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“Sucha crush. I thought you took the class to hang out with your best friend, but looking back now, it was all about Zahra.”
“Keep it up, and I’ll leave you down there.”
“Oh no!” I flail my arms. “Help, I’m trapped in a shallow crevice! How ever will I escape?”
She stands up and steps away.
“Ahh!” I mock-scream. “Come back! Do not abandon me in my hour of need!”
“Walking away now,” she calls. “Taking my light source with me.”
“The dark? No, we are afraid of the dark, yes, precious? Afraid of the dark we are.”
“This is why you and Kit make the perfect pair. You belong together, if only to save the rest of us from having to deal with your nonsense.”
“Dark, so dark, so cold. Mommy, are you there? I can’t see anything, and it’s so cold. Mommy?”
“Walking faster now.”
She’s not, of course. She’s standing just out of sight, listening to me goof around, as she always did when we were kids. She’d grumble and roll her eyes, far too cool for my nonsense, but she still listened, and she was still amused.
She’s right about Kit. We shared the same sense of humor, and when we were younger, the two of us would get going, riffing off movies and books, being silly in a way the others couldn’t bring themselves to be.
“Dark… cold…” I whisper. “Don’t leave me, dearest friend. Do not abandon me to the void.”
She covers a laugh with a snort. “Still not coming back. You got yourself into that mess. You can get yourself out.”
I could point out that it was her sudden warning that actually sent me over the edge, but that would be rude. At least she still cares enough to warn me.
I look around for the best climbing route. Wow, it really is dark, isn’t it? I dropped my flashlight into the crevice when I fell. I’ll want to get that later—it’s my good flashlight.
If you’d asked me five years ago whether there was such a thing as a “good” flashlight, I’d have laughed. Then my new husband built me a luxury vacation home on a private, off-the-grid island, where if the power fails, it can get very dark. For that, he’d gotten “good” flashlights—meaning expensive—and I’m rather fond of mine. Too fond to leave it at the bottom of this crevice.
I could ask Jayla for some light, but what fun would that be? I just need to find the right route. I also need to find it without, you know, stepping off the ledge that I can no longer see.
I feel my way along the ledge.
“I could help you,” Jayla says. “Just say the magic words. I know you remember them.”
I shake my head. The magic words are “Jayla is the most amazing person ever, and I’m so lucky to be her friend.” Seems I’m not the only one who hasn’t quite left childhood behind.
I tap my toe down. Yep, that’s the end of the ledge, but the wall above me slopes inward, which isn’t climbing-friendly. I feel my way to the other end of the ledge. Ah,there’swhat I want—a nicely angled rock wall with footholds and handholds. The only problem is that those footholds and handholds aren’t directly above my ledge.
“Fine,” Jayla says. “Just ask nicely, and I’ll help.”
“I’ve got it.”
“Of course you do. Story of your life. While you’re in there, maybe we can discuss this bullshit about you not accepting alimony from Kit.”
“He gave me a million-dollar house. I don’t need alimony.”
I put one foot onto a nub of rock and test it. Seems solid.
“Are you punishing him, Laney? I don’t know what happened, but with the way he’s been moping, I’m guessing it was his fault.”
“It was no one’s fault, and if you think I’d punish him, you’ve forgotten everything you ever knew about me.”
Her voice drops. “What happened, Laney? He was so damned happy. You both were, right? I wasn’t imagining that. I know I wasn’t.”
