Letting My Brother's Best Friend Take My V-Card

Chapter 243

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SURVIVORS

JESS

The room was too warm, the air heavy despite the gentle hum of the overhead fan. | sat with my hands folded

tightly in my lap, the fabric of my dress sticking to my skin as | shifted

uncomfortably in the plastic chair. Laura was beside me, her fingers drumming against the armrest of her chair-

a habit she'd picked up over the last few weeks. Across the room, scattered in a loose circle, sat a few other

women, each with the smix of anxiety and exhaustion carved into their faces. The wives. The girlfriends.

The ones left behind.

No one spoke, and the tension crackled like static in the air. Even Laura, usually the first to fill silences with her

sarcastic humor, remained unusually quiet.

The Indonesian police had been brutal, to say the least-disorganized, dismissive, and maddeningly slow to

respond. It had taken weeks for the U.S. embassy to finally get involved, weeks of speculation, rumors, and

tabloids playing guessing games with our lives. And now, after all that, here we were.

Waiting.

The representative sent by the embassy stood at the front of the room, a man in his fifties with graying hair and

a suit that looked out of place against the backdrop of the humid, coastal

000

air outside. He held a folder in his hand, its edges frayed like it had been passed around too many times.

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He cleared his throat, a dry, raspy sound that drew everyone's attention.

The room seemed to shrink as we all leaned forward, the tension thick enough to choke on

"As many of you know," he began, his voice slow and deliberate, "the search and rescue efforts following the

crash of Flight 142 have been ongoing for more than 5 months to get everyone their loved ones back. We all

want closure. The Indonesian police have faced signif | bit down on the inside of my cheek, resisting the urge to

roll my eyes. We didn't need a recap of what we already knew. We needed answers.

Laura shifted beside me, her knee bumping against mine. | glanced at her, catching the faint shake of her head.

Not yet.

The man droned on, his words a dull hum in the background as my mind raced. There had been leaks over the

last few days-whispers of survivors, names dropped in passing, fragments of hope that felt more like traps. None

of those names had been Luke or Josh.

I had tried not to think about it, tried to push down the knot of dread that tightened in my chest every tthe

phone rang or the news played. Hope felt like a dangerous thing, too fragile to hold onto and too painful to lose)

"So, | brought all of you here today," the man continued, "to put an end to the rumors and speculation. After

lengthy

negotiations, the Indonesian police have agreed to release the names provided by the survivors

Survivors.

The word hung in the air, sharp and heavy.

| felt Laura's hand brush against mine, her fingers curling around mine in a tight grip. I didn't look at her,

couldn't. My eyes stayed fixed on the man at the front of the room, his folder trembling slightly as he opened it.

He paused, flipping through the pages inside with infuriating slowness. Every second felt like an eternity, the

pounding of my heartbeat drowning out every other sound. "Before | begin," he said, looking up briefly, "I want

to remind you all that this is a preliminary list. There may still be updates as we continue to receive information."

Laura let out a shaky breath beside me, her grip tightening.

The man began to read.

The first nwas unfamiliar, Sarah something... a woman's voice across the room letting out a soft gasp of

relief.

Laura's fingers dug into my hand as we waited, each nlike a hammer to the chest.

Finally, he paused and looked up right atand in the distance, | could swear | heard him say Joshua and Lucas-

as in Josh

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and Luke.

The room spun. For a moment, | wasn't sure if | had heard him correctly.

Laura's breath hitched, her grip on my hand suddenly crushing.

The sound of their names sliced

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through the suffocafingsilence,

.@ .

leaving Mey sping for air. The

content is on novelenglish.net! Read

the latest chapter there!

My vision blurred, tears pooling in my

eyes as a sob caught in my throgh

Laura let go Qf By Rérfd) cbvering her

mouth Mtrboth of hers as she let

out a shaky, disbelieving laugh. They

were alive. The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

| stayed rooted in my seat, staring at

the spot where the guamhad 60094,

my heattgounding against my ribs.

Luke and Josh were alive.

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