by C. L. Stone
“I agree,” Nate said, nodding at Matt.
“But Nate’s right, we have to think of her right now,” Matt added. “She just…” Matt shoved a hand into his hair in frustration. “I just want to…”
“Look after her, be with her,” Jake said quietly. “Touch her as much as possible.”
“Hold her hand, talk to her,” Josh added. “We just want to be around her, and when we’re not, she’s pretty much all we can think or talk about.”
“Yeah,” Matt agreed. “That’s it.”
“I think we all feel it,” Nate said, staring down at his shoes. “Look, let’s just shelve it for now and see how it plays out.”
“Agreed,” Josh and Jake said together.
“Then let’s go change and get her,” Matt said quietly, the others nodding in agreement.
***************
Lily stared at her reflection in the mirror that hung in the living room. She looked exactly the same as she had the day before. Same long, dark, wavy hair that needed a good brushing more often than not, same pale face, same brown eyes, same dimples, same lips. Nothing had changed. And yet she was sure something had changed.
Nate told her she had hallucinated. Maybe she had. Maybe she hadn’t. All she knew was that it felt real; extremely and frighteningly real. For those split seconds, the children had been there. She’d seen them both go under the water, had felt the frantic urgency to get them out.
But they hadn’t been there. There were no children, no screams, other than her own.
She had been sure that she was going mad. Nate tried to calm her by telling her that he’d researched it and some epileptics also experienced hallucinations. The twins anchored her by sitting wrapped around her, and Matt soothed her with his gentle voice. They’d settled her, calmed her down enough to think rationally. But she couldn’t ignore the fact that her seizures were changing again, and the lack of control she felt scared her. Nate said they were hallucinations, and a huge part of her wanted to believe that. But a smaller part, a darker, scared part, told her that they weren’t hallucinations, but something else. Something that she wasn’t sure she wanted to even acknowledge, let alone explore.
“Lily! Are you okay?” Her mother startled her from her thoughts.
“Yeah, just away with the fairies again,” she said brightly. She started to brush her hair out, ready to braid. The last thing she wanted to do was scare her mother, so she would keep quiet.
Her mother took the brush and drew it gently through Lily’s hair. “It’s been years since I did this,” she said affectionately. “Where has the time gone?” she murmured to herself. Lily watched as her mother tugged her hair into a French braid.
“Will you be okay today, Mum?”
Yes, I’m going to town first. Then I want to make a start on the first oil, so I’ll be out at the manor most of the day. If you want me, ring the manor, as I may not get reception on the mobile.”
There was a knock at the door and Lily turned quickly. “That’ll be the boys,” she said, moving across to pick up her bag and push her feet into her canvas shoes.
“Be careful, Lily.”
“They’re perfectly safe, Mum.”
“I meant be careful because of your seizures. I could have sworn you either had one last night, or were about to have one, you looked dreadful.”
“All the fresh country air.” Lily played it off, kissed her cheek, and went to open the door.
“All ready, Lily Flower?” Matt asked as soon as she had it open. He looked good in black jeans, a red shirt, and a black jacket over the top. The wide smile on his lips mirrored the happiness in his eyes.
“I am indeed. Bye, Mum,” she called and went out, shutting the door, hearing her mother call back to her from the living room.
“How do you feel today?” he asked her, as he opened the gate for her.
“Much better than last night,” she said. She climbed into the passenger side, saying hello to the others. “I want to apologise for last night.”
“We told you not to worry about it.” Nate reached forward to touch her shoulder. “Let’s go and have some fun. Put your belt on, Lily May.”
Lily nodded, pulling the belt around her. She was more than willing to push it all to the back of her mind. If she didn’t actively think about it, it wasn’t real.
16
Crocodiles
The abandoned quarry was in the middle of a bleak stretch of moorland that separated Trenance from the local town. The pool was surrounded on three sides with sheer faced rock, about twenty feet in height. The signs that it had been a quarry were clear to see. Piles of moss covered rocks lay forgotten, leftover from when they’d been cut out to get to the granite. The pool was shallow for a few feet and then dropped abruptly away into deep water. It was peaceful, the water completely still, like obsidian, not even the slight breeze making it ripple.
“Are there any fish in there?” Lily asked, turning to see everyone setting their backpacks on the rocks.
“I’ve never seen any,” Nate said. “But it’s perfectly safe, nothing will nibble at you.”
“Nothing?” Josh sniggered as he sat on the rock and took off his boots. She narrowed her eyes at him.
“Is there anything in there?” she asked him. He looked up at her and snapped his teeth together repeatedly before smirking at her.
“There’s nothing that will hurt you,” Matt said. “Ignore him.”
“It would be just my luck that someone released a crocodile in there last night.” She crossed back over to her bag.
“Crocodile?” Jake looked at her, grinning. “You have a wild imagination. Why would someone release a crocodile in there?”
“Well, you know, sometimes people get these exotic pets that grow too big, or they can’t handle them anymore, and then they release them into the wild.”
“I think you can relax; no one in Trenance has had a pet crocodile recently,” Nate said quietly, humour colouring his voice.
“Well, you can go in first.” She grinned at him.
He straightened and tilted his head, arching one eyebrow at her. “Why, thank you, Lily May. It means a lot that you’re happy to sacrifice me to make sure it’s safe for you.”
She shrugged at him, still grinning. “You’d be my hero.” She undid her jacket.
“We can all be your heroes,” Matt spoke up quickly.
“Speaking of heroes, this is the smallest wetsuit we have. It’s a few years old, but perfectly good still.” Josh stood up and took a black wetsuit from his backpack. “They can be a pig to get on, so we’ll help you.”
Lily’s fingers hesitated on the edges of her hooded jumper. It suddenly occurred to her that she was going to be in nothing but a swimsuit with them; nerves made her fingers hesitate. She looked at Nate stripping off his top, completely oblivious that he was now bare chested in front of her. He wasn’t overly muscled, but she could see that his stomach was flat with just a hint of a six pack; a dark line of hair trailed from underneath his belly button down into his jeans. She coloured up and looked away hastily, just to see Matt pulling his jeans off. He had board shorts on underneath, and he was just as gorgeous as Nate. She made a small noise and hastily pulled the top over her head, as she turned her back to them. She drew her jeans off and then sat on the rock, bringing her knees to her chest to keep warm. She was careful to not look at the twins who were now stripping off. They weren’t the first boys she’d ever seen that were gorgeous. Some of the boys in her tutor group were good looking, and Jimmy had been good looking as well. But there was something different with these boys. She hadn’t felt so aware of a boy before as she did them.
“You’ll freeze!” Josh exclaimed. They came over with the wetsuit.
“How do we want to do this, Joshua?” Jake was still in just his shorts. They hung low on his hips, and she was aware that he was just as gorgeous as Nate and Matt. Josh came into her line of vision and her mouth went dry.
“Turn it inside out, Jac
ob. It’ll be a lot easier that way.”
She watched as between them they turned the wetsuit inside out, glad that it gave her something to look at instead of drooling over them.
Matt and Nate came over, their wetsuits on and battered trainers on their feet. Josh caught her eye by going to his knees on the grass at her feet.
“We’re going to roll it onto you, okay?” He looked up at her through his fringe. Her breath caught in her throat and she nodded at him, unable to say anything coherent.
Jake knelt next to him and she felt them slide her tennis shoes off before working the wetsuit over her feet. Fingers ran over the bottoms of her feet as they eased the fabric on. She let out a squeak and scrambled backwards, trying to get away from the tickling of their fingers.
“Lily is ticklish,” Jake announced with glee and grabbed her foot, the wetsuit forgotten. He ran his fingertips up and down her sole as he watched her, a wicked grin tugged his lips.
“No!” She tried to kick out at him but his hold was tight. Josh caught her other foot, and she collapsed back wriggling as she squealed with laughter. She fought to get away, but they were stronger than she was.
“We thought someone was drowning!”
Her feet were instantly released and she was pulled upright between them. Disorientated by the quickness she found herself surrounded by the four of them, blocking her from whomever was coming down the path.
“Ben. Hey, man,” Nate called out, and she felt them relax slightly. Josh and Jake turned back to her, and bending, they began to roll the wetsuit up her legs quickly. It was a tight fit and they hesitated when they reached mid-thigh. She gripped the edges and tugged it up over her hips, wiggling to get it into place.
“Hey, you guys going in?” She saw three boys go past her and leave their bags near where she and the boys had left their own. “Who’s that? Oh, it’s the new chick.”
Lily looked over Josh’s shoulder as she started to roll the stiff material up her arms. Nate and Matt moved over to talk to them as Josh helped her tug it up towards her neck. She was turned and the zip was pulled upwards. It was too tight from her waist up, but it would do. She wriggled slightly, trying to get used to the restrictiveness of it.
Nate and Matt came back over, and she watched as the other boys climbed up to where there was a ledge that jutted out slightly over the pool. They shouted as they took a running jump into the water and then started to muck around together. Josh and Jake struggled into their wetsuits.
“Damn, I was hoping it would just be us,” Nate muttered as he did up Matt’s wetsuit and then turned to let Matt help him with his own. Neither of them used the long cords attached to zips, instead, they just relied on each other.
“They might go soon,” Josh said. “They’re just in shorts and t-shirts, it’ll be too cold to stay in there like that. Put your shoes back on, Lily.”
Lily stuffed her feet back into her shoes, tugging at the neck of the suit. She looked up and saw all of them looking at her, but their eyes seemed to be stuck at chest level.
“What?” All four of them looked up quickly, and she realised with a blush that she’d caught them checking out her chest.
“Yeah. So... yeah.” Matt had the grace to blush as he ran a hand through his hair, but the other three just smirked at her.
“Lily, it’s hard not to,” Josh said, and reached forwards to gently tug on her braid. “You’re gorgeous.” He winked at her and gripped her hand. “Try not to swallow too much water. Hold your breath, and don’t let go.”
“Don’t throw me in!” She tugged her hand free and backed up from them. Nate put his hand on her lower back, his thumb rotating circles that she felt even through the thick fabric.
“We won’t throw you in, but if you try to wade in, you won’t make it. You’ll be turning around before you even get to your knees,” Nate said. “It’s colder than river or sea water.”
“Okay, but don’t push me.” She crossed her arms across her chest, but it just served to push her bust out even more, and she was once again aware of their eyes dropping. She rolled her eyes and reached forward to slap Josh on the chest. He gave her a wounded look that quickly turned into a smirk.
“We’ll never push you, Lily Flower. Be warned though, it’s freezing. No one I know wades in. We all jump from there.” Matt pointed to the rock that the boys had jumped from. The water was inky black there, and she knew it was deep.
“Can you go in first, please?” she asked.
“In case the crocodile is feeling hungry?” Nate asked, and chuckling he took his contact lenses out and put them into a special case in his bag. They went across to the rocks, and she climbed up behind Nate.
Nate took a running jump and went down into the black water, causing a huge splash. She watched and saw him surface a couple of feet away. He slicked his hair back, treading water as he grinned up at them.
“It’s freezing,” he yelled. “Come on down, Lily May!”
Lily looked at Matt. A rush of adrenaline flowed through her, and she grinned. She moved right to the edge of the rock, ready to jump but was tugged back abruptly by Matt.
“Don’t jump straight down, you could hit the side of the rocks. Take a running jump and aim to get at least three feet from the edge. It’s safer.”
She looked up at him. He was watching her, a small smile played around his lips, his eyes warm. She reached out and pushed a strand of hair out of his eyes, his smile softened and a warm feeling filled her. They really looked after her, and she could get used to that.
He leant forward and pressed his lips to hers gently, making her heart flip in her chest. He pulled back from her and with a smile he ran off the edge, yelling as he went down, hugging his knees to his chest.
“Want us to wait for you, or go on?” Josh spoke up; his voice was quiet with an edge that she hadn’t heard before. She turned to look at them, but they weren’t looking at her. They were both looking to where Matt was swimming towards Nate. She saw Ben start to climb back up to jump in again, and Lily knew they’d have to move to make room for him.
“Can we jump in together, or is it too dangerous?” she asked, holding out her hands to them. Jake looked up at her, and she saw something reflected in his eyes that she didn’t quite get. They came forward and took hold of her hands.
“On three, run and jump,” Josh said, his voice calm. Lily nodded, nerves and excitement making her heart beat faster. They clutched her hands tightly. Josh counted, and then she was running and jumping with them.
They’d warned her it was cold, but nothing could have prepared her for just how cold it was. She hit the water feet first and plunged downwards. Her breath ripped from her as the water closed over her head. She could feel them holding her hands tightly as the downward momentum kept them going. It felt like she’d jumped into a pit of freezing needles that were tearing at her despite the wetsuit. She kept her mouth shut and her eyes open, but she could see nothing past the eruption of bubbles and black water. Fear slammed through her, and she ripped her hands free from theirs, kicking and trying to work herself back up. She broke through the surface, taking a huge lungful of air as she treaded water. She pushed her hair free from her face, glad that she had braided it. Josh and Jake broke through the surface beside her, gulping in air.
“It’s freezing,” she cried out, laughing with the exhilaration that filled her now that the fear was gone.
“Yeah!” Jake laughed and swam towards her. He gripped her around the waist and started to tug her towards the others. “C’mon, you don’t want to be underneath them when they jump.”
The other boys were waiting for a clear area before they jumped, and she forced herself to swim alongside the twins. As she swam, she began to get used to the coldness, and she realised that to be able to stay in she’d have to keep moving. She made it to where the others were and treaded water again, her teeth chattering as she looked back at the boys ready to jump. They were all gathered at the edge, hugging themselves against the
cold as they talked.
“Need to keep moving,” she stuttered and began to swim towards the shallow area.
“Crocodile!” She heard Matt yell, and she looked back to see him swimming towards her quickly. He caught her around her waist, and she was lifted and thrown a little way forward, Matt’s laughter in her ears. She turned, spluttering, and flicked water at him. He made to dive towards her again, and she gave a squeal of laughter and set off for the shallow bit. When she could finally put her feet down, she turned and looked back. Matt snapped his teeth at her, looming over her. Josh slid his arm around her and snapped his teeth as well.
“Going to eat you all up,” Jake said, making claws with his hands. He caught her around the waist, and she cried out with laughter, trying to move away from them. Jake just laughed evilly and lifted her right up into the air. Her hands went to his shoulders instinctively, laughing as she looked down at him.
“I’m a croc hunter. I’ll save you,” Nate called out. Jake launched her through the air to Nate. He caught her close, his arms around her. She was breathless with laughter, her hands on his shoulders.
“What do I get for saving you?” he asked. His eyes held hers, and her laughter died on her lips. She wondered what he’d do if she kissed him.
“Coming through!”
Nate let her go; the moment was broken, and Lily felt a shiver of disappointment. Nate moved them both to one side as the boys pushed through the water beside them. They all eyed Lily, smirks on their faces as they passed her. She avoided eye contact with all of them, and turned away.
“Let’s race,” Matt spoke up. “Those kids are happy to just jump in; if we stick to the left side, we can race and not get in their way.”
“I’m not a great swimmer,” Lily said. “I won’t beat you.”
“You don’t have to beat us, Lily May. Just try and keep up.”
“And if I can’t even keep up?” she asked, hugging her arms around her, her teeth chattering again.
“It doesn’t matter, we aren’t going anywhere. We’ll wait for you, Lily Pad,” Jake spoke quietly. “We’ll give you a head start if you want.”
