Instead, I cling to him as if he has the power to stop a building from burying us alive.
The collapsed structure rumbles and groans as it settles around us, and I only realize I’m shivering from the intense shock when his chest feels steady against my palms. His heartbeat is fast but nothing like my thundering one. He’s calm in comparison to me.
I suck in a sharp breath, and seconds tick by before he slowly pushes his body up, giving me some space to breathe.
I don’t want to breathe. I want his body pressing against mine so nothing can hurt me. I want his warmth to chase the chill that’s creeping deep into my bones.
Slowly, the daze lifts from my mind, only for the shock to pour into me.
I hear nothing but the groaning and grinding of concrete, a popping sound jarring me every couple of seconds.
“You okay?” he asks, his voice sounding dangerous and enraged.
“I…” I try to take a deep breath, but it ends with a coughing fit that sends my chest up in an inferno of flames.
Tears jump to my eyes, and when they spill over my cheeks, they feel warm on my icy skin.
Suddenly the darkness is broken by a red light that starts to flicker. It’s bright enough for me to get glimpses of him.
Mio principe.
Somehow with a thick layer of dust covering him, he looks even more devastatingly handsome, and the blue of his eyes is brighter than any light I’ve ever seen. It’s almost blinding.
He must be able to see me as well because he shifts, then his hand cups my cheek, and his thumb swipes a tear away.
“Where does it hurt?” he demands, his expression murderous.
“Everywhere,” I groan, unable to speak above a whisper because I’m too scared it will make something fall on us.
His hand leaves my face, and he starts to push himself completely off me.
My fingers grip his jacket that’s no longer blue but coated with gray and brown dust.
“Don’t!” Panic laces the word, stretching it until it’s threadbare and vulnerable. “Don’t get up.”
“Shh.” The sound is comforting but not nearly enough to calm me down. “I’m not going anywhere.” I watch as he glances around us. “Not until they dig us out.”
I start blinking faster and faster, and it becomes super hard to breathe. Shakily I turn my head, and as the red light flickers ominously, I take in the wall of broken concrete around us.
We’ve been buried alive.
No.
My breaths speed up until I hear them loudly in my ears.
NoNoNoNoNo.
Concrete. Everywhere.
“Hey,” he barks.
No.
A firm hand grips my jaw, and I’m forced to look at him. “Panicking won’t help. Calm down.”
No.
My breaths keep coming faster until no air reaches my lungs. It feels as if I’m being strangled.