Page 67 of Entwined Hearts

“What the fuck, Anya?” he says, catching sight of my fingers. My left middle is torn and bleeding. The rest are worn so thin now they’re bright red, as if gripping one more handhold would make them burst open like grapes squished between someone’s teeth.

“It’s fine,” I say.

“That’s not just from today,” he says. “How hard have you been climbing lately?”

I shrug. “I’ll be fine.”

“Look, I know it’s difficult.”

“What’s difficult?” I ask because I’m so frustrated with my performance, or lack of it, that I’ll take it out on anyone.

“What happened. With us.”

A knife slowly sinks into my heart.

“But you have to take care of yourself.”

I’m so furious that words don’t make their way to my mouth. It’s like they’re in there, boiling up, expanding inside me like a balloon. But I can’t get them to come out.

“Are you sure your head’s in the right place for this climb?” he asks quietly. “Cuz this would be a good place to bail if it’s not.”

“I’ve just been training a lot, that’s all,” I manage, my throat so tight I have to push the words through it. “My head is just fine.” Total lie, but I know I’ll be fine once we get in our groove. I’m just rattled, that’s all.

“Colby and I used to be friends, you know,” he says, his jaw flexing. He flashes me a hurt look.

“Then he bailed on Ketel. I get it, Jake.”

“No,” he says, swallowing. “Then he fucked Emmaline.”

Nineteen

Anya

Asinking sensation tugs at my stomach lining, pulling it straight down to my heels. I sway on my feet…like I might tip over the ledge and go tumbling into space, rope or no rope. “Who’s Emmaline?”

His jaw tightens, and he keeps his gaze averted. “It doesn’t matter,” he says, unzipping his coat and ramming it into his daypack.

“A girlfriend?” I sift through my memories, trying to find the ones where we shared our past relationships, but I draw a blank.

He sighs, squeezes his eyes shut for a moment. “Forget it,” he mutters. By the time he’s opened his eyes, I can see the way he’s pushed whatever’s in his head back to where he keeps his heart.

“Like hell!” My mind reels. Would Colby sleep with someone else’s girlfriend? “Come on, Jake, you can’t drop a bomb like that and then tell me to forget it.”

“Let’s just climb,” Jake says, his face completely blank. “If you want to sleep with him, fine. But don’t come crying to me when things implode.”

Another flare of emotion leaps into my throat. I can’t breathe, let alone speak.

“I see a pattern here,” Jake says, his gaze flicking my way for a cold instant. “You with Colby. You calling me up to do Widow’s Walk…a climb you’ve avoided like the plague.” He nods at my torn-up hands. “Don’t think I don’t know the signs.”

“Signs of what?” I ask.

“Of you looking for an escape.”

I shake my head. “No. I’m trying to get ready for Norway.”

“How is sleeping with California’s biggest slut helping you get ready for Norway?”

A surge of anger rips through me. “That’s not…what I meant, Jake, and you know it.”

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