I can't stay in the house alone any longer. Chap was trying to make me rest all day today but it's so boring! He'll never know if I just go for a walk. It's a pretty good place to stay, a couple of minutes from the beach but after yesterday's drama I think I'm better avoiding it. I'll walk up to the cliffs and back, I'm sure it'll be good for physio too. I leave my phone on the side, grab my crutches and lock the door behind me, setting off in the opposite direction to the beach. Looking up at my destination, I can see a dark figure, almost crouched. Whatever's happening it doesn't look good so I try to speed up. Hopefully, the Tower can see us up here and someone will help before long. As I reach the top, the figure sits up, her face streaked with tears. She's young, only a teenager and I immediately want to help her. "Hey," I whisper, "Are you okay? What's happening?" She shakes her head slowly. "Are you hurt?"
"By life." she mutters as I drop the crutches and step forward. "Don't come any closer. It's not safe."
"So why are you up here?" She looks at me incredulously as I realise.
"No... Please no.." I whisper under my breath as I sit down next to her. I have more than my fair share of experience with this and I never want to see it happen again. "Just sit here with me for a while." She shakes her head.
"There's nothing you can say that could ever change my mind." I take a deep breath, trying to remain calm for her.
"And I won't try to. I'm going to sit here and let you talk about anything. And I'm going to tell you that I did exactly this, on a bridge in London. Someone stopped me and now I'm here, safer and happier than ever. Since then, I've also stopped other people, helped them to live healthy lives, people who were in the same place that you are now." She smiles sadly.
"That's different. You all deserved it."
"Hey, I wouldn't come up here for just anyone. I believe you deserve it too. What's going through your head right now?"
"My parents died in a crash." she sobs, "My boyfriend left me. I want to be with my parents again.. It all hurts too much" I reach out to her but she recoils.
"I'm sorry." I whisper, pulling back again. "My family left me when I was diagnosed. They made the choice to leave. Can you imagine what your parents would say if they heard you now? What do you think your mum would say if you let a boy make you do this? What do you think your dad would say if he saw you sat here, leaving the life he built for you? Do you think this is what they wanted?" She looks conflicted as I reach out again. "It's okay. I'm not going anywhere." She nods and I pull her into a hug. "Are we going to get down to the beach?" I ask, hoping the lifeguards might have noticed by now.
"You can't keep me safe.. You'll just leave as soon as we get down." I shake my head.
"When we get down, I'll take you to my room and give you a drink and we can talk some more. We'll find a way to help you. You could stay with me if it would help. What's your name?"
"Imi.."
"Hey, I'm Brooke. Are we ready to stand up and get away?" She nods slowly as I drag myself to my feet painfully. She stands next to me and I reach out to put my arm around her again.
"No. I can't. I need to go." I pull her to me before she can move but she pushes us both back over the edge. I use my weight to push our feet down, forcing a vaguely safer entry but I know we'll still need luck. We hit the water hard and darkness enroaches on my vision as my joints slide. The only coherent thought I have is to keep her safe as I feel someone lift her out of my arms before I fall into the darkness of the pain.
Chappo's POV
I'm sitting in the Bronte Tower, watching the water. It's a pretty poor surf today so there's no one out and we're bored out of our minds. "Bondi to Bronte. We have a sighting." I sit up and look to Azza, expecting a shark. "Bronte to Bondi. Go ahead."
"We can't get a clear visual but there's something up on the cliffs. Taco's on his way up there now. Can one of you go out for a paddle and see what's happening from the water?"
"Yeah I'll head out now, see what's going on."
"Mate, it doesn't look good. There are two people so I'm guessing one is trying to stop the other. I can't see their faces yet." Azza says, sighing.
"Okay, we'll take it as it comes." I run out the Tower with a bad feeling and paddle out as fast as I can. The radio crackles again. "Chap, Taco says it's the girl from yesterday and you'll know who he means. He's almost with them now. Are you still okay or do you need me to take over? Do we need the ski?" Immediately I panic.
"Yeah mate. I'm still going. As soon as we can. If they both fall, I'll need to take her. She has medical conditions and I'll need to be careful. Yeah, get the ski, the sooner they get out here the better."
"Alright, it's already out so we'll send it up to you. Just follow procedure. Don't put yourself in danger."
"Thanks mate" I say, ignoring his safety comment as I reach the base of the cliff and paddle out past the rocks. I watch them both stand, hoping they'll finally get away from the edge. The ski arrives next to me, carrying Reidy and Matt. We all sit in silence, waiting for their move. I can see Taco metres behind the girls but they fall towards the ocean before he can get close enough. The two bodies drop, twisting into an almost perfect entry as I jump off the board and swim down to get them. I see Matt joining me and he takes the other girl who still struggles against him. I try to hold Brooke carefully, not twisting her body and supporting her back as I swim up to the surface. "Okay?" Reidy says as I break through, holding her as flat as I can.
"Get her back, I need to take Brooke carefully. Take her to Bondi and get her help."
"You sure mate?" I nod as I see Matt talking softly to the girl as he sits with her on the mat. If there was anyone who could help her, it would be him. "Alright. See you." They leave, careful not to cause too much turbulence and I turn my focus back to Brooke's cold, grey body.
