Page 66 of Chasing Paradise

“Okay. Okay. You’re okay.”

I wascategoricallynot okay.

I was shaking so hard that the whole bridge was vibrating too. And my sweaty palms were making me scared to reach any higher. But the fatigue in my arms was assuring me that if I didn’t get to the top soon, I was going to fall.

So I thought happy thoughts.

A cold shower.

Air conditioning.

A huge coffee.

Tacos.

A soft bed.

Tangled in the sheets with Wick.

Hey, if these were my last living thoughts, I was going to let the fantasies fly.

And, hey, I went up one more foot, then another. Then, finally, my back met nothing but open air.

I was at the top.

“Okay. Alright. Almost done,” I coaxed myself on as I needed to turn myself around to the front of the rope, so I could crawl up onto the ground.

I collapsed down onto my knees, gasping for air over and over. But with panic and strain racking my system, it seemed that no matter how much I tried to catch a breath, the more it eluded me.

I was still there on my knees when I heard it.

Him.

I heard him.

“Violet!Violet!”

I didn’t stop to think.

I rushed to my feet and ran toward the sound of his voice.

“Violet!”

I rounded a tree, and then there he was. Running, bloody, frantically looking for me.

I flew at him, knocking him back a step. Then to my horror, a loud sob escaped me.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Wick

I felt like the whole fucking world tipped off its axis as that bridge broke away and swung through the air.

I couldn’t imagine the panic surging through Violet as she flew through the air, holding on for dear life, knowing that if she didn’t, there would be no surviving the fall.

I had every fucking intention of rushing to the edge as soon as she hit the cliffside, grabbing the bridge, and slowly pulling her up.

Then the bullets started to fly.

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