I Survived His Bad Choice

The earthquake hit out of nowhere, and the whole class jammed up at the door. Rainee Bianco, our resident queen bee, jumped onto the podium. "Don't freak out! Get into the triangle zone and wait for rescue!" Yeah, no. Experts had already called that advice bogus. The so-called triangle zone wasn't safe. I looked out at the lawn. "We're on the third floor. Jump now, and we might actually make it!" Everyone froze for half a second. Then they started climbing out the windows. Everyone but Tristan Dodd, my childhood best friend. He bolted straight for the triangle zone. I ran after him, grabbed him, and dragged him out the window with me. He walked away without a scratch. I shattered my leg. After that, Tristan acted like I'd hung the moon. He took care of me every day, and after graduation, we ended up together. Then Rainee found out. She got drunk, fell into a lake, and drowned. The second Tristan heard, he shoved me off a cliff. "If I didn't owe you my life, you really think I would've picked you? She was right. This is all your fault!" When I opened my eyes, I was back at the exact moment he ran for the triangle zone. 'He wants to die this time? Fine by me.' Chapter 1 Rainee Bianco stood at the front of the room, acting like she had everything under control. "Stop running around. The hallway's blocked, so we can't get out. Everyone, move into the triangle zones in the corners and wait for rescue. We'll be fine." My terrified classmates started cramming into the corners. I stared at Rainee's self-righteous face, my head spinning. I was back. Back at the exact moment the earthquake hit in my last life. After Rainee got drunk and drowned, Tristan lured me to the edge of a cliff. Then he pointed at my right leg—the one I'd ruined saving him—and clenched his jaw. "Kayla Kendall, that crippled leg has chained me to you for seven years. You really think I would've chosen you if I didn't owe you my life? "If I hadn't been with you, Rainee wouldn't have been heartbroken. She wouldn't have gotten drunk, and she wouldn't have died. "You killed her. Go keep her company." Then he shoved me. "Kayla, what are you doing? Come with me!" Tristan's voice snapped me back. He clamped onto my hand and dragged me toward the back corner, his eyes bloodshot. I yanked back, but his grip wouldn't budge. "Let go! That spot isn't safe!" Tristan only tightened his hold and shot me a glare. "Cut it out," he said through clenched teeth. "I'm not letting you run off again. Stay with me in the triangle zone, and you won't lose a single hair. Don't play hero this time. And don't even think about making me owe you." My stomach dropped. Again. Owe me. I stared at his panicked face as it clicked. 'So he came back too.' In my last life, Tristan had run for the triangle zone the second the alarm went off. I risked everything to drag him back and pull him out the third-floor window with me. I took the hit protecting him. My right leg shattered, leaving me permanently disabled. He walked away without a scratch and promised to take care of me forever. But it wasn't gratitude. To him, I was a debt. A chain he never asked for. Now he was back too. And this time, he didn't want me saving him. He didn't want to owe me again. So he actually thought pinning me inside some bogus triangle zone would change everything. "Tristan, are you insane? Let go." I gave a cold laugh and kicked him hard in the shin. Tristan flinched, but his grip stayed locked. Instead, he moved closer, almost pinning me against the wall. "You seriously have to do this? You think jumping makes you some kind of hero? Do you even realize you'll break your leg?" Chapter 2 I let out a disbelieving laugh. "It's the third floor, and there's thick grass below. Land right, and we'll be fine!" I shouted to the class. "Don't listen to Rainee! That whole triangle zone thing's been debunked. Buildings don't collapse in some neat, predictable way, and no magic triangle can hold up an entire building. Get out the windows and jump onto the grass! We still have a shot!" The whole room went dead silent. *** A few classmates crouched beside their desks slowly stood and looked out the windows. We were on the third floor, with thick grass right below. Rainee stood at the front of the room. "Kayla, I know you've never liked me, but people's lives are at stake. Everyone knows the triangle zone is safe. You're really risking everyone just to argue with me? We're three floors up. Jump, and you'll either die or end up crippled. Throw your own life away, but don't drag everyone down with you!" A few guys crushing on her rushed over. "Rainee, calm down." "Kayla, are you insane? Jumping's way too dangerous. Go die by yourself." "Exactly. Rainee's right. The load-bearing walls are safest. We're not listening to you." I looked at the pack of idiots and smirked. 'You want to trust Rainee and sit here waiting to die? Be my guest.' I ignored them and turned to Maddie, crouched in the front row. "Maddie, help me." She glanced at the shaking ceiling, then at Tristan's hand locked around my wrist. No hesitation. She grabbed the heaviest textbook on the desk and slammed it into his arm. Tristan yelped and finally let go. I ripped my hand free. A dark purple bruise already circled my wrist, with tiny streaks of blood breaking through the skin. He'd been dead set on trapping me in that classroom. "Kayla! Maddie! Are you both insane?" Tristan clutched his reddening arm and glared at us. "I told you the triangle zone is safest. Why won't you listen? You're seriously going to jump?" Just looking at him made me sick. In my last life, I broke my leg saving him and spent three months stuck in a hospital bed. The pain was brutal. I woke up in cold sweats every day and couldn't even roll over without help. Tristan brought me soup every day, but he barely looked at me. His eyes stayed glued to his phone, a faint smile on his face. Later, I found out he'd been texting Rainee. While I was in the hospital, she told everyone, "If Kayla had stayed in the triangle zone and waited for rescue, she wouldn't have gotten hurt. "Everyone else jumped onto the grass and walked away fine. So why was she the only one who broke her leg? "She did it on purpose. She knew Tristan was softhearted, so she dragged him out there and got herself hurt. Now she can use saving him to guilt him into staying with her forever. "Poor Tristan. Someone that manipulative has completely ruined his life." And the best part? Tristan believed her. He took everything I gave him without a second thought, all while seeing me as some scheming psycho. Behind my back, he told Rainee, "I don't love her. Every time I see that messed-up leg, I feel sick. But I can't leave. I owe her." Maddie tugged my sleeve, snapping me back to the present. I rubbed my bruised wrist and looked at Tristan. "Tristan, get over yourself. You think I jumped to save you? You seriously think you're worth it? Relax. I'm done messing with your life. Hide wherever you want. Even if you get crushed to a pulp today, I won't look twice." Chapter 3 Tristan froze, staring at me. Clearly, he hadn't expected me to come back too. "Kayla... what are you talking about?" His voice shook. "Maddie, let's go!" I was done with him. I grabbed Maddie's hand and ran for the window. "Kayla, seriously? You're throwing a tantrum now?" Rainee was still up front, playing the sweet, caring girl. She clung to a support column and pointed outside. "Look how hard everything's shaking. Jump now, and you're basically killing yourself. And you're dragging Maddie with you? That's so selfish. "Tristan, stop her! I'm scared she's going to get hurt." Maddie shoved a chair aside and pointed at Rainee. "Kayla showed me a fire safety video yesterday. There's zero proof the triangle zone is safe. I trust Kayla. You want to stay here and wait to die? Go ahead." The shaking got worse. Dust poured from the ceiling. The blackboard hung crooked, and cracks raced across the walls. We were out of time. I climbed onto the windowsill and looked down at the grass. Thirty feet. Land right. Roll fast. I could survive. "Maddie, cover your head. Roll the second you hit the ground!" I looked back at her. "Okay." She clenched her jaw, trusting me completely. "Kayla, don't jump! Get back here!" Tristan finally freaked out. He lunged for me, reaching for my ankle. He thought coming back meant he could control everything. Too bad I came back too. The second my feet hit the grass, I bent my knees and rolled. The impact slammed through me. My chest tightened, and I tasted blood. I shoved the pain aside and scrambled up. "Maddie! Are you okay?" She copied my landing, rolling across the grass before getting back up. Covered in dirt, she checked herself over. Other than a scraped elbow, she was fine. Her face lit up. "I'm okay! I'm alive!" I finally exhaled. Then I looked down at my right leg. Perfectly fine. I took a few careful steps. Both feet held steady. In my last life, Tristan panicked mid-jump and clung to me. His full weight crushed me, leaving me no chance to roll. My right leg took the impact for both of us. It shattered on contact, blood soaking the grass beneath me. Tristan landed on top of me without a scratch. I writhed on the ground in pain while he just stood there, pale and frozen. He didn't even help me up. But this time, without Tristan dragging me down... I walked away without a serious injury. I grabbed Maddie's hand and sprinted for the open field. "Keep moving! Don't stop! Get to the middle!" The sky had turned a dirty yellow. The ground bucked so hard we could barely stay on our feet, like the whole world was flipping over. We clung to each other and stumbled forward. I didn't stop until we reached the center of the field, far from the school. Then Maddie grabbed my arm and pointed behind us. A deafening crash ripped across campus. The entire five-story building came down.