I peered up at the gaping hole, seeing the sky, looking farther than it usually was. I hurt all over. I didn't think anything was broken, but I was in pain.
A shadowy figure leaned over the edge, peering down at me. I would recognize that silhouette anywhere, and this was no exception. My eyes followed the curves of his arms and shoulders, the lines of his neck and head. "Jade," Connor breathed, and my heart leapt at his voice. It really was him.
"Connor," I croaked, hoarsely. "Help, please help me," I begged him. My phone wasn't on me. I didn't know where it had gone. Cassandra and her crew had probably taken it from me before they dumped me here.
"Of course," Connor said, his voice a low, reassuring murmur. "Just hang on, everything will be okay." His silhouette vanished, and I fought the urge to cry out for him, squashing the way my heart skipped a beat from panic as I sat there.
Voices and footsteps came from the top. More than one. There was even a female's voice. Surprised, I stayed quiet, trying to hear who it was. That wouldn't have done me much good, considering I never paid enough attention to most people to truly know what their voice sounded like.
The voices faded a bit, and I could hear scuffling. The voices started again, one further away than the others, but then it disappeared. The people above me were engaged in a heated discussion, but in tones low enough for me to be unable to hear. Before long, though, Connor's silhouette appeared at the edge of the hole again.
"It's okay, Jade. We'll get you out of here," he said, fierce with determination. I blinked up at him as a rope uncurled, falling gracefully until one end hit the floor in front of me with a thud. "Hold on tight!" I did, grasping the rope with both hands in a grip so tight, my fingers and knuckles were whitened. Sharp tugging came from the other end, and I was pulled up with jerky little yanks. I tried not to panic as my feet left the ground, telling myself that this was the only way I was to be rescued. Soon, I was out in the open air again, the cool wind caressing my skin, with frozen, hard grass under my hands again. I looked up, examining my surroundings.
Connor knelt at the other end of the rope, along with a tall, well-built boy next to him, who looked vaguely familiar. A girl stood behind the boy, a petite brunette, and that was when I made the connection. Reluctantly, I spoke.
"Ashton?" The name sounded so foreign from my lips, like a forbidden word. At the sound of my voice, Ashton's girlfriend made her way to me, kneeling next to me and resting one hand on my shoulder, putting her tiny hand over one of my mine.
"Hi, Jade," he said, softly, almost as though he were talking to a scared baby animal. "Care to tell us what happened to you?"
I told them about my encounter with Cassandra, her scathing remarks, and then the appearance of her crew. I told them how I had lost consciousness, how I had been lost in the world of nothingness, but that I had woken up shortly before I heard Connor. Ashton was gritting his jaw, looking outraged. Connor looked ashen and sick. Ashton's girlfriend--whose name turned out to be Rose--tightened her hold on my shoulder and my hand, offering me a measure of comfort. I turned and offered her a genuine smile. She smiled back at me, urging me to continue. "I'm not sure how long I was out for, though."
Connor bit his lip. "You were gone for three days."
I touched my head, feeling the beginnings of a dull ache. Three days. I had been out for a good three days, and no one had been able to find me. Not until Connor had come along. I sighed, deciding it was irrelevant. I was okay now, and I was safe--or so I hoped.
"Thank you all for saving me," I told the three of them, barely able to keep the emotion from my choking me. My voice cracked, breaking on the last word. Even though I didn't deserve it, these people had saved me.
"You're welcome, Jade," Ashton said quietly. I twitched at the sound of my name coming from his lips. I never thought I'd ever hear it.
"That was terrible. You didn't deserve that," Rose said with quiet heat. I shook my head a little bit. No, I had deserved it. Cassandra was right. I was terrible.
"We should call the police," Ashton announced, getting to his feet and retrieving his cell phone from the ground. "They'll like to hear what happened, from Jade's own lips." There it was again. My name. I was hearing it a lot recently, and mostly not in a menacing way.
Rose followed Ashton to a little ways away, to talk privately, I supposed, which left me with Connor. We gazed at each other in silence for what seemed like a long moment, before he closed the distance between us with two long strides. He dropped to his knees in front of me, wrapping his arms around me. I soaked in his warmth, wrapping my own arms around him. This action only made him tighten his hold on me, crushing me to him like he would never let go.
"Oh, God, Jade, I was so scared," he whispered. "I was scared for you. I called you and texted you, but you didn't reply. For three days, I didn't know what had happened to you. Where you went, or if you were okay. And it turns out that you weren't. That you weren't okay." His voice cracked, and I felt a dampness on the top of my head. "I should have been more careful. I shouldn't have left you alone. It was my fault. I drew negative attention to you, and that's what led to this. I'm sorry, Jade, I'm so sorry. Nothing can excuse what I did. I'm sorry."
I shook my head. "It's not your fault, Connor. Sure, you changed my life, but in a good way. You were my first real friend. You made me realize what companionship felt like. I finally know what it feels like to care about someone." My voice became soft and breathy, uncertain. Did I say too much?
Connor's next words were blunt, and his voice was low and harsh. "I almost lost you." My heart jumped, and something stirred deep inside me, making my stomach flip.
"Wouldn't be too big a deal, hey? I mean you have lots of friends," I said with a quiet chuckle. "Like Li."
Connor's expression flickered. "I care about Li. She means a lot to me. But me spending time with her made me almost lose you. I'm not sure I can forgive myself for that."
I closed my eyes. "You couldn't have known. It wasn't foreseeable." We were quiet, but then Connor pulled back a little to look at me. His arms were still tight around me.
"We haven't known each other long," he began. "But in the three days I spent worrying about you, I got a taste of what hell must have been like. The more time we spent together, the more I came to understand how I felt about you. My feelings only grew stronger as time passed, and when I thought you were taken from me, I finally realized the extent of my feelings. You can't possibly think you don't matter. You matter a lot. To Stella, to Ashton, to Rose. Even to the principal and Ms. Greene. Especially to me. I love you, Jade."
That was the first time I had heard those words in a very, very long time, and the first from a boy my age. "You love me?" Love. Was that how I felt about Connor? The anxiety when he was away from me, the doubt that gnawed at me when he talked to other girls. The fluttering in my stomach at his proximity. The warmth in my heart and the flood of comfort at his presence. The strength of his embrace, the happiness I found at his presence. The way I admired his kindness, his generosity, his gentleness, his determination, and his strength. As selfish as it sounded, I wanted him for myself. Was this love?
"Yes, Jade. I love you. More than I could have thought possible in this short time. There is more to you than you let people see, and I love everything about you." He touched his forehead to mine. "If anything ever happened to you again, I would die. I wouldn't be able to live with myself." His arms tightened around me, holding me to him. "I never dreamt I'd be able to hold you like this. It makes me very reluctant to let go."
"Maybe you don't have to. Thank you, Connor. I...I love you, too." I barely whispered it, and I chanced a glance up at him. When our eyes met, I knew he had heard me. My gaze flickered to his lips, and I noticed him sensing my thoughts.
Slowly, almost painfully, we closed the distance. Both of us, not just him, and not just me. We both wanted this. To what degree, I didn't know. But what I did know was that it had to be confirmed. The glimmer of emotion we felt--we had to see if it was real.
Our lips met in the lightest, softest, and sweetest of kisses. There was no pressure, just light, and curious. Yet even this little brush of skin made a difference, a shift I could feel deep within my core. It was like the sealing of a promise. In this kiss, this promise, I could feel the depth of years. Pictures flashed in my mind, snapshots. Us at graduation, in our gowns, our arms around each other. Us grown up, at our wedding, at the altar. A little further on, with our kids running around us. I could imagine a future with Connor, and seeing it made a wave of longing flood through me.
"I love you. I have no doubt I'll fall even more in love with you every day," Connor whispered.
"I love you, too. I feel like I don't deserve you."
"You do. Perhaps you even deserve better than me. But I hope you don't mind me, because if I have it my way, you'll be stuck with me forever."
I smiled. "I'd like that. Forever."
"Forever," he agreed.