Page 18 of Love By The Falls

Oh boy.

My stomach tightens and my core tingles. My fingers grab at the ground beside me, but the rock is slippery.

Do it, Charlotte. Go for it!

His face moves closer, and I close my eyes, anticipating his soft lips on mine…

“Geronimo!” someone shouts, and my eyes open wide. It sounds like Brady, but when I look down, I spot him in the water, treading alongside Teo.

I glimpse a streak of blue across the cave and realize it is Arturo diving from the cliff. My heart stops and everything moves in slow motion as my brain calculates the angle from which he leaped. I’m no mathematician, but I don’t think there’s enough space for him to hit the water first.

I cover my mouth with my hand. “Oh, my God!”

“Shit,” Caleb says before rushing to his feet, but he can’t possibly stop this from happening. He won’t make it.

Arturo screams before twisting midair and tucks his body into a ball, but the angle is all wrong.

Caleb flies down the steps and I have no idea how he doesn’t slip, while Teo and Brady stare dumbfounded, open-mouthed at the man diving too close to the rocks. They’re all too far away to save him.

Holy shit.

I turn away and cover my face before he hits the ground.

5

Caleb

Shit. I won’t make it.

I pump my arms faster, and my chest heaves from the frantic pace, but I still won’t get there in time.

“Catch him!” I shout to Teo and Brady, thawing them from their frozen stares.They rush toward him, but it’s too late.

Arturo hits the ground before any of us can break his fall.

“Ahh!” he screams, and I exhale sharply.

Thank God. He’s still alive.

His piercing cry ricochets against the rocks, but despite the agony in his voice, my relief is palpable. I swallow the bile that shoots up my throat, having nearly witnessed a man plummet to his death.

Slowing down, I skid to a stop in front of Arturo’s curled-up body, pebbles flying in every direction. He’s in the fetal position on the wet floor, clutching his right arm. When I place my hand on his shoulder, I realize it’s dislocated, and perhaps even broken. The elbow seems out of place as well.

“We need to get you to a hospital. Where’s the nearest one?”

Arturo’s eyes are glossy and red, his face is wet from either the water or his own tears. I grab his cheeks and ask again, “Arturo, where is the hospital?”

On the other side of him, Brady lifts his shoulder off the floor, but Arturo screams again, in what sounds like deep agony, and his eyes roll back. He mumbles incoherently for a few seconds before falling limp in Brady’s hands.

“Oh, my God. Is he dead?” asks Nikki.

Placing two fingers at his neck, I check for a pulse. “No. He must have passed out from the pain. It’s probably best for him, but it will make it more difficult for us to get out of here.”

“Are we lost?” Nikki’s bottom lip trembles. “Are we going to die out here in the jungle?”

“We’re not going to die. None of us are dying,” says a strong female voice behind me.

Charlotte.