West moved behind me, placing his hands on my hips to guide me in. For a second, I wanted to snap that it was ‘unnecessary touching.’ But instead, I let him.
I let him get me into that death trap, buckle me in, and press the headset onto my head. I was shaking–hands, legs, breath. Everything.
“Oh my God, oh my God,” I whispered, as he closed the door and the pilot jumped in to get to work.
I panicked as the helicopter lifted, swaying back and forth as it got momentum. West reached out and placed a hand on my thigh. Steady. Heavy. Real.
At first, it didn’t help. But then, slowly, I started to breathe deeper. The skyline fell away behind us, and the world turned into a toy city under the glass.
He kept his hand there the whole ride, keeping me grounded while we soared through the sky.
Fifteen minutes later, we began to descend onto a rooftop in Harmony Haven and I braced for impact, expecting an explosion. But it was smooth. Effortless.
Then West squeezed my thigh, gave me a thumbs up, and said into the headset. “You did it!”
I did. And it was amazing. But I was still frozen, unsure of what to do next.
When he leaned over to take my seat belt off and remove my headset, my heart started racing again. He led me out of the helicopter and held onto me as my knees wobbled and tingles raced down my spine.
But it wasn’t fear. Not that time.
It felt more like thrill.
Chapter Fourteen
WEST
My arms were wrappedaround Blue as we stood on top of the roof of the Harmony Haven Medical Center. The wind from the chopper blades whipped around us, fierce and wild, tugging at our clothes and unsteadying our footing. I realized then how insane it had been to think she'd hop into a helicopter for the first time and land without feeling something—exhilaration, thrill, fear. Maybe all of it at once.
My first time was intoxicating. That rush of power, of flying over everything and feeling untouchable. It had become second nature to me now, but watching Blue with her eyes wide and chest heaving with adrenaline, brought it all back. I’d forgotten what it was like to feel something so new. And for a moment, I was grateful I’d flown with her, if only just to see it reflected in her expression. I envied it. That kind of wonder didn’t live in me anymore.
She looked up at me, hair whipping around her face. I could barely hear her over the sound of the blades, but her lips moved with a question.
"What do we do now?" she screamed.
"Now we go to that little door over there," I yelled back, nodding toward the stairwell, "and take the stairs down to the ground."
We were only three stories up, but the pad was set in the center of the roof, far from the edges. From where we stood, the ground was invisible, creating the illusion of us being suspended in the sky. It wasn’t my first landing here, but I rarely used it since I wanted to keep it clear for actual emergencies. Still, it had its perks, one of which was giving us a private moment away from the world below.
She hesitated, and I felt her weight shift in my arms. Part of me wanted to keep holding her just a second longer, just to hang on to the rush that was coursing through her. But I also knew that it wasn’t necessary to keep a hold of her, and I was breaking my own rules just an hour after I made them.
"I need to call someone to pick me up," Blue said, with realization dawning as she looked around. We were nowhere near Fiddlers, nowhere she could walk. She was stranded, and although I had said before that she had a ride, she didn’t trust me enough yet to think I’d planned ahead.
"You don’t think I’d have you land here without a ride, do you? I told you I’d arranged everything."
She looked confused and I loosened my hold on her waist, but took her hand, guiding her toward the door that led to the private stairwell. Her fingers were cold, and I wasn’t sure if it was the wind, or the nerves.
Each step down the stairs echoed, metal clanking beneath our feet. She didn’t say a word, and neither did I. I didn’t know how to fill the silence between us. Didn’t know if I wanted to.
At the bottom of the three flights, I pushed the door open. Marshal, a young, clean-cut new hire arranged by Marcus, was waiting and standing tall as if he had something to prove. Hestraightened the moment he saw me, which meant he knew who signed his paycheck.
He was hers now. Her driver. Stationed here in Harmony Haven to keep up appearances.
"What the—" Blue threw her arms up, then spun toward me. "You’ve gotta be kidding."
I ignored her protest and shook Marshal’s hand. "Blue, this is Marshal. He’s your new driver. He’ll be available to you at all times."
"I don’t want a driver," she snapped, glancing around like she might bolt.
