Infatuated (Unedited)

Chapter 10

The best thing for me to do right now is not panic but when I realize just how high up I am and that the only thing saving me from certain death at this point is a branch, all that internal survival crap goes right out the window. A branch-- small and bare but sturdy, growing out of the side of the cliff is holding me up but for how long? With each second that passes it's bending within my grasp. I can feel it weakening and hear the rocks cracking around it.

"H-h-hel--" Fear has gripped me so hard I can barely get out a simple call for help. With my feet I scan the rock wall trying to find even the smallest of dips in the rocks to help me push myself up but it's useless. Everything my feet touches crumbles beneath the toes of my shoes rolling down the cliff and hitting the water. The sound I noticed, is lost within the sound of violent waves.

"Hel--help!" I tried again but I knew the rushing water below me was also swallowing the sounds coming from me as it had the tiny pieces of the cliff but still I tried again, calling for the only name that's coming to mind. "Ni-Nicolas! Nicolas please!" I'm in this position, hanging from a cliff because I ran from him and here I am expecting him to come to my rescue. Would he? After what I said and how I've treated him would he really save me? In the back of my mind there is a voice shouting Simone at me. Saying he wouldn't be saving me but who he thinks is in me. That same voice is telling me to let go; to end this life of having nothing and no one and be reunited with my mother. Looking down at the water and sharp rocks poking through the surface, I shut that voice out and continue to hold on. I fought too hard to get away from Dalton and too hard to survive living on the streets to just give up now.

The branch crackles again, the dry bark scraping the my palm as a warm feeling seeps through my fingers wrapped around it. While my heart is beating and on the verge of bursting my mind has taken that natural route of plotting to get me out of this mess. Using my feet I tried my best to gain some footing yet again to no avail.

"Somebody please--" A dull rumble above the branch cuts me off as chunks of rock break away and tumble down the cliff. Looking up in the direction of the sound proved to be my biggest mistake as one hit me hard above my left eye. With one final crack the branch snap. Finding the voice that had been lost to me previously, I screamed feeling the wind rush up from my feet and through my hair but suddenly...it stopped.

I felt a tight grip around my wrist just before I was quickly yanked up and over the edge of the cliff. A pair of strong arms greeted me without a single word being uttered from my savior. Hearing the waves crash harder and harder, splashing against the rocky wall of the cliff combined with the arms wrapped around my sore back caused the dam to break. Uncontrollable sobs pushed through my lips as tears drenched my face and the shirt of the person holding me.

I almost died. I fell off of a cliff and could have died. The more I cried the closer I was pulled to the person holding me.

"Shhh, mi amor. You're safe now." His chest vibrated against my face with each word and for the first time since we met, I believe him. Loosening his grip slightly he pulled back and lifted me up bridal style and carried me back to the house. Rolling my fist within his shirt I held onto him for dear life no longer caring what I saw him do or what he is.

"Oh my God!" Claudia's panicked voice sliced through the silence of the night air. I can almost imagine her eyes widened, filled with fear, and her already pale skin making her look as if she'd seen a ghost. "Is she ok? I only left her for a few minutes Nicolas! I swear if I'd known--"

"We will discuss it later Claud." There wasn't any traces of anger in Nicolas's tone but finality. His accent also seemed much thicker, something I realized a little while ago only happens when he's upset or mad. I have no doubt in my mind that I'm the cause behind the spike in his emotions. The way he spoke of losing track of Simone's soul--supposedly my soul--over the years was enough to show me just how worried he is to lose m--her. Almost falling off a cliff though not intentional will probably lead to him lashing out at me and at this point, I don't care if it does.