Claire knew, as the sun went down and the search party returned, that Charlie was dead.

She lay back against the cool wall of the cave, her hands clenched in front of her and her eyes squeezed shut.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

She always expected that if one of them had to die, that it would be her. Complications from birth, most likely, but never had it been Charlie in her wild imaginings. She saw the inner reserves of strength he possessed and Claire knew that he was fighting back to some sense of normalcy. She loved that he confided in her and trusted her with his painful secrets.

But now that was all over. He was gone.

Claire let out a painful sigh and ignored the tears that had started to fall onto her face. She remembered how angry she was at the ones who returned without her Charlie. How she had yelled and screamed and said things that had never crossed her lips before. They stayed away from her, after that, and Claire couldn’t blame them.

She was a lost cause now.

Struggling to stand up, Claire pushed these dangerous thoughts far away and concentrated on what she needed to do next.

She spotted one of Charlie’s shirts, balled up in the corner of the cave. Bending over to pick it up, Claire caught a whiff of Charlie’s scent. A mixture of sweat and grit and golden warmth. The tears started afresh and Claire buried her nose in the shirt to hide her sobs.

Damn him, Claire thought. Why did he need to go on that quest of his? I would’ve been just fine.

It was so easy for the lies to spill across her thoughts. But Claire knew the truth.

“He thought I was dying,” Claire whispered, “Oh, poor Charlie. What have I done?”

Charlie needed a purpose. He always had and Claire provided that for him. She sent him on that mission because Claire knew that he had to prove himself to the others. And to her.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” Claire sobbed over and over.

Charlie was gone because Claire hadn’t been brave enough to tell him that all she needed was to have him by her side.

That she loved him.

Heading toward the opening of the cave, and the wilderness beyond, Claire put Charlie’s shirt on. His scent overwhelmed her, but she held back her tears and continued walking out toward the dark jungle ahead. The rain that had been threatening to fall all day finally burst free from the heavens. Claire uttered a hoarse laugh and turned her head up to the sky.

“I never knew tropical rain could be so cold,” Claire observed.

It didn’t matter. Her mind was set. Trudging onward, into the belly of the island, Claire had only one thought going through her mind.

Charlie needs me.