“Dad . . . ” I tried again, softer. “That was a long time ago.”
He frowned, confused. “No, I just— I just needed a few more boards. You were waiting.”
The river roared behind him. Louder than I’d ever heard it. Swollen from the storm, water rushed quickly and violently over the rocks below. The bank was slick, mud sliding toward the edge in slow, dangerous shifts.
And he was too close.
“Hey,” I said, taking another careful step forward. “You already built it. Remember? It was perfect.”
He looked at me, really looked this time, but it didn’t land.
“It’s not finished,” he insisted.
“It is. I promise. You did such a good job.”
He smiled faintly at that. Then he took another step toward the edge.
“Dad—”
My heart slammed into my throat.
“It’s right down there,” he said, peering over. “I can see where it should go?—”
“Stop.”
My voice cracked sharp through the storm. He didn’t. His foot slid, just a little, but enough.
I lunged. “Dad!”
I grabbed for him, fingers catching his jacket, but the mud gave out beneath me.
Everything tilted.
My feet slipped out from under me, and I went down hard, sliding sideways off the embankment.
I fell. Not far, six feet maybe, but enough.
I hit the lower slope hard, my knee twisting painfully on impact.
“Fuck—”
The word tore out of me as white-hot pain shot up my leg. Rain pounded down, mud soaking through my clothes instantly. Above me, I could hear him.
“Belle?” he called, confused now. “Where’d you go?”
“I’m here!” I shouted back, trying to push myself up.
My knee screamed in protest. Not again.
“Stay where you are!” I yelled. “Don’t move!”
I fumbled for my phone with shaking hands. Mud smeared across the screen. I wiped it on my shirt. I pressed the power button. Nothing.
“Come on, come on?—”
Dead or not turning on, but either way, it was useless.
I sucked in a shaky breath, trying to think through the pain, through the rain, through the rising panic clawing up my throat.
