Losing Faith (Surfers Way)

by Jennifer Ryder

  “Yeah,” Mack gasps.

  I zip up my dress and move my head around a tree. That’s when I see them.

  “They’re coming!” I cry out as the soccer boys run towards us. I toss Mack her dress, and do the same for Faith.

  The girls pull on their outfits just in time. We stroll out into the moonlight towards the bonfire, as if we didn’t just bare all to our entire class. Faith walks in front, reaching back for us. We each take her hand, the three of us, united. The way it’s always been.

  “Best friends forever,” Faith whispers.

  Those three little words draw a tear to my eye and wrap around my heart like a big squishy hug. I will treasure this moment for the rest of my life.

  ---

  After milling around the fire for the last couple of hours, I set my sights on Mack, who’s walking towards the house. I jog to catch up to her and link my arm around hers.

  “You feeling better about the move?” I ask her, and nudge my shoulder against hers.

  “What’s that?” she says, shaking whatever thoughts are bombarding her. She’s been quiet tonight. Maybe she’s stressing about leaving us. I can’t say I’m happy about her going.

  “The move. You ready for it?”

  “Yeah. I know I wanted to stay before, but leaving’s the right thing to do. Tonight’s just been a big night.”

  “I’m gonna miss you like crazy. Like loopy, wear-underpants-on-my-head crazy,” I tell her and swoop in to kiss her temple.

  Mack throws back her head and laughs. “Yeah, well I’m gonna miss you like a woman with PMS needs her chocolate.”

  Laughter bursts from my mouth. “Aw! You’re gonna miss me that bad? Wait, let me think for a second. I’m gonna miss you like …” I huff out a breath. “Nope. I’m out of ideas. Crazy-underwear lady about covers it. Thank God we have Byron Bay at Easter. Don’t you dare forget about that.”

  “I doubt you girls will let me,” Mack says and laughs.

  We look at each other and smile. “Road trip!” we shout in unison.

  Quade’s car creeps down the driveway, sending my heart into a mad flutter. Butterflies awake in my stomach. I need to tell the girls. He parks the car and walks toward us. Eden appears out of nowhere.

  “Quadie!” Eden shrieks and jumps on him, hugging him like a koala scrambling for higher ground. Man, she must have had way more jelly shots than I thought. Maybe she had a secret stash to herself.

  “Hey,” Quade mumbles. “Good party?” he asks, holding Eden’s shoulders to stop her from swaying. Ever since we started experimenting with drinking, she’s been the life of every party.

  “Great,” Eden says and makes a weird noise with her mouth. She cups her hand over her mouth. Spew alert.

  “Hi Lacey, Mack,” Quade says, drilling me with those eyes … eyes I get lost in every time he looks at me. By the look of his heated gaze, I know exactly what he’s thinking about. It sends a shiver right through to my bones. My lady parts tingle with anticipation. Can we go already?

  I line up for a hug after his cousin. When I lean in, his fresh aftershave tickles at my nose. Did he just get out of the shower or did he smell this good earlier?

  “Guess what?” I ask him.

  Mischief dances in his eyes. “What, Lace?”

  “It’s later,” I whisper.

  A cheeky smirk toys with his dimple, and then his smile meets his eyes. “You’re right. It is.”

  Boy, are you about to be kissed stupid.

  I peel my arms from him, instantly suffering withdrawal from his warmth.

  “So where’s Faith?” he asks.

  “Her and Byron are having a talk out back,” I say, waving towards the back of the property, where the gardens meet the scrub.

  Quade’s brows pull together. “Oh. Everything okay?” he asks.

  I shrug. “I think so.” I turn to Mack. “Mack, do you know anything?”

  “Uh, no. Everything’s fine,” she says and shakes her head. “I’m sure they’re just discussing … things.”

  And they’re taking their time. Probably making out.

  Not thinking about my friend having a pash-fest right now. Urgh.

  I shake off those thoughts and lead Quade over to the porch. We sit down and I tell him about how popular Eden’s jelly shots were as well as the throat-burning tequila that’s had me teetering on the edge of drunk all night. Quade laughs when I tell him about the horrifically bad top-forty songs we danced to. I leave out the part about the nudie run, because I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t be happy that the three of us had been naked in front of our entire grade. I don’t know why I let Faith talk me into it. Who am I kidding? As if I would’ve said no. Not only would I not want to, but I never say no to Faith. She’s too good to me.

  I look over at Mack, who’s been really quiet since we came over here. She won’t hold my gaze and seems to be ignoring Quade. Is she thinking about the nudie run? Surely she’s not ashamed? She has a banging body, and besides, who cares? It’s done.

  Did you tell the girls yet? Quade mouths to me.

  “I thought we could do it on the way home,” I whisper. I could have done it already, but I want Quade to be with me.

  After about fifteen minutes or so of chatting and waiting with no sign of Faith or Byron, Quade stands and stretches his hands above his head. I gawk at the flash of skin at his hip as his shirt gives me the ultimate tease. I want to lick it.

  Gulp.

  “Okay, we’ve given them long enough. Let’s go find ’em,” he says.

  Mack and I trail behind Quade as he walks around towards the backyard. There aren’t as many people milling about as there were before, and the fire is nearly out. We approach three people sitting on a log, staring into the flames.

  Eden, Andy and Byron.

  Wait a sec, isn’t he supposed to be with Faith?

  “Where’s Faith?” I ask Byron.

  In a quick move, his gaze darts from the fire to us. He frowns and shakes his head. “I thought she was with you.”

  Then where the hell is she?

  “No. Don’t be silly, you went and talked to her over …” I squint as I point to the part of the yard they walked off to earlier. “Over there.”

  “That was almost half an hour ago,” Byron says, stringing out each word as if he’s calculating the time in his head. “Then she said she was going home. With you guys.”

  “Why wouldn’t you be coming with us?” Quade asks, his brow wrinkling. Quade’s right. That was the deal. We all leave together.

  “We broke up,” Byron says.

  My stomach drops. Air is forced from my lungs in a whoosh. Holy shit, it’s over?

  “You what?” I shriek, unable to stop the words coming from my mouth. “But you guys are crazy about each other. You’re in love … Faith would’ve done anything for you.” She hadn’t said anything about leaving him. She would have told me, and we sure as anything wouldn’t have been out shopping for condoms earlier today if this was the plan.

  Byron huffs out a breath as I draw air in deep. Why is he being so bloody quiet?

  “Why did you break it off with her, Byron?” I bark at him. I have to know. I have to know how a relationship that seemed so perfect to me was somehow so flawed. “What’s your problem with her?”

  “Look, I don’t wanna talk about it, okay?” Byron rests his head in his hands. Why is he acting all sad and mopey, as if she broke up with him?

  “Well, that’s too bad because you’re gonna have to,” Eden slurs. “Nobody hurts my cousin and gets away with it. We love Faith.” Eden stumbles and looks around at each of us. “Everyone loves Faith.”

  “We need to find her. Now,” I say, trying to hold back my anger. Byron must have really hurt Faith for her to keep her distance from us. I need to get to her now. My bestie needs me. “Byron, did she come back here with you? When did you last see her?”

  “When we finished our … our talk, I went into the bush to take a leak. I didn’t see where she went.
She just said she was going home.”

  “She didn’t come back here,” Eden pipes in and shakes her head, her blonde locks getting stuck in her long lashes. She pulls the strands free from her face and tucks them behind her ear. “After I went and said hi to Quade, I came back around. Everyone was leaving. I would’ve seen her.”

  I suck in a breath and force it out through my mouth in a long stream. Okay, so I need to calm down. Faith might be heartbroken, but she’ll be okay. She’s decided to go home. “I’ll call her,” I say, opening up my purse and grabbing my phone. “There’s probably a really good explanation for this.” When she answers, I’m gonna kick her arse for doing this. So not cool.

  I go to favourites, where there are only two numbers saved. Mack and Faith. My best bitches. I dial my MIA friend and press speaker.

  The rings echo into the night. Each unanswered ring has my heart beating faster. Just pick up the phone already.

  “Hi, you’ve reached Faith. You know what to do.” Beep!

  “I’ll try,” Mack says, trying from her phone.

  It rings until it hits voicemail. The phone slips from her fingers onto the ground.

  How much did she have to drink?

  “I’ll call Mick,” Byron offers. I guess he was one of the last to leave. Maybe she got a ride with them.

  “I’ll try Pia,” I offer. Even though she’s been a bit of a bitch to me lately.

  “This is so unlike Faith,” Quade says, running his hand through his hair. “I’m gonna to do a lap of the property, then maybe we should head home. She might have decided to walk.”

  “Yeah, after some douche knuckle broke her heart.” Eden shoots a filthy look at Byron. He turns away.

  Douche knuckle, alright.

  I should grab Byron by the neck and make him talk, find out what the hell happened between them. Maybe later. First I need to find my friend.

  Quade and I walk in one direction. Mack goes in another.

  “I knew I should’ve come earlier,” Quade says and huffs. “Mum’s gonna be pissed. She carried on about getting here at a reasonable time so I could make sure Faith wasn’t too drunk.”

  “Faith would’ve been pissed if you came too soon. You know that.”

  “Yeah, but try explaining that to my mother. Besides, I had other things planned for tonight than chasing my sister. As soon as we find Faith we can finally tell her and Mack about us, and then tonight becomes all about you and me.”

  I don’t miss the heated gaze he shoots me when he says the last three words, causing my heart to beat like a jungle drum. You and me. Sigh.

  I close my eyes for a brief moment, envisaging naked skin tangled in cotton sheets. Then I mentally slap myself. I shouldn’t be thinking of that now. I have a friend to find.

  “Let’s find her and get out of here,” I say in a thick voice as we continue to walk around the property, calling her name out into the darkness.

  We don’t find her.

  “She must have walked,” I say to Quade’s steely face.

  We decide to drive home, scouring the streets on the way. I try to ignore the acid that gurgles in my stomach as Quade, Mack and I get into his car. I kick off my sandals and stretch out my toes.

  Leaving without her … this doesn’t feel right.

  Quade is a much more sensible driver this time around. He doesn’t treat his vehicle as if it’s a V8 supercar, instead letting the engine hum as he rolls around the streets of Runaway in search of his MIA sister.

  No one has uttered a word since we got in. I should try and lighten the mood somehow. After all, for all we know Faith is already in bed, probably crying herself to sleep after douche boy broke up with her. Instead of thinking about Byron, I decide to focus on Quade and his stellar driving.

  “Congratulations,” I whisper, and pat his closest hand on the steering wheel.

  “On what?” he asks, taking a glimpse in the rear-view mirror.

  “Caging your inner rev head,” I say and bite down on my lip.

  “I’m a regular Driving Miss Daisy after dark.” His lips pull into a devilish smirk. His eyes don’t leave the road as he turns onto Surfers Way, the busiest road in town. It’s the main route between Eden and Faith’s house. If she decided to walk, then this is where we’ll find her.

  Quade flicks on the high-beams, lighting up the bitumen and surrounding trees ahead. I prop one elbow back into my seat and scour the edges of the road for my BFF.

  Windows down, we call her name out into the night.

  I squint as a shadow on the opposite side of the road catches my eye. It’s just within reach of the lights.

  I grip Quade’s bicep. “Wh … what’s that?” I say, leaning closer to him.

  It could be anything. Someone dumped some rubbish. Something fell off the back of a truck.

  The car is silent.

  Quade rolls the car to a stop, the lights revealing more of the dark shadow.

  That’s when we all see it.

  It’s when we all know.

  “Faith!” I scream. I scramble for the handle and kick my door open as my heart rages a war inside me. What’s happened?

  Mack is already out of the car and running.

  “Faith!” I cry out over and over, chasing Mack. Loose gravel bites into the pads of my feet as I rush to the still figure lying down.

  “Fuck!” Quade growls beside me. “Faith.” His voice trembles. “No, no, no.”

  My eyes widen at the confronting sight. A pool of blood glistens in the crevices of the rough black tar beneath her head. Her blonde hair is stained red at her temple. Shards of mirror are strewn around her body.

  But her eyes …

  “Faith,” Quade roars, matching the intensity of the scream that wails from my mouth.

  “Faith,” I whimper. She has to be okay. She has to be. But I know she’s gone because life no longer flickers in her eyes. Those eyes …

  I choke on a sob. My chest constricts and I gasp for air. Is she …

  “Faith,” Quade barks as he kneels at her side, as if snapping at her will bring her back. He places two fingers on the side of her throat.

  Time slows. None of us move.

  I hold my breath, waiting. “Quade, tell me something?” I beg as tears barrel down my face.

  He removes his hand from her skin. His eyes don’t move from her, as he slowly shakes his head.

  My legs come out from under me. I fall to my knees, numb. Mack crouches beside me, her body trembling as she hooks her arm around my shoulders.

  Quade hauls Faith’s lifeless body into his arms. Her blood paints his shirt as he squeezes her to his chest. The muscles in his jaw tick. Tears bound down his flushed cheeks.

  He weeps into her hair.

  “She can’t … No!” I cry out.

  Trembling, I wrap my arms around them. Mack holds me from behind. Sobs overtake my body.

  My heart splinters like the broken shards beneath us.

  What’s left to hope for when Faith is gone?

  CHAPTER TWO

  What should have been a time of celebration, has turned into a time of mourning. Family, friends and classmates say their final goodbyes today to a beloved member of the Runaway Beach community. Class captain, scholar with top marks, and every promise of entry into Law, Faith Kelly was declared dead on the scene just hours after celebrating the end of year twelve. Injuries to the local eighteen-year-old girl are consistent with a hit-and-run incident, leaving many questions surrounding her death.

  Despite noise made by the local residents’ group over the last year about street racing on the notorious Surfers Way stretch of road, local government has failed to take action.

  Police are calling for assistance from members of the public, and encourage anybody who may have information, no matter how insignificant, to come forward. Call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

  Visions from the morning news continue to haunt my every thought. From the moment we found her every memory has compounded in my head, ra
ising so many questions. As each day passes, I become more desperate for answers.

  The ornate timber casket front and centre at the altar is closed. Not that I could look at her again if it was open. What I saw that night I can never unsee. The wooden box is masked with an arrangement of white lilies.

  I can’t stop myself from staring at the large framed photo of her on the easel beside it. Her long blonde hair flows in the breeze with the rolling waves of Runaway Beach behind her, her blue eyes sparkling with the hopes and dreams of an eighteen-year-old destined for greatness.

  The minister calls Mack and I up to the podium. On shaky legs I stand, and take Mack’s sweaty hand in mine, gripping it tightly all the way to the wooden stand.

  Mr and Mrs Kelly hold each other close. The way they’ve comforted each other today, you wouldn’t even suspect that this time last week, they’d been considering a divorce.

  Faith’s parents and extended family look at us as if we were the ones driving the car that claimed her life. Do they blame Mack and I because we should have all been together, looking out for each other?

  I set my eyes on Quade. His gaze is fixed on the portrait of his sister. I desperately need him to look at me, to give me something, anything that tells me how he’s feeling. I’ve tried to talk to him in the last week, but he’s completely shut down. It appears he’s not talking to anyone, and I sense a rift with his parents from the stiff body language in church. I haven’t seen his mother shower him with any kind of affection or form of comfort, and anytime he’s tried to approach her, his dad has stepped between them. What the hell is up with that? Shouldn’t they all be leaning on each other at a time like this?

  I pull the wrinkled handwritten note from my pocket, a piece of paper I’ve man-handled for the last week. Sadly, I ended up writing most of it myself, because Mack couldn’t deal. I know we’re all taking this hard, but Mack is in a bad way.

  I clear my throat and take in a deep breath as I adjust the microphone. A few sniffles echo throughout the vast room, and then silence cloaks us all.

  “On my first day of kindergarten, I met Faith. I knew I’d met someone special. A friend for life.” I reach beside me and take Mack’s hand in mine. It’s clammy and her slim body is shaking. I hold her hand tighter as a show of support. I can’t choke up now. “When we were seven, along came Mack. Since then, the three of us have played, we have laughed, and we have cried. We have shared our fears and have always had each other’s backs. There won’t be a day that goes by that we won’t think of you, Faith. Your laugh, your smile, your encouragement, and your everlasting friendship.”