He threw some clothes on his top half and stamped into his boots before dashing out into the night.
It was still raining, heavier now, and it had turned cold. Or perhaps it had been cold all day and he hadn’t noticed. Either way, he barely felt the whipping wind against his face as he moved through the night, barrelling through the woods to get to his car.
The trees kept the rain off him, hiding the fact that it was worsening with every passing minute.
He emerged from the forest into a gale, driving wind blowing the pelting rain into his face.I can’t fucking see,andthe lunacy of his plan to make it to his car and drive around in circles hit him like a train.Go home so you’ll be there if he comes back. But Sid ignored the teeny part of his brain that was still capable of sensible thought and kept going, one foot in front of the other until the car park came into view.
Vision still obscured, he staggered towards his car, the only light coming from the broken moon. Shadows had never scared Sid, and as his gaze caught one hunched over by his back wheel, he realised why.
Because without shadows, there was no light, and Dante’s face—bleeding and exhausted butalive—was all the light Sid would ever need.
25
“Come on.” Strong hands shook Dante, rousing him from where he’d stopped to catch his breath. “You’re freezing. You need to come inside.”
The voice seemed to come from another world. Dante’s eyes were open, but he couldn’t focus. He could only feel the heat of those magic hands against his cold, wet skin.
“Dante. Look at me.”
“I am.”
“Then listen. We need to get inside, okay? I need to see how badly you’re hurt.”
“I’m not hurt.”
“You’re bleeding.”
Shit. Again?Dante flailed a hand to his face.
Sid caught it and gripped it so tight Dante had no choice but to anchor to the present. “Please,” he whispered. “I need you to trust me.”
“I do.”
“Then come with me. Get warm so we can figure this shit out.”
There was nowhere Dante wouldn’t go with Sid, but he was so fucking tired he couldn’t make his legs work.
Sid hooked an arm around him, holding him up, and steered him into the forest.
Beneath the trees, the rain was lighter, like angel dust. Dante stared up at the canopy and tripped over his own feet.
Sid cursed. “Fuck. You’re walking like me.”
Dante blinked. “What?”
“Never mind. Just keep going, okay? We’re nearly there.”
The next thing Dante knew, they were inside, dripping water onto the floor of Sid’s entrance hall. His brain felt upside down.Fuck. I’m gonna puke.He leant against the closed front door, breathing through his nose.
Sid kicked his boots off, then stooped to untie Dante’s. “There’s blood on these. Is it yours?”
“Hmm?”
“The blood, Dante. I need to know if this is something worse than it looks.”
It occurred to Dante too late that Sid was crouched on the floor, body contorted into a shape it didn’t usually appreciate.
He gripped Sid’s shoulder and tried to pull him up.