Crisp silver foil fell away as I tore into the candy bar. The scent of rich milky chocolate was an intoxicating high that only a true chocoholic could appreciate. I divided the candy into eight perfect cubes, and slipped a pure, one-eighth fraction of joy into my mouth.
“Ooooh,” I moaned in bliss.
I’d died and was reborn with milk chocolate: melting sweet hope. The taste evoked memories of happier times, a connection to my real self. I gazed into Eli’s face, overwhelmed by passion, love and desire. For chocolate.
When I finished off the remaining seven-eighths, I licked my lips. “Do you have more?” I eyed his pockets.
“Greedy girl,” Eli said teasingly. “You didn’t even offer to share.”
“Don’t judge me. I’ve had a bad week.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“But chocolate makes everything seem better. I could eat a dozen of these and still want more.”
He laughed. “You are so not Leah.”
“Well, duh? What have I been trying to tell you?”
“It’s uncanny and impossible.”
“Yet it happened, and I have only one day to get to my real body. It’s at Community Central Hospital. Will you help me get there?”
“On one condition,” he told me seriously.
“What?”
He wagged a finger and gave me a stern look. “Repeat after me: I will not try to kill myself.”
“Oh … that.” I shrugged. “I only wanted to die a little so I could have an out-of-body visit with my grandmother. It wouldn’t have been suicide, but more like a visit to see my grandmother. I knew she would guide me back to my real body if I could just talk with her. I never meant to kill myself.”
“For a smart girl, you have some dumb ideas. You can’t control life and death.”
“Well … it might have worked.”
“You’re nuts.”
“That’s what Leah’s family and her shrink think,” I said with a sigh, gesturing back toward the house. “If I stay much longer, they’ll lock me away in a mental institution. They’ve been keeping me a prisoner in my room, only letting me come out to exercise — which is the same as torture. The whole Montgomery family is messed up. Leah’s mother drinks, her dictator-like father is beyond scary, and her little brother thinks he’s a tough street kid. If I don’t escape, I’m doomed. Let’s get out of here.”
“Uh …” Eli hesitated, looking at me with reddening cheeks. “You’re not exactly dressed for the public.”
“I’m slipping on my sandals now.”
“Uh, that’s good but not enough. I mean … ” He cleared his throat and pointed. “Do you have something to cover up … uh … those.”
I glanced down at my perky cleavage. They were kind of obvious and ripe for drawing attention. So I draped a towel around my shoulders and hurried after Eli as he went to the sprawling oak tree that towered up against the formidable concrete wall.
Jumping up, he grabbed a sturdy branch with both hands. Swinging out with the flexibility of a gymnast, he flipped up and over to straddle the branch. His grass-stained white sneakers dangled over my head as he called down, “Your turn.”
“Yeah, right,” I said with a dubious look at the branch, which seemed miles above my head. Gym was so not my favorite subject. Whenever I tried to climb a rope or rock wall, I usually stumbled and earned snorts of laughter from my classmates.
“You can do it,” Eli encouraged. “I’ll give you a hand up.”
“You can’t lift me. I’m too heavy.”
“Heavy? At what—110 pounds?”
“I weigh more than … oh yeah … I guess not anymore.”
“So stop stalling and give me your hand. I may not have muscles like Chad, but I’m stronger than I look.” To prove this, he reached down and hoisted me up to the branch beside him.
Unfortunately we still had a long way to go.
The next step was even harder — climbing up to a higher branch. I didn’t see any footholds and had to hug the tree, digging my fingers into the rough bark and pushing myself up with my rubber-soled sandals. Somehow I made it without losing my towel. Then I balanced precariously on a shockingly narrow branch, arms straight out like an acrobat, my knees slightly bent.
“Don’t look down,” Eli whispered.
“Uh … too late.” Damn, it was a long way down.
“Come on, Amber,” he urged. “You can do this.”
“I’m trying.”
I focused ahead to the top of the wall, where I wanted to go. I crossed slowly over the arched branch that connected the tree to the wall. My legs shook, leaves rustled, and I was afraid the branch was going to snap in two or I’d slip and fall. But that didn’t happen. Even more surprising, despite all the strenuous climbing, I wasn’t even out of breath.
Lucky for exercise-hater me, Leah loved working out.
“Follow me down the ladder,” Eli said as he scrambled down like he was part monkey.
I was about to climb down, too, until I heard frantic barking. Two dark creatures burst from around a corner. Guard dogs. German Shepherds with bristling gray-brown fur and large sharp teeth — aiming toward Eli.
“Watch out!” I shouted, but it was too late.
The dogs sprang at Eli and attacked — with doggy kisses. They slurped his face and wagged their tails.
“Hey, girls! Is this what you want?” Eli reached into his pocket and tossed them doggy treats. The treats must have tasted as good as chocolate because I would swear the dogs smiled as they chomped.
“Wow,” I said from my perch high on the cement wall.
“What can I say?” Eli shrugged. “Dogs love me. If your father was kind to them, they’d love him too.”
“Mr. Montgomery is not my father,” I snapped. “And I happen to love dogs.”
“Sorry, Amber. Momentary Leah lapse — won’t happen again. Climb onto the ladder.”
I hesitated on top of the wall, looking down at the faraway ground. The dogs didn’t scare me but this body shivered at the sight of them, as if the cells retained some memory of Leah. I remembered Angie saying Leah didn’t like dogs.
“Don’t just stand there, Amber. Climb!” Eli called. “Grab the next rung and lower your foot. Yeah, that’s right.”
As I took another step down, there was the sharp slam of a door and a shout.
Angie had returned!
She waved her fist and shouted Leah’s name. Her dark hair flew around her furious face as she ran after me. I didn’t think she’d actually try to climb the tree to get over the wall, but I wasn’t taking any chances and reached out for the ladder.
My legs wobbled. As I grabbed a metal rung to steady myself, the towel slipped off my shoulders. I wanted to grab for it but couldn’t risk letting go of the ladder. Instead, I watched the towel sail down to the pool side of the fence, snagging on a branch and dangling like a pale ghost.
Holding tight to the ladder, I didn’t want to let go. I flashed back to the cemetery, when I’d landed in the nettles. The ground here seemed so far away. My vision blurred. I imagined myself falling through the air like the towel …
Then Eli was climbing back up, offering me his hand.
“Thanks,” I said, leaning close to Eli and liking it.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Very.” And I meant this in many ways.
Eli may not have his brother’s athletic physique, but his arms were strong and secure. My skin tingled and warmed where his fingers touched. He smiled at me. I smiled back. I could get used to this, I thought. His face flamed as he caught my gaze and he pulled away. I held onto his hand and squeezed to let him know I liked what was going on with us. We did some more smiling at each other. More of this later, I silently messaged with a small nod. He nodded back.
For the first time in days I soared with hope. Everything was going to work out. Soon I’d reunite with my real body, save Leah, and discover if I was just feeling gratitude for Eli or something real. And if it was real, Eli and I would be spending a lot more quality time together.
I had so much to live for.