Page 68 of Chained

She turns, her eyes empty. There are no tears, only the streaks of what's been left on her cheeks. Her lips part as she struggles to find the words.

"What, so you can use it against me? Not a chance."

"You'll die, you really want that? I know it feels bad; feels like you've got no other choice. But what you're feeling now doesn't end in death, Amora. It only gets better by fighting through it."

"I'm too tired to fight anymore, Ace. I have nothing left to fight for. He's already stolen everything from me."

I grip onto the vine, keeping my voice as steady as possible as I pull myself up onto my own ledge. I can make the jump. I can grab her before she falls.

"I used to watch the stars with my sister." She takes a deep breath, and I can hear she's breaking. Fuck, just hold on a little longer, Amora. Just keep talking.

"We'd camp outside during summer and search for all the constellations, discovering stories from years before we even existed. Finding comfort in battles and wars that had been won, the small triumphs against all odds." A small smile flickers on her lips, but it soon drops. "All stories, though. None of them real, because it isn't real, is it? Good can't always overcome evil. You don't always win every war or show you're worthy enough to be held in the sky. It's all fake. A lie."

I stare up into the sky, the constellations watching us from above. I know all about the stories—Adrian dragged us out onto the roof as kids. Told us that we needed to learn something other than blood and slaughter. Vincent hated it, called it a waste of time and literature. I loved it, though. Every night before I'd go to sleep, I'd search for them on this very balcony. And when the night terrors got too much, and I'd spend hours fighting the exhaustion. Adrian would sit with me, too.

It's one of the only good memories I have.

"I think it depends how you look at it." I jump, landing unevenly, brushing off my hands on my jeans. One down. One to go.

"How so?" she questions, her voice a little softer than before, not noticing that I'm closer.

"It all depends on which story you know."

She lets out a brittle laugh before turning her back to me.

"I'm not interested in a philosophical story right now. So please. Piss off and leave me to it."

I choke back the laugh. Even in the face of death, she's a pain in my arse. But as I watch her, the way her body trembles, the way her voice shakes with each word, my head tilts. If she wanted this, she'd have done it by now. She wouldn't be giving me the time of day, and maybe that gives me enough time to drag her from the ledge before she makes the biggest mistake of her life.

"Ah, come on. Humour me at least."

Her head snaps fast, brows drawn to the centre with a scowl as she spots me pulling myself onto the second ledge. "I said go back inside. I mean it, Ace. If you come any closer, I'll let go." Her voice is cold, trembling. I don't know if it's the midnight air or the fear that's finally breaking through the numbness.

"I'm not going anywhere, Amora. And neither are you."

She lets out a dark laugh, the weight of her body causing her to lose balance for a second, but she steadies herself. "Oh, my hero. Who knew when you forced me into that van, you were really my knight in shining armour." Her sarcasm is bitter. I almost tell her to go fuck herself, but I bite it back. Not the time, Jax.

Keeping my eyes on her as I climb up onto the ledge, my eyes drop to the ground below. Fuck me, it looks even higher now.

"What are you doing?" Her voice is quieter as she watches me stand on the ledge beside hers. Her brows burrow into the centre of her face.

"I can throw a pretty good pity party, too, Amora. So, you decide when do we jump?"

She stares at me puzzled, trying to figure out if I'm bluffing or if I'll really jump. Her lips part then snap shut instantly. She doesn't know what to say.

That's fine. I can stand here all night. At least she'll still be alive.

"You're insane," she finally says after a beat of silence. I spent the last few minutes just watching her as she tries to work out what to do next. If she wasn't stood on the ledge wanting to die, I'd have found it amusing. Maybe a part of me secretly still does.

"That's a little hypocritical, don't you think?"

"You'll really jump if I jump?"

"I'm a man of my word."

She turns, a flash of confusion on her face as she tries to work me out. Good luck, darlin'. I don't even know what I'm doing myself.

"Why?"