Diamond
Icouldn’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to kill Finn Richards…
How many times I’ve pictured myself pushing him off a bridge for his cruel pranks. But now that he’s really hanging on to a bridge, gripping the edge with his body suspended over a massive void?
I know my parents were right.
Be careful what you wish for.
My screams sound like distant echoes when I kneel on the remaining part of the bridge. The snapping sounds erupting around me make it clear that the bridge is a ticking time bomb, but all I can think about is the rude boy holding on to a life he wasn’t sure he wanted two minutes ago…
There’s fear in his eyes.
Panic.
Regret.
Part of me wonders if this is the ultimate punishment for him. Getting a peek of death after flirting with it for years, only to realize it’s the worst preview he’s ever had.
A wave of nausea rolls through my stomach when I see the emptiness beneath him, the sharp rocks just waiting to crush every bone in his body.
If he hadn’t caught himself, he’d be dead right now.
Both his hands clutch the structure, but it seems slippery. From the moment he removes one hand, I’ll have limited time to bring him up.
“Give me your hand,” I shout, stretching my arm out as far as I can go. I have to lie flat on my stomach in order to reach him. Finn is petrified. He doesn’t even blink.
“Finn!” I cry out, choking on the pit in my throat. “Finn! Give me your hand. Please.”
His arms begin to shake under the weight of his body, and the little self-control I have left spills out of me in the form of tears. He needs to snap out of it.
“Trust me. Please. You have to trust me.” I release the most piercing plea of my life.
His eyes jerk open at the scream leaving my mouth. He’s never fully trusted anyone, or trusted life,since it took his mom away, but he has to believe not everyone is going to let him down. He has to believe in me.
“Finn!” A sob escapes my throat, kicking him into gear, and he squeezes his eyes shut for a second. I have hope again when he throws his arm in my direction, aiming for my hand.
My scream echoes in the night.
He missed.
He’s hanging from one hand now, his other arm drooping by his side.
“Again!” I stretch my arm out all the way down to my fingertips. Finn nods and flings his available arm up with all his strength, letting out a deep wail of rage, fear, and pain that makes me ache bone-deep.
That’s when his hand locks with mine.
And I know it all comes down to this moment.
The adrenaline kicking in, I pour all I have into pulling him up and cry out in pain when sharp debris cuts into my arm. Still, I don’t let go, ignoring the blood dripping down my skin. I choke on a sob when we fall backward onto the bridge and he collapses on top of me.
We did it.
The bridge trembles at the impact of our bodies crashing together, and the noises multiply at an alarmingly fast rate.
We have to get the hell off this bridge.
I don’t waste a second lifting to my feet, trapping Finn’s hand into mine and dragging him back to solid ground. We’ve barely charged off the bridge before half the structure caves in. The whole thing comes undone and crashes against the razor-sharp rocks below. I feel Finn’s hand strangling mine as we watch one of the deadliest bridges in North Carolina go down.