“Reeve?” I leap up and call after him, but I soon lose sight of him in the trees. I panic for a moment, wondering if he’s left me here, before remembering his patience up on that climbing trip. Reeve isn’t the kind of guy to just bail.
I wait, shivering, until he reappears a couple of minutes later, drenched and dripping from the storm.
“We need to get going,” he tells me, looking worried. He was only out a short time, but his sweatshirt is already soaked through.
“What, in this?” I protest. “It’s still thundering out there.”
“I know, but the trail is already way too muddy.” He reaches for his pack and reties his boots. “All the water is just streaming down that path, and it’s getting darker out. If we wait much longer, we’ll be trapped here all night.”
For a split second, the idea of being stranded on a mountaintop with Reeve has a kind of romantic allure. Then I remember that I’m cold and damp and hungry. “OK, let’s make a run for it.”
“No running,” Reeve tells me, his voice low and serious. “You could skid and break your neck. Seriously, Jenna, you’ve got to be really careful out there.”
I nod, chastened, and brace myself to follow him.
The minute I step outside, I’m hit by the noise. Not just the thunder, which still rings out occasionally, but the sound of the rain itself, beating down on every rock and tree branch in a loud drumming that makes it hard to hear a thing. I’m small and insignificant in the huge, gray world. Despite what I told Reeve, I begin to feel scared.
We should have gone back with Fiona and Grady.
“Watch your step!” Reeve yells at me. I start down the trail after him, trying to follow his route exactly as he picks his way through the perilous mud and streams of water gushing down what used to be the plain dirt path. In minutes, my thin cardigan is soaked through, water trickling down my back and the rain freezing my bare legs. I grit my teeth and keep moving.
We manage to keep up a quick enough pace: something less than jogging but faster than a walk. The steep incline that caused my thighs so much grief on the way up now makes just as many problems as I skid and slip down, trying to keep my balance. Five minutes stretches into ten, and then twenty. The ground begins to level out as we descend into the main forest, but my skin is numb from the cold, and even these supposedly waterproof boots of mine are beginning to squelch around the toes.
I wish I were anywhere but here.
“You OK?” Reeve pauses to glance back at me. I can only imagine what I look like, hair plastered to my cheeks and teeth chattering. I nod, determined not to show how truly miserable I am, and plunge onward past him. Focus on warmth, I tell myself. Long bubble baths. Hot chocolate. Soup. Anything soft and dry and —
Suddenly Reeve yanks me back, his hand gripping my arm hard.
“Oww!”
He clamps his other hand to my mouth and holds me still against him. “Don’t move,” he murmurs in my ear. “Don’t even make a sound.”
The urgency in his voice shocks me still; my complaint dies on my lips.
“What?” I whisper back. He jerks his head in the direction we were heading and I turn, following his gaze into the trees ahead of us.
A bear is loping slowly through the forest.
24
I stop breathing.
“Stay calm,” Reeve whispers, his mouth against my ear. “It hasn’t seen us yet.”
The animal is huge, easily bigger than me, and it paces along with a strange rocking gait, black fur dark even in the dim light. My heart races as the rain keeps pouring down on us. I don’t know much about bears except that they kill, and maim, and oh, yes, kill. I think of the half-finished energy bar in my pack with a twist of fear.
Oh, God.
I tremble, Reeve’s arms locked tight around me. I can feel his heart beating quick against my back through our soaked, thin clothes. We stand frozen, watching the bear sniff and paw at the undergrowth. Every moment stretches into forever as I try not to imagine a dozen grisly ends.
I don’t ever think about death. Not really, no more than a flicker of anxiety when I’m trying to merge on the highway or watching a news clip about some unfortunate girl my age. Even then, those are vague, passing ideas — not forty feet away with razor-sharp claws and angry teeth. But standing here, shaking with fear, I suddenly grasp the truth of it: the blood racing in my veins, the sharp tingle of my chilled skin, the intensity of every breath.
This is my life.
I don’t know how long it is until the bear lopes out of sight. No more than ten seconds, maybe, but it feels like hours to me.
“Wait a while longer,” Reeve whispers, still holding me. “Give it time to get clear.”
I nod, adrenaline rushing through my system. Finally, I feel Reeve relax.
“It’s gone,” he says hoarsely, loosening his grip on my arms and turning me to face him. I still don’t move. “Are you OK?”
“I think so. . . .” I waver, and he pulls me back against him, holding me steady. I look up. His eyelashes are wet, water running down his face.
“I’m sorry.”
I blink, slowly emerging from my daze. “How . . . I mean, that wasn’t your fault.”
Reeve shakes his head. “I should have been more careful. I should have made us go back hours ago. I saw the clouds changing.”
Maybe it’s the endorphins still singing in my blood, or maybe I’m just plain thankful I’m standing here and not lying in a bloody, mauled heap. Either way, I look straight at him, suddenly reckless. “So why didn’t you?”
Our eyes meet for a long moment.
“I didn’t . . .” He pauses, moving one hand to brush away the strand of hair sticking to my forehead. I feel a rush that’s nothing to do with the near-death experience. There’s something in the space between us. I can’t be imagining it — this isn’t wishful thinking.
Reeve glances away. “I thought, maybe . . .”
And then before he can make another sound, I kiss him.
Our faces are cold from the storm, but I still feel a burst of warmth as I slowly press my lips against his, uncertain at first. I reach my arms around his neck and pull him down to me, kissing him with a bravery I don’t think I possessed until just minutes ago.
This is my life.
I don’t want to sit around, listening to Olivia’s adventures — I want some of my own. All this time, I’ve kept quiet, stayed in, turned down dates with nice enough guys because I’ve wanted to really feel something. And now that I do, I want it to be mine.