Chapter Forty Eight-2

We are standing on a glade, really high up. The grass glade stretches across in front of me, before dropping off. "Wow, this place is beautiful." "It is," he agrees. "I used to come here as a kid and jump off the cliffs." My jaw drops. "You jump from this high?" "Yeah of course. You're not scared, are you?" "Of course not," I quickly say, accepting the challenge straight away. "Still cocky as ever, I see," he reply with an eye roll. "What are you waiting for, then?" I grin, stepping out of my shorts and sliding my shirt over my head. I thank myself for not wearing my bikini. It might have been awkward if I jumped and lost my pants halfway down. Hayden strips to board shorts and we toss our clothes back into the ute. We edge towards the cliff edge. I stick my head over. "Is this safe?" Hayden shrugs. "It's legal." "That's not what I asked." "I used to do it all the time, you'll be fine," he assures me. "Ready?" Letting out a breath, I nod. "Jump wide, there's rocks." "Hayden!" "What?" he laughs. "If we die, I'm going to be really mad," I say as we begin to back up. "Well, at least we'll die together," he grins, before grabbing my hand. The next moment, we are running. I feel the cool wind hitting my face in full force as I sprint towards the cliff edge. With one last fleeting glance at the boy next to me, hand in hand, we jump. *** I scream loudly as I feel myself soaring through the air. It feels like the drop was two seconds long. I drop into the icy cold water and plunge deeply. I lose Hayden's hand as I flail to the top. I emerge, panting, to see Hayden giving me a wicked, adrenaline-pumped smile. I taste the salt on my lips, feel the wind on my cheeks and the sun beating down onto my skin as I stare at him. "That was such a rush," I pant breathlessly as I tread water. "Amazing, isn't it?" I paddle over to him. We exchange a slippery, salty kiss, before paddling back to shore. Hayden flops down on my side, flicking water droplets onto me. He props up on his elbow, shielding the fierce sun from me. He leans down, pressing his lips to mine. His lips are cold but his tongue warm as the kiss deepens. He sinks his fingers into my wet hair, placing more of his weight on me. I hook my leg around his waist. His hand slides up my bare thigh while my fingers trace the muscles on his back. After a few moments, he pulls back, offering me his dimpled smile. "I love you, Grace Connaway." "I love you, too, Hayden Cameron." *** After completing the cliff-jump three more times and laying in the sun for twenty minutes to dry, we finally retire to the ute. After having all that adrenaline course through my veins, I actually felt a little tired, even though it is only lunch time. "We have to do that more often," I say to Hayden, closing my eyes briefly. "That was so much fun." "Definitely." We listened to the radio on the drive home. I tap my fingers against my thigh. I ditched my shirt, now only wearing my denim shorts and swim suit. The day had become warm out, which is nice. Last year, it rained all day. So much has changed since then and I couldn't be more grateful. A lot of bumps along the way but in this moment, it is like a distant memory. I can't help but smile as we pull up, seeing my shiny, new car sitting in the driveway. I trail my fingers along the paint as we pass it. "I can't believe I own a car now." "I know, it's bloody dangerous," Hayden jokes. I lightly slap his arm as we walk through the door. I can hear music. I raise my eyebrows, looking around, trying to decipher where the sound is coming from. The ground is vibrating as we walk through the house. "What the...?" I ask, staring at Hayden. He tries to hold back a smile, but fails. When I walk out the back, I gasp. There is a big streamer that says "Happy 18th Birthday" and is strung up near the pool. There is a table set up with finger food and soft drink. There are eskys dumped around, with alcohol, I'm assuming. Clumped in small clusters are people from school. Straight away, I see Harvey, Caitlyn, Leisel, Mia, Mike, David, Ryan and a few others that I have hung around with before. They all turn to me and cheer. Harvey places his drink down and runs over to me, picking me up as he spins me around. "Happy Birthday, best friend," he beams toothily. "Who organised this?" I ask, my eyes wide. "Me, Hayden, Leisel and your mum." My mother appears at the doorway, dressed in her scrubs. She always wore a pair there, changed upon arrival and then re-changed, before heading home. "I'm heading out now Grace. Have a good time with your friends," she says to me. "Don't do anything I wouldn't!" After giving her a hug, she disappears into the house and I walk back outside. Everyone came over and said happy birthday to me, even Mia. I had to laugh, David has been out of school for the past couple of weeks, due to getting his wisdom teeth out. His face was still puffy and he looks like a chipmunk. "I can't believe you're all here," I gush to them, embarrassed that my eyes were tearing up. "You guys are the best." "Aw, are you getting a bit emotional?" Harvey teases. "Shut up!" He laughs, wrapping an arm around me. It is so weird to think that a few months ago, these people despised me. Now they were all at my house, celebrating my birthday with me. "You are amazing." "I know," he jokes. I stand on my tip-toes, meeting his lips. He smiles at me, before taking a sip of his drink. The rest of the afternoon sails by quickly. We began drinking at about 4pm, still out by the pool as the sun slowly began to sink away, leaving a hazy, orange glow in its wake. After paddling around in the pool until night, it eventually got too cold. We all retired into the lounge room. I walk into the kitchen to see Hayden holding a beer. "What?" I ask stupidly, moving my eyes from the beer, to Hayden and back to the beer again. "Spending a few nights in a cell made me realise that I am nothing like my father. I will never do what he did. You stopped drinking for me and I know you like to drink and socialise. It's my turn to meet you halfway." "I don't care about drinking. Please don't feel like you have to-" "Grace, this is something I need to do. I have been afraid of alcohol and honestly, I know now that I will never let it consume me like it did my father. I'm ready for this." "I feel like we're making this dramatic," I say with a laugh. "But sure, if it's something you want to do, I won't stop you." He wearily brought the beer to his lips and take a sip. "I wonder what you're like drunk." "I guess you're going to find out," he replies with an eye roll, pulling me to him. After we all dance around the house for a while, we end up putting a movie on. I'm surprised everyone came and has stayed all day. It's been really fun, spending time with everyone outside of school. As I perch on the lounge, I reach over, placing Hayden's hand in mine. "Thank you for making this day one I will never forget," I whisper. He turns to me, a drunk smile on his lips. "Just wait for tonight." I roll my eyes. I should have known he would say something like that. As I sit back, watching the T.V, I find myself smiling. Today has been perfect. --------------------