Chapter 8 #2
Barging through the front door, he raced across the entryway and took the stairs two at a time, with Shmoop hot on his heels, barking up a storm.
Quickly, he ran into his room and immediately swiped everything that was on top of the dresser in front of the window onto the floor before hopping on top of it to get to the window.
He could see the top of Holly’s head and prayed he wasn’t going to startle her when he shoved the window open.
Opening the latch, he slid the window up and then wrestled a bit with the screen.
“Lucas?” she asked shakily. “Please hurry. I…I seriously can’t feel my hands and I think I’m going to pass out.”
Her voice sounded weak, and that spurred him into action.
He kicked the screen out and let it fall to the ground outside before leaning out the window and getting his hands on her, careful not to hurt her more than she already was.
She had a white-knuckled grip on the ladder, her ponytail was coming loose, and he could tell that her feet were starting to slip.
Gently, he grasped her arms. “Okay, I want you to carefully let go of the ladder one hand at a time and hold on to me. Can you do that?”
“I…I don’t know. I’m afraid to let go!”
“I know you are,” he told her, calmly but firmly. “But we need to get you inside.” She wasn’t all the way at the top of the ladder, and if he could get her to climb up just another rung or two, it would make things so much easier.
Tightening his grip, Lucas tried to nudge her up the ladder without telling her to climb. He wished he could move the dresser out of the way to make things a little easier, but it was too late for that.
“I can’t climb any higher, Lucas!” she cried.
"Okay, okay—don’t move! Just… give me your hand. Just one. I know you’re scared, but you can do it."
Holly slowly craned her neck to look at him and spoke to him through gritted teeth. "I can’t move, Lucas. If I move, I die."
Now was definitely not the time to laugh, but it was hard not to. Then he realized that maybe he needed to lighten the mood a little to help her relax.
"You’re not going to die. Worst case, you end up in the bushes. The boxwoods are large and fairly dense and were just trimmed last week. They’re very soft now. It would be like landing on a firm mattress."
She glared at him, sweat dotting her temple. "This isn’t funny!"
The ladder creaked and she cried out in horror, causing him to flinch. Leaning out the window like this wasn’t working. He didn’t have faith that he’d be able to pull her up while leaning over the dresser.
“Um…I need to move this furniture so I can brace myself better and pull you in. Just…ten seconds, I promise!”
All she did was whimper.
Hopping down, he cursed the large dresser while shoving it as far away from the wall as he could. Then he was back at the window. With one hand, he gripped the inside wall, and with the other, he reached farther out the window.
"Okay, new plan. I'm going to pull you in. On three."
"That’s a terrible plan!"
"One—"
"Lucas—"
"Two—"
"Seriously, wait! Call the fire department! I can hold on, I swear!"
There was no way he was even considering that.
And with every ounce of strength he possessed, Lucas called out, "Three!
" before lunging forward and hooking one arm under hers and yanking her upwards.
She squeaked in surprise and flailed, making it harder to keep a tight hold on her.
The ladder wobbled violently, but Lucas held on, his muscles straining, as he pulled her up and closer to the windowsill.
With a scream, Holly kicked the ladder away as she finally let go and grabbed onto him, desperately clutching at his shirt and coat.
With an awkward grunt and an ungraceful tangle of limbs, she crashed into him, toppling them both backward onto the bedroom floor. And then…
Silence.
The wind was completely knocked out of him, and Holly wasn’t moving. He was about to panic when she let out a weak groan.
“Are you okay?” he breathlessly whispered. “Is anything hurt?”
Lifting her head, she looked down at him. "Just my pride."
Unable to help himself, he laughed beneath her, winded but grinning. "You’re welcome."
She pushed up a little more and wiped her hair away from his face. "You almost gave me a heart attack. I didn’t think it was going to work. I was certain the ladder was going to fall backwards and take me with it."
Tightening his arms around her waist, he solemnly said, “I never would have let that happen.”
“You told me I could easily land in the bushes. That it would be like landing on a firm mattress.
"Yeah, but… I caught you."
Holly just stared down at him, the moment stretching between them. Breathless. Close.
Then she smirked.
"Next time, leave me on the ladder. Or call the fire department."
"Next time, leave the lights to the professionals.”
They both laughed—still tangled on the floor, but safe, and maybe just a little reluctant to move.
Resting her head on his chest, he felt her slowly begin to relax, but they stayed like that for a long time.