Footprints In The Sand - Michelle Horst Page 0,69

and Aaron, climb onto the rooftop. Not once did I think of Ethan and Aaron, and whether they were okay. A pang of guilt stabs at my heart for a moment.

“Thank you, Chance,” I say, when it looks like we’re about to get going again. He just nods before walking away. Just because he helped me climb a ladder doesn’t mean we’re friends.

~*~

I have another thing coming if I think the ladder was hard to climb. It pales in comparison with what lies ahead.

“Watch me, Jasper. Just do what I do,” Chance says. He walks to the middle point of the rooftop and glances at me over his shoulder. “You can do it.” The words barely register when he breaks out into a sprint and my breath sticks in my throat the moment his body goes airborne – for a moment he flies, his arms wide at his side, then he pulls his legs in and disappears.

My heart drops. I run to the edge of the building and see him straightening out on the rooftop of the next building.

“I’ll never make it.” The words rush from my lungs.

I watch Aaron go next and wonder if there is a way for me to go down the ladder I just came up with.

“We’ll catch you on the other side,” Ethan says, and then he breaks out into a sprint, and I watch him leap into the air. They’re all insane, crazy-insane! How can they just jump?

My throat closes up and I walk back to where they started sprinting from. My feet feel glued to the rooftop, refusing to move. I can already imagine my body splatting on the road beneath.

I take a deep breath, in and out, through my teeth. “Come on, Jasper, you can do this. If they can, you can.” I try to encourage myself, but it’s not working. My voice is trembling as much as my body. “Just do it,” I squeal and break out in a sprint.

Halfway to the edge I stop, shrieking and covering my face. Cold prickles run over my body. I’m going to die! I’m going to fall and it’s going to hurt so bad when I hit the ground.

“Jai!” I hear Chance call. I walk a few steps closer until I can see him. “Listen to me,” he says. I start nodding, my whole body trembling. “Are you listening to me?”

“Y-yes,” I sputter the word out.

“Jai, you’re going to be just fine. Run as fast as you can and just jump. I’ll catch you. I won’t let you fall. You’ll be fine.” He sounds pretty sure of himself. It’s not him I’m worried about. It’s the me jumping part in this whole equation. He hasn’t seen me jump yet. At school I always went under the poles instead of over them. I suck so bad at sports. “Go back and run. I’m waiting for you.”

I walk back and take a few breaths. It doesn’t help at all, I’m still breathless. I close my eyes and try to imagine a straight road in front of me, and I start to run. I pump my legs fast and hard. The edge comes closer and my heart pounds loudly in my ears as I leap into the night. I shriek so loud I’m pretty sure everyone in this city now knows where we are.

A cold wind rushes over my heated skin. I don’t stay up as long as they did. I drop fast. I stretch my body out as far as I can, trying to give myself more length. My arms slam hard into the side of the building, and pain streaks up into my shoulders. Prickles of fear spread through my body, when I start to slide back into the dark night. There’s nothing to take hold of.

“Chance.” I whimper desperately.

Fingers dig hard into my arms, right above my elbows. The hold is firm as I’m pulled up and over the rooftop to safety. I grab hold of the first thing I can, a shirt – Chance’s shirt. To further my embarrassment, I can’t stop myself from plummeting right into him. His hands move to my shoulders and it might be my overactive and terrified brain, but they rest there for a heartbeat, or two, before he helps me to stand on my very unstable feet.

“The next one won’t be as bad. Come on.”

I straighten out my shirt and watch them get ready.

“Why do we have to do this? Why can’t we walk on the streets?”