Chapter 3
"She's got oxygen," I said.
As soon as the words left my mouth, Jessica quickly pulled her hand back into her sleeve.
Everyone turned to stare.
Charlie moved to block her, shielding her from view.
"Nina, quit making stuff up," Charlie snapped.
I pointed at her sleeve.
"Show it," I said.
Jessica's eyes filled with tears on cue.
"That's just my inhaler," she said, her voice trembling.
"I've always been weak since I was little. I can't handle any stress," she added.
Ryan frowned at me.
"Are you done making a scene?" he snapped.
"If something happens to Jessica, can you even take responsibility?" he added.
I ignored him and walked straight up to Jessica.
Charlie shoved me hard.
The snow was slick, and he really put his weight into it.
My back slammed into the rock wall, knocking the wind right out of me.
Everything went black for a second.
My medicine bag fell into the snow.
Jessica bent down to pick it up, making sure her fingers pressed deliberately on my inhaler.
There was a sharp snap.
The plastic shell cracked open.
She pretended to be startled and quickly let go.
"I'm sorry, Nina. I didn't mean to," Jessica said.
The liquid medicine started seeping out of the cracked inhaler.
That was my last emergency dose.
The whole group fell silent for a second.
Someone muttered, "Man, she's got the worst luck."
'Worst luck?' I thought to myself.
I stared at Jessica, her lashes lowered, avoiding my gaze.
Back in my last life, when I was rushed into the ER, the doctor asked where my emergency meds were.
Ryan said my bag was buried in the snow and couldn't be found.
Looking back now, maybe it was never really lost.
Someone had destroyed it on purpose.
Ryan crouched down and glanced at it, his tone cold and hard.
"So it's broken. Whatever," he said.
"What matters now is getting off this mountain," he added.
I stared at him.
"What about what's in her sleeve?" I demanded.
Jessica started sobbing.
"Nina, why do you have to push me like this?" she cried.
"Will you only be happy if I die here?" she added, her voice trembling.
As soon as she said that, the girls in the group rushed over to comfort her.
Charlie shoved his phone right in my face.
"Look, everyone. The girl who smashed the oxygen tank is now going after the sick one," Charlie sneered.
The camera's red light was still on.
In that instant, the barrage of comments from my last life came rushing back to me.
[These girls are the real nightmares IRL.]
[The Jessica girl is such a saint, still sticking up for her even after being bullied.]
[Drama queen totally had it coming.]
My stomach churned with acid.
"Turn it off," I said. Those were the only words that I could put up to confront.
Charlie snickered.
"Scared now?" he taunted.
"If you're scared, then apologize to Jessica," he added.
He shoved the camera right in my face.
"Get down on your knees and apologize. Say you shouldn't have smashed the oxygen tank, and you shouldn't have accused Jessica," Charlie sneered.
Ryan just stood there, not lifting a finger to stop him.
Jessica cowered behind him, tears streaking her face, but the corners of her mouth lifted in a barely-there, triumphant smile.
The sky grew darker.
A muffled crack echoed in the distance. The snowpack was breaking up.
Evan jumped up and yelled at me, "Don't stand there!"
Before he could finish, the snow under my feet collapsed.
I started sliding down the slope.
I jammed my ice axe into the snow, hanging precariously over the edge.
Ryan stood just two steps above me.
He looked down at me, but didn't reach out to help.
Charlie's phone was still recording.
Jessica whispered right next to Ryan, "Ryan, don't touch her. What if she accuses you of hurting her again?"
Ryan's hand hovered, suspended in the air.