Page 65 of Almost Ours
I look up at her, and her hazel eyes trap me. My voice is gravelly as I say, "I'm not gonna let you die here."
Her breath catches. “Do you promise?”
“I promise.”
“Okay,” she mutters, nodding to herself, looking down at me. “Fine. Save me.”
I steady my feet on the ground. “Alright. On three you’re going to shift your weight forward. Don’t twist until I say.”
“I swear to God, if you count wrong—”
“One.”
“Josh, I’m serious—”
“Two.”
“Don’t you dare drop me.”
“Three.”
I lift carefully in an attempt to free her hips from the frame but not enough to send her flying. She makes a startled sound, halfway between a gasp and an insult, and her body moves an inch before getting stuck again.
She twists violently, startling me. “Not that way,” I warn quickly.
“I don’t know which way is which!” She snaps. “I’m on death’s door here, give me some fucking grace!”
“Okay, okay—relax your legs.”
“They are relaxed!”
“They’re not.”
“Well maybe that’s because I’m STUCK IN A WINDOW.”
I duck my head, hiding my face. This is unfairly funny and she looks mad cute now that she’s cross. I lift a little higher, feeling the window loosen around her. “Ruby—not so much—”
“I’M TRYING.”
“You’re flailing.”
“I AM NOT FLAILING, I AM FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE.”
“Alright,” I choke back laughter. “Just—keep still for a second.”
“I haven’t kept still a day in my life, Josh, what are you—OH—” The window frame gives a loud metallic creak, the kind that sounds both painful and offended. Ruby goes rigid. “Did it break?”
“No—”
“IS MY ARSE LITERALLY BREAKING THE WINDOW?”
“Ruby—”
“DON’T LIE TO ME, I CAN FEEL IT IN THE FRAME!”
“It’s not your—”
“Fuck! I’m going to BREAK IT!” Her voice goes so shrill that I have to look away. She wiggles again in sheer panic, which only makes the frame creak louder, the building equivalent of an elderly man saying, absolutely not, young lady. “I am breaking it!”
