Deep Waters

Chapter Three

We pulled to a stop in the middle of the woods at the end of a long dirt road. Kason and I stepped out of his Charger and closed the doors while we waited as our friends joined us. Getting the Charger down that dirt road wasn't easy, especially since Kason was constantly complaining that it was somehow going to ruin the paint job, but after a long twenty minutes, we made it.

            Once everyone was parked and out of their cars, Kason led the way on a smaller dirt path through the woods that had to be hiked, following some directions that he was reading off of his phone. I wasn't prepared for the small hike, wearing sandals and a pair of shorts. Bushes and thorns were scraping the skin on my legs and I was nearly tripping with every step. But I didn't complain because one: nobody else was, and two: I was excited to see the waterfall. Fortunately, about three-hundred feet later, we arrived.

            The waterfall was only about thirty feet high, and there were large rocks all around it that would make easy jumping into the large body of water below it. The water pool catching the water falling from the rocks was about as wide as the height of the rocks and seemed deep enough in places to be somewhat safe to be classified as a good place to go cliff jumping. The rocks were dark grey and brown, fitting right in with the greenery that surrounded us, and the water was somewhat clear but had a slight green tinge to it.

            "This place is beautiful," Aria stated, immediately pulling out her camera from her drawstring bag and snapping a couple of pictures. The rest of us nodded in return.

            "I guess we will go wait by the car," Chad spoke up, gesturing to himself and Brandon. "There's no one else around and I'm guessing you guys would enjoy some privacy."

            "Thanks," Holden spoke up.

            The cops nodded once and turned around, heading back the way we came. Honestly, I was surprised that they were allowing us to be that far away out of their sight, but no one spoke up thinking it was a bad idea, so I didn't either. I wasn't going to complain about some one-on-one time with my friends. I mean we were in the middle of nowhere, so it wasn't like there was anything to worry about.

            Everyone started taking off the clothes that they were wearing over their swimwear when Gavin suddenly groaned in aggravation. "I forgot our towels in the Jeep," he announced, throwing his shirt onto a nearby rock. "I'll hurry and go get them."

            "You don't have to," Holden told him. "We can all just dry off once we get back to the cars."

            My brother shook his head. "I'd rather not have to hike back through the woods while drenched in water.

            "I'll go with you," Marla jumped in immediately.

            With that, Gavin nodded and together, they started heading back down the dirt path. I found it odd that Marla would jump at that opportunity of alone time with Gavin when he would be gone only a few minutes. But again, I didn't say anything. I thought back to the time when Marla was super laid back and independent before she started dating my brother. It's like she's starting to change. Should I worry? No. They are literally just going to get towels. It shouldn't be that big of a deal. I'm over thinking it as always.

            Holden and Kason didn't waste a second before they raced up to the rocks and started climbing. "Please be careful," I called out to them, watching their every step on the slippery rocks, terrified that one of them would lose their footing.

            "We'll be fine, Delilah," Kason chuckled as he carefully chose where he was stepping on the boulders.

            "You don't know where you should jump, though," I replied, not even trying to hide the worry on my face. "What if you hit a rock underwater, or hit a shallow spot?" Aria didn't say a word beside me, just zoomed her camera in on them up on the cliff and snapped a few more pictures.