Chapter 6 #3
“I’m sorry I cut that short,” he says as we wait in front of the golden doors, my solemn expression reflected back at me. “But this will be even better. I promise.”
I stare at him, unable to conjure the energy to glare.
The elevator dings, and we step on. With a sinking stomach and a painful squirt of adrenaline, I watch Cooper hit the button for the sixty-ninth floor, the highest in the building.
My heart is beating so hard in my throat that I don’t even have the wherewithal to say a mental noice .
My pulse pounds in my palms and the arches of my feet as we climb higher and higher, a shrill ringing starting somewhere in the back of my skull.
“W-what… Where are we going?” I ask through a dry throat.
“It’s going to be amazing,” Cooper replies, completely oblivious to the prickling panic locking up my joints, the sweat beading at my upper lip.
The walls of the space tilt toward me, trapping me in a golden cage racing toward the sky.
After an eternity and all too soon, the elevator jolts to a stop, the doors sliding open, my warped reflection disappearing in a wave.
The floor is empty, only a few doors on either side of us, most of the space taken up by a short staircase and an ominous-looking door at its peak.
Every instinct in my body tells me to curl into a ball and lie on the floor, but Cooper grabs my limp, clammy hand, smiling and talking as he leads us up the stairs; I don’t hear a word, my ears filled with a buzzing panic that makes it hard to put one foot in front of the other.
Becoming the human embodiment of my most terrifying nightmares, Cooper does the worst thing he ever could to me: he opens the door at the top of the stairs and tugs me through.
Out onto the roof.
The wind grips my shoulders and neck, threatening to yank me to the edge of this dangerously tall building.
My watering eyes scan my sky-high surroundings, taking in a large, glossy, bug-like machine in the center of the roof.
It takes me a few seconds to realize through the fuzz of sticky panic that it’s a helicopter.
“Ready for the best view of the city?” Cooper says enthusiastically, still gripping my wrist and drawing me toward the deathtrap with propellers.
Oh my god, this is how I’m going to die.
“Absolutely fucking not,” I choke out, a mortifying crack in my voice as tears blur my vision.
I rip my arm from him, wrapping it around my middle and tucking into myself, crouching down and balancing on my toes in an attempt to lower my chances of falling from these horrifying heights to the concrete below.
“Are you… are you messing with me?” Cooper’s question comes to me over the wind, the words distorted through my panic.
I manage to shake my head, a surge of dizziness lurching my stomach as more fear floods my body.
“Eva, are you okay?” Cooper says, voice softer. The wind quiets, a sudden sturdy presence blocking out the harshly close sun. I peek over my arm to see him squatting next to me, face taut and lined with confusion and worry. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
I rub my head against my kneecaps, taking deep, rattling breaths as tears burn my cheeks. “H-heights,” I splutter. “Can’t.”
With a determined grip, I feel Cooper’s arms go around me.
I let out a shocked gasp as he gathers me to his body, lifting us to standing.
I sway for a moment, hands clawing into his suit jacket, head tucking under his chin and nose pressing against his chest. I breathe in the scent of him, and I make a mental note to be furious about how good he smells and how nice he feels later when I’m safe on normal ground.
Still holding me, he guides us back toward the door.
Hearing the click of the lock and feeling my feet back on the landing of the staircase creates a whoosh of relief through my muscles that threatens to lay me to the floor.
The panic stains my veins, tattooing my skin, and a tiny, choked whimper pulls from my throat.
“I’m sorry. So sorry,” Cooper coos, too much tenderness in his voice. “Please don’t cry, Eva. We won’t go.” His hands cup my jaw, thumbs brushing away the tears tracking down my cheeks.
“Get off me,” I say, pushing him away. I find a surge of fortitude fueled by embarrassment.
I trip down the steps on wobbly legs, falling and hitting my ass on the edge of a few of them.
I let out a stream of curses as Cooper pounds down the staircase behind me.
He steps around me to the bottom, gripping my shoulders and hauling me up.
“Calm down, Eva. It’s okay. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down,” I grit out, indignation flaring. It’s the only feeling that can take a deeper root than my fear. “Telling someone to calm down literally has never had the intended effect.”
“You seem to be feeling better,” he says, a kind laugh in his voice as his gaze traces my face, hand brushing back my wind-ruined hair. I choose to resent that kindness.
I pull away from him, darting for the elevators. I slap the button a few hundred times before the doors finally open. Cooper slips in right as they’re closing. We ride down in silence, our chests heaving through jagged breaths like we sprinted a mile.
When the doors slide open, I bolt toward the exit, but Cooper’s right on my heels. I’m too disoriented to figure out where the closest subway station is, so I stop at the curb to flag down a stray cab. This man is going to cost me an arm and a leg just to escape him.
“I’m sorry,” Cooper repeats, defeat in his voice and etched in his face. “I had no idea you were afraid of heights.”
I shake my head, face twisting in acidic humor.
“Yeah, because you don’t know anything about me.
” A taxi pulls over, and I wrench open the door, sliding in.
“I thought our first round of dates were bad with you ignoring my existence and just trying to get into my pants, but this took it to a new level of awful.” I grip the handle, moving to slam the door shut.
Cooper catches it, jaw set in defiance as he holds it open. “I’m going to make it up to you, Eva. I promise.”
With a deep breath, I smooth my frazzled features into an icy stare. “You keep saying that, but the bar’s been on the ground, and you keep showing up with a shovel.”
I give the door another yank and it slips from his hand, slamming away the image of his wrecked expression, the last thing I see as the cab speeds off.