Page 107 of Knight

She’ll be okay.

She doesn’t need me and my shitty grades and my illegal money to get her anywhere. She’s found her voice and she’ll be fine on her own. Taking a deep breath, the world around me becomes a dark blur.

“Jo!” The sound of his voice makes me stiffen.

BANG!

The slam of the door startles me to another teeter but this time I can’t level out. My right boot slips before the sky tilts.

I’m losing my balance.

I’m flying.

Twenty-Four

I want to be free.

I want to escape.

I want out.

But regret is quick.

I’m floating through the air, the stars and moon above me, and for some reason, it feels like I’m going up. I don’t hear the screams, I don’t hear the yells. It’s a muffle to this soundtrack, my parents in my head. I even hear Hendrix playing in the background, welcoming me to peace.

“Jo!”

His voice cuts through and something stops me from my fall, my arm suspended in the air.

Am I floating?

Am I dead?

The sound comes back to me in a whoosh and when I look down, the concrete is still far away. Looking up, Damien’s looking down at me, an expression I don’t recognize on his red face. It’s tense yet frantic. Worry? Desperation?

“Hang on!” he yells. “And for fucks sake, don’t let go!” There’s a shake in his voice, one I’ve never heard before, his grip tight around my arm in my jacket.

The leather slips in his hold and his face fills with determination. I’m scared shitless, but the only thing I can do to put myself at peace is to look in those eyes. “Don’t you fucking let go, Jo!” he repeats before his voice cracks. “Please, just fucking hold on! I’m not letting you go! I’m never letting you go!”

If I died right now, at this moment, at least I know he tried. At least it’s with him looking at me like I’m his whole world. Thing is, I don’t want to leave it if he’s in it.

There’s a hard pull and I’m slipping even more before Christian appears behind him. Then I’m flying over the rail before I’m slamming onto Damien’s chest.

People are around us but I don’t register who. Cold hands come to my round cheeks, squishing my face, forcing me to look into that kaleidoscope gaze. “What the fuck?” Damien asks and I can feel his heart thumping against his chest, mine beating with it. He pats over my body. I’m not sure what he’s looking for before he pulls up my sleeve, looking at my wrists. “What the fuck were you doing?”

“I-I almost—” Speaking’s no use, I’m much too shaken. Much too fucked up. What the fuck was I doing?

“Fuck, Jo.” Damien searches my eyes for an explanation and I don’t know if he finds it before he pulls me into his arms. Pressing me against his chest. “Don’t fucking scare me like that again. You jumped? What the fuck were you thinking? I can’t fucking lose you, Jo!”

It’s like a sudden burst of sobriety. “I—” My voice shakes, my body shaking with it.

“Get the fuck out!” He calls around him. “Everyone. Get the fuck out, now!”

The music shuts off before the sound of a scrambling crowd follows.

“King?” A girl’s voice comes from behind him.

He screams in response, “Get. The. Fuck. Out!”

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