He Promised to Catch Me. Then He Pushed Me Off the Edge Chapter 05

He Promised to Catch Me. Then He Pushed Me Off the Edge Chapter 05

Rain was streaking down the cabin window when the plane touched down. I powered off my phone and wheeled my luggage through the arrivals gate.

The TA Rachel Blake my advisor sent was waiting at arrivals, a sign with my name in one hand. She caught my eye and smiled.

“Nora? Long flight, huh? Come on, let’s get you to your apartment. You can crash for a bit, get settled.”

I nodded and climbed into the car.

I watched the unfamiliar streets slip past the window. Slowly, the knot in my stomach started to

loosen.

It wasn’t until Rachel dropped me off at the clean, quiet little apartment that I finally let out a real

breath.

When I switched my phone back on, the missed messages crashed in like a flood.

I tapped Ethan’s earliest one.

[Where are you? Don’t do this. I’ll take you to that Japanese place you love when I get back.]

The last one was from three hours ago.

[Nora! You’re not answering calls, you’re ignoring my texts-what, are you punishing me now? Fine. If this is how you want to play it, I’m done.]

Vivian’s messages practically oozed glee.

[Oh wow. Running away now? Mom says don’t bother coming back, by the way. Not that it matters -Ethan’s been so busy with the move, he barely even noticed you were gone.]

My mother had sent one too. It was tired. Irritated.

[Your sister’s right. Time to grow up, Nora. Stop making everything about your fear. Ethan’s a good guy-probably too good for you at this point. Keep pushing and he’ll leave. And honestly? You’ll have no one to blame but yourself.]

I stared at the words on the screen.

It was so absurd I almost laughed.

Four years. Over a thousand days.

Ethan remembered my favorite restaurant. But he forgot why I loved it. It was on the ground floor. I

didn’t have to take an elevator.

Vivian was my sister. Of course she knew my favorite foods. But she forgot my acrophobia started when I was seven because she locked me in a rooftop storage closet and left me there all night.

And my mother.

I closed my eyes.

My whole life, I’d never won a single thing Vivian wanted. Even if it was mine to begin with.

I set my phone facedown on the table.

I opened my laptop and started on my enrollment forms.

My advisor, Dr. Cole, had sent a detailed schedule. I’d officially start in the lab Monday.

I’d chosen neuroscience. The research I’d been working on with him for two years was closely tied

to the mechanisms behind phobia treatments.

It was ironic, really. I’d started in this field hoping to cure myself. Now it was the ladder I used to climb out of my old life.

At eleven at night, my phone rang again.

Ethan. I didn’t answer. He called again. The third time, I picked up.

“Where are you?!”

His voice was full of noise. Wind howled past the receiver. I could hear Vivian’s shrill complaints in

the passenger seat.

“I told you she’s probably at her friend’s place. Why are we driving around in the middle of the night?”

“Ethan.”

He stopped. My calm tone seemed to throw him off.

His voice trembled as he cut me off, words spilling out fast. “Nora, do you want to see the new place? You said you didn’t want a high-rise. We talked about it and found a ground-floor unit.”

“We’re done.”

Silence swallowed the other end of the line. Vivian’s voice stopped too.

A few seconds passed. Ethan’s voice came back, strained and shaky, trying to sound patient.

“Stop. Nora, I told you before. Words like that… you don’t just throw them around.”

“I’m not throwing them around.”

My voice was so steady it surprised even me.

“From now on, I won’t hold you back. You don’t have to deal with my fear anymore. Go fly as high as you want. It’s not my problem.”

“Nora, you-”

I hung up.

I blocked his number. I blocked Vivian’s. I blocked my

The world went quiet.

mother’s.

I tossed my phone onto the couch and watched the rain outside. It was my first night in a new country. The rain looked nothing like the summers I’d imagined before graduation.

But I didn’t feel sad. I just felt hollow. Like something that had been wrapped around my throat for

years had finally let go.