Love at Last Sight

Chapter Nine

            “I don’t know if he thought he’d break his neck on the rocks at the bottom, or whether he thought he would drown, but he jumped off it.”

            A gasp escaped my lips and my hands flew to my mouth. “He jumped off the waterfall?”

            Noah nodded. “Yeah.”

            My mind drew a picture of the waterfall from my memory. I’d been there a few times before with my ex-boyfriend. No one was allowed near it, so if you wanted to stand on the ledge, you’d have to climb over a barbed fence. Luckily, there was a tree you could scale on both sides to get over and back. The reason why it was so heavily protected was because of how dangerous it was. From top to bottom, the drop of the waterfall was a hundred and fifty feet. Sharp rocks and boulders covered the bottom and jutted out of the swirling water, guaranteeing a severe or even fatal injury. Just remembering standing on the ledge, my hand clutching my ex’s arm so tightly my knuckles were white, sent shivers down my spine. To think Chace jumped off it…

            “Luckily he got away with only a fractured spine,” Noah continued, oblivious to my spacing out.

            Tears tugged at the back of my eyes. It didn’t make sense. First of all, why would Chace want to end his life? And second, why in such a horrible way? It was awful! I couldn’t even bare to think about it.

            Suddenly a hand was placed on my shoulder and I jumped. Noah frowned at me. “Are you okay?”

            Nodding, I blinked away the tears. “Sorry.”

            “Don’t apologize. I know it’s a lot to take in. And you’re going to have to hear it again from Chace.”

            “I feel bad from hearing it from you first,” I admitted. “But I don’t know how I’d react if he told me that.”

            Noah squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

            “Yeah. Wow. I just…”

            “Why don’t we change the topic?” he suggested, smiling easily. “Are you going to join Chace and I?”

            “No,” I told him. “Do me a favor and don’t tell anything you just revealed to me, okay?”

               Noah raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”

            “I want him to tell me on his own terms,” I explained, cupping my elbow. “That is, if he decides to tell me.”

            “He’ll tell you,” Noah assured me.

            I smiled at him. “You sound so confident.”

            “Well, I was his best friend for three years. I know him. He eventually told me, didn’t he?”

            “Yeah, that’s true.”

            “Exactly. So cheer up, buttercup.”

            “I don’t think we’re close enough for nicknames, Noah.”

            He grinned at me. “Well, one day we might be. You never know. Chace and I might become best friends again.”

            I gave him a serious look. “You two better become best friends again. Chace could use a good friend. Especially since…” Biting my tongue, I reprimanded myself silently. What was I doing? Especially since I now knew he tried to kill himself? Didn’t I just promise I wouldn’t treat him differently? I didn’t want to treat him differently!