Page 122 of The Fake Out Flex

Knowing that the rooftop is eleven hundred feet above the ground and seeing it from up here are entirely different things.

A cold shiver rattles through my body, but I have to do it.

I need this.

My career needs this.

"Sixty seconds," Margo says, and I walk over to where we're set up to shoot.

Mark Merril, the anchor, will cross to me from the studio after the short segment I recorded about Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month runs. We'll chitchat for a bit, and then, without warning, I'll hurl myself off the building. The others will follow shortly after me. They're all lined up and in position, spaced safe distances apart from each other across the length of the rooftop. Several drones and a helicopter are circling overhead to capture the aerial shots.

"Ten seconds…"

"You can do it, Evie," I say to myself, gripping my microphone so tight my knuckles turn white.

I close my eyes and picture Fraser watching me from the other side of the country. A surge of warmth spreads inside me. It's almost as if I can feel him here with me.

"Three, two, and…"

"Good morning, Mark. As you can see, I've left Comfort Bay for something a little different this morning. I'm coming to you live from the tallest building in Los Angeles."

"We hear you have a big surprise in store for us," Mark says.

"That's right, I do." I begin walking, the camera following me. "I'm joined by some of the folks you met in the segment that just aired. And I figured it's all well and good to talk about everyone having the same access to opportunities, but I wanted to show you that it really is possible."

"I'm only on my second cup of joe, and you're being very cryptic this morning, Evie."

I smile. "I know I am. But this is a message to everyone watching at home who might be going through something tough in their lives and may be feeling like there's no easy path forward. I hope what you're about to see will show you that there really are no limits. If you change how you think about something, you can change your whole life."

And with that little nugget of Insta-worthy life inspo delivered, I stare down the barrel of the camera, do a theatrical mic drop because it'll look good on TikTok, lift myself onto the ledge of the building, and wave to the camera behind me.

With my nerves buzzing with energy, I step over the edge…and then I'm free-falling.

16

Fraser

I almost drop my coffee, my mouth flying open in shock.

I'm about to have a heart attack.

One minute, I'm watching Evie's pre-taped segment about Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.

And the next…the next, they cross live to her from the studio. For some unknown reason, she's on top of the tallest building in the state of California. She chats with the anchor, being unusually vague, and then she HURLS HERSELF OFF THE BUILDING!

Panic seizes my chest as I stare at the TV screen. The camera pans out, capturing her tiny frame side-on plummeting toward the ground.

Yes, I can see she's wearing a harness.

Yes, I know she's attached to a cord.

Yes, I'm sure they would have taken every single safety precaution known to mankind to ensure nothing happens to her or to any of the other people doing the jump with her.

But right now, all I'm seeing is Evie plunging toward the street, and I AM NOT OKAY.

She stops a good fifteen, twenty feet off the ground, before rebounding back up, doing that bouncy thing that happens at the tail end of a bungee jump.

"She's okay, she's okay," I mutter to myself, reaching for a bottle of water on my bedside table.

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