“Again, he isn’t my boy toy. And if he pulls that again, I’ll kill him myself.” I glared at Justin through the metal platform above, where he was watching and listening. I’d like to say he looked properly ashamed at what he did, but he didn’t. Instead he returned my gaze steadily, unphased by what had happened.
“What’s next, boss?” Luis asked Nico.
Nico glared up at Justin as well and it took him a few seconds to respond to Luis. “Come with me and let’s scout out the roof and make sure it’s safe before we bring everyone up. You two pull up the rear and make sure everyone gets up safely.”
We waited while Luis and Nico climbed the stairs to the top of the fire escape and disappeared over the roof’s edge. Time stretched as we waited for the all clear, and the longer they took, the more nervous I got. What if there was another horde on the roof?
“That Justin is going to be a bigger problem than I anticipated,” Miguel murmured.
I looked up to see Justin still watching me. “If he is, we’ll cut him loose,” I replied. If he was going to be a danger to the group, I wouldn’t let him continue with us. My parents’ lives were far more important to me than Justin’s.
Finally, Luis’s head popped over the edge. “Ok, one at a time. I’m not sure the fire escape will hold all the moving weight at once. Just take it nice and slow.”
“You heard him,” Miguel called out. “Leave the bags, Emery, and I will bring them up with us.” Mami went first, and as soon as she reached the top level, Papi moved to the level beneath her, and so on until everyone was well spread out or waiting for their turn to join the final ascent.
Miguel and I brought up the rear, leaving plenty of space between us and Justin so we didn’t put too much strain on the fire escape, with Miguel passing the bags up to me. Finally, we passed the bags to Luis and joined the group on the roof.
“Ok, everyone, take a break while we figure out our next move,” Nico said. He gestured for me, Luis, and Miguel to join him a short distance from the group. “I found a ladder that should stretch across the buildings.”
“How is that going to work?” I asked. “That’s going to be almost impossible for the older people to traverse. That’s asking too much of them.” I loved my parents, and they were pretty fit and active for their age, but crossing a ladder between two buildings will be a challenge for me, let alone them. And that wasn’t even taking into consideration Mr. Higgins, who was unsteady on his feet on solid ground.
“Maybe we can find a way to make it more stable,” Luis suggested. “Let’s look around and see what else is up here that we can use.”
We spread out, looking for anything that might help us bridge the gap between buildings. I checked inside a shed on the roof and hit the jackpot. “Hey guys! I found something!” They jogged over to me, and I pointed at the boards and rope I found. “These would work, right? Tie a board to the ladder to give everyone a solid surface to walk across.”
Miguel studied the boards before choosing one. “Yeah, this should work well.” He took the board and rope, and we followed him back to the ladder. They worked together to get the board in place while I checked on the others and explained what we would be doing.
“Are you crazy?” Justin asked. “There is no fucking way that is going to work.”
“Yes, it will. It has to,” I replied.
“I can’t do that,” Liz said, eyes wide in panic. “I’m afraid of heights. There is no way I can do that. I just can’t.”
“Liz, Liz, calm down,” I said as I pulled her into a hug. “We’ll help you across. I’ll be on the other side, and you just keep your eyes on me and put one foot in front of the other. We aren’t going to leave you behind, I promise.”
“I can’t, Emery,” Liz cried. “I just can’t.”
“You can and you will,” I responded firmly.
“It’s ready,” Nico called.
“Ok, everyone, let’s go. We can all do this.” The guys were putting the ladder in place as we reached them.
“I’ll go first,” Miguel said.
“Be careful!”
Miguel looked back at me and winked. “I didn’t realize you cared, Princess.” I blushed as he took the first step onto the ladder. Nico and Luis held it tightly to stabilize it. After the first cautious step, Miguel shot across the ladder. He jumped to the roof on the other side and spun around with his hands in the air. “And he stuck the landing! Easy peasy, just don’t look down.”
“Ok. See, we can all do this. Mami, you first.” I needed to get my parents to safety, and then I could relax until the next crossing. I held my breath as Mami took the first step onto the bridge.
“Slow and steady, love,” Papi murmured.
“Don’t worry about me,” Mami replied calmly. “Worry about yourself. You’re the one with questionable balance.” Papi chuckled in response.
“Breathe, Em,” Nico whispered in my ear. Now that Miguel was on the other side, he and Luis were stabilizing the ladder, freeing Nico from the task. “She’s doing great.”
I nodded as I released the breath I was holding. Everything was going to be ok. I felt eyes on me and looked away from Mami. Everyone’s eyes were on her except Justin. Justin was watching me and Nico with a look of disgust. He really was going to be a problem before too long—more of a problem than he’d already been. At this rate, he’d be lucky to walk away with his life. Miguel helped Mami off the ladder and gestured for Papi to start over next. Again, I held my breath, but it wasn’t long before Nico trailed his fingers down my spine, causing me to gasp as tingles spread through my body at his touch. I looked up at him in surprise, and he smirked without returning my gaze.
