“I think so,” she says between her teeth, trying to stop from screaming at the pain. “My leg. It fucking burns.”
FUCK.
What do I do? What the fuck do I do? We’re sitting ducks and I can’t even get to her to help her. Tears stream down her face as she struggles between holding her leg and trying to free her seatbelt.
My head snaps up to the bridge to find a man standing in the shadows staring down at us, watching as my Dodge rapidly gets lower and lower in the water. I can’t make out his face from down here but I know…I just fucking know and he’s going to pay.
“Lucien,” Sky cries, leaning forward and clutching her thigh as the water begins to creep up to her chin. She glances across at me, her teeth shivering in the cold water as she begins to sob in fear. “I can’t free the seat belt. We’re going to die.”
My hand slams down over the water. “Keep your fucking chin up, Skylah. You hear me? We are not dying tonight. Keep you fucking chin above the water.”
“I’m trying,” she cries.
I frantically search around. There has to be something here that I can use to break these fucking belts.
The water hits her chin and she screams, desperately trying to push herself up in her seat, keeping her chin high just like I told her. “I don’t want to die, Slade,” she begs. “Don’t let me die.”
“Never, baby. I’m going to get us out. I promise.”
“I love you.”
“DON’T,” I yell. “THERE ARE NO FUCKING GOODBYE’S HERE TONIGHT.”
I hear her sobs and I desperately try to tune them out as the water rises. I look around, frantically searching through the murky water when I hear her deep breath just moments before her precious head disappears under the water.
“NO. FUCK.”
Her hands pull at her seatbelt with desperation below the water when I notice a glass shard still connected to the edge of the windscreen. I instantly reach for it, stretching as far as I can go, but it’s not enough. I pull on the belt, cutting up my hands as I finally reach it and snap it off the front of the car.
With the glass in my hand, I reach for her, taking a deep breath just as the water completely submerges me.
I feel the car sinking quickly into the darkness below and I frantically rub the broken glass over her belt. Slicing, cutting, anything I can to get this fucker to break.
She’s been under for too long, far too fucking long. Her body starts to relax and I glance up, hardly able to even see her eyes in the cloudy water.
Her mouth is open and I know she’s giving up. There’s only so long someone can hold their breath in these conditions.
I’m too late.
I’m going to fucking kill him.
Seeing her slowly drifting away has my adrenalin working overtime. I furiously rub at her belt and as it finally breaks, I grab it with two hands and tear it apart with everything I’ve got, but despite her being free, she can’t get out of here without me. She needs me now more than ever.
This fight isn’t over yet.
I clutch onto the glass and tear through my belt, not giving a shit that each swipe over the belt cuts me deep.
Panic starts claiming me knowing that I still have to get out of here, get to the top and swim to the side before I can even begin to start saving her life.
My oxygen starts running thin and I see black spots appearing in my vision. My lungs scream in protest but I’m not giving in yet.
My belt breaks and I’m finally free.
I grab hold of my girl, begging for her to be alright as I push up off the dash and go straight through the broken windscreen. We haven’t sunk too deep and I’m relieved as I break the surface and inhale deeply, dreading the silence and wishing I’d heard Sky do the same.
I clutch onto her and race towards the edge, dragging her up onto the bank as I hear the sirens in the distance.
“Come on, baby,” I demand, slamming my palms into her chest and starting chest compressions. “Don’t fucking leave me, Sky. I need you here. Don’t you dare give up. Come back to me.”
My eyes fill with tears and I try to remember what I learned during health class. How many chest compressions to breaths is it? Was it thirty pumps to every breath? Every two breaths? Fuck, I can’t even think right now.
“Don’t go, baby. Don’t fucking go. I love you.”
The sirens get louder as headlights appear up on the bridge and I scream out toward the red and blue flashing lights, begging for them to hear me. “HELP! FUCKING HELP ME.”