You wouldnt believe how long it took me to write this chapter - I had so little inspiration that I've been working on it since march, so apologies if its not anything fantanstic.
Thank-you to all my lovely reviewers.
Please R&R . xxx
Chapter 10:
"So how did you come to be on the moors?" she asked, feeling the need to abridge the awkward silence that had dispersed after the fire had been lit.
He looked at her, and subconsciously, she found herself dreamily falling in love with the way the flames lit up his face, the way he smiled, the way he….now was a good time to stop day-dreaming.
Will looked up across the gold-red flames, from where he had been staring into the embers, embarrassed and unwilling to break the quiet that had come between them.
"I'm…I was here with my friends on a school expedition thing and I kinda got lost in the storm. You?"
"I was here with my dad, camping – he likes the peace and quiet. It was too quiet for me, so I went down by the river, and before I knew it, I was cut off. My dad tried to save me, but the river was too strong. That's all there is to it really."
She stopped abruptly, painfully aware that she was babbling.
The raw silence between them grew, smothering, painful and incredibly awkward until she felt she had to say something, or risk screaming. She hated silence.
Saffi stood up abruptly, wiping leaf mould and bark from her jeans and mumbled something about finding more firewood, leaving Will alone, watching the tongues of flame rippling in the cold night air.
Now he was alone, there was nothing to take his mind off the biting cold that had soaked through him, and still remained even now he was dry. The fire did little to assuage the lost heat.
He shivered violently, huddling closer to the fire. Every inch of him was icy, cold rippling through him like a heartbeat; a pulsing coldness that tore through his body. His hands had darkened, fading to a grainy purple as the cold became more intense.
He could no longer feel his feet. What alarmed him more was that the cold was making him feel drowsy and almost warm, exhaustion seeping through every cell of his body, dragging him down and down into the depths of sleep.
"Will!" Saffi clamped a hand on his shoulder, forcing him back to consciousness. His skin was like ice, maybe colder. A burst of fresh fear washed through her veins as she shook his shoulder again. To her relief, he blearily opened his eyes.
"Will. You need to stay awake okay? Otherwise you might not wake up."
He nodded stiffly, his body frozen by the cold.
"Give me your hands." She told him gently.
Her skin was warm to the touch as she wrapped her caramel hands over his, trying to transfer some heat to the icy blue skin. The action sent a shiver vibrating down his spine. His mind lingered, semi-consciously on their hands, concentrating fiercely as it fought to stay awake.
She rubbed his hands together, sending pain shooting up his wrists, jerking him back awake. He grimaced as a burning sensation prickled along his fingers and into his hands, stinging his skin.
"Did that hurt?"
He nodded.
"Good."
"Good?!" he spluttered, "It hurt!"
"Pain is feeling." She reminded him. "No feeling indicates frostbite."
"Try and stay awake." She reprimanded him softly, scrambling to her feet.
Turning away, Saffi allowed her racing heart to calm, under the pretence of stoking the long golden flames.
That had scared her. He'd looked so still. He'd almost gone beyond. If he had fallen asleep, he probably wouldn't have woken up again.
If she hadn't returned at that exact moment... she didn't want to imagine what might have happened.
And she couldn't tell him the real reason she was terrified for him. She couldn't tell him that she'd just realised she was madly in love with him. She couldn't tell him just how scared she had just been.
Instead, she allowed the pretence of composure to disguise her desperate emotions and twisted back to sit beside him, wishing that she could just damn the consequences and throw her arms around him.
"Are there any blankets in your bag?" she asked.
"One blanket and a sleeping bag. You have the sleeping-bag and I'll have the blanket."
She shook her head. "You have no idea how close you just came to catching hypothermia. It'll be better to sleep together." She cringed at the coarse use of language, colour flooding her cheeks in embarrassment. "I mean, for body heat. Then neither of us will freeze." She finished quickly.
"Okay." Ducking his head, Will allowed himself a small smile, wondering whether there would ever be any real possibility of her sharing his feelings for her.
It was unlikely, he knew, but just maybe, if he hoped or prayed hard enough, someone would hear him.
Spreading out the sleeping bag on the ground, Saffi felt the earth clamouring to swallow her up, desperately hoping she hadn't ruined whatever chances they might have had by sounding so keen.
She placed a few more stones around the fire, waiting until he'd lain down on his half of the make-shift bed, before curling up beside him, just a few inches apart.
She tugged the blanket over them both, shifting a fraction of an inch closer to him as she did so.
She felt him relax next to her, sensing his body twisting slightly towards her.
As warmth and happiness washed over her, she allowed herself to fall into a deep dreamless sleep.