page119 (2/2)

I walked toward the sound of Krush’s barking in the woods A few ti close, only for hi and start a few ine his tor from tree to tree on the lower branches to piss Krush off because it was just out of his reach I’d seen the like that more than a few tia more and more time outside because of it

I reached the Nialls’ property, but I was still in the woods when the sun suddenly disappeared behind a bank of dark clouds I hadn’t noticed before Thunder ruh the sky just as the clouds opened up and rain started pelting down on me

“Krush,” I called out, frustrated and fed up with o home Come on, Krushy Come here, buddy”

Suddenly, I heard hi toward me, but his eyes were on the trees above him and not me “Krush!” I called just as his heavy body bumped into me at full speed

With a startled cry, I reached out, hoping to grab on to a tree or a bush, so, and I landed on my ass—hard—with the air knocked out of me

Gasping, it took ht I must have landed in a ht purple s, I realized h my lower belly

I wasn’t ushed out of me

“Help,” I whispered in fear, then quickly started shouting I’d leftNoas all alone in the woods, with the rain co down in buckets I was in deep, deep trouble “Someone please help me!”

Another thunderclap was the only reply I got, so I tried again “Please, someone, anyone!” I wasn’t sure how far I was from the Nialls’ house, but I kneas closer than Luca’s and he was probably gone to practice by noay “Help!”

I heard so it was Krush But when I saw the horse and its rider, I nearly sobbed in relief Doe Niall was the youngest of the Nialls’ four children, but only by a few minutes Her mother had named her Dorothy because The Wizard of Oz was her favorite movie Her father called her Dorie, but her brothers had always called her Doe, and that was the name that stuck, because everyone else had called her that since she was a little girl

Doe looked sodark hair, that people sometimes mistook her for Aunt Marissa from a distance, but she was taller than her mother and h ponytail, dressed in jeans and a blue flannel shirt, she looked like el

She jumped down off her horse with ease and ran over to me “Violet?” she cried when she took me in “Sweet holy, what have you done to yourself?”

The rain had soaked throughme shiver even as more and more blood continued to pour out of me But before I could tell her what happened, another sharp pain hit me, and I wrapped my arms around my belly as I cried out from the pain and fear

This couldn’t be happening Not now Not like this I couldn’t lose the baby Not when she was all I had left of Reton

“Can you stand?” Doe asked, trying to distract me from the pain