Where Two Collide

Chapter Thirty-Six - Cat

Chapter Thirty-Six

Cat

Outside where it was safe, we both looked at each other and burst into giggles. We laughed until my side hurt and I was gasping for breath. Kieran, who was standing at the door as always, looked on in bemusement.

"I have to get out of here, he could come outside any second," I said, clutching my side and glancing back at the door.

"Kieran, do you mind if I shoot off a little early," Addie asked, throwing him a full toothy smile. "I want to make sure this one gets home safe; she's had a crazy night."

"Sure," Kieran enthused, his voice hoarse and low. He must have just been smoking. "I've been guarding this door by myself more nights than my little girls have been around and kicking, I can manage a couple of hours. You go on now."

"Cheers man," she said, giving him a high five. She then snatched hold of my hand again and pulled me away. "Come on, I have an idea."

I let her pull me along, mostly because I just was so relieved I'd not been caught, I didn't have the energy to say no. But also because I was starting to get the feeling that I couldn't really say no to Addie.

"Who was that guy anyway?" she asked. "An ex or something?"

I made a disgusted sound somewhere in the back of my throat. "Gross. That guy was one of my teachers," I explained. "He'd have recognised me as soon as he saw me and that would have been it, all this hard work will have been for nothing."

"You're shittin me," said Addie. She pressed her palm to her forehead. "Damn that was close."

She was still pulling me along like a naughty child, her hand clasped tightly around mine. I looked down at them and felt my cheeks warm against the night air. Did she think I was child? I wasn't that much younger than her, she was only eighteen and I was about to turn seventeen. But I was still in high school, so maybe that did make me childish to her eyes.

I looked up the road we were walking along, it was the main high street and it was brightly lit by the streetlamps. The road was cobbled here, very oldy timey, which I loved. I cleared my throat. "Addie, where are we going?"

"You'll see," she said all mysteriously. She certainly had a flare for the dramatics!

We took several turnings, sticking to the main road, until finally she halted in front of the stone bridge crossing the largest canal to the north of town. Letting go of my hand, she waved her hands toward the bridge in a way that reminded me of a magician revealing the end of a magic trick. "Ta da!"

"It's a bridge," I stated matter-of-factly, gazing between her and it. It was just a normal bridge too, nothing particularly interesting about it, other than the number of cars passing over it for this time of night.

"Where's your sense of intrigue," Addie tutted. "Even the most ordinary of things can be deceptively remarkable."

Addie crossed the road and headed to the bank to the left of the bridge, with one hand on it to steady herself, she worked her way down the embankment. Before she completely disappeared from view, she called to me. "Are you coming?"

"Erm, I guess," I said, following her path.

I touched my hand to the cold stone of the bridge, feeling every crack as I stepped carefully through the undergrowth that had spread here, just out of sight from public eyes. The ground was slippery, and I could feel my feet sliding with every step. I tried to keep myself still like the stone under my fingertips, my body rigid and my steps solid and firm. Addie was just ahead of me, she stuck her foot out in front of her, feeling for the last step but found nothing but air. She slipped, her legs going under her as she landed on the flattened ground beneath the bridge.

I jumped the last step, landing on my feet beside her. "Are you alright," I asked. It was hard to really make her out in the dark, the streetlights didn't reach under the bridge which meant we were covered in shadow. I took out my phone and turned on the torch function, shining it down at her.

"It's a good thing I have padding down here," said Addie, rubbing her butt where she'd fallen.

"Here," I said, offering her my free hand and pulling her to her feet.

Addie brushed herself off and smiled at me. "We made it!"

I grinned back at her. "Barely in your case." I shone my torch around, getting a look at where she'd brought me. The canal was too muddy to see into, lapping softly at the edges near where we stood. It smelled like our attic did when it had not been opened for several months, it was that dusty damp smell, not at all pleasant. "Is there a reason you've brought me to this rather lovely place," I asked. "Is it to kill me?"

Addie laughed lightly; her head thrown back as though I was the funniest person in the world. "If I was going to kill you, I wouldn't do it here, I'd take you out of town where nobody knew you or would remember seeing you."

I wrinkled my nose. "I can tell you've spent some time planning that," I paused, scanning the area again. Nope, definitely nothing of note here. Just that it was quiet and out of the way. I doubted anyone really came down here. I shined my light on her face. "Why are we here then?"

My smile slipped when I see the sparkle in her eyes, she stepped toward me, reaching for the hand with my phone in it. She's close now, close enough that she could kiss me again, here where nobody would see. I held my breath as her fingers closed around my hand.

"Look up," she said, and flipped my torchlight towards the underside of the bridge.

I did as I was told and turned my eyes upward, and then, I let out the breath I'd been holding. It was beautiful, and not at all what I'd been expecting when she'd brought me here.

Above me was a huge mural covering the entire underside of the bridge. It was an intricate motif of many different flowers, painted in a rainbow of colours. The details were precise and striking, from the pollen stems in the Calla lilies, to the dramatic shades of pink of the Azaleas and the lines of the bell-shaped petals of the bluebells. I could almost smell their sweet freshness, almost touch their smooth petals. It was as though I was in a garden that bloomed year-round, the hues bright and welcoming and just...perfect.

"Isn't it amazing," said Addie, looking up with me. "A friend of mine painted it, she said she wanted to leave her mark on the world, somewhere secret and special. I wanted to show you something inspirational, to help you with your final piece."

A dreamy look crossed my face. "I don't think I've seen anything more beautiful in my life."

"You just leave it to me, I'm going to help you get that piece finished, even if I have to drag you all over the city," she said with her Addie kind of enthusiasm.

I let out a laugh. "Just don't take me out of the town where nobody will remember seeing me."

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