I didn’t wait for him as he went to park the bike. I wanted to find Dusty to…to ask for my patch again. Secretly, what I really wanted was to know where he had been all night and if he was all right.
Starting to the clubhouse, I glanced at the roof. Disappointed to see Chain and Serial up there. That most likely meant Dusty hadn’t returned yet to end their misery. The other men worked their way through the bricks and tiles while the assholes both looked like they were about to pass out…or cry.
My glance lowered to the fucking scaffolds, my engineer’s mind refusing to let go and…
No, no, no, no! FUCK!“Owl!” I darted through the wind. “Get a mattress!”
“What?!” his voice trailed behind me.
I couldn’t even look at him over my shoulder as I ran. My eyes were fixed on the little boy about to bite the dust. “A mattress! Hurry!”
Snap.
Yelp.
“Daddyyyyyy!”
The boy’s squeal thudded in my heart as the unstable pole broke under his foot. He was hanging in the air, almost three-story high, nothing stopping him from falling but his little grip on the other piece of wood that was about to break as well.
Panting, I finally reached the side of the house. The men on the roof stopped working and were about to make everything worse.
“Nobody moves!” I stared at them, holding a warning hand. “The whole thing is about to collapse.”
The boy started to cry, calling for Skid.
“Where’s his father?” I asked.
“Out,” one of the guys answered.
The boy’s cries grew louder.
I smiled at him to soothe him a little. “It’s okay. It’s okay! You’re not going to fall. But even if that happens, I’m right here, not going anywhere, and I’m gonna catch you. Okay, champ?”
He pursed his lips, nodding, tears dropping down his face as he did.
“What’s your name? Can you tell me your name?”
“Carter,” he whimpered.
“Okay, Carter. I need you to hold really tight, but I need you to stop swinging your body. Can you do that for me?”
“I guess,” he whimpered again. “My hand is really slippery. Can I use the other one please?”
Oh my God. He spoke as if he was asking for more candy. “I’m sorry, champ, but you’re gonna have to hold tight with that slippery hand, just for a few more seconds. I know you can do it. You’re so strong.” My head whipped to the front door. “OWL!” Fuck. I returned my gaze to the boy. “How high can you count, Carter?”
“One hundred.”
“Wow. That’s so cool. Can you start counting for me?”
He did as I asked him. Only I knew he wouldn’t make it to twenty before the wood in his grip broke. My eyes inspected the rest of the interconnected poles, looking for the strongest parts that could take more pressure. However, as the wind rattled the trees, and the crappy poles shook violently, my hopes to climb up and get Carter thinned.
“Eleven, twelve…”
Shit. Thunder rumbled in the sky and rain poured on us. Any second now the whole scaffolding was going to take the boy and fall on top of me. The only way I could save him was that fucking mattress. I glanced one last time at the front door. “Owl, I need that mattress now!”
“Fifteen, sixteen…”
FUCK!