Chapter Eighteen

*ring ring*

"Yes, I know thank you for the wakeup call," I said in my normal non morning voice, before she had the time to.

It was 8 am. And I was already awake. Even before the phone rang. I hardly slept that night. I mean, how could have I? My thoughts were all over the place. I slept for maybe an hour or two, because my body needed it.

I was just about to put the phone down, when the woman urged me, "Your friend told me to get some breakfast, and that someone will be waiting for you to take you to the top. Have a nice day, miss."

He was avoiding me, then. How mature?

I put on some denim shorts, and a cute little shirt with straps, and dug up some sneakers, that were way at the bottom of my bag. I put on some sunscreen. The higher you go, the more dangerous the sunrays became. Also, I was already battling some small degree of redness, on my shoulders and face, from that beach day, that had appeared last night. It didn't hurt as much, as it usually did. Highest factor, people. Protection at its finest.

I had some fruit as a mild breakfast, getting those vitamins in, and walked out of the hotel.

"Bye Pedro, see you later," I said as I was leaving, and was putting on my sunglasses.

I spotted Tom. He was probably the one who was supposed to take me, to wherever we were going.

"Hi Tom," I walked over to him.

"Morning Jessica, how are you?"

"Good, you?" I said as I climbed into his, what could only be described as, a safari jeep.

"Great. Let's go have another adventure," He got in, and cranked the radio up.

We spent good 20 minutes climbing the mountain, in the jeep. The road was very much steep, and I was thankful, he was the one that had seatbelts.

"Well, that was an adventure on it's own," I turned to Tom, as we arrived at our destination. He laughed and turned off the engine.

He helped me out of his jeep, and I saw Zach standing with a bunch of people. And my heart skipped a beat. Calm down, calm down. Maybe, he doesn't remember, and is not avoiding you. He was intoxicated last night, so he probably doesn't remember. Calm down.

Most of them I didn't recognize, but the one's I did, I regrated knowing.

On Zachary's left side was his little brother Sam, and on Sam's right was, none other than, lady Lydia.

He definitely doesn't remember last night.

Tom and I approached the bunch.

"Good morning, Jessica," Sam was the first one to acknowledge me, "Sorry about last night, I was drunk a little bit."

Did he really think that was going to fly with me? Maybe, it would, if I didn't know the story about him and Lydia. Plus, he just rubbed me the wrong way.

"Sure, Sam."

"And how did we sleep last night, no noises to keep you awake?"

Lydia, you're poking the bear, "No, I slept perfectly. Like a baby. Paolo did keep me up for a while, though."

The confusion on her face, was priceless.

"Paolo?" Welcome to the group Zach. How about you maybe tell me why you kissed me last night, not ask who Paolo is.

"The Italian chef. He has a great cooking show, on 24th channel. You should check him out."

Zach laughed. I loved the sound of his laugh. I could wake up to that smile.

"Ok, everyone, gather around. Around me, that is," Tom spoke to the group. This was a different group to the rafting one. Tom was clearly earning his money right, "There's nothing much to this. We strap you up, you put on a helmet, and you hold onto the little handle above you had. And someone, preferably someone without a grudge on you, will push you off."

That got a laugh. Maybe, he should try doing standup, or better be a therapist, since he loves giving out advice. OK, I was being a little harsh. Tom was a good guy. I, on the other hand was grumpy.

"If you have any questions like, will the cable hold, it will. On the other side, are two guys, part of our crew, that are going to wait for you, and help you out off that harness. Any other questions?"

Everyone shrugged their shoulders, then, who' going first?"

A girl volunteered, and they gave her a helmet, and strapped her on.

"Aaaaaaa," she screamed and was of, leaving our side.

I felt Sam get close to me, "So, are you and my brother?"

"It's none of your business, Sam."

"Because he and Lydia are."

I ignored him. Don't let him get to you. Ignore him, Jessica.

"Is there like a threesome, going? Cause if you're open to that, then how about a foursome?"

"How about, the next time you ask me an inappropriate question, I punch you in the balls? How does that sound?" I smiled sarcastically at him.

"Feisty."

"Always."

"Ok, next," Tom continued.

"I'll go," Sam said. Good. Leave. Be gone. Leave me alone.

They strapped him, and off he went down the wire, screaming some profanities. I rolled my eyes again. He seems to bring that out of me.

Now, that he was on the other side, I could relax. I was so wrong. My nose detected a smell of a bitch approaching.

"He's mine, so back off." Lydia might have been taller than me, but I had no problem jumping, and punching her in the face, midair.

"I didn't realize you could own people."

"You know very well what I'm talking about," she seethed.

"Was he yours when you slept with Sam?"

I felt her dragon breath quicken, "How do you know that?"

"Oh, that is for me to know, and you to never find out. Besides, if you must threaten me, it means you're afraid of me. And fear comes from uncertainty. In these cases you're uncertain of his love for you, because…." I had no idea I had a shrink inside me.

"Spare me this bullshit, just back off of him."

"I am. Look, how far I'm standing from him."

Kids, the best way to beat a mean person, is to either ignore him or her, or to just play dumb, just to make them angry, and purely for your entertainment. Or at least it worked for me. She huffed, and moved towards Tom, exclaiming she was next. Good riddance and bon voyage.

A couple of people went before me when I decided I was next. Zachary still hadn't spoken to me. What was going on in his pretty little head? Was he drunk, and really didn't remember last night?

I wasn't drunk, but If I had been, there is no chance I would have forgotten a kiss like that. Or the way his hands felt on my hips. Or the way his body felt pressing on mine. The way his big, soft, and delicious lips felt touching mine.

"…. Earth to Jessica," Tom broke me from my daydreaming.

I cleared my throat, "Yes, sorry. Give me the helmet."

I think I will dream about helmets. Helmet for this, helmet for that. And all of them the same color, blue. Maybe, I wanted pink one, or a green one. They would always give me the blue one. Lovers of blue don't get offended. I love blue, but I was sick of it.

"Is there any chance of a pink helmet?"

Tom stopped with tightening my harness, and looked at me like I was crazy," You're kidding me right."

"Sorry, yeah… continue with, what you were doing," I laughed nervously at him.

"You mean, trying to assure your safety, and keep you from falling down the big rift between the mountains…"

"Yeah, I got it, sorry. It was a joke."

He finished with the harness, "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

I looked to the other side. It looked so far away.

Don't look down, don't look down. Everything is going to be fine. Pep talk from myself to myself. Maybe, removing a part of my brain, did something to me. Like trigger a mental disease.

I grabbed the handle above my head, and soon enough I felt Tom push me off.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa," I screamed and closed my eyes. The sound of a metal buckle rubbing the wire, was ringing in my ears. I opened my eyes to drink in the sight. The thrill that rushed through my veins was incredible. I was savoring the moment when my body halted.

The stopping at that speed was abrupt, and my body started to swing, left and right. Instinctively, I grabbed the cable that the buckle was holding, firmly.

"Jessica, are you alright?" I could hear Tom's yelling.

Was I alright? Oh, let me see. I was hanging, at who knows what height, my buckle was jammed mid-way, and I was petrified. Yeah, I'm good.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK?" I screamed back.

"Hold on."

"No, I was thinking I should just let go, and chill. I AM HOLDING ON, TOM!"

I looked to me, now right, to that group of people that went down the wire, with no problem, and didn't like what I saw. They were panicking. I looked to my left, and saw Tom and Zach furiously talking to the other guy from the crew. They were panicking also.

Ok, think. What to do, what to do? I don't know, they don't teach you survival skills in high school. Besides, I spent last two years in a coma, I wasn't learning anything. Ok, breathe, breathe. They will come up with something. This has probably happened before.

I looked at my right again, they were closer to me, and asked one of the crew guys. "Has this happened before?"

Just making small talk.

"Well… um…" He was sweating.

"That's a NO, then."

I looked at the buckle and the wire, trying to see why it was jammed, but didn't see anything. There must have been some not, and it got caught in it. I must have been moving slower than everyone did, and it got caught. I tried to reach the buckle, to try to untangle me, but I couldn't reach. My arms were too small.

I was getting more and more scared. I tried not to let on or have another panic attack. I didn't want to be known as the panic attack girl. I wanted to be known, as the girl who fought and never gave up. I rested my forehead on the cable, trying to calm down and come up with a plan.

The fear that rushed through me at that moment.

"Zachary get back. What are you doing?"

What's going on? I turned to my left, and so Zack getting his harness on, and pushing himself of the cliff.

"Zachary, the wire can hold only one person, not two!" Tom was yelling at him, but Zach wasn't listening.

He was approaching me fast. If his idea of rescuing me, was colliding into me, and going down, like Romeo and Juliet, then I….

He collided into me, and his hands embraced me, and steadied me.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

"Saving your life," He stretched his arm, and touched the buckle.

"There's something in there, a not, or something like that, and the buckle won't budge," I informed him of my discovery.

"Yes, there's something."

"You do realize that you would have to pull the buckle up in and move it over the not."

"Yes, I do."

"You, also realize that even if that buckle isn't heavy, my body is."

"I'm aware of that."

"Are you telling me I'm fat?"

"What? No… Just stop talking and let me do this."

"Do what Zachary? You're not strong enough to pick me up with only one of your hands!" This man was crazy.

"I'll use both.��

"Ok, and when you do get me out, you will get stuck. So, how do you plan on getting yourself out, huh?"

"Tom is going to cut the wire."

Was I hearing him correctly? Did he just say he was going to CUT the wire?

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that?" I laughed, hoping I just misheard him.

He smiled, "Why don't we first deal with this problem, and get you out, ok?" He moved both of his arms to the buckle, and with all of his strength picked me up, and moved my buckle over the not. He used his legs and pushed me off, and down the wire.

"Zachary, you f….," I screamed in the distance.

That guy I had small talk caught me and helped me off the harness.

"Zachary!" I screamed at him again. I looked at Tom, on his side of the cliff, and saw him cutting the wire.

"No, Tom, stop!"

Soon, the wire on his end, let loose, and Zachary disappeared from my sight. I screamed so hard; I think my family heard me. I started to cry, as I ran to the edge to see where Zach was.

He was holding onto the rocks and was climbing up.

Those minutes were like hours. When he eventually climbed up, two men helped him up. I walked over to him.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, that was fun," He smiled.

I slapped him.

"What?" he began, so I slapped him again.

"Failed to mention that plan, and the fact that you're good at climbing?"

"Oh, come on, stop being dramatic, Jessica," I heard idiotic voice of Sam, so I turned to him, "Dramatic? Maybe, I wouldn't be dramatic, if you had told me, the moment I stepped on this rock, that he was going to climb this, and that he wasn't in any danger."

"Even if we did tell you, you wouldn't believe us. Besides, why would we tell you?" Lydia claimed her place.

"Lydia, I swear, if you open your ugly mouth one more time, I'll throw off of this cliff!"

"You little bitch," she charged at me, but Zach stopped her, standing between the two us.

"Sam," he instructed his brother to move Lydia away from me, he turned towards me, and I slapped him again.

"Ok, enough!"

"You know what's enough? This. You and me. I can't do this. All I wanted was two weeks of fun and checking off my list. That was the plan. So, why did you have to ruin it? All you had to do was sign the papers," I was full blown crying," I didn't ask you to come with me. You ruined everything by coming. You screwed up everything. My mind… my heart."

His eyes were tearing up as well.

"Why did you come?" I asked calmly. He didn't answer. So, I screamed at him, "WHY DID YOU COME?!"

He was hiding something from me, I knew it.

I was exhausted, and I had enough, "Just, take me home."

I was doing a final room check, whether I was forgetting something. When, I realized I hadn't left anything behind, I turned off the tv, "Bye Paolo, I'll find you on Netflix."

Checking out took couple of minutes. I spotted Dan passing by.

"Dan!"

"Hey, girl, I was just going up to your room to…," he saw the state of me, "What happened?"

"I'm going home. Here, "I handed him my phone," Put your number in, and I'll call you in a couple of days, and we can start planning our next meet up."

"Call me when you land," he said sadly, and kissed my forehead.

"I will."

As Dan was living, I spotted Pedro, helping some people with their baggage. I rushed towards him and waited for him to finish.

"Miss."

"Hi, Pedro, here…, "I had put all the money I had left, into his hand.

"What is this?"

"Your tip," I smiled, and hugged him, "Ask Dan for my number, if you ever want to call me, and just chat."

Pedro's smile was big and wide, "I will, miss. Thank you, miss."

"Jessica," I corrected him.

I was on a plane, alone. Zach stayed behind. He was angry with me and hadn't spoken a word. He only sent a message on my phone, that my flight was at 10 am, and that the driver we'll be waiting for me, to drive me to the airport.

It's funny how your fear of heights and flying can disappear, when you're angry. I spent the first half of the plane ride, fuming. I kept replaying every event, over, and over in my head. Analyzing every detail, every action, his body language…. But came up with nothing. It didn't help that Zachary wasn't the only person I was angry at. I was angry at myself. For letting my feelings dictate my behavior. For falling in love, and for letting myself get caught in Zach's love web, or this love triangle. I was way over my head.

Soon, I'll be back home, and back to reality.