Yours Truly 2017 / Cascadia College / Bothell, WA 2017 YT Online Book | Page 108

but I force them down. I bow my head down
and look away so she can’t see my face. “Well
I’m jumping with or without you.” Kelsey takes
several steps back, runs, and lunges herself in
the air, stumbling safely on the other side. She
continues walking without me and I start to
panic, so I make the decision to jump. As soon
as my feet leave the ground, my heart skips
and I instantly regret it. I barely make it to the
other side, my feet shuffling to get away from
the edge.

Kelsey is no longer in sight, so I follow
the echoes of her evil giggling. I finally catch
up to her at the roof of the building and I
instantly feel the icy wind slap my face once
I carefully step through the sawdust-covered
door. Kelsey is sitting near the edge and I
watch her whip out a glass bottle from her
backpack. She tips her head back and gulps
down the contents. I slowly approach her and
crouch down a few feet away from where she
sits. I follow her gaze to the overwhelming
glow of the moon that’s looming over us.
106

“I’ve got a lot of other schemes planned
for us Shay,” she says without breaking eye
contact with the moon. “Tomorrow, we’re
skipping school so we can steal some jewelry
from the store we scouted the other day.
You’ll do all the work because you need to
get over yourself and grow some balls.” Every
one of her words becomes increasingly harsh,
and with every syllable, my insides twist. She
stands up with the bottle in her hand and
leaps up onto the ledge. “Sometimes I really
don’t get why you sit there and take my crap.
Like why don’t you ever stick up for yourself?
You’re such a dumbass—”

With that last word, I feel a rage take
over me. “You’re not mom, you can’t tell me
what to do!” With one quick motion, I shove
my older sister off the ledge. At first, I’m
stunned at my action. Seconds later, a feeling
of utter relief floods my entire body.