If You Stay (Beautifully Broken) by Cole Courtney

Author:Cole , Courtney [Cole , Courtney]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Lakehouse Press
Published: 2013-02-06T11:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Pax

“Fuck!”

I barely have time to react before Mila is gone, over the side and into the icy water. I kill the motor and turn about, scanning the top of the choppy water.

“Mila!” I shout as I rush to the side. “Mila!”

She’s gone. I can’t see her. The gray water churns and spins, creating frothy whitecaps that lap onto the side of the boat. There is no sign of Mila among the depths.

Holy shit. Without another thought, I dive in after her.

The shock of the frigid water knocks the wind out of me and I thrash about, trying to fumble for Mila and trying to keep my lungs from automatically sucking for air. I’ve never felt such an incredible, bone-shattering cold in all of my life. Every cell in my body, every bit of self-preservation, is trying to force me to get out of the freezing water. But I’ve got to find her.

I plunge further down and my body actually goes numb. I don’t feel it anymore. I wave my arms blindly in front of me, desperate for some sign of her. This can’t be happening. Mila can’t drown here, not in the lake that she loves so much, not because of me. I force my eyelids open and the frigidity assaults the tender tissue of my eyes, but I have to see. Although the water is so murky in its frigid state that I honestly can’t see anything at all.

I continue to flail about until my hand bumps something hard in the water.

I grab at it, my numb fingers grasping at something fleshy.

Mila.

The down-filled coat is dragging her down and she can’t kick to the surface. She seems to be struggling to take it off.

I pull her with me and we break through the water. I shove her hair away from her face. She sucks in air and claws at me out of instinct, trying to get out of the water.

“Calm down,” I tell her quickly, kicking us toward the boat. “Calm down or you’ll drown us both.”

I shove her up and over the side of the boat, and then pull myself up after her. We both collapse into a heap. She’s in a pool of icy water on the floor of the boat, her teeth chattering and her lips blue.

“What the hell were you thinking?” I snap at her. “Are you insane? Why weren’t you holding on? ”

I strip off the heavy full-length parka because it is soaked and then I look around the boat to see if there is anything to wrap her in, but there isn’t.

“Fuck,” I mutter. “I don’t have anything to keep you warm.” Her wet hair is standing up in clumps and dangling down her back and I rub at her arms. “We’ve got to get back to shore. Stay over here next to the edge.”

She clings to the side, under the lip where she is partially protected from the wind.

“I’m s-s-sorry,” she chatters. “I should have held on t-t-tighter. But y-y-you shouldn’t have been d-d-driving so fast.

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