Chapter 1287

Luella stepped on a patch of loose mud, her entire body pitching forward uncontrollably.

"Oh, sh—" she cursed, instinctively trying to shove Jimmie away so she wouldn't take him down with her.

"Watch out!" Instead of letting go, Jimmie grabbed her tight, and the two of them tumbled over the edge of the cliff together.

The world spun violently. Sharp branches whipped against her face, stinging her skin. But through the chaotic fall, a pair of strong arms held her securely against a warm, solid chest.

*Thud-*

After what felt like an eternity of tumbling, they finally crashed onto a flat ledge.

Luella slowly opened her eyes and realized they were just inches from the sheer drop. If a thick cluster of bushes hadn't stopped them, they would have plummeted straight to the bottom.

Wait. Where was Jimmie?

Her mind snapped into focus. She was still wrapped tightly in his arms. Aside from a few scratches on her face, she was completely unhurt.

But Jimmie...

A jagged branch was lodged deep into his leg, blood pouring from the wound. He was unconscious.

"Jimmie!" Panic seized her. She scrambled out of his grip, her face draining of color. "Wake up! Hey, wake up!"

Why wasn't he waking up? Was he dead?

He couldn't be dead! If he died, how was she ever going to explain this to Juniper?!

Jimmie slowly opened his eyes, immediately met with the sight of the "boy" staring at him with bloodshot, panicked eyes. He frowned slightly. "If you keep shaking me, I really will die."

"Phew." Seeing him awake, she let out a massive sigh of relief. "Thank God you're not dead."

Jimmie: ...

Did she even hear how ridiculous she sounded?!

"Careful." Luella helped him sit up and dragged him to a safer spot under a massive tree that offered a bit of shelter from the rain.

But the storm was relentless, and night had fully fallen. If they stayed out in this, hypothermia would kill them.

Shivering, she peeled off her jacket and draped it over both their heads. She pulled out her phone-no signal.

Crap. She scanned their surroundings and realized they must have slid pretty far down the mountain. No one would hear them yelling in this storm.

"They'll come looking for you soon," she said, crouching beside his injured leg to inspect the wound. "I'm going to need your tie."

Using the tie, she managed to secure the wound and stop the bleeding. The rain finally began to ease up.

"I literally pushed you away. Why did you hold on and fall with me?" She sat down next to him, muttering softly. "It's a cliff. We could've died."

"What else was I supposed to do?" His face was pale from the pain, but he managed a weak, self-deprecating smile. "Just stand there and watch you fall to your death?"

"I'm not exactly on your level," she murmured, her tone tinged with sadness. "If something happens to you, your family will be devastated. Me? If I die I die. No one's going to shed a tear for me." '

"Wait, no. Juniper would cry."

Hearing her talk like that made his chest tighten. He frowned. "Well, good thing

you're tough to kill. You're still breathing."

"Yeah." She foreed a laugh, trying to

lighten the mood. "Good thing. Otherwise, we'd have ended up walking the road to the afterlife.

together, and knowing we

us

probably would've fought the whole way."

"Heh." He narrowed his eyes, a faint smile breaking through the pain. "So what's the plan now?"

"We wait for rescue!" She hugged her knees to her chest, trembling violently in her soaked shirt. "All we can do is stay put and conserve energy."

Once the crew realized he was missing, they'd definitely launch a search party.

The only problem was... it might take until morning to find them.

"You're freezing?" Seeing her shiver, Jimmie reached for his suit jacket. He was wearing two layers; his overcoat was soaked, but his suit jacket underneath was still relatively dry

"Don't." She stopped him immediately, her tone serious. "You're the one who's injured. Keep it on."

"I'll just sit closer to you."

Suiting actions to words, she shimmied closer, pressing against his side to steal some of his body heat.

Looking down at her huddled against him like a miserable, soaked kitten, Jimmie's frown deepened.