If You Fall

Twenty Five

It was almost two weeks before we had a house, and a plan, and Arianna was well enough to move. She had recovered quickly, gotten out of bed against doctor's orders and promptly gotten a bad infection which required another week's bed rest. She was highly pissed off, didn't love our idea of being a foster home, and wanted her precious Intou to be conducting business as usual flying all over the world risking his life alongside her.

I finally went into her room and had a little talk with her.

I opened the door without knocking, shut it behind me, and went to her bed. I was tired of being there, I wanted to go home, and I was just about done waiting for her and being nice about it. Bella refused to return my texts or answer my calls and I had to check on her. 

"You listen to me," I said without preamble as Arianna opened her mouth. "I am going back to California. I am taking Reed--" and here I pronounced his name clearly, "--with me. I am taking Dane with me. They are finished with this. If you had any sense in your stubborn red head, you would see this for what it is and gracefully agree to come with us because I am just about done and then you will be here alone!"

Whew.

She gaped at me. Then she laughed, but not meanly. "Oh my God, you kill me. You are really something else. I really see why . . . " she was amused and it annoyed me further.

"I swear to God." I wanted to punch her in the nose.

She saw it in my eyes and put her hands up. "I surrender, chérie ," she said, using the name mockingly. I knew she couldn't probably help razzing me but it grated. "Okay, Addy, wow, calm down. Okay. We'll go. I'll go, come, whatever. You're right. I don't want to be alone. Okay? You win. We'll all go with you and play house."

"You can't be a bitch to me around the kids," I warned her, and that sounded so funny we both started laughing.

"Now I've seen it all," Dane said as he opened the door. "Someone left the laughin' gas on in 'ere?"

"I'm on morphine. I don't know her excuse." She rolled her eyes but there was a truce of some sort in place. In other circumstances we would probably be friends.

"Intou's lookin' for you, Addy. I came to heckle Ari."

I went to the door. "We're leaving in like three days. So get your shit together. Both of you."

"Crackin'!" I heard Dane say admiringly after I closed the door.

"Oh, shut up," she told him.

Reed was waiting for me, dressed for climbing. My whole self lit up. 

The corner of his mouth rose. "I know this Ferris Wheel," he began, and I went to change.

We stood in the abandoned amusement park an hour later, in front of a decrepit Ferris Wheel that was probably erected in the 1800s. "You're insane," I said. "We'll fall and die."

"Nooo," he scoffed, already ten feet up. "Have you not heard? I'm untouchable. And therefore so, by proxy, are you."

"Oh yeah." I followed him and he had a head start but I was quicker and soon I was above him. "C'mon, slowpoke." The air was cold, a dusting of snow on the ground. I was used to it now but I'd never climbed in chilled air like that and it made it harder. My hands were cold.

"Here, before you leave me in your dust." He tugged my heel, holding out thin climbing gloves. I used my teeth to pull them on and tested them. Better. My bare feet were cold too but I didn't have proper shoes and I prefered climbing barefoot anyway.