me.
Thunder echoed through the heavens again and the rain spilled from the sky, causing me to laugh as it saturated my shirt and carved icy fingers down my skin.
I managed to reach a spot where there was another gap above me to let me move higher again and I kept climbing, determined to catch up to Danny as I looked up and found him passing the third floor window above me.
I scrunched my eyes against the pounding rain as thunder echoed again and a flash of lightning lit the sky.
The shiny soles of my shoes slipped against the wet bricks as I scrambled higher and for one heart stopping moment, I almost fell.
My gut lurched and I barked a laugh as adrenaline spiked through me and I clung on for dear life while my feet kicked against the grey bricks until I managed to find another spot to jam my toes into.
Danny had slowed above me and I could hear him cursing as either fear or a lack of hand holds slowed him down. I didn’t care which so long as it gave me the chance to regain my lead.
I pushed harder, reaching the third floor and climbing higher as my heart raced and the wind howled hard enough to make my wet shirt flutter and slap against my back.
It was fucking freezing with the rain pounding down on me but even the shivers dancing along my skin helped to banish that endless fucking heartache that had been whispering my name all fucking day. This was why I kept taking these stupid risks. Whatever it took to escape my own bullshit, whatever I could do to set myself free of the constant grief for at least a little while.
I made it to the row of windows on the fourth floor and chanced a look down at the ground way below. My gut lurched as I took in the fall awaiting me if I fucked this up. I wondered if it would be enough to kill me outright or just hurt a whole hell of a lot. Probably best not to find out.
A shout carried to me on the wind and I barked a laugh as I spotted Mila down there, yelling at Danny to get his ass down at once. She was hollering like a fishwife and it seriously sounded like he was at risk of castration if he didn’t fall to his death.
Danny wasted time shouting back down to her and I grinned as I pulled ahead. With a grunt of effort, I reached the top edge of the building and heaved myself up.
My heart leapt into my throat as the roof tile I was gripping suddenly ripped free and I yelled out in fright as I swung backwards for half a second before managing to save myself by gripping on tight with my other hand.
I cursed as I looked down at the lethal drop below as I let go of the tile and it spun away to smash to pieces on the concrete path.
Mila swore as she leapt away from it even though it hadn't even come close to hitting her and Danny yelled out for her to move back.
I tore my gaze away from the dizzying fall before clambering up onto the roof with a crow of victory as I won.
Danny wasn't far behind me and I offered him a hand, heaving him up over the edge where we grinned like a pair of fucking delinquents and stood there in the storm with the rain crashing down on us and our arms open wide to it.
Lightning flashed through the sky again and I navigated the slippery tiles carefully as I headed for the flagpole where the saturated flag whipped back and forth wetly, looking pretty fucking sorry for itself.
I climbed up onto the low lip of stone that edged the roof beside it and stood with my toes hanging over the edge as I looked out over campus towards the lake which was currently roiling and bubbling beneath the downpour.
I glanced over my shoulder with a manic grin as I locked eyes with Danny before wrapping my hand around the metal flagpole.
"Come on then!" I yelled at the sky as if I could taunt the storm into making the lightning strike while I held it.
My heart was racing a mile a minute and the heady rush of adrenaline had me laughing like a madman as I kept my fist tight around the metal and waited out the