I came up a second too late.
“Let her go,” I said, my voice low as I leveled a glare at the fucker’s hands grasping the girl’s shoulders tightly.
He pushed her in front of him like the coward that he was. My fist clenched and unclenched as I tried to assess the situation. I avoided eye contact with the girl. I didn’t want to lose my focus or control, and I had a feeling that would happen if I looked at her and found her eyes filled with tears or pain.
“Who the fuck are you? Why don’t you get back to where you crawled from, you filthy son of a bitch?”
He tightened around her, and she let out a small whimper that pierced my heart.
I took a deep breath.
“I don’t think she wants to go with you. So why don’t you let her go and deal with me? Because I guarantee you won’t be leaving this place with her today.”
He laughed. “Do you know who I am?”
“No,” I answered. “And I don’t give a fuck. Let. Her. Go.”
He pulled her back toward the cliff, and the girl looked behind them before she tried to get away. I held up my hands.
“Hold up, okay? Let’s just fucking talk about this. Do you really plan to jump off the cliff with her?”
He sniggered, sounding like the deranged man I had thought of moments before. “Jump off? You’re so fucking intent on saving her? Can you save her from the fall? Do you have fucking wings?”
He laughed, and without saying another word, threw her over.
“No!” I shouted. But it was too late. I could only watch in horror as her small body went over, and there was fuck all I could to save her.
The motherfucker ran, but I was no longer paying him any attention. I rushed forward and looked down. The image that greeted me will fucking haunt me for the rest of my life.
Her broken body lay at the bottom, surrounded by sharp, jagged rocks, unmoving.
I looked around for a pathway to get to her and found one to my left.
I grabbed a tree branch to carefully lower myself down, nearly tripping twice on the way, and finally getting to where she lay.
“Hey…” I tried to remember what the man had called her. I didn’t think he had said her name. Fuck. “Girl. Stay with me, okay?”
I brought my fingers up to her neck, almost letting out a small cry of relief when I found a pulse. It was weak, but fuck, it was there. Her cellphone peeked out through the pocket of her jacket, and I grabbed it and put in the call.
“Please have fucking reception,” I muttered to myself. There was a long pause through the line before I heard the ring.
I quickly recited what had happened and told the operator where to find her before hanging up. I’d give them ten minutes.
I looked back down at the girl.
Like this, with her eyes closed, she looked even more vulnerable. I didn’t know where to touch her. I was afraid of making her injuries worse. I lightly petted her forehead.
“You’re going to be okay, girl. No matter what you fucking do, you live. Do you hear me? Live.”
Her eyes fluttered, and I held my breath. She opened them and looked up at me. The glassy quality in them told me she wasn’t really here with me, but the pale gray irises of her eyes still did something to me.
Her gaze was directed right at me.
“You’re going to be fine,” I promised her. “I’m here. And I won’t leave you until the ambulance comes, okay? I won’t leave you alone. I promise. So, keep fighting, girl. For me, okay?”
Her mouth opened, but nothing came out.
I didn’t expect her to speak at all, and I was just fucking glad to see her chest pushing up and out with every breath she took.