Page 63 of Chasing Sunsets

“Nothing, go.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, go,” she said again.

She heard conversations around her, without registering any of the words being said.

A while later, Kelly called, “Sadie, how can I help?”

“You can’t.”

“Oh, honey, I can’t leave you like this.”

“Finish the race.”

Other competitors hollered to her when they passed, all offering assistance. Paralyzed, she kept her responses short and her eyes closed.

“The last team has passed, Sadie. Do you want to stop and take a penalty?” Truman asked.

The penalty wouldn’t get her off this damn bridge. “No.”

She had to go forward.

She just didn’t know how.

Move, Sadie.

Her body refused to listen.

Time stood still and rushed by at the same time. She wasn’t certain how long she’d been immobile, but her arms and body ached from holding herself so tense.

I’m being silly. I’m strapped into a harness and safety cables.

Move!

Nothing.

This was her problem. She’d been stuck for far too long. No idea how to repair things, how to make things right, how to put the past behind her and find a way to hope for the future.

“Sade?” Zack’s voice broke through her paralysis. “Are you all right, baby?”

She opened her eyes and lifted her head. There in the twilight stood her hero, suiting up with safety gear.

“You came for me.”

“Of course.”

Of course, he’d come for her. He loved her. He wouldn’t leave her when she needed him most.

“I wish I’d finished my challenge sooner. I hate you’ve been stuck here.”

Tears stung her eyes. “I tried. I did okay until I accidentally looked down.”

“Your cheek is bleeding.”

She hadn’t noticed. “I must’ve scraped it on the tree.”

A staff member checked Zack’s safety lines and then patted his back. Zack stepped toward her. The tree shifted with his movements, but it didn’t terrify her, not with him coming her way.

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