Everything I've Needed (A Jacob Black Love Story)

Warmth (Ch 31)

I was finally at the water and from the shoreline I would see a small figure from far away struggling with the consistent waves.

“LUCY!”

It was all a blur. Jumping in, getting to her, pulling her out from under the water.. . I was just in a panic to get to her and make sure she was safe.

Her body felt limp against mine, her head resting on my shoulder and her arms around my neck. When we got to the shallower waters, I placed my arms underneath her and carried her out where the others waited.

“Is she okay?” They asked different versions of the question as soon as I got on land.

“I-I-Immmm Fi-i-i-ne.” She was shivering convulsively in my arms and her hands clutched tightly onto my t-shirt.

I sat in the sand and kept her close to me, letting the heat from my body radiate onto hers.

“Baby, what happened? Can you breathe? Did you hurt anything?” I bombarded her with questions as my hands ran over her body looking for any bumps or bruises.

She shook her head, despite her quakes, “I-I-I J-just ha-a-d t-to..” she attempted to talk, but stopped pathetically, shaking her head.

“Shh, it’s okay.” I rested her head against my chest and ran my hand over her hair. “You’re okay.”

“Tha biiig wave was gonna get me!” Claire decided to tell the story instead. We all looked up at her since she was still in Quil’s arms and he was standing. “Aunt Loofy took me away from it. But she didn’t get ma shuffle and bucket. Then the wave took Loofy!”

Quil’s face looked paler than usual after Claire’s recount.

“Lucy—thank you. I..”

“D-d-on’t th-thaaank meee” Lucy shook her head at him and offered a painful smile.

“I should have been watching her. I.. I should have made sure she was okay.” He continued, pulling his hair with his free hand.

“Quil. Later.” I looked to my pack brother and he nodded sadly.

Right now Lucy didn’t need to hear apologies or anything else. She just needed to get warm before she got hypothermia. She was still shaking really badly in my arms and I only prayed that my warmth would soon comfort her enough.

LUCY POV

I was freezing. That’s it. Point blank. That is all I felt. I had never been so cold in my life and with each passing second I felt as if my nervous system was shutting down. I couldn’t stop the tremors—not even tremors, more like convulses. I knew I should have let Jake teach me how to swim when he used to beg when we were kids. At least I wouldn’t be such a damsel in distress right now.

“I’mmm Freeezing.” Well obviously.. I’m sure they could tell.

“Let’s go home.” He was quick to stand taking away my only source of heat which brought on another unbearable set of shivers.

However, he quickly bent down and pulled me by my arms to lift me to my feet. I hadn’t known how weak I was until that moment .My legs felt like jelly- so unstable, and almost detached from my body. My knees even knocked together a few times before I began to collapse. I grabbed on to Jake’s shirt to prevent my fall.

“Whoa,” Jake’s reflexes caught me in time and effortlessly, he lifted me off my feet again.

A howl echoed from a distance, but I didn’t really focus on it or pay too much attention.