Page 336 of Redeeming 6

“Turn her into me.”

“I don’t need this shit,” I choked out, voice breaking midsentence, making me sound like my fucking sister. “Do ya hear me? I don’t want anyone to save me!”

“I don’t care what you want,” she screamed back at me. “I care about what you need!”

“Let go.”

“No!”

“Lizzie.”

“It won’t fix anything,” she strangled out, burying her face in the back of my hoodie. “You think it’s the answer to all your problems, and maybe it is, to yours.” She sucked in a sharp breath. “But what about the people you leave behind? You think they’ll be able to accept it?” I could feel her shaking her head. “They’ll never accept it, Joey. It will haunt them forever. It haunts me forever.”

“I’m not your sister.”

“You know this is the same bridge, right?” she sobbed, holding onto my body for dear life. “The same fucking spot, Joey!”

No.

I didn’t know that.

“Nobody was there to stop her,” she continued, crying hard and ugly. “Nobody was there to stop my sister, but I’m here now. I’m here to stop my best friend’s brother from following my sister!”

“I’m not your sister,” I repeated on a croak, tears flowing freely down my face. “I’m not worth saving.”

“Do you have any idea how fucking selfish that sounds?” she demanded. “When you mean so much to so many people!”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Your sister and brothers love you,” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “They love you so fucking much it’s palpable. And your girlfriend? Aoife? Holy shit, lad, I have never seen someone look so in love with another human being in my life.”

“You don’t get it.” I shook my head, trembling. “I’m not good for her.”

“Then get good for her, dammit,” she snapped as the sound of fire engine sirens filled the air. “Don’t throw in the towel and ruin her life before it’s even started. Because that’s what you’ll do. You jump and you’re killing more than just yourself. You’re killing everyone that loves you. You’re sentencing them to a life in prison. Trust me. I should know.”

“I’m trying to do the right thing,” I pleaded. “Please just let me do the right fucking thing for once in my goddamn life!”

“You’ve always done the right thing!” she shouted back at me, as the wind howled and the sirens grew louder. “That’s never been your problem, Joey Lynch.”

“You don’t know me.”

“You’re a piece of shit for thinking about doing this,” she argued. “But as a whole, you’re a good fucking human, dammit, and I’m not going to stand back and watch another person I know erase themselves from this world because of another asshole’s actions. Because that’s what this is about, right?” she demanded. “Your father?”

“You don’t know a fucking think about my father!”

“Fine,” she agreed, still shouting. “I don’t know you. So, change that. Climb down from the railing and tell me about him!”

With my heart hammering in my chest, I stared down at her hands that were knotted together and resting on my stomach. “If you don’t let go, we’re both going under.”

“Yeah?” She doubled down and tightened her hold on me. “Then I guess we’re both going under. And please bear in mind that, going off rumors and the color of your eyes, you’re clearly high as hell right now, therefore any decisions you make may be heavily influenced by the shit pooling around in your veins and not how you would genuinely feel in your right frame of mind.”

“Jesus,” I bit out, frustrated. “You’re so fucking stubborn.”

“Says the pot to the kettle,” Lizzie countered. “So, what’s it going to be, Joey Lynch? Are we dying tonight, or are we living?”

“You’re living,” I begrudgingly conceded, allowing her to pull me back over the railing and onto solid ground. “I’m being emotionally blackmailed.”

“Hey, whatever keeps your heart ticking,” she replied. “Sorry, not sorry.”

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