And she might be trying it, too, if Warden and Brielle weren’t stacked up on the trail behind/above her, grabbing hold of their own rocks for balance and waiting and watching her have a near nervous breakdown on the middle of this wall.

They’re all laughing at you, she thinks. They’re standing there judging you, talking shit about you.

They all think you’re a big fucking loser.

Dawn can feel Warden’s and Brielle’s eyes on her. They don’t say anything, but she can feel how they’re staring. She closes her eyes—fuck it—and before she can think twice, she kind of awkwardly shuffles around so she’s facing the rocks and her back’s to the clouds, and then she takes a step back into open air and lets go of the cliff face with one hand and starts to lower herself down, feeling around with her toes for someplace to land.

And it’s just as Dawn finds solid ground with her left foot and just as she lets go of the cliff with her other hand and starts to climb down that disaster strikes.

The ground gives way.

Dawn’s foot slips.

Something in her backpack shifts and it fucks up her balance and sends her teetering backward, her arms windmilling the air, her hands grabbing at the rocks for anything to save her,

but

she’s slipping too fast

falling out of control

she feels herself tripping backward

and

she knows this is it.

Author’s Note

WE HAVEN’T TALKED MUCH about Warden.

I mean, you know who he is and that he’s a Polar Bear. You know that he’s athletic and muscular and cute.

You might have guessed he’ll play a bigger role in this story, eventually.

(It was probably the brooding that gave it away.)

But we haven’t really seen much of Warden, not yet.

Not until now.

Chapter 30

SOMEONE GRABS DAWN’S HAND.

Arrests her fall.

Holds on to her, tight, just as she’s bracing for impact. Just as she’s mentally saying her goodbyes.

(Bye, Nana. Bye, Bryce.)

(Fuck you, Cam.)

Someone saves her life, holds her steady, stops her from falling and keeps her in place until her feet find firmer ground.

And Dawn kind of hangs there, hugging the rocks, breathing hard, wondering why she isn’t dead, and she realizes she’s still holding on to whoever just saved her.

And she looks up, and it’s Warden. And Warden’s staring down at her.

And Warden has the greenest eyes she’s ever seen.

(Because of course he does.)

Chapter 31

“HOLD UP A SECOND.”