Change and Secrets

Chapter 26

She fell.
And suddenly, everything around her was blurry. She barely recognized people screaming and calling her name. Rose just felt how there was nothing under her feet and how she felt the wind around her. How fear and adrenaline shot through her veins.

She had no idea how, but somehow she managed to hold on to one of the stillages, hanging several feet above the ground. God, if she fell, she might even die.
And she couldn't hold on for long. The metal was pressing hard into her fingers and her attempt to press herself up failed.

On top of that, the stillage was wet, someone must have been up here drinking.
"Tom!", she screamed, her voice echoed through the hall. The music had been turned down and everyone was staring at them. She couldn't care less, her mind was blank, only filled with fear.

"Hold on! I'm there in a second", Tom called back, but he needed to long, her one hand slipped and she was holding on with only one now. She tried to grab the stillage again, but she couldn't, she couldn't reach it. She didn't risk to move and lose her strength either.

"Tom?" The fear was clearly audible in her voice, she felt it in every cell of her body.
"Sweetie, just a second." Rose knew Tom was hurrying, so she tried concentrating on something else.

Kind of hard, considering she was hanging down from a stillage, could fall several feet, and at the minimum end in hospital. Yeah, she should think about something nice.

She heard Tom's steps echoing through the hall.
The only sound. Even the music had been turned down.
The fight has been stopped.
The conversations had been stopped.
No one said a word anymore, didn't dare even a little move, while they watched her and Tom.

Rose had to think about her mum being down there in the crowd and seeing her daughter hanging on to her freaking life. Great, that made the situation worse. 
A few more seconds, and she couldn't hold on anymore. 

A finger let go, only three holding her. And then those slipped too. 
She closed her eyes, expecting to fall, expecting the pain erupting in her body. It didn't happen.
In the last second, a hand wrapped around her wrist and held her hanging in the air. 

She opened her eyes, looking straight into Tom's green eyes. Eyes that were filled with worry and anxiety. His chest was rising and sinking just as fast as hers. 
"I got you. I got you. It's okay", he spoke.

She could only nod. Tom held his other hand out for her to grab and she took it. He easily pulled her small body on the stillage and directly into his arms. 

They sat there, she on his lap, he with his arms around her, she with her hands on his chest, he with his head above hers. 

"It's okay. You're safe now", he whispered as he felt her shiver. He seemed to relax since she was unharmed in his arms. She leaned her head against his shoulder, felt how he loosened the cloth to see her whole expression. Tom saw how she was still terrified and kissed her forehead.

"It's okay now. Come closer." He tightened his arms around her and she snuggled into him, closing her eyes. She felt how he stroked her arm and placed his lips on the top of her head. 
"It's okay", he whispered again, his voice calmed her down. He did. "You're fine, baby girl", he told her, making her smile. 

"Thank you", she whispered then. 
"I told you, I will always protect you, Sweetie." He smiled a little to calm her down, though he himself had to calm down.

Going down might have been a good idea, but she wasn't really able to stand up. Going down was hard, so Tom picked her up and went back higher to their bags. There he took in the same position they were in before and then took a water bottle out of his back, opening it and giving it to her. Her hands shook as she put her fingers around it. Tom still held it, knowing she was still shaking.