Unexpected Love

Chapter 59

Friday comes and goes because it pours all day. Karen tries to make it fun for us with movies and games since Patrick had to go to work. We do go a little stir crazy but we move past it and try to enjoy the day off of no school. "Aren't there cliffs around here?" Matt asks. "Oh, that would be fun" Lacey says. "Okay guys" she whispers "The weather predicts that it's not going to rain tomorrow so we should go cliff jumping." I look at Josh "Next adventure?" "Next adventure" he says. "Were in" I proclaim.

As Lacey predicts from the weather channel it doesn't rain. It's cool and cloudy but not freezing. We leave the house with our suits on, towels, and cooler full of food. We try to be quick as Karen and Patrick go out for a bike ride. "Bye" we all yell.

Lacey drives us to the cliffs where she and every other kid have gone. She explains to me that it's a rite of passage and everyone does it. We pull into a clearing where a few other cars are parked. We unload our stuff and Lacey leads the way through a row of trees. I feel like I'm going through a tunnel when we arrive on the other end and it opens up to a clearing of flat rock tops everywhere and a huge drop from below. We notice several other college kids with their bbqs and a few girls at the bottom in inner tubes.

Lacey tells us it's about a 40 to 50 foot drop to the water. Of course she adds how every year kids die because they mix cliff jumping and drinking. We set our things down in a circle. I hover over the edge and look down. I smirk back at Josh "So it's a bit higher than our bridge jumping experience." "You ready?" he asks. "Absolutely" I respond. Lacey clears a path for us to be able to run and jump, while Matt yells at the girls at the bottom that we're jumping.

Josh and I position ourselves to run and I hear him whisper "give it all I got." I almost feel like he was giving himself a little pep talk. I turn my face to him and utter "give it all I got." He shakes his head at me and smiles. "On the count of 3..." he yells "1...-"he starts. "2" I scream and run before him as I did the last time and fling myself in the air. My stomach is in my chest, my ears go silent as I plunge into the water, and then my eyes go black.

My feet are burning from the hit. I crawl my way to the surface that feels like forever away and I burst through the surface to take my first breath. I wipe the water from my eyes and look around for Josh. I see him a bit further from me and he's swimming towards me, beaming. I swim to him and I start screaming with laughter "Did you see us? I can't believe it!" We look up and see Matt and Lacey cheering us on, along with the other groups of people.

We swim to the edge and climb up what seems to be man-made stairs. We reach the top and Lacey wraps a towel around me as she's congratulating me on my success. Josh and I take a seat and sit for a few minutes soaking in our exhilarating moment.

The day carries on with us making a few more jumps and swimming at the bottom. We snack and throw a few laughs around. I think about how fun it's been with Matt and Lacey. They're super cool and we fit really well together as a group. Jess and James are great but they're a bit more home body type compared to Matt and Lacey. Overall, we seem to connect well together and enjoy each other's company.

Our laughter continues until we spin around and see a girl screaming at the top of her lungs. She's standing on the ledge and a few of her friends gather around her. We stare down to find a mangled body in the water. The four of us run down the steps with a few others behind us. Josh yells back asking them to call 911.

As Josh and Matt swim into the water and pull on the lifeless body, I will never be able to remove the picture from my head. The man's face is cracked open like an accordion while Josh tries to hold his face together and another guy checks his breathing. He claims he's a paramedic and shouts at another guy to get his gear. Within a few minutes his bag arrives and he's fumbling through. I watch in awe as this guy slides a tub down his throat and starts pumping a blue bag over it.

Josh continues to hold his face together and the once screaming girl is now holding his hand and sweetly talking to him. A few more minutes pass and the ambulance and tech crews arrive. They work like magic strapping him in a backboard and move swiftly up the steps. As we follow behind I'm still admiring the power they hold to save lives. My observation is halted as they slam the doors to the ambulance and drive away.

The four of us end up having to make statements even though we didn't see anything. Josh and Matt seem so casual as if they've done this a million times. Lacey grips my hand and I can see tears in her eyes. I wrap my arm around her and she begins to sob. "Lacey, they'll save him. He'll be okay" I whisper. I have no idea if she's in shock or just sad about the situation.

Josh must be coming down from his high of adrenaline because after the cop turns to leave he slumps down to his butt on the ground. I run over to him and sit in the same manner facing him. I place my elbow on his knees and my other hand at his back. "Babe, you were so brave! You helped save that man's life." He tilts his head up and places his chin on my resting elbow. "I don't know about that but I'm glad we were here to help" he says.

We all wait for a few minutes to gather ourselves together. With Lacey as an emotional wreck and Matt and Josh coming off a high, I volunteer to drive. It felt good to drive since I haven't in a few months. Josh never lets me drive his mustang, but I came close once. It's a crappy time to feel good about something as simple as driving but I still soak it in. I pull in the drive way and turn off the engine. We drag ourselves in the house and find a note from Karen and Patrick saying they'll be out for a few hours. They left us cash for a pizza and telling us can eat leftovers in the fridge.

I try to change the mood on everyone's faces "How about we regroup in an hour or two and order a pizza. We can watch a good movie...maybe a chick flick" staring at Lacey. Josh and Matt hesitate but they understand what I'm trying to do.

Matt literally carries Lacey to the bedroom and I pull Josh along with me. We enter the bedroom and I drop my things on the chair. Josh slumps on the bed and it almost breaks my heart the way he looks. "Babe, you okay?" I ask. Josh has never cried before, that is in front of me at least. "Babe, I never told you but I had a good buddy in high school who died hiking. I wasn't there but my other friends who were there said that they would never be able remove the picture of seeing him fall and disappear into the fog." Josh continued to say that the guy fell 70 feet and died instantly, yet the others didn't so they radioed for help and ran down the mountain to find him mangled on the rocks. He explained how these guys were some of the toughest guys he knows and how they all fell to their knees crying at the site of their dead friend.

A few tears fell from his eyes. I wiped them away with my thumb. I wanted him to feel safe, safe and loved in this moment. I gradually removed his clothes as well as mine. He tried to stop but I refused. I laid him back on the sheets and climbed on top. With my hand I guided his length inside me and laid down on his chest. I covered us with the comforter and he wrapped his arms around me. I knew he would feel loved and safe inside me. It wasn't lust or about reaching an amazing climax in this moment, but about protecting him, what was ours, and getting lost in something that was real.

I sensed his breathing changed as I looked up. His lips were parted and eyes closed. I rolled my neck back down and snuggled into him. We drifted to sleep in each other's arms. Dreaming of only us and us alone.