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“You okay?” he asks.
I nod, but wonder if he misses it in the darkness. Fear of the unknown pushes me to a make-believe edge in my mind and I have to breathe in deeply several times to keep from falling off the ledge. Each time I inhale, Isaiah’s scent fills my nose and I’m reminded that whatever happens, wherever he’s taking me, I’m safe.
Isaiah would never let anything happen to me.
The engine growls as Isaiah presses on the gas. It’s an upward path, curving continually higher. Through sporadic breaks in the trees, I can spot lights below us, and because of Isaiah’s speed, they appear like fireflies dancing in the night.
It’s only then when I realize where we are and what we’re doing. “This is Lovers’ Leap. ”
Isaiah’s only answer is the minuscule tilt of his lips. I sit up and my hands press against the dashboard of the car as I try to catch a glimpse of the rocky cliff that has become urban legend from the front windshield. I’ve seen this place safely on the ground as I’ve passed it by on the freeway. My eyes, like everyone else’s, driven to the sky to ogle the place where people years ago drove off a cliff in a drag race and died.
There’s just something magnetic and curious about the morbid.
But as Isaiah races around the bends of the road, I lose the sense of somber and replace it with curiosity. “Is it scary?”
“No. ”
The fir trees and climbing oaks grow so close together and near the road they appear to smother each other until a clearing appears. Isaiah shifts down and eases to a stop. With a flick of his wrist, he turns off the ignition and has the keys in his hands. “Come on. ”
Isaiah’s out of the car and around the front to my side before I can slide from the seat. In a slick movement, he closes my door, links our hands together and nudges me ahead. I glance over my shoulder at the thick forest behind me and shiver at what lies in wait there, but Isaiah has no interest in what we’ve already seen. His eyes and body are pointed forward.
“What do you think?” he asks.
My breath catches in my throat when I see the splendor panning before me. Thousands of tiny lights twinkle all around the ground below and in the middle of the panoramic view the skyscrapers of Louisville soar into the air. “It’s gorgeous. ”
“Yeah. ” But he’s not looking at the view, but at me. I bite my lip and look away.
“So, am I the really the first one you’ve brought here?”
“Abby’s been here, but I didn’t bring her. She follows. ” Isaiah lets go of my hand and jumps onto the only thing separating the two of us from a drop of death—a crumbling stone wall.
My heart smashes past my rib cage. “Be careful!”
“It’s safe. ” Isaiah holds his hand out to me. “I won’t let you fall. ”
My eyes drift to the dark hole on the other side of the wall. From the ground, the drop looked staggering, but Isaiah said he wouldn’t let me fall and from the sincerity leaking from his face, he means it more than he means anything else.
As if in a tunnel, I outstretch my arm, and just as my fingers hover over his, my cell pings. Isaiah’s eyebrows draw together and my blood flow halts. We both know it has to be Ethan.
Isaiah jumps down and I pull the cell out of my pocket. With one touch, the phone lights up.
Ethan: you need to come home.
My pulse quickens. Have I been busted? why?
Isaiah shifts beside me, but remains patient. He knows my twin typically leaves me alone and that a text from him can mean problems. The seconds stretch into an eternity: come home
Me: what’s the problem?
Ethan: I think you’re lying to me. I don’t think you’re driving.
The entire world sways to the right, then to the left, before refocusing. What does Ethan know? From behind me, Isaiah wraps his arms around my waist, engulfing me in the warmth and strength of his body. “What’s wrong, angel?”
“I don’t know. ”
Me: you’re paranoid
Ethan: r u with the guy you skipped school with?
