Elliot hummed and helped Avery up."Go stay in the neighboring town. There's a signal there," Hayden said. "You can always move back here once electricity and internet come back on."Avery and Elliot had been awake for over a day since they had not been able to rest at all on the flight to Cambrode.As soon as Avery closed her eyes, she could not help but imagine all the horrible sights on the mountain and she could not keep the tears from streaming down her face.At some point, she ran out of tears to cry.When they arrived at the hotel, Elliot ordered food while Avery read the message she received from Robert.[Mom, have you and Dad arrived at Cambrode? Ivy and I are coming tomorrow morning. Call me back when you see this. I'm really worried.]Avery walked over to the balcony with her phone to call Robert back, only to find that his phone was shut off, and she assumed that he was already on the plane.She returned to the room and replied to Robert's message. [Your dad and I a
Avery felt a lump in her throat, not knowing what to say as she wondered, "Is he trying to say that Layla is likely dead?""There might be a miracle." Elliot realized that he had said the wrong thing and immediately added, "Avery, we need to believe that there will be a miracle.""Do you really think miracles would happen to us over and over again?" Avery thought that finding Ivy was the luckiest thing that could ever happen to them, and she did not know if they were worthy enough for another miracle. Though she was hopeful, she did not know what to believe.While silence fell over the two, Elliot received a message on his phone.Staff had managed to find out the exact time that Layla and Eric were on the mountain, and since the time coincided with the time of the avalanche, it was almost certain that the two were in danger, but no one could tell if they were still alive.Avery leaned against Elliot and closed her eyes after seeing the message on his phone. "I knew it... If they
...By the time Robert and Ivy arrived at Cambrode, the sky was already pitch dark, and Robert hailed a taxi and gave the driver the address Avery had given him. The closer they got, the more nervous Ivy and Robert grew."It's been almost two days. Why haven't they found Layla?" His heart sank.He desperately wanted to call Hayden but decided against it, knowing that Hayden must be running himself thin in his search for Layla.There was no update on the family chat group either, and when Avery called, Robert answered right away."Mom, Ivy, and I have landed, and we are on our way to you," he blurted out."Okay. Be safe." Avery sounded less devastated compared to how she was earlier that day because Hayden had just caught the signal of Layla's phone.Knowing how worried his mother was, Hayden informed Avery right away as soon as he located Layla's phone.Layla's phone was located seven hundred meters from sea level, which was hardly good news.The leveled ground on the mounta
When they arrived at the hotel, there was still no update from the rescue team.Avery immediately urged her children to eat, but Ivy spotted her reddened eyes and the exhaustion on her face that she could not hide. "Mom, you've been awake this whole time, haven't you? You need to take care of yourself."Avery knew that she could not lie to them and confessed, "I tried to, but I can't sleep.""But you have to." Ivy wanted to suggest that Avery take some sleeping pills, but she did not do so as she knew that there were side effects. "Mom, why don't you get some sleep after dinner? Ivy and I will go to the mountain." Robert, too, had not slept for over a day, but he was still young, and it had not affected him much."I will come along. If there are no updates, I will come back," Avery said. "I will get your dad to come back as well. He hasn't slept at all."Robert and Ivy instantly lost their appetites. Avery placed some food onto their plates. "Eat up. Don't waste food."Avery wa
Elliot grabbed the piece of bread and took a bite before turning his attention to Ivy and Robert. "It's cold out here. Go inside the tent.""Dad, we aren't cold. Is Layla on top of that mountain?" Robert gazed up at the rescue team on the mountain."Yeah, she's up there," Hayden said. "Robert, take your sister into the tent."Robert obeyed and grabbed Ivy's hand."Hayden, Dad, I'm not cold," Ivy said, wanting to see Layla as soon as she was rescued.Despite what Ivy said, Robert dragged her into the tent."Ivy, have you noticed all the gray hair on Dad's head?" Robert had a clear view when he stood next to Elliot. "He didn't use to have so much gray hair. It's as though his hair turned gray overnight after hearing what happened to Layla."Ivy had not been paying attention to her father's hair."I did notice that they seemed to have aged overnight," she said, tears welling in her eyes. "I used to think that they looked really young, and it felt like they would never age...""It
The bag in Avery's hand fell onto the ground.Hayden's voice grew even louder than before. "Is Layla there?! Layla should be with him!"The rescue team carefully moved Eric out of the way and found Layla further inside."We found her! Mr. Tate, we found your sister!" One of the members of the rescue team shouted excitedly and stretched his arm out to see if Layla was breathing.The temperature on the mountain was below zero, and though Layla's cheeks were cold, her neck remained warm, but since the rescuer's hand was trembling, he could not tell with certainty if Layla was breathing.Even if she was breathing, her breath was extremely weak."Mr. Tate... I am not sure if she's still alive!""Get them down first!" Hayden shouted, desperately wishing that he could climb up the mountain himself, but he could not.He did not love outdoor activities and was never good at them, so he simply grabbed a pair of binoculars from his assistant to monitor the situation. After a few moments,
Ivy's words ignited hope within Avery.If a doctor determined that a patient was dead, they would not make any effort to save said patient. If one lost the ability to breathe air independently, and their pupils were dilated, there was no point in treating them. Just then, Hayden's phone beeped. Mike had sent him some photos. Mike went up with the rescue team to search for Layla, and he took a few photos of the scene when they found Layla and Eric. Since Mike had headed down the mountain, he finally had the chance to send Hayden the photos.Hayden zoomed in on the first photo and saw Eric's cheeks were blue and he was wearing nothing but a thin layer of clothes. "He couldn't have gone up to the mountain wearing just that…" Hayden thought and immediately clicked on the second photo of Layla.Layla seemed to be in far better condition compared to Eric, and it looked as though she was merely asleep. She was wrapped in a male down jacket, which Hayden assumed belonged to Eric.H
"Dad, I will stay with Mom!" Ivy moved a chair so that she could sit next to the bed. She saw the tears still rolling down Avery's cheeks and knew that Avery must be regretting not supporting Layla in her pursuit of Eric.Had they agreed to the relationship, Layla and Eric might be planning their wedding by now. They would not have come all the way to Cambrode, and neither would they have been on that mountain when the avalanche occurred. Elliot let go of Avery's hand. "Let me know when your mother wakes up.""Of course," she said obediently. "Let me know when Layla comes out of the emergency room.""Sure."Time went by slowly, and Ivy started to doze off after she dried Avery's tears.Many thoughts drifted through her mind, but they flitted by so quickly that she should not grasp onto any one particular thought. In the end, she only focused on how much she wanted Layla and Eric to wake up.If Layla woke up to find out that Eric had died, both Avery and Layla would be trau