Page 82 of The Roommate Lie

Charlie guides me inside, buys tickets for us, and I still don’t know what to say.

It’s a good thing there’s a long line waiting for the next tram to show up. That there are only two orange metal death boxes and you have to wait eight minutes for the next one to arrive. Because that means I have plenty of time to stand around and visualize my untimely end.

The wooden signs around us announce that our destination is the top of Four Pines Peak, and that name sounds familiar. There’s a shuttle bus that goes up there a few times a day, a nice easy ride on an actual road according to the pamphlet I read at the bus station. But I had to pick aerial death.

Why do gondolas have to sound so inviting? Why is that word so much more enchanting thanbus?

I’m going to die in a gondola.

“This is going to be amazing!” I tell Charlie when it’s our turn to board. Because this is what I picked, and he’s already paid for the tickets.

Something about my tone tips him off, and he gives me a curious glance. Anare you okay, Kilpatrick?glance.

Before I can confess, we’re ushered into our tramway car. It isn’t spacious; it’s a metal rectangle that’s taller than it is wide. This thing is the size of a small closet, and we aren’t the only people in here. Five other passengers have already boarded, yet nobody shuts the sliding metal doors behind us.

There’s a commotion on the loading ramp. A couple with reservations has arrived, and two more people squeeze into our sardine-can death trap. People we recognize.

Jason and Tiffany.

Sweet mother of raccoons. It’s the end of days.

The doors of our tram slide shut, and reality sinks in. I’m trapped in the worst kind of gondola, a coffin in the sky. With my ex.

They’re at the opposite end of the tram, but it feels like they’re right beside us. That’s how small and crowded this thing is. It’s standing room only, and there aren’t even any benches I can sit on to support me in my time of need. It’s just handrails and wall-to-wall windows in here—and my ex. A man who messaged me late last night to accidentally make me feel bad about my genetic code.

I can’t bear to look at him right now, or Tiffany, who probably has flawless DNA. But it’s fine. Our tram jolts into motion, and suddenly, that’s all I care about.

I grip the handrail behind me, strangling it with both hands. Before I know it, we’re a speck in the sky. Gliding past treetops while my heart squeezes as tight as a fist.Have I mentioned I’m afraid of heights?

I should’ve warned Charlie when I moved in. I should’ve given him a nice list of all my fears and phobias. If I had, I wouldn’t be in the air right now, quietly panicking with no way out.

Everyone else is fine. All around me, people are gazing happily at the view, even Charlie. He looks so joyful up here, his face full of wonder as he glances out the window, and it’s the most endearing thing I’ve ever seen. Especially from the local bad boy.

Once we’re in the air, I barely notice Jason and Tiffany—that’s the other perk of this doom voyage. When faced with a high-altitude demise, my ex doesn’t matter anymore. But that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten about me.

When I glance up, Jason is giving Charlie a faint scowl I don’t like, and Tiffany doesn’t like it either. She nudges him to make him stop, and they have a whole quiet argument with their eyes. If Charlie notices, he pretends he doesn’t. That boy keeps his gaze fixed on the treetops outside.

When Tiffany finally glances away, Jason nods to Charlie across the tramway car, his scowl shifting into a smirk. “How’s roommate life treating you?”

“Fine.”

Charlie pairs that with a friendly shrug, keeping things light, but dread pinches in my stomach anyway. I don’t know where this is going, why Jason is talking to Charlie at all. Then his smirk deepens, and I know.

Humiliation.

“She gets lost in her own world a lot,” he tells Charlie. “I bet it’s like she isn’t even there.”

Before Charlie can respond, he keeps going. “She’s probably spending most of her time writing. Has she unpacked her giant typewriter yet? She’s got a whole ritual.”

It’s embarrass-Alice-in-a-gondola time. If he’s doing it to smooth things over with Tiffany, to prove he doesn’t care about me anymore, it works. My face flames scarlet, and she looks way less upset than before, donning a quiet smirk of her own.

My mood takes a nosedive. I have no idea what to say or how to respond, but Charlie doesn’t miss a beat. He angles his body toward mine and goes full sky rake. Tucking my hair behind my ear, he winks before glancing back at my ex.

“Yeah, her writer’s block ritual is pretty adorable. She’s kind of dangerous that way. Too cute for her own good.”

Charlie’s eyes drift back toward mine, and his crooked grin is the most lethal thing I’ve ever seen. When paired with his dimples, it’s the ultimate weapon of mass seduction. One glance makes me forget anything else exists. Including this gondola.

Then our tramway car wobbles, swaying like a pendulum, and I remember.

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