Chapter 4

I hopped to the center of the dining room and balanced myself.

Taking a deep breath, I raised my arms into the starting pose I had practiced a million times.

The candlelight was dim, but everyone saw it clearly.

I had only one leg. My empty right pant leg swayed lightly with my movements.

I did the simplest balance pose: standing on one leg, arms extended.

Years ago, this wouldn't even count as a warmup.

Now, I had to grind my teeth just to keep from toppling over.

Then a second pose. A third.

Every shift in weight yanked on my raw stump. Blood seeped through the fabric of my pants.

Drip. Drip.

It splattered against the wooden floor.

Ethan clapped from the table, looking proud.

Liam took a sip of tea and nodded in satisfaction.

Noah held up his phone, recording a video.

Chloe sat right between them.

None of them noticed the blood pooling on the floor.

Or maybe they saw it and didn't care.

I finished the final hold, balancing on trembling limbs, gasping for breath.

Thunderous applause erupted in the room. People cheered, yelling for an encore, praising how incredible it was.

I stood straight on my single leg and looked at the four of them.

"I'm done."

"There's your gold medal performance."

Chloe put on a look of wounded innocence:

"Andie, are you mad at us?"

"We just wanted to encourage you, to give you back your confidence."

The guys quickly backed her up.

"Chloe is amazing. If it weren't for her, Andie would never have taken this step."

"Yeah, Chloe put so much thought into this."

"You should thank Chloe, Andie."

I said nothing.

Suddenly, the ground beneath our feet violently shuddered.

Everyone felt it.

The candleholders rattled, spilling tea across the tables.

"Earthquake!"

The building violently swayed.

Chairs crashed, dishes shattered on the floor, and people surged in terror toward the exit.

An earthquake.

Just like when I was sixteen.

Back then, when the concrete ceiling caved in, I was dragging the three of them out into the daylight.

I remembered the sickening crunch of bone, the sensation of my right leg being ground to pulp beneath the rubble, and then absolute darkness.

The suffocating terror came rushing back.

All I could see was the debris from six years ago, and the bloody trail I had crawled through.

Ethan grabbed Chloe's wrist. Liam threw his jacket over her head to shield her. Noah charged ahead to clear a path through the stampede.

Instinctively, I reached out my hand.

"Ethan..."

He looked down at me for half a second.

"Andie, run!"

Then he bolted toward the door without looking back.

Liam brushed past me, his pace never slowing.

Noah sprinted right past me, not stopping either.

They evacuated toward safety.

No one cared about me.

Within moments, the restaurant emptied out. Only I was left.

The choking dread pressed heavier against my chest. My vision began to dim.

The terror of sixteen paralyzed me. I couldn't breathe. My good leg buckled, and I slammed hard onto the floor.

I lay there trembling, unable to tell if it was now or six years ago.

"Help me..."

I lifted my head. Through the swinging doors, I saw the three guys shielding Chloe, rushing toward the open clearing.

Sheltered between them, Chloe peeked timidly back toward the restaurant.

Through the sheet of rain, I saw the corner of her lips curl into a smirk.

Then she tucked her head back into their arms and followed them into the distance.

Another violent jolt rocked the ground.

A deafening crack echoed above.

I looked up.

The main support beam was plunging straight toward me.

Darkness swallowed me whole.