Page 28 of Ripple Effect

As we mount our bikes, she laughs while I stumble, working to regain my footing.

“Try to keep up, okay?” she says, already pedaling away. I follow her as closely as I can, navigating around parked cars and pedestrians to make our way toward the road.

We ride together for a while, quickly falling into a comfortable silence. The soft hush of tires against asphalt, the distant hum of traffic, the occasional birdcall—all merge into a calming backdrop. It’s the first moment of genuine peace I’ve felt all week, and I revel in it.

Every so often, Daisy glances back at me, a cheeky smile on her lips. “Are you sure you can ride that thing? You look a bit wobbly.”

“I’ve got it all under control,” I call back, steadying myself. The fact that I haven’t ridden a bike since middle school isn’t something she needs to know.

“Really?” she asks, a teasing lilt in her voice. She swerves slightly, almost causing me to veer off the sidewalk. “Because it looks like you’re about to crash into that tree.”

I shoot her a faux scowl, adjusting my course just in time to avoid it. “Funny. You ride like a feral child, you know that?”

She just laughs, pedaling even faster. “Life’s too short for safe biking. Live a little.”

Her words echo in my mind, and despite everything, I find myself snorting a laugh. This is exactly what I fucking needed—a real, honest break. A hint of carefree normalcy for once.

“So, where were you this week?” She tosses the question over her shoulder. “I thought for sure I’d catch you on the beach or maybe the café again.”

“Just busy with work, with school.”

“Work, huh?” She glances back at me again, brows tightly knit. “What do you do for work, anyway?”

Her question rings in the air, and I hesitate for a moment. It’s not that I’m ashamed of my job. Hell, it’s not even that I think Daisy would judge me for it. It’s just that ... work is work. It’s not who I am, not who I want to be when I’m with her.

And it can be a lot to explain to someone who’s not familiar with that world.

“I work online,” I say, giving her a half-truth. “Freelance stuff. It keeps me busy.”

“Sounds mysterious.” There’s a pause, and I can tell she’s trying to read me. I don’t blame her for being curious. But it’s a curiosity I can’t quite meet, not yet. I want to keep things simple between us, easygoing, for as long as I can.

“And didn’t you say you like mystery?”

A laugh bubbles from her throat. “Exactly,” she calls back to me, pedaling on ahead.

For the next few miles, Daisy and I continue biking down the quiet streets of our small coastal town. The casual chatter, her laughter echoing in the otherwise quiet morning, it all feelsnormal... so damn normal that it takes my breath away.

Unfortunately, reality has a way of cutting in when I least expect it.

We’re only three blocks away from the Golden Cone when I feel it—a sharp, stabbing pain right in the center of my chest. My heart hammers erratically, the world tilting sideways as I lose my balance and tumble off the bike.

I hit the asphalt hard, pain radiating from my shoulder where I landed, but it’s nothing compared to the thundering ache inside my rib cage. It’s like someone is squeezing my heart in a vise, each heartbeat jarring, unnatural, like it’s ripping me apart from the inside out.

“Daisy,” I manage to choke out, my vision blurring at the edges. I press a hand to my chest, trying to bring myself back to Earth, but the pain doesn’t subside. It only gets worse.

I can vaguely hear her calling my name, but her voice sounds so far away, as if I’m underwater. She’s at my side in an instant, her hand on my shoulder.

“Elio?” she sounds panicked, her eyes wide and frightened. I try to tell her I’m okay, that I just need a moment, but the words won’t come.

Instead, everything goes dark.

12

DAISY

It all happens so fast.

One moment, we’re laughing, racing toward the ice cream shop, and then, in the blink of an eye, Elio’s gripping his chest, gasping for air before he tumbles onto the asphalt.

---