Page 43 of Midnight Hunt
“Oh, my God, Griff!” I wailed, reaching for it, only to quickly yank my hand away.
It was more of a stump, actually, with jagged ends that had impaled him all the way through. The tree’s roots were still in the ground, and the trunk was thick enough that I couldn’t wrap both hands all the way around it.
Seeing it protruding from his body filled me with fresh panic, and I started to hyperventilate.
“Guess I got a splinter on the way down,” he weakly said between my gasping breaths.
“This isn’t the time forjokes, Griffin!” I cried, barely able to see his face through the rain and my tears. His complexion was too pale, his pupils too large, and his breaths were way too shallow.
I forced myself to stop crying, to stopbreathingso I could listen to his heart.
Too slow, just as I feared.
“It punctured my heart a little but not much,” he lightly said despite the excruciating pain he must be in. “I could try shifting.”
“No!” I yelled at the same time Sable did. “The tree could tear into your heart more if you do that.”
“But—”
“No, Griff. I won’t lose you to atree. Just give me a second to think.”
Rocking back on my heels, I forced my gaze to the tree sticking out of his chest again. Nausea roiled in my gut, but I somehow managed not to throw up. “Okay,” I said, inhaling a shuddering breath. “Okay, I can figure this out. M-maybe I can perform a sleeping spell. I’m a little rusty, but—”
“I want to stay awake for this,” he firmly said.
“Okay, fine. Maybe I can—”
“You have to pull me off of it, Vi.”
I stared at him like he’d gone insane. Then violently shook my head. “I can’t do that.”
“It’s the only way.”
“I can’t, Griff. Ican’t. What if I damage your heart even more, and—” A whimper left me before I could contain it.
“Remember when I was ten and fell into that old well on Mr. Scavinski’s property?” he asked. “Kol and Jag were too far away, but you heard my cries for help. I couldn’t climb out, so you threw a rope down and pulled me out all by yourself.”
I nodded, sniffling. “You were so embarrassed. You told me not to tell Kolton and Jagger about it. I never did.”
“Because you’re dependable and strong. I need help again, Vi. I needyou. I know you can do this.”
I shook my head again, feeling anything but strong. “Reid broke up with me,” I blurted, suddenly needing him to know just how incapable I really was. “Randy’s dead.Dead. And you . . . You’re hurt. Likereallyhurt. This is all my fault. I keep screwing up and hurting the people I care about, and I can’t . . . I can’t hurt you even more. I can’t do it, Griffin. I’m so sorry.”
I started crying again. Sobbing. Sounding more and more hysterical by the second.
Pain contorted Griff’s face as he watched me fall apart. Lifting a hand, he whispered, “Come here.”
I immediately curled forward, allowing him to slide his hand behind my neck and guide my head down to his. My wet hair fell against his cheeks like a dark curtain as he pressed our foreheads together and said, “I’m fine. I’m right here. I know you’re afraid, but I won’t leave you.”
“Y-you don’t . . . You don’t know that,” I cried, punctuating the words with a hiccup.
“Yes, I do. Nothing can take me away from you, including this little toothpick in my chest.”
“That’s not . . . That’s not funny.”
“It kind of is. Although, saying I got impaled by wood might be funnier.”
“Griffin Hayes,” I tried to growl, but his name came out as a pathetic whine.
