I had to look away from the pure love between the siblings. Conner was barely in his teens, yet the steadfast bravery and wisdom aged him overnight.
We didn’t speak for a few minutes, all coming to terms with what this meant.
Conner said I’m the only one he’s come across alive. Does that mean...Estelle—
I cut myself off.
The thought of Conner’s parents dying gutted me. The image of the woman I’d immediately connected with destroyed me.
Taking a deep breath, I did my best to keep my questions cryptic so as not to unsettle Pippa. “Conner...when you say I’m the only one...”
Conner understood straight away. Glancing into the foliage from where they’d come, he shuddered. “They’re dead.” Balling his hands, he forced himself to continue. “Mum and Dad are over there. And the pilot is by the helicopter.”
“Mummy and Daddy?” Pippa perked up. “They might just be sleeping, Co.” She tugged on his hand. “I want to go back. I want Mummy to stop the pain.”
Conner squeezed his eyes before jerking his sister close and kissing her temple. She cried out as his arm stuck to her bleeding shoulder but didn’t try to squirm away.
“Pip, Mummy can’t help you. Remember what I said?”
Shit, he’d had the conversation alone?
This kid was something else.
Pippa frowned. “You said they were sleeping.”
“What else did I tell you?”
She looked at the ground. “That it was a forever kind of sleep, and they wouldn’t wake up.”
Conner scowled, fighting his own grief in order to hide the trauma from his sister. “And do you remember why I said they wouldn’t wake up? Remember what happened to Chi-Chi when she went to heaven?”
“The kitty went to sleep and remained very still. She didn’t purr or swat at me with her paw. She just kept sleeping.”
“Exactly.” His jaw ticked with pain. “And that’s what Mum and Dad are doing. They’re forever sleeping and no matter how much you want them to, they won’t wake up. Okay?”
Pippa froze, the realisation finally settling deep into her too-young-for-loss soul. “But—”
Conner swallowed his grief, doing his best to be brave. “But nothing, Pip. They’re dead. Got it? They’re not coming—”
Pippa wrenched from his hold. “I don’t believe you!”
“You don’t have to believe me! It’s true.”
The two siblings glared at each other.
“I want to go back!”
“We can’t go back! They’re dead, Pip.”
“I don’t want them to be dead.” Pippa burst into fresh tears. “They can’t be dead.”
I cursed that I couldn’t get to my feet and hug them. They were too young to deal with death, too innocent to deal with pain, and too damn precious to be stranded in a crash and left alone.
Screw this.
Gritting my teeth, I bent my good leg and pushed upward. The world tilted, pain greyed my vision, and the breaks in my bones toppled me back down again.
Goddammit!
Pippa pummelled Conner’s chest as he tried to grab her. “I want to go home. I don’t like this place.”
“You think I don’t want that, too?” He caught her flailing fists. “I want them to wake up just as much as you do!”
Gasping with agony, I growled, “Guys, quit it. You can’t—”
“Oh, my God. You’re alive.”
The squabble ceased as we all wrenched our heads to the newcomer’s voice.
My heart tripped over as the blonde, hazel-eyed apparition turned into a dirty but sexy-as-hell woman. Leggy and lovely, she represented everything I thought I’d lost and everything I’d been too afraid to want.
She was safety to me. Even while granting jeopardy in the worst way.
“Estelle?” My voice echoed shock and relief. “You survived.”
She flicked me a smile but beelined toward the kids. Pippa stood frozen with tears cascading down her cheeks.
Estelle didn’t say a word, merely stopped in front of them, dropped to her knees, and grabbed them in a hug.
Pippa dissolved, burying her face into the stranger’s damp hair, sobbing with no restraint. It bloody hurt to see a child come so undone, but it was for the best. She needed to grieve; only then could she face what her new future held.
Conner stood rigidly, his arms dead straight and hands balled tight, unyielding in Estelle’s arms. But slowly his pale bravery cracked and his tears flowed.
Bowing over Estelle, he let himself be hugged, allowing the weight of death to smother thanks to a random act of kindness.
I hated that I couldn’t join in; that I couldn’t offer what Estelle did so easily. All I could do was sit there, fighting against uselessness and grieve with them. If Conner was right and his parents and the pilot were dead, that meant our seven had become four and who knew what the future held.
I had no way of judging time, but slowly, Pippa’s tears stopped and Conner moved away.
Kissing Pippa’s cheek, Estelle stood upright, wincing a little as she held her chest.
She’s hurt, too.
We were all damaged in some way.
Making eye contact with me, Estelle’s gaze cut me to the core. She made me feel lacking; she made me feel brave. She made me feel like she needed me even while I needed her in return.
I didn’t even know her, but she dragged so many emotions from me. Emotions I wanted nothing to do with because she made me weak and I had to be strong in this place. Strong for her and for them.