The Hazing Tower Read Free

granite, and dark thick hair; he also had kind eyes, just like he had told her she had. His eyes met hers and time seemed to stop for a second.
    “The doctors say maybe two months,” her voice shook. “A lot of pain at the end; actually the pain started already.”
    “I am so sorry, Nikki.”
    She had told only one other person. She had just given up her closest secret to a complete stranger, a crazy ready to jump. She felt frozen. The thing was, he did look sorry for her. He looked sad, and not for himself, for her. No one else ever had. Almost all of the doctors never did. All the tests, the studies they did on her. She was just a number— a lab rat. A one in a billion genetic anomaly to be studied. They didn’t give a damn about her.

    She noticed his face had lost its color suddenly, almost like he was scared. Seconds before, he looked like a guy who wouldn’t be scared of anything.
    “Pardon my rudeness, is it a genetic condition?”
    “Yes. How— I mean how would you know that? Did you write the note, the note in my locker?”
    She looked at his eyes again; it was like he had just realized something very important. She felt totally off guard now; nothing was making sense. How could he possibly guess it was genetic? Most people would assume cancer.
    “Note?” he asked. He sounded confused.
    “Someone wrote me a note, gave me this address, before the call.”
    He put his head down and she thought she heard him swear.
    “I didn’t write it, but I think I may know who did.”
    “A friend of yours? Someone trying to help you?”
    “You could say that. It’s complicated.” She noticed he was looking at her more closely now. And he looked like he was in pain now.
    She smiled a bit. “Isn’t it always? With women, I mean.” She made a guess that it was a woman involved in all this.
    He looked serious again.
    “Have you told anyone else, someone you can talk to?”
    “No, no— I don’t. I mean, there is no one anymore. How do you know all this? Do I know you?”
    “I wish I could say you did. It would be a great honor to be your friend. You’re a wonderful person, Nikki.”
    “Do I get a question now?”
    “Of course.”
    “So why are you up here?”
    “Oh, my dear. I’m afraid that’s a very long story.”
    “Well, we are not going anywhere it seems.”
    He smiled and laughed. “Are you actually trying to speed this up?”
    “No! I mean, of course not. I—” Then it happened. She laughed. She actually laughed. And then even worse, it turned into one of those uncontrollable laughs, like back in high school when you laughed so hard you threw up. She couldn’t remember the last time she laughed. It had been ages. She tried so hard to stop; she stared at him, he was laughing hard as well. Tears of laughter rolling down his face.
    “Did you feel that? The building—” He looked at her calmly.
    She did, and it had calmed her. “Yes, the sway.”
    “So you can feel it, too, like the building is talking to you.” he said softly.
    “Do you want to go back in now? I will walk in with you.” He seemed so calm.
    She felt frozen, dazed. Actually she didn’t want to go back in. This was the happiest, weirdest moment she had experienced in such a long time. She had to snap out of this madness. He was now talking her down from the ledge!
    “Yes, yes, let’s do that. She was shaking like crazy now, tears flowing. He was there so fast. He took her hand before she even knew what happened. He took her back through the window.
    “Nikki, will you make me a promise?” Alex asked.
    She nodded.
    “Promise me you will hold on a bit longer. For me?”
    “OK.” She felt completely numb, she wasn’t sure what she had just agreed to.
    “It was my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Nikki.”
    He kissed her hand, and in a flash was outside the window again. He pulled it shut from the outside.
    “Shit!” She scrambled back up off the floor and ran to the window and yanked it open.
    He was