Page 127 of Burning for You

Water splashes cruelly at her face. Her lips quaver. “You knew?”

“We both owe our baby,” I say. “Come on! We can do this.”

Words aren’t necessary to show she’s regained her determination. It’s in her kicks, it’s in her grip on me. Her eyes come alive, and while my whole body tries to extract the energy that I almost don’t have, I feel her big push complementing mine.

With both of us moving with purpose, with rhythm, our efforts start to pay off.

On the other side, Jesse keeps up with us despite his struggles. I know he has to run farther than he’d anticipated. He hunches, hand tight on his side. He slows down a lot, but he keeps running.

Every now and then I swim upstream to keep his pace, not letting the river take us faster.

Finally, Carolyn and I find ourselves close to the bank. I see Jesse lunging, one arm holding onto a tree, the other stretched out toward us.

“Take my hand!” my brother shouts.

The current hasn’t relented. I know Jesse can only take one of us right now. It’s an easy decision for me.

Ignoring the pain in my arm, I hurl Carolyn up, letting Jesse latch onto her hand. My brother grabs her with one hand at first, and then when she grabs hold of him, Jesse takes her in like a bear clenching a struggling cub. My girl is safe.

But the river seems to persist in claiming one of us today. With nothing to hold onto, I’m washed further downstream. My legs are cramping, and I’ve been coughing out water more than I breathe.

“Levi!” Carolyn shouts as soon as she’s on her feet. I know with the wound in her calf, she’s in so much pain right now. Jesse throws my jacket to her. Running despite her lack of balance, she ditches her soaked top and puts on the jacket.

“Jeans!” Jesse shouts desperately as a gush of water throws me away even further.

I catch a protruding rock with my legs, to at least reset my position so I can swim strong to my brother. But with no real grip, I’m soon at the mercy of the river once again.

Now both sides of the river are lined with hard rocks. I’m being pulled and spun as if I was a lone garment in a washing machine. All I see is raging water, debris and foam. If there is a big boulder or a tree trunk ahead of me, I will surely smash straight into it.

“Levi!” Carolyn calls again.

My vision is coated with water, but I still see her and my brother. Jesse keeps on my trail. This time he can barely walk.

“There’s a washed-up log coming up. Catch it! Do you hear me? Catch it!” I hear Jesse’s desperate voice above the raging noise.

The river is about to swallow me whole. Knowing Carolyn is safe, I’m willing to sacrifice myself, but I don’t want my child to grow up without a father.

With every last breath, I fight for my survival.

My trembling hands barely cling to the log. I don’t know how much skin has been torn off my palms now. As I try to make it to where Jesse is, the log shakes. My brother holds out his hand, and in the nick of time I catch him, despite the maddening current.

The log moves, but Jesse grips me with everything he has while I bite off the pain that’s eating my hand. Half of his body is on the piece of wood, while his legs are clinging to a tree sprouting from the bank. We look at each other, preparing ourselves for what’s to come. “I love you, brother,” Jesse says.

No one loves him more than I do. My mouth shivers so violently I can’t say a word, but I’m sure he knows. We’re both gonna go down any time now.

But I didn’t count my stubborn and courageous other half. Carolyn hurls herself to the ground, hugging Jesse’s legs that are slipping inch by inch.

Feeling the support, Jesse lets out a scream as he gives me one last pull.

In the frenzy, my feet catch a solid stepping stone, and this time I’m able to launch myself out of the water.

“That’s my brother,” Jesse says, rolling over to flat ground with the help of Carolyn.

“Levi.” She comes to me, spreading Jesse’s jacket over my shoulders. My brother has remembered to take his warm clothes off, for me.

It’s almost sunset, and the water still rages beside us, but there is clamor in the land. We’re not alone.

Jesse laughs. “Fuck! For the first time in my life I actually called the sheriff.”