The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 180

"One, two, three—pull!"

The three of them hauled backward with everything they had, ripping Diego out of the freezing water.

He slammed heavily onto the solid ice, completely drenched. His lips had already turned a horrifying shade of purple, and his entire body convulsed violently as he lay on the frozen ground, gasping frantically for air.

Sloane pushed herself up. The back of her hand was torn with bloody gouges. Before the blood could even drip, it flash-froze in the negative forty-degree air, hardening into dark, crimson crystals.

"Sloane!"

Josh rushed over, his face terrifyingly dark.

He crouched beside her and snatched her wrist. Her hand was like a block of ice, her knuckles completely white. The bloody claw marks across her skin weren't deep, but they looked agonizing.

"I'm fine. It's just a scratch," Sloane said, trying to pull her hand back.

Josh's heart twisted into a suffocating knot. He didn't say a word. Instead, he stubbornly held onto her hand, unzipped his jacket, and shoved her icy fingers against the warm, bare skin of his waist.

Sloane tried to yank her hand away, but Josh locked his grip in place.

"Don't move."

Her hand was trembling. He was trembling too... but right now, his skin was radiating a desperate, saving heat.

Instantly, the pain didn't seem to matter anymore.

A few feet away, Professor Harrison had already stripped off Diego's soaked outer layers and aggressively bundled him in his own dry down jacket. Diego was still violently convulsing, his teeth chattering so hard it sounded like castanets, but the horrifying purple hue in his lips was slowly fading back to a pale white.

Professor Harrison let out a heavy sigh of relief. That was a good sign. It meant the blood was finally circulating again.

"Move."

Professor Harrison hauled Diego to his feet. "We cannot stop. If we stop, he'll freeze to death."

Josh reluctantly released Sloane's hand and held out his own heavy tactical gloves.

"It's fine, Josh. I can still wear my own," Sloane shook her head. Without gloves in this temperature, her hands would suffer severe frostbite in minutes.

"They're completely soaked! How the hell are you supposed to wear them?!"

With a fierce edge to his voice, Josh didn't wait for her permission. He forcibly shoved her hands into his oversized gloves. They were far too big, leaving a solid inch of empty space at the fingertips, but they were incredibly warm.

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