Page 37 of The One That Got Away

As I paused on the walkway, Max pulled out his phone and held it up for a selfie.

‘Ready?’ he asked, still holding my hand.

‘As I’ll ever be!’ I smiled.

After taking a few snaps, we continued the walk, the guide pointing out various things of interest including mountain goats and a bridge that was named after a king. I wasn’t so keen to hear about the bat shelter though.

Throughout every step of the walk, Max kept hold of my hand and the strange thing was, it didn’t feel weird.

If I closed my eyes (which of course given where we were, Iwouldn’t dream of doing) and tried to clear my mind, it would be easy to believe that we were those two teenagers who used to always hold hands.

It felt like no time had passed. Which scared the shit out of me.

Well, that was until I saw what was ahead of us.

‘Yes!’ Max said enthusiastically. ‘This is one of the best parts of the trail!’

It was a hanging bridge, connecting two sections of the walkway which like everything else was very, very high up from the ground and looked terrifying. Especially when the tour guide said that only ten people were allowed on the bridge at a time. That didn’t exactly reassure me that it was stable.

‘Thebest? I didn’t think it could get any scarier, until I saw this.’

‘Yeah, I know it’s suspended midair, but that means there’s nothing interrupting our view.’

‘I’m sure it’ll look amazing, but…’ I paused, feeling embarrassed to say how I felt out loud. ‘I’m scared.’

My gaze dropped to the floor which made me feel worse.

‘Stella.’ Max lifted my chin and looked me in the eyes so deeply it was like he was staring directly into my soul. My stomach did that silly flip-flop thing again. ‘You’re doing really well.’ He let go of my hand and rubbed my back gently, causing goosebumps to erupt across my skin. ‘If you really don’t think you can do it, we can go back, but there isn’t much more of the walk left, so I really think you’ll be fine. Remember, I’ve got you.’ He took my hand again and squeezed it tightly. ‘Okay?’

‘Okay.’ My heart thundered against my chest.

If I was on my own, I would’ve considered giving up. But the way Max spoke in such soothing tones made me believe that Icoulddo this. He’d be with me. I was going to be fine.

As the tour guide gave us the green light to walk across the bridge, I gripped Max’s hand so tight I’m surprised I didn’t break it.

With every step, the bridge swayed a little from left to right, but Max squeezed my hand, giving me the strength to continue.

When we reached the centre, he slowed down.

‘We’re halfway there. Look at the views. Aren’t they incredible?’

‘Yeah, they really are. Should we… take some photos, like really quickly? Before I lose my nerve.’

‘It’d be a crime not to.’

Max made fast work of snapping some selfies.

And when he lifted my hand in the air in triumph for one of the poses, even though I was still really nervous and worried about the movement of the bridge caused by the other people walking across it, I tried to push my fear away and enjoy the moment.

‘I reckon we’ve got some great shots! Come on,’ he said, leading me further across the bridge.

Soon afterwards, we came to the end of the walk. And I was so relieved I almost kissed the ground.

Once we’d returned our helmets, stopped to use the toilet and got some snacks from the kiosks, we boarded our coach.

‘How you feeling?’ Max said as he slid into the seat next to me.

‘Relieved.’

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