At the last moment, he closed his eyes and frowned. He stayed there, eyes closed and brow furrowed, for three beats of my racing heart. JD. He was thinking of JD.

Danny straightened up and, as he rose away from me, it was like a physical pain. He started wrapping his own face with bandages, his movements stiff and robotic.

I could see how hard this was for him. And if he was struggling with it this much…that meant he really did feel something for me. Why did it have to be him? Why couldn’t JD’s best friend have been Colton or Cal or Gabriel?

We marched on. The wind was so strong, now, that Danny had to walk in front of me, shielding me from the worst of it. We battled on in silence: even if he’d wanted to talk, there was no chance of us hearing each other over the wind. I was staggering through snow that was almost hip-deep now, and even in thick boots and two pairs of socks, my feet started to go numb. Soon, I couldn’t feel them at all.

My legs began to feel heavier and heavier. I looked up and realized that I’d started to fall behind. I lengthened my stride, even though it made my thighs ache—

And then I put my numb foot down on a slippery rock, skidded and went flat on my face.

I lay there for a second, stunned, then looked up to see Danny disappearing into the blizzard. I tried to yell for him but the air had been knocked out of me and I couldn’t do more than wheeze.

I struggled to my feet. By now, Danny was completely gone from sight. I could see maybe six feet in any direction and everything looked the same. I took two steps forward and then hesitated. Is this the right way? I thought it was, but I’d twisted around as I got up and I couldn’t be sure.

Footprints. I can tell by our footprints. But when I looked down, the ground was a chaotic mess where I’d fallen and further out, our footprints had already been covered by the snow.

I finally got enough air into my lungs to yell. “Danny!” But the wind seemed to snatch my voice away. I wasn’t sure he’d be able to hear me.

I was on my own.

29. Danny

29

DANNY

I marched on, brooding. I was glad of the deafening wind, it meant I had an excuse not to talk. I didn’t even look back: looking at her was too difficult. I’d so nearly kissed her.

What the hell am I going to do?