Dad pulled and pulled trying to get me up. I could see his struggle as he did so. Then the dreaded bolt came free completely, causing Dad to slip as I bobbled again.
I was surprised to see he regained his footing and continued pulling again. There was another bolt I didn’t see just behind me. He managed to secure the rope onto that. He stopped for a second and grabbed his chest, breathing hard. It was too much for him.
“Dad, stop. Get to safety. Please. You can’t do this.” He couldn’t. He had that frail look again.
“No. No. You let me take care of you,” he cried. “I’m going to pull you up.”
He pulled again, and I was almost up. It would have been so much easier if I hadn’t been tied up the way I was with the ropes wrapped around my arms. He literally had to do all the work.
One last pull, and I would be right up there on the roof with him, but the panels holding us up came free, and we both fell through the air as it crumbled.
“Daaaaadddd!” I screamed.
Dad rolled past me, and both Luc and I cried out.
I thought he was going to fall straight to the ground, but Dad grabbed the rope dangling below my legs.
Resilience and determination shone from his face. My breath hitched somewhere between my heart and my throat as I watched him climb up higher.
He didn’t say anything; he just held on tight, pulled in a deep breath, then reached into his back pocket to pull out a knife.
“Dad, what are you doing?” I couldn’t keep the panic out of my voice.
“Amore mio, listen to me. I’m cutting the rope from your arms. When it loosens, grab the rope above you and pull yourself up.”
“No, I’ll help you.” I wiggled my fingers.
“Amelia, listen to me. Do this for me. Just focus.”
“I can’t. I won’t leave you. Cut the rope from me, and I’ll help you up first. Then you can pull me up.”
“You get your stubborn from me, girl. Now’s not the time to be stubborn. I need you to listen to me. Remember that day, that first day I took you to your first ballet class?”
I’d been five, but it was a day I would never forget. It was one of the most meaningful days of my life. “I remember.” I whimpered.
“All the other girls were so good, and it threw you off. But I told you to do your own thing. Focus and do what comes to you. Focus. When you did, you did what came natural to you.”
I started sobbing. The mask of the tough cop I’d become over the years faded, and I could have been that little girl again.
“Amelia, we need to act fast. Ready?”
I nodded, unable to talk.
He slid a little higher and started cutting away at the knots. My left arm came free first, and I reached up to grab the rope above me.
“I’m going to leave the rope around your waist, just in case.”
My right arm came free, and I shook the remains of the rope from me. It fell down past Dad.
“Dad, I can pull the both of us up now.” I was determined to.
The rope above us started to shift, then it dropped slightly. The panel just before the bolt gave way, and we both dropped some more. I looked down at Dad, my heart beating so fast I thought it was going to jump out of my chest.
We were going to die. This wouldn’t work.
“Lucian,” Dad cried, glancing over his shoulder and locking his gaze with Luc’s.
“Boss, no…”
