The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 184

For the first time in her twenty-six years of life, Sloane felt the crushing weight of such immense pressure—or perhaps, it was simply fear.

She wasn't afraid of dying.

She had already made peace with the fact that cancer was going to claim her life soon anyway.

What terrified her was the realization that everyone was betting their lives on her, and she might end up walking away empty-handed.

Sloane looked up at Josh. Her normally composed and profound gaze was trembling slightly.

That look made Josh's heart clench violently, as if an invisible hand were crushing it.

It brought back a memory from a distant night in a rundown apartment complex. A little girl, completely alone, curled up on the rooftop with her arms wrapped around her knees, looking up at him just like this.

She never showed her vulnerability unless she was truly at her breaking point.

Josh reached out and gently pulled her into his side, his hand resting on her shoulder as if he were terrified she might shatter.

"Sloane, don't be silly," he whispered, his tone as soothing as if he were comforting a frightened child.

"Coming to Antarctica and joining the Deep Ice Expedition was a choice we all made for ourselves. Professor Harrison has been here three times; he knows exactly how dangerous this is. Diego has been an outdoorsman for years, and coming here to see where his dad worked was his lifelong dream. And as for me..."

"Ever since I was ten, all I wanted was to leave home and wander the world. That's why I chose geology without a second thought."

"Antarctica is my dream, too."

"So, whether we find The White Microbe or not, we chose this path. This isn't on you. Don't carry all this pressure by yourself."

Sloane looked at Josh, taking in the warmth in his eyes and the familiar face of the boy who had followed her around since he was ten.

A sudden rush of warmth flooded her chest, rising all the way to her eyes. It felt as though she had been walking down a very long, lonely road, only to turn around and realize that boy was still right there behind her.

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