably won't get to
see you ever again. I'm so sorry, babe. I'm so sorry."
The tears cbefore | could stop them, hot and choking ast they soaked into the pillow beneath me. My chest
heaved with the force of my sobs, but Jess didn't speak, didn't pull away. She just kept stroking her fingers
through my hair, gentle and steady, like it was the on Eventually, | forced myself to look up, my vision
swimming. "Jess?"
Her face was still there, still soft and smiling, but it was different now. Fading, like smoke caught in a breeze.
"Jess!" Panic surged through me, and | tried to sit up to reach for her, but it was like something was holding me
down. My arms wouldn't move, and the harder | fought, the heavier my body became.
| tried harder to fight against it, but the more | moved, the harder | was being forced down.
MADE IT
She shook her head, still smiling, and her lips moved, forming words | couldn't understand. The sound of her
voice was unfamiliar now. It wasn't Jess.
"Jess, please!" My voice was desperate, raw, as | strained against whatever was holding me. "Say something-
anything. Please tellyou're okay."
Her smile softened, her eyes shimmering with something | couldn't name. Then, as her voice whispered through
the air again, | caught one word, clear and distinct amidst the blur of everything else: "It's okay."
The words wrapped aroundlike a lifeline, pullingback even as her face faded completely into the void.
What was okay... was it okay to let go? Was | dying at the bottom of the fucking ocean? And then, like a sharp
blade slicing through the dream, there was pain.
My chest burned, my throat screamed, and the next breath | took tasted like salt and fire. My eyes flew open, the
dream. shattering as | was ripped back into reality.
Harsh fluorescent lights glared down
at me, and voices swirled around in a
1
cacophony of sound couldn't make
sense of. My body wagold 4d Wet,
. I Gl
trermbliby {iblen y beneath a
scratchy blanket. Someone leaned
over me, their face swimming into
focus-a woman, dark-haired and
wearing scrubs. Her voice was
urgent, and | struggled to understand
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her words. 60.51% The content is on
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MADE |
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I" . . 2
You are in the hospital," she said, her
accent thick but her tone firme:
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she neadedmedolgfae ts. In
fades
esia. You are safe now.
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Her words settled in my chest, heavy
and unreal. | blinked slowly, the m
memory of Jess tifa in my mind,
hee {ouch still ghosting through my
hair. Safe. The content is on
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chapter there!
But Jess wasn't here.
She wasn't real.