Chapter 171

“Don’t say things like that! This isn’t your fault.” Arnold sighed, patting Kayla’s back to soothe her. “If Mr. and Mrs. Fuller saw you like this, they would be heartbroken.”
“Arnie, can we keep this quiet for now? Don’t tell my parents, please. They can’t handle the shock well. Let’s give it a couple of days, and if we still can’t find Felicia, I’ll tell them then.” She needed time to deal with Shawn. If he was revived and questioned, there was a real risk he would expose her involvement.
This would be over in two days, and if Felicia was truly gone, none of it could be traced back to her.
Tears streaming down, Kayla pleaded desperately. Although Arnold hesitated momentarily, he finally agreed, saying, “Alright. I’ll inform the vice principal to hold off telling your parents for now.” “Thank you,” she replied, curling into his embrace with a faint, satisfied smile.
Under normal circumstances, the vice principal would have immediately notified Dexter and Myra. But since Kayla requested it and Arnold backed her up, he agreed to wait.
By midnight, the exhausted students had returned to rest, leaving only the locals of Alverton searching tirelessly.
Lucas, the child Felicia had saved, had a fever. The cold, his fright, and the long night had left him pale and flushed. Feverish and disoriented, he kept mumbling, “Felicia fell… I’m scared…”
“Shh, it’s okay. Mommy’s here,” Janiyah Mercado whispered, heartbroken, as she tended to him, patting his back and helping him with his medicine. Hearing this, she was overwhelmed with gratitude and sorrow for Felicia’s sacrifice. “There was a man too… he fell with Felicia…” he murmured faintly in a daze.
“What?” Janiyah leaned in closer, unable to make out his words clearly, thinking he was delirious. She hugged and comforted him tightly, “It’s okay, baby. Mommy’s right here.”
…
The moon hung silently above. As always, the mountain river rushed past, carrying branches and leaves and tossing them downstream. Some driftwood and debris briefly got caught on rocks, while others continued down the current, their final destination unknown.
Heavy coughing shattered the quiet night as Felicia clung to a rock on the shore, struggling to pull herself up.
Barely managing to climb out, she turned back and extended her hand to the man in the water. “Hurry up! Grab my hand!”
Stephan glanced at her outstretched
hand skeptically. Could she pull him up with her thin arms and small frame? Ignoring her hand, he braced himself between the rocks,
swnoverge
attempting to pull himself out.
But she grew anxious. The current was dangerously strong, and anyone fighting it could easily be swept away, even knocked out if they hit a rock.
“Take my hand-quickly!” She was determined, her expression focused and urgent. After a moment’s hesitation, he reached for her hand.
Their palms-large and small, clasped firmly together.
Felicia didn’t dare relax, afraid a slip could send him tumbling back into the water. Using all her strength, she managed to pull him out of the water and onto the shore.
Once safely on land, she collapsed
due to exhaustion. As her tension
eased, she realized she had only a minor injury on her back from Shawn’s attack, and beyond that, she was remarkably unhurt
Thinking of this, she felt a mix of emotions.
With so many rocks along the river, how had they both emerged relatively unharmed after being swept downstream?
She understood now-Stephan had shielded her, taking most of the blows himself.
She had dragged him off that cliff, and they had both been swept into the waterfall, yet he had protected her throughout.
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