MAY 28, ALMOST MIDNIGHT
Look around. Pay attention.
Notice what others ignore.
My dad’s classic advice, advice I painfully honed during my 365 days on Nil. Advice locked in my head for life, advice now second nature. Advice I couldn’t stop following if I tried.
I took it all in: the shadows beneath Skye’s eyes dulling her skin like bruises, the way she anxiously tugged on her raw diamond necklace when she thought no one was looking.
But I was always looking.
And when it came to Skye, I noticed everything, especially the problem she seemed hell-bent on ignoring.
It was the elephant in the room, big enough to screw with her sleep. Regardless of where we crashed, Skye tossed and turned, her nights restless and full of dreams. Her days weren’t much better. More than once in the past few weeks I’d caught her completely zoned out, her eyes unfocused and distant. I didn’t ask where her head was; I didn’t need to.
It was Nil-related. It had to be.
And it seriously pissed me off.
The island had already taken enough, from both of us. We’d served our time, paid our dues. We’d survived. We were done.
Forcing myself to relax, I pulled Skye close, feeling her cheek press against my chest. She’s safe, I reminded myself. We’re safe. And we’re together.
She actually seemed asleep. Steady breathing, lips closed but soft.
I slowed my breathing to match hers. Moments like these made me feel invincible, like we were invincible. Nil wouldn’t steal another minute from us. Nil was my past.
Skye was my future.
Is she?
The amused whisper sliced through my head like broken glass, cruel and cutting. I froze, willing myself to chill out, grounding myself in the now until the flash of memory passed.
An instant later, Skye cried out, her spine twisting. “Rives!” Her whisper was choked. Her whole body shook; her skin had turned ice cold.
I held her close. “I’m here,” I whispered, gently stroking her hair, willing her trembling to stop. “It’s okay. Just a dream.”
“Rives,” she said again, her voice full of relief. But her heart still raced, like mine. We lay like that for a long time. Me, stroking her hair, Skye, fighting to let go of her demons.
When we’d left Nil ten weeks ago, I thought we’d won.
Now I wasn’t so sure.