Heart-On: Turf Wars #2 Bella Jewel (books for 10th graders .txt) 📖

I shake my head, terrified. “I’m scared if I move my hands, I’ll fall. I can’t, Adan.”

“You can. You’re strong, just shuffle closer, moving only a little at a time.”

I swallow and slowly shuffle my hands down the branch toward him. I can’t get all the way, because the branch simply gets too thick. He reaches out for me.

“Try and get your feet on the rocks, it’ll take the weight off.”

I stare at the rocks and stretch my legs out, managing to get my foot on one which helps me bring my body closer to the cliff face. When I do, Adan reaches down and takes my arms, pulling me up. He’s strong, and he lifts me as if I weigh nothing, but I know ... I just know the damage he’s done to his hands doing that is going to put him back so far.

We land on the ground with a thump, panting.

“What now?” I whisper, looking at him.

“I found a way in, it’s rough but it’s doable. Are you a strong swimmer?”

“Not really, but I will be.”

“Come on, before it gets too rough.”

“Adan,” I say, reaching for his hands.

He jerks them away. “Not now.”

He doesn’t want me to see what he’s done.

Doesn’t want me to know the damage my stupid act has caused.

We carefully climb down the rocks and make our way to the spot where he swam in.

“You’re goin’ to need to dive out as far as you possibly can. If you can miss the waves pushing you against the rocks, it’ll be easier. When you hit the water, swim hard. Don’t think, just swim.”

I nod, swallowing.

He looks to me, our eyes lock and he says, “You’ve got this.”

He’s wrong, I probably don’t.

But here goes nothing.

He dives first, and I follow his exact moves. I hit the water as far out as I can, and he’s right, it’s rough down here. The water pulls and pushes, like I’m in a god damned washing machine but, still, I fight with every single piece of myself. I swim as hard as I possibly can until, finally, I feel sand beneath my body. I scramble to the surface and rub my eyes, trying to get them to stop stinging so I can see if Adan is okay.

He’s right beside me.

I exhale. “You saved me.”

He walks over, eyes scanning my body to check if everything is intact. “You good?”

“I think so.”

“We gotta go.”

“Yeah.”

I start walking and he falls in step beside me.

He saved my life just now, but at what cost?

WE PACK UP CAMP AND get on the boat just in time to make it back to the mainland. We’re lucky, really lucky, it was a damned close call and we were only an hour or less away from being caught in a storm worse than the one the day before. The entire boat ride is quiet. Once Eve stopped fussing over me, we all just found a seat and sat down.

Adan’s hands are still in the compression gloves, but I know beneath that, he’s done some damage. I know it because I can see the pain in his eyes. He’s hurting, and he’s hurting because of me.

The second we are back in cell service, I call Daniel. I tell him everything that happened. He tells me he’ll meet me at the hospital right away.

“I’m taking you to see Daniel,” I say to Adan the second we stop. “He’s waiting at the hospital for us.”

Adan nods.

The fact that he didn’t argue tells me everything I need to know about the pain he’s in.

I want to scream, because I feel so damned guilty, but I don’t.

I keep it together.

Acting crazy won’t change the fact that what’s done is done. The only thing I can do from here is be by his side.

Eve and Riggs take all our stuff. Lorelei insists on coming, and as much as I want to argue with her, I don’t. She has every reason to want to make sure Adan is okay.

The entire drive to the hospital is awkward to say the least. Lorelei continually strokes Adan’s leg, murmuring that it’ll be okay and everything will be fine. She tells him that she’ll take care of him and do whatever he needs her to do. I drive, hands on the wheel, resting bitch face in action. Not because I want to be a bitch, but because it’s really, really hard for me to be in this car right now.

“You good?” Adan asks me from the back seat.

Why couldn’t he sit in the front like a normal person? No, he had to sit next to her and make things weird.

God, I’m being a bitch.

Well, my inner thoughts are, anyway.

I need to snap out of it.

“Yep,” I mutter, fingers turning white I’m gripping the wheel so hard.

“Don’t look like it.”

“Thank you, Adan. I’m fine.”

His brows go up but I don’t glance back at him to see anymore.

Once we arrive at the hospital, I text Daniel and let him know. He comes out right away and ushers us into an examination room. When he takes the compression gloves off, I can see why Adan was so quiet. Parts of his skin are bleeding and the entirety of his burns are red and swollen.

I bite my lip, it’s the only way I won’t cry.

“You’ve done quite a number on yourself, Adan,” Daniel says, examining Adan’s arms, turning them over and poking at his skin with gloved hands.

“It’s not his fault, it’s mine. He was only coming to my aide,” I say.

“Had no choice, would do it all over again,” Adan mutters. “Just tell me the verdict, Doc, so I can go home.”

“Well, you’re lucky you came back when you did so we can prevent another infection starting. The best course of action here is for me to give it a good clean and hopefully that’ll be enough. We may need to rebandage it for a couple of weeks.”

“No fuckin’ way,”