Page 1 of Falling Into Forever
PROLOGUE
SAYLOR
Twelve Years Ago
“There’s no way she does it.”
“What does he even see in her?”
“She had a panic attack in algebra last week. What’s wrong with her? I mean, it’s math class.” She laughs while anger and hurt well in my chest.
Strong hands wrap around my biceps and keep me planted on this platform high above the ground, but he can’t silence my mouth.
Turning my head, I glare at the mean girls who torment my days. “My grandfather died, you stupid twits. I know the concept of empathy is beyond your comprehension, but try. I don’t wish my pain on anyone.”
Dante presses himself tightly to my back, silencing me, and making us one.
“Don’t listen to them. Listen to me,” he whispers in my ear. I catch the scent of his minty toothpaste as he leans in, reminding me that he has me up way too freaking early in the morning for this crap.
The treetops sway with a strong breeze that has me regretting everything this guy has talked me into over the last two years. Why the hell did he think signing us up for a ropes course would be a good idea?
Dante tightens his arms around me while my heart slows to a steady rhythm that matches his, and the noisy chatter blurs to a dull roar.
This is why I go along with his stupid ideas. He’s the only one who can calm the chaos that swirls through me. I’m not sure when the darkness found me, but at sixteen, I’m painfully aware that I don’t see the world as my peers do.
“You can do this, Sayls. I believe in you,” he says so only I can hear, kissing the back of my head so softly I could have imagined it, but then he retreats and takes all his warmth and calmness with him.
My palms are sweaty, and it’s hard to swallow as the ropes course master checks my harness. He’s speaking in tongues as he goes over safety measures for the millionth time. If my entire body wasn’t shaking like it’s buried somewhere in the tundra, I might be able to listen to him, but I only catch his lips moving and an annoying buzzing in my ears.
Oh, God. I’m so dizzy. This was a terrible idea. I can picture the news article now—“Teenage Girl Falls to Her Death.” They probably wouldn’t even give me a name, and I’d be forever known as “teenage girl.” I’ll end up as one of those cheesy made-for-TV movies, with a B-list actress who cries all the time.
“She’s so weird.” The girl’s words pierce my wayward thoughts and break me out of my wild imagination.
Sometimes it’s easier to live in the make-believe.
“And what is she wearing?”
“It’s a trust fall, Saylor,” Dante yells from below. Geez! How the hell did he move so fast? “Let go, Sayls. I’ll catch you. I’ll always catch you.”
I make the mistake of looking down and almost throw up. But then, his eyes draw me in. I shouldn’t be able to pick out that endless blue color from this height, but it’s all I can focus on—he’s speaking the truth.
“Trust me,” he says with a cocky grin that even I’m not immune to.
I do. I trust him more than anyone else in my life. With him, I don’t have to pretend I’m something I’m not. With him, I don’t have to be anything other than me.
And with a painfully long exhale, I let go of my fear, fall back into nothingness, and trust that my best friend will catch me.
The rope snaps taut, jerking my body from its freefall, and suddenly I’m floating above the ground. Dante was right—I could do it—and while I want to find that annoying, I can’t quite reach that level of sass. Not when the clouds are perfect little marshmallows reminding me of campfires and picnics. The sounds of chatter and the wilderness sync to create a lullaby for my anxiety.
Calm.
“You did it,” Dante yells, always my fixer. Begrudgingly, I allow happiness to settle over my expression.
I turn my head and find his gaze like we’ve been tied together with an invisible string that will always connect us. I’m as certain about that as I am that mean girls are the sharts of humanity.
I don’t know what force put him in my path when he moved here two years ago, but I hope he’ll always see me the way he does now—as someone worth loving.
The ropes master releases my line through the carabiner attached to his harness while Dante stands next to him. I honestly wasn’t sure those contraptions would hold me, but Dante promised it would, and he always keeps his promises.
