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My foot slips on some loose gravel, but I lean forward and pant, relieved. “Okay. Let’s do this—
Suddenly the edge of the cliff crumbles out from beneath me, and I drop. The camera bag on my shoulder hooks onto a tree root, and it’s the only thing keeping me from plummeting hundreds of feet. I hadn’t even had the time to scream. There’s nothing under me though, and I’m close to yelping every time my feet touch the vertical cliff wall and nothing else.
Delia peeps over the edge. “Are you—
“No! I am not alright!”
Trixie peeks next to her. “Stop screwing around down there.” Then she dips away.
“I think there’s a ledge under you, Autumn. It’s like a foot below you.”
“Are you sure?”
“I think so.”
“Be fucking sure, Delia!”
She nods confidently. “I can see it clearly now. Just lower yourself slowly—it’s only about three feet deep from the cliff wall and four feet wide. You’re right in the middle of it.”
“If I lower myself, I can’t pull myself back up!”
“Trust me, Autumn. I won’t let you down.”
“Bad choice of words!”
She snorts a laugh. “You do that, and I’ll call 911.”
“Okay. But you better be right about this.” Carefully, I slip my shoulder from the bag. Each fraction of an inch terrifies me. But then the root crackles, and I find new motivation to hurry. Pointing my toe down as far as I can, when my shoe hits something solid, I let out a sigh of relief.
I lower myself onto the tiny platform and finally take a whole breath before making the mistake of looking at my surroundings. Hundreds of feet in the air, with only trees and rocks to land on below. I press my back to the craggy cliff. All I want is to see Rowan one last time, and my heart hurts at the thought of dying without telling him how I feel. “Delia, hurry!”
I hear a man’s voice above me.
“I’ve got all the gear I need to get you out of there.” Someone says and starts hooking himself into his equipment. A minute later, he’s descended next to me being held up by a rope and pulleys.
“Just step through this loop.”
I do as he says because at least, it’s a rope and it’s something more than my hands and feet holding me up.
I follow his instructions, and soon, I’m back on top. I scramble away from the edge until I feel like I’m on safe ground.
“Are you okay?” Delia asks after I thank the kind stranger who just happened to be climbing the cliffs nearby.
“Yes, but I want to go home.”
Trixie whines, “What about my pictures?”
“Fuck you. I’m out.” I storm to the work van and hop into the passenger seat, waiting for Delia.
Trixie peels out in her VW. Delia and the cute stranger, whose name is Everett, take their time walking over. Once she’s in the driver’s seat, she pulls down the window and he leans in.
“So, that was really good timing.”
He smiles, clearly flirting. “Yeah, I don’t usually have this kind of good luck.”
“Luck?” I growl, “I almost died.”
But they’re unmoved. Delia smiles at him. “Would you consider it good luck if I asked you out?”
