Page 53 of The Roommate Remodel

“Or falling with style,” I say, my voice steadier than my body as I land on the next platform. It’s a sound I don’t recognize, lighter, freer.

He puts his hand on my back, steadying my legs.

My heart bolts, not from fear, but from something much more potent.Him.

“Feeling braver?” he asks, trying to measure whether the panic attack is gone and he can let go of my hand.

But I like the feel of my hand in his, the security of feeling like if I fall, he’ll catch me.

I want us both to fall, to do this together.

There’s only one thing that keeps me stuck, like my feet are planted in wet concrete.

The fact that he’s still holding back. Still keeping a part of himself from me. Especially since I revealed my fear to him.

Secrets are the one thing I can’t tolerate. So why won’t he tell me what’s underneath his hesitation?

TWELVE

Jaz

We fly past the Carolina forests, the swampy marshes, the distant smell of salt sharp on my tongue. I unclip my harness and study the view. The forest below us ends abruptly, and the chasm ahead opens to a body of water.

“You okay with water?” Brax asks, his gaze tracing the cable that disappears into nothing across the lake, and a shiver runs down my spine.

“More time to enjoy the view,” I say with fake confidence, my stomach squeezing. Even though Brax has patiently helped me through every zip line today, I feel like I have something to prove. I’m braver than the girl he witnessed on the first platform.

“It’s the last one,” he says quietly.

A note in his voice hints that he’s not ready for it to be over.

I feel it, too. Things are different up here.

I know when my feet hit earth, everything will change.

Survivors gonna survive. That’s what I’ve always done.I claw my way out of every dark hole.

“I think I’m ready to do this one by myself,” I say, clipping myself to the line.

“Okay. Sure,” Brax murmurs with disappointment in his voice. “Do you still want me to go at the same time?”

“Thanks, but I’m good,” I say with more confidence than I feel.

Brax’s jaw clenches. He’s wrestling with stopping me, but he knows I’ll just fight him on it.

“Be my guest,” he finally replies. “I’ll follow you.”

The zip-line guide gives me a nod of approval before I take a steadying breath and push off, my palms slick as I grasp the harness. The forest blurs past in a dizzying kaleidoscope of green as I whiz along the cable. Then I’m over the water, like a human cannonball, feeling so alive, and simultaneously missing the feel of his hand in mine.

“It’s for the best,” I repeat to myself, the wind knocking my breath out of me.

Suddenly, I slow down, my body shuddering to a halt, suspended mid-air over the water like Tom Cruise inMission Impossible.

I jerk myself forward, but it doesn’t help. Below, the lake is a silver ribbon, indifferent to my predicament.

“Brax!” I call, waving with both arms to stop him before he races past me and I’m left dangling over the middle of the lake.

“Don’t panic!” Brax calls from the platform. “Just hang tight! I’ll be right there.”

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