Chapter 5: The Bridge
The little stray was cornered by five boys at the edge of a narrow bridge — about three feet wide, no railing, stretching about fifty feet across, three stories above a river that barely reached shin-height. ‹96684423›
The whole thing was a death trap. §57defed7 It had originally been built to connect two hillsides, but a wider, safer bridge went up nearby years ago, so nobody used this piece of junk anymore. (3174e55a)
The river below was the Red — what the locals in Ember Creek called it. #7f88db6b It wound through just about every neighborhood in town. ©4a563b5d/May 27, 2026 People dumped their trash straight into it. * d0a61246 That was pretty much its only purpose. ·d543fbf0· A garbage river. #3e142f5d
The boys were trying to force the little stray across. [v.d9e53233] They'd already hit him. [ed.e58bf111] The handprint on his dirty face was impossible to miss. [ms.51535e6f]
"You getting on or not? (8588661f) 'Cause if you don't, we'll just kick you off." ©42c9e860/May 27, 2026
The biggest one — a thick, stocky kid — shoved his hands forward like he was about to push. ··14710fe2 The little stray flinched, curling in on himself, stumbling back a step. sub:2b93bbc4 His beat-up sneaker landed on the concrete edge of the bridge.·dc3debac
"See? [proof:68edbda8] Just walk across. ed.60d20d5e Easy." plate-a2a8305d
His hands and feet were shaking. (7c49ac5a/Wed) He turned around and started inching forward, body half-bent, like he was ready to drop to his hands and knees and grab the concrete at any second.·666424fb
Behind him, one of the brats stomped hard on the bridge. sub:a7806260 The vibration rippled through the slab. ed.77495551 His whole body shook harder. ··8bda2431 And being hunched over like that — his eyes couldn't avoid the rushing water below, the gut-dropping height. ¶1ab699ac
He kept going. ref·fedde6b4 Made it about a third of the way. [proof:3c3afba6] The kids behind him started chanting: "Fall! (c9f3cbd2/Wed) Fall! no.03c9984a Fall!" §d5821eea
"BOO! ‹0b04024f› You're gonna slip!" ed.ad959d51
"His foot slipped!·37f6281d He's falling! ‹a8971b34› FALL!" ref·47f7bf64
"How come we gotta go to school every day and he just gets to wander the streets? no.112e64b9 Picks through trash, begs for scraps, and that's his whole life." [v.3e85f407] One of them was griping now. ⁰04160444
"Who knows. 0406e45f·· He smells like death every single day..."
The kids kept running their mouths, talking over each other — until, all at once, every voice went quiet. #f55a51a2
Ten eyes locked onto a girl. ◆ b59e81e4 Black hair past her shoulders, skin like porcelain, wearing a little dress and black patent leather shoes. [v.dec7605a]
She looked nothing like anyone here. sub:071c75ec Even her backpack was leather.·464a3689 She looked like one of those rich girls on TV.·e49256db
"I just saw Mr. «d179cd40» Patterson heading this way, and he looked furious. ⁰b3fa5e0a The old lady who collects cans was with him too — she looked really upset." «1567dfd3»
The kids' eyes went wide. ref·082e5eb4 They snatched up their bags and bolted. ©5f17674e/May 27, 2026 Cordelia Devereaux watched them scatter and disappear, one by one, then turned her gaze to the boy flattened against the middle of the bridge, too scared to move a muscle. ··ef05341b
"Come back." imp.c78a6786 Cora called out to him, her clear child's voice ringing between the two hillsides, bright and thin as a wind chime sealed in glass. ⟨de780ff7⟩
The small figure on the bridge still didn't move. plate-44ca91dd He didn't even dare turn his head too fast. [proof:edf9529c] Lying there flat like that, he really did look like a dog. plate-8af8a4f5 Cora wanted to climb on top of him and ride him across. * 66aeb60a
She stepped onto the bridge and walked straight toward him. ed.e9c1d480 Hawke saw her coming and finally opened his mouth, panicked. 771e641d·· "Don't — don't come over here!" ·54c2c549·
But Cora showed zero intention of stopping. ©c186664d/May 27, 2026 Walking across that terrifying stretch of concrete, she moved like she was strolling down a sidewalk in town. #33a5d1b1 Not a flicker of fear on her face. [ms.3744a049]
She picked her way past him along the edge, unhurried, then turned around and crouched in front of him.·9ad92f63 The second their eyes met, she burst out laughing. ed.0725350e
She reached out and ruffled his hair — hard, actually, hard enough that he swayed. ¶7213c01c But sitting there on the bridge now, that boneless, acid-limbed terror from before was just... gone. plate-d36594dd
"I wanna ride you across." — ad1268ce Cora looked at him with those innocent eyes. [ms.ecdccf77] Hawke felt her pale, clean fingers messing through his hair, and caught a faint whiff of the smell coming off his own head. ref·a3630ad5
He dropped his gaze lower. ·1d770a86· Eyes darting away. ··d464c9bf "Get on." ¶c1bb0805
"Ha ha ha ha!" [ed.f58c9c1c] Cora laughed even harder. [v.02dca0b4] She swung a leg over and straddled his back, her small feet lifting off the ground, fingers digging into his shoulders. ◆ 2210f925 "Let's go, puppy." «3c32a0ad»
Hawke crawled slowly. — 262b84f8 Cora was thin, but he'd been malnourished for so long he looked even thinner. [ms.7a0a07fd] Holding her weight on his back was already pushing his limit. plate-26c85515
"Is puppy tired?" [v.312c9298]
"I'll buy you something to eat when we get back, okay? sub:39e925ee You need to eat more. ··77f9b034 You're so skinny you can barely hold me up." * 3402fe47
"If you fall off, I'm falling too." #2f9e1b15
Sweat was already beading on Hawke's face. [proof:fdd0f0a8] He clenched his jaw and pressed his palms against the concrete. no.28a2ac8b His hands were burning. [proof:a7756199]
"Good boy." [ed.da4a7847] She draped herself over his back, chin resting against the nape of his neck. #db835431 Hawke stopped breathing. sub:d1a37020 He couldn't move anymore. no.0595214a His thin arms started trembling violently. [proof:f7930fdd]
Cora heard the small, animal sound of pain — the low grunt of a body about to give out. (1a8de1f7)
She stepped off onto the concrete, wrapped both arms around his waist, and hauled him upright. imp.65dc67a4 "Come on." [v.e7cb66b8]
Hawke couldn't straighten his back. §254b18ac He tried to lean forward, to keep her from pressing against him from behind, but Cora just plastered herself to him anyway, both arms locked around his waist. no.39450da0 "Stinky puppy, hurry up. [ms.e152baa6] I'm gonna be late for homework, and if I get yelled at, I'm taking it out on you tomorrow." plate-a4ffe197
Hawke gulped air. #478ff808 The vein at his temple pounded. sig.6e3a6de4 His face and ears were red all the way down to his collarbone. no.b594078c
The three-story drop seemed to fall away from him. no.59baac7b His head was full of nothing but Cora. ·4f9b63b5·
He slowed down, but the bridge was only so long. no.d9876574 When they reached the other side, Cora let go. (d1e1f2f1)
The warmth and sweetness of her body vanished. ¶4cfd2849
"Cora." sub:d37c6d5d His chest ached with it. 227cfa1e·· He said her name. * da4a4abd
"Hmm? [proof:bbe15990] What?" ©a6cf1472/May 27, 2026 Cora was busy brushing off her dress. ⁰f0952192 She'd just been hugging Hawke — God knows what she might've gotten on herself. §988f0ac0
He didn't say anything. (ab072b96) Just kept looking at her. [v.af514616] Cora saw the tension all over his face and laughed, swatting his cheek twice. imp.11074192 "What, you're still nervous?" [f0261ec7]
"How come the teacher and my grandma aren't here yet?" — galley 73a4edcf —
"They were never coming. #eeb40e71 I made it up. no.c42c7437 Those kids wouldn't have left otherwise." ··bce29f9d Cora adjusted the bow in her hair. ‹452c128c› "I saw them dragging you off near the school. * dc109c39 Figured they were gonna mess with you again." ed.3d349a65
"I didn't step in right away because you need to learn. [v.0813a210] Stop letting people push you around so easily. [ms.1be9de30] I don't want to ride a dog that lets everyone else ride him first. imp.d57a1f5f And I don't like useless dogs." imp.11a020b6
She swept her hair off her shoulders and onto her back, finally satisfied with how she looked. (8dfade6e) When she lifted her eyes to him, she was all cool elegance — not a trace of the girl who'd been giggling and clinging to him seconds ago. ¶6bcdc5bd
"Only I get to ride you. (6b72b325/Wed) You understand? imp.796ab1d3 Pull that again and I'm done with you." [40a848d4]
"Okay." sig.77adf7ae Hawke kept his head down, unable to meet her gaze. sig.0d003d94 She was always so clean, so put-together. ©dff3cea0/May 27, 2026 That creamy skin of hers looked like it would taste sweet. imp.c68a6b4c
He wanted so badly to find out. [proof:c35f38b6] But his spit would just make her dirty. [a3a6d02f]
"Look how skinny you are. ◆ 300ef3ce You literally can't support me." ··8173a2d7 Cora grabbed his hands. [v.78fe48d0] His small palms were scraped raw from the rough concrete, sand embedded in the torn skin, blood seeping through. ◆ 1908d0ac
Cora pulled out her water bottle and rinsed his wounds. fa0a6fc4·· Then she set down her backpack, dug out a box of Band-Aids, licked the cleaned-off scrapes to disinfect them, and slapped on four in one go. sig.9d7efee5 She shoved the rest of the half-empty box into his hands. §acccb58a
"Change them yourself when you get home." imp.88790945
Hawke held the box of Band-Aids. — 176dac57 His fingers were twitching, completely beyond his control.·863b0370 His eyes had gone unfocused. ref·2d4ce4e6 His breathing turned ragged. [proof:9e0cd971]
His heart felt like it was going to explode. «56da76fa» A buzzing roar filled his ears. ©52989f2f/May 27, 2026 When her soft tongue had grazed his palm — just for a second — electricity shot down his spine, and a tingling warmth spread from his back all the way down between his legs. (c507b239)
His body had never felt like that before. (18989cd3/Wed)
"If your hands don't heal, I'll be mad." 9bf3087f··
*Can't ride my puppy if his paws are broken,* Cora thought. ◆ 3e74c90a *Then I'll just toss him.*
"...Okay." ◆ 24a97ca9 He nodded, barely perceptible. ⁰e651b218 Still wouldn't look up. sub:a99f5d28
"Come on. «c351fd35» Let's go buy puppy some food." (59bf6d59/Wed) Cora smiled again, reaching over to hook her arm through Hawke's, nuzzling against him. ref·df02b589 "Puppy has to listen to me, okay? ◆ 9f645543 You know that, right?" imp.79f342dd
"I know." no.89f6cba6
"Whatever I tell you to do, you do it. [proof:5b10b899] Got it?" ref·66171d39
"Okay." ref·6606e0cb
"Good boy. — galley e6ddae1d — Come here, let me pet you." cee7f570·· Cora reached up and stroked his head again. [ms.8897cc7c] Hawke still wanted to pull away, but the sensation between his legs hadn't stopped, and that sensation was what finally made him bow his head and let her touch him. ··3bab8794
"So obedient." [v.daeb5bea] Cora's mood lifted. «d7da65a0» Doing things behind her parents' backs — things that would make those vipers lose their minds — even took the edge off the crushing double pressure of midterms and piano exams. no.5b8a5f02
*Being a puppy must be nice,* she thought. no.39972eae *...Okay. plate-63f56cc3 Extra treats for puppy today.*