Page 24 of The Space Between Heartbeats
I pull the bag off my shoulder and hand it to him. He sets it in the locker next to his stuff and I start emptying my pockets. ChapStick. Hair tie.
Knox is about to close it when my phone starts ringing.
We both stand stock-still.
I pull it from my bag and see Owen’s smiling face on the screen. My thumb hovers over the green button.
It rings twice. Three times.
He’s probably standing at the entrance to the ride, wondering where the hell I am. Maybe he’s worried.
Four rings.
I look at Knox and see the challenge in his eyes before I glance into the open locker between us like a gaping mouth waiting to swallow my phone whole along with the last chance to change my mind.
Five rings.
My finger moves.
I decline the call.
The sudden silence is jarring.
For a second, I just stand there, phone in hand, staring at the screen as it goes dark. Then I hand it to Knox. His fingers brush mine as he takes it, and he holds my gaze for a beat longer than necessary before placing the phone carefully on top of my bag.
When he slams the locker shut, I jump, and that feeling of defiance, that adrenaline burst, courses through me again.
I’m doing this.
“Ready?” he asks.
No.“Yeah.”
He turns and heads toward the queue entrance, and I follow, leaving my phone and Owen’s unanswered calls locked away with Knox’s things like they belong together.
The queue winds through a covered area painted in black and white, with checkered flags hanging from the ceiling and vintage racing posters plastered on the walls. Our express line bypasses most of that, snaking around the queue and leading directly to a set of metal stairs.
I crane my neck. They must climb three stories at least, zigzagging back and forth up to the loading platform high above us. My stomach drops but somehow I feel giddy.
“Come on,” Knox says, grabbing my hand.
I follow, gripping the handrail with my free hand as we climb. The metal stairs clang under our feet, vibrating as other riders move above and below us. Knox doesn’t let go of my hand, even when the stairs narrow and we have to go single file.
My thighs are burning and I’m breathing hard by the time we reach the first landing. Anxiety is creeping its way in, but I shove that bitch away.
You made a choice. Live with it.
Through the metal grating beneath my feet, I can see people in the regular line far below, moving like ants through their roped off maze.
The mechanical sounds of the coaster are getting louder with each step. That click-click-click of the chain lift bringing riders high up. That whoosh of cars flying past overhead. Screams cutting through the air that make my pulse hammer.
“You scared?” Knox asks as we hit the second landing. He finally glances back at me.
“Not really.”
He narrows his gaze reading me like a book but doesn’t give me a hard time for once.
We start up the third flight, and we both turn at the sound of Owen’s voice echoing up from below.
