Page 47 of On The Edge
“Got it,” he says meekly and hangs up the phone.
There.
She’s all ours now.
THIRTEEN
Ihaveto get out of here.
I have toget outof here.
I have to get out of here,chants through my mind as I break through the front door of the bodega.
Memories threaten to overtake me and pull me under. Anxiety and panic pull at my chest, making seeing straight and breathing right tricky. I can feel my heart beating faster, and my breathing is getting tighter with each step. I can’t let a panic attack happen right now. They’re debilitating and completely knock me off my feet. It can’t happen. I don’t know where the fuck I am, I have no money, no phone.
The only thing I can do…is just get through this.
The sun is blaring overhead, starting to warm up the air quickly. The sidewalks are too fucking crowded as cars zoom past, going either direction without a care for the overstuffed sidewalks or bike messengers.
Which way do I go?
All I see are skyscrapers; just…identical gray buildings with reflective windows shining in the sun as far as the eye can see.What’s funny is I’ve always dreamed of coming here, to even live here.
I have to get out of here.
Now, I just want to go home. If this is how New York City is going to be, I don’t want to stay. At least in Haven, I knew where I stood. I hadfinallygotten used to driving past all our sentimental spots without flinching. I can’t be here and have them hate me, or toy with me, or try to make me relieve the worst year of my life over and over.
Left or right? Left or right?My head whips from side to side while I try to make a decision and I can actuallyfeelKai getting closer.
Fuck it. Right it is.
I turn to the right and join the sea of people, blending into the crowd. People are touching each side of me as we all move like an ocean current, and I feel like I’m back in that mosh pit at the concert–my whole body being moved without my permission.
A guy to the side of me gets too close for comfort, and I try to swerve to get out of his way, but end up knocking into the gentleman on my other side. The man shoves me back–hard–and my feet buckle under me. I go down, my heart lurching into my throat as I fall.
I hit the cement roughly, pain biting into me as the sidewalk cuts up my knees. My hands fly out to grab for something to keep me from face-planting the ground, and what do I grab? The fucking jeans of the guy who was getting too fucking close.
“What the fuck?!” he screams, kicking out to keep me away, and letting me fall to the ground with a painful thud. My elbows catch my fall and pain shoots up my bones from the force. I can feel the cuts forming already along my forearms as my hands slap down against the concrete.
“You motherfucker!” A voice bellows loudly enough to cuts through the chatter of the crowd surrounding us. People around me turn and look, and I do too. But I already know who it is, barrelling toward me like a knight in shining armor
Kai stomps to where I lay on the ground, but his eyes are locked on the guy who kicked me out of the way with murder in his eyes.
“Get the fuck away from her or I’m going to smash your face into the goddamn pavement,” Kai snarls. His light eyes blaze with rage and the promise of an excruciating injury as he glares at the man who is currently cowering like he’s about to shit his pants.
“She fell on me. I didn’t do anything, man.” His hands go up like he’s scared. And with how Kai’s fuming, I would be, too, if it was directed at me.
Kai doesn’t look at me, instead keeping his eyes trained on the frightened bystander as he leans down and picks me up with one arm. I stand gingerly, hissing at my sore knees, and Kai shifts us so I’m behind him.
“Wait a second,” the guy says, “aren’t you one of the guys fromOn The Edge?”
Fuck.
Kai’s muscles under my hands tense more, and I realize it’s because he now has to put on his public relations face. He can’t handle this like hewantsto, he has to handle it how heshould. I watch as his face changes, like a mask sliding into place. The anger tucks behind his eyes, his snarl turns into an easy grin, his intimidating posturing shifts into a more protective stance.
“I love your new song! Oh my god, can I get a picture?”
Kai’s arm wraps backwards around me, pulling me into him tighter so I’m completely covered, like he’s trying to shield me.
