The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 253

She looked up and offered a faint smile. It was a gentle expression, like a delicate spiderweb fracture forming on solid ice.

"So, Josh... I really can't give you an answer."

Watching that smile, Josh felt his own heart tear open.

Sloane reached out and patted his shoulder. Her hands were small, and through the thick layers of his thermal gear, he couldn't feel a trace of her warmth.

"So... if I don't make it back this time, please... promise me you'll get Garrison to a hospital. Make sure he gets treated right away."

She took a deep breath, pausing for a moment before continuing.

"Two hours."

"If I'm down there for more than two hours and I haven't resurfaced, don't wait for me. Have Cassandra fly David's helicopter out of here. You can head straight to the American research station; they have a fully equipped medical bay."

Josh felt like he was losing his mind.

"Sloane!" He snatched her wrist in a vice-like grip. The sound tore from his throat like a cornered animal. "Did you even think about me?!"

"Me!"

He wanted to scream, *I love you.*

*I love you, Sloane!*

He had loved her since he was eighteen, when she threw her own frail body in front of those street thugs to protect him in that alleyway.

He had loved her since he was fifteen, when she snuck through his window in the middle of the night to force-feed him medicine while he burned with a fever.

He had loved her since he was thirteen, when he caught her crying alone on the rooftop.

No...

He had probably loved her since the very first day they met when he was eight years old!

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify