“Yes, sir!” Nodding, I position myself single file behind him, my hand wrapped tight on his wrist.
“If you feel like you’re going to fall, fall left.”
“Hopefully I don’t need that advice,” I say cheekily, attempting to smooth the tension crackling between us.
“Jensen.”
“Sorry…” I clamp my mouth shut.
The stiff posture. The gruff timbre. The hard edge in his cadence. Anxiety drifts from Garrett.
Of course this is nerve-racking. We’re on the side of a cliff with a fifteen to twenty-foot drop to a rocky floor that, if it doesn’t kill us, would do so much damage. If I didn’t make a joke, the emotions twisting inside me with the force of a hurricane may cause me to cry.
Slowly, we slide down the narrow path. The unexpected smoothness in the terrain settles the anxiety buzzing beneath my skin. Unlike the rest of the trail, there aren’t as many ruts or rocks to deal with. Besides the death drop about two feet to my right, this is the easiest portion of the trail thus far. It’s surprisingly peaceful. Sunshine mixes with the gentle breeze, caressing my skin. Outside of our footsteps and breaths, it’s quiet. There’s something lovely and serene up here.
“What does it look like?” I ask, twisting my head to the right to try to take in the view—but the glare stings my eyes, causing me to close them.
“It’s…ah… Jensen, I need to focus,” he says, his tenor curt.
Fine, I mouth, but immediately cringe at myself.
He’s not being unreasonable. I’m being bratty, and I know it. Garrett will not relax until this is over. It’s who he is. If he didn’t need to worry about me, he could relax. If I could see, he wouldn’t need to do any of this. He wouldn’t need to describe the view, because I could see it. He could just walk without me dragging him down.
“Don’t,” I mutter in a self-chide.
There’s no reason for me to submerge myself in those waters right now. Just like Garrett, I should focus on the task at hand—not being a disruption, so he can guide us safely down the path.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing… Sorry…” I take another step, my ankle coming into contact with a rogue rock, causing me to lurch forward. “Oh!”
Before I register what’s happening, my body is slammed against a small rock to the left. Garrett’s body presses me tight against the cliff’s side.
“Are you okay?” he says, his breath coming in heavy gulps. With his chest pressed against mine, keeping me secure against the cliffside, I feel every breath.
“I’m okay, I’m okay…” Blinking, I pant. “There was a rock. I tripped.”
I’m not sure how that happened. The path had been so clean. What had been there, Garrett verbally indicated or telegraphed in his steps. I’m not sure how we missed it.
Because of you, a voice hisses inside me.
“Sit.” He guides me to rest against a flat stone jutting out from the cliffside. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes… You?”
“I’m not physically hurt, but I’m not fine,” he grumbles. “That was too close?—"
“I’m sorry. I’m not sure how this happened. I’m sorry.” I chew on the corner of my mouth, guilt swirling inside me.
“It happened because I was distracted and missed the rock.” He releases a snarled breath. “I told you to stay quiet, so I could focus.”
“I know, I’m?—”
“But still you talked. Damn it, Jensen, one wrong move and you could have?—”
“I’m sorry,” I say, swallowing against the hard lump in my throat.
Quiet. That’s all he asked for. I know that. I pushed us to do this, because I thought we—I—could do this. All he asked was for me to be quiet, so he could guide us safely to the end, and I couldn’t do that.
