on to my forearm.
It’s an impossible task to pull her up, but I don’t let go. I hold on to her arm as she clings to mine. “You have to release the rock, Addison,” I tell her. “You have to climb over me.”
She shakes her head, terrified. “I’ll fall.”
“I won’t let you fall. I promise.” And I’m relieved to realize that I mean those words.
Again, her unwillingness to trust me costs her precious seconds. Her grip starts to slip… She uses the shelf of the ridge as leverage as she loses her hold on the rock. Her hand grasps at my back, and she finally finds purchase on my upper arm.
I grit my teeth, trying to ignore the piercing pain that feels like my shoulder is about to dislocate. Finally, Addison begins to haul herself upward. She crawls over me, making her way back onto the narrow pass.
Breathless, I lay here, my chest on fire. My skin burns from the cold wind and where Addison used me as a ladder. I don’t notice the danger until it’s too late.
I feel the moment the knife is pulled from my backside.
Betrayal is a hot flame searing my chest as I turn my head to look at Addison.
“Sorry,” she says, her voice trembling, face dirt-smeared and eyes gleaming wild. “But I just can’t trust you, you psychotic bitch.”
She stabs the knife into my thigh. My body lights up, every numbed nerve comes alive with pain. I grab hold of the hilt, my hand shaking, and curse as I yank the blade free.
Not wise…
I’ve been left for dead before—and in spite of those who wish it, I survived. If I bleed to death up here, I think as I get to my knees, I’m making sure I take that bitch with me.
Addison starts to ease backward along the pass, her eyes trained on me and the knife in my hand. When she gets far enough away that she feels safe, she turns around, and a blast of wind knocks her off-balance.
I see the moment it happens. I drop the knife as I reach out for her, as if I can prevent her fall, but it’s over quickly. Addison is gone. Her hollow scream follows her down the dark chasm.
I stare down into the darkness of the ravine, my body cemented to the rock.
Did you try to save her, or did you let her fall?
I banish the thought immediately. Of course, I tried to save her. I’m not a monster.
I had wanted Addison and her lies to disappear, yes—but not like this. In the end, up here on the edge of the world, I realize that I need Carter to choose me. Letting Addison die doesn’t satisfy anything.
With that thought comes a vital awareness. I had told her only one reality could exist. When Addison went over the edge, her version of the truth went with her.
Only one truth remains: mine.
As the day starts to break over the mountain top in hues of pinks and deep purples, I begin the slow and painful crawl across the pass. I’m exhausted, my body wracked in agony, my leg bleeding, but I’m not going back the way I came. Behind is the past. Ahead is the future, and all I want is that new and promising tomorrow. It’s right there…so close.
When I finally drag myself across the ledge, Carter is waiting for me on the other side of Devil’s Tooth.
I’m bruised and nearly broken as I fall into Carter’s arms, but his comforting scent enfolds me, dousing any lingering fear. I don’t ask him how he got here, or how he knew how to find me. I just trust it’s a sign we’re meant to be together.
“You’re here,” I say in confirmation.
He strokes my hair. “You didn’t need to prove anything,” he says, echoing my thoughts. “I’ve always chosen you.”
It’s the words I’ve desired to hear for so long—ever since Jeremy shattered my world.
I tell Carter I love him, and he doesn’t reject my love. This moment is solace for all the wrong done to me over the years.
I examine the knife wound Addison left behind, a new scar I’ll forever carry. I’ve lost a fair amount of blood, but no major artery was hit. She obviously didn’t study any anatomy books. After I strip a layer off the bottom of my shirt and secure it around the wound to staunch the blood loss, we maneuver down the steep and treacherous trail to the bluff.
I feel as if