The Mason List (13 page)

Chapter 20

When
I was sixteen…

I sat
alone under a tree and watched the boat return with the rest of the group.  It
had been a nice, quiet few hours while everyone else played on Possum Kingdom
Lake.  Jess, Ashley, Lila, and I had left yesterday in his Ford truck, pulling
the boat.  Gentry Jones followed behind in his Tahoe with another one of the
players, Buzz Farland, and Katie Rae.

Natalie
had flat-out refused to even consider the trip.  I pleaded and then threatened
with every piece of dirt I could muster.  She gave me a dead pan stare and
said,
I would rather stick my hand in the deep fryer at Jeeter’s than be in
literal hell for the weekend.   I’m not sure you deserve to be first in our
class if you’re that stupid to go too.

The
two-story cabin had full-size and bunk beds spread out in the different rooms. 
I opted for a small, twin bed off the second story landing.  It was not in a
bedroom, but I would rather be there than stuck in a closed off room with one
of the
Ashley-bots
.

As for
the guys, I didn’t know much about Gentry since he moved to Arlis at the end of
last year.  Jess befriended the outsider the first day he stepped in school. 

As for
Buzz, he was really Bobby.  Jess said the nickname went back to the time he
showed up in kindergarten with bloody, mangy spots missing from his hair.  His
dad got drunk and tried to use the dog clippers.  Mrs. Mason took Bobby to the
barber and got the spots evened out, but it was too late.  Arlis officially
dubbed him Buzz.

“Hey,
watcha workin’ on?” 

Startled,
I looked up over my drawing pad to see Gentry’s green eyes.  “Umm…just a
picture of the shoreline.” 

The
broad-shouldered boy sat down next to me.  Gentry had the body of a dump truck
with tree limbs as legs.  He played defense for the football team.  By some
armchair coaches, Gentry
was
the defense, like a cement wall that
blocked while Jess ran the ball.

“Can I
see?” 

“Ok,” I
muttered, handing over the notepad.  I watched him study the picture.  His
short, buzzed-off hair suited his wide face.  Anything longer would just look
silly. 

“You’re
good.  I’ve seen some of your other’s in Jess's room.”

“Thanks.” 
I mumbled, feeling a little sick.  I didn’t think about people looking at those
drawings.  I’m sure Ashley loved seeing the watercolors tacked on the wall of
his room.

“So we’re
goin’ back out to see some cliffs on the north side.  You should come.” 

I looked
at Ashley out on the dock in a tiny bikini that sculpted her butt and barely
covered anything on her chest.  A daunting feeling flooded my nerves.  I
committed to the trip, so I needed to just get out there.  It wasn’t like we
would be alone together.

“Ok,” I
smiled.  “I’ll put my stuff away and be down in sec.”

Jess gave
me a surprised look when I boarded the boat, but he didn’t say anything.  I
knew he would be intrigued with my decision to join the rest of the group. 
Keeping my tank and shorts on, I didn’t even look at Ashley.

A
silhouette of cliffs outlined the distance view long before we reached the
shore.  This was a bad decision on my part.  I wasn’t really thinking about the
intent to jump from the cliffs when Gentry suggested the boat ride to see
them. 

Jess
leaned over and whispered in my ear, “You don’t have to go up.”

I made
eye contact with Ashley as he said the words.  Her lips clipped on a cryptic
smile.  I took a deep breath and muttered, “I’m ok.” 

Jess
anchored his boat off a small inlet on the rocky, back-side of the cliff. 
Everyone climbed out and started the hike to the top.  Last to leave, I dropped
my clothes and stepped out in my modest, black two-piece suit.  I slipped and
crawled over the jagged incline of rocks.  Jess lagged back, pulling me over
some of the larger ones.  I swatted him away. 

Reaching
the summit, my eyes took in the jaw-dropping, forty or so foot ledge that
over-looked the dark lagoon. 
Shit!
  The word circled over and over
through my head.  I never would have made the climb if I’d seen this view from
the boat.

The guys
rushed for the first jump, leaving me with the girls.  Katie Rae went next,
followed by Lila.  They squealed all the way down into the water.  Ashley
extended a nonverbal, middle-finger challenge before propelling off in the
distance.  

Last to
go, I peered over the edge.  The water was like a black pit into hell.  Panic
spread through my chest.  There’s no way I could jump.  My body wouldn’t allow
my decent into a bottomless pool.  Backing away from the crumbling edge, I hid
from view.  My stomach twisted up and my skin got clammy.

“Alex?”
Jess yelled.

I
couldn’t speak or I would throw up.  This was bad.  I could never face any of
them.  If I didn’t jump, Ashley would make me pay.  Her imaginary taunts rang
loud in my ears.

“Aaaaaa-lex!”
I heard Jess's deep, funny voice.  When I didn’t reply again, he shouted back,
“Seriously Al, are you ok?”

I put a
single palm in the air with a thumbs-up sign.  Closing my eyes, I pictured
myself anywhere but on top of a damn cliff.  I hoped they would just go away in
the water and forget about me.  The hot sun burned my skin, but I stayed in the
circled up position.  A little bit later, I heard a scrapping sound alongside
the rock path.  His sweaty face came into view.

“Hey….you
still up here?” 

“Where do
you think I went,” I mumbled.

He
reached the top of the cliff and crawled over next to me on the ground. His
concerned blue eyes stared into mine.  I glanced away.  My stomach rolled over
again, and I bit down hard on my lip.

“Hey,
stop that.  You’re gonna bite a hole through it one of these days.” 

I let go,
tasting salty blood on my tongue. 

“Look at
me,” he said softly.  “It’s ok.  You don’t have to jump.  I can get you back
down the trail.  But, if you wanna jump, I’ll help you.”

“You
gonna just toss me over?” 

“Thought
‘bout it, but I’m afraid you’d hate me.  Can’t have you hatin’ me anymore than
you already do on this trip.”

“I don’t
hate you.”

“Yes, you
do,” he grinned.  Reaching up to my face, Jess tucked a piece of red hair
behind my ear.  His eyes trailed down my neck and over my skin to the red scar
on my rib cage.  I thought the color would fade, but it was still a nasty,
feisty red a year later. 

Reaching
down, Jess touched the three inch gash just below my bikini top.  A mark made
by a fishing lure right into my gut.  It hurt like hell that afternoon when he
hooked me.  It hurt even worse when he clicked the reel and wedged it under my
skin.  I screamed even louder as he worked it free from my stomach.  The lure
left a nasty, pond-water-infected gash.  I had needed stitches and a shot. 
Instead, Jess had talked me into super-gluing it shut.

“I did a
shitty job fixin’ that up.”  His fingers felt cool on my bare skin as he
touched the mark. 

“Yeah, I
think that every time I take a shower.”

“You
think about me naked in the shower?” His smiled, trying not to laugh.

“Don’t be
gross.”

“You’re
the one who said it.” Jess gave my ribs a quick pinch, his blue eyes getting
that ornery look in them.

“Stop
it,” I warned.

Giggles
drifted up from the black water, getting my attention.  I pictured her face,
feeling my stomach clench again.  I knew what needed to happen.

“What’s
this plan of yours to get me to jump?”

“I’ll
jump with you.”

“You
actually think that will work.”

“Come
on.” Jess stood up, grabbing my hand.  With our fingers still intertwined, I
saw everyone floating in the dark pool below the cliff.  They cheered as we
came into view of the ledge.  Our shuffling feet bounced a few pebbles off the
side.  I felt Ashley’s vicious stare all the way up, forty feet in the air.  My
stomach clenched again.  Backing away from Jess, I bent over dry heaving.

“Al,
let’s just go back down the trail.”

“No!”  I
gasped, looking up still doubled over at the waist.

“I’m not
doin’ somethin’ that purposely terrifies the crap out of you.”

“I have
to do this.”

“No, you
don’t.  I wanted you to have fun and you’re not havin’ fun.  No one cares if
you jump or not.”

“I care. 
I’m doing this for me.”  I gathered myself up and told the angry bile in my
stomach to be quiet.  Deep breath in through my nose; deep breath out through
my mouth.  I chanted it over and over in my head. 

“I’m
better.  Let’s do this.”

His
troubled blue eyes stared intently at my face.  I saw Jess weighing my
decision, like it was his to make in the situation.  A full minute passed
before he caved in to me.

“You’re
‘bout as stubborn as hell sometimes.  Ok, if this is what you really want, then
I‘ll help.  You’ll just have to trust me.  Can you do that?”

“Yes,” I
nodded without hesitating.

“It’s
gonna be deep when we hit the water.  I’ll find you and pull you to shore.” 

“Ok.”

Jess put
my hands on each of his shoulders then slipped his arms around my waist.  These
days, he stood taller than my five foot, nine inch body.  I watched sweat
trickle down his neck.  Taking a deep breath, I nodded ready.

“Look at
me and forget ‘bout everythin’ down there.  You got this,” he said, trying to
reassure me.

I tried
to push the water and Ashley far from the racing thoughts in my mind.  I
trusted Jess.  He would get me through this without getting hurt.  It was all
in my head.  My eyes locked with his blue ones.

“I’m
gonna count to three, then push off the side.”

“Ok.”  I
swallowed the bile back in my throat.  My fingers dug into his sweaty skin.

Everything
went silent except for his voice and the pounding of my heart. 

“One.” 
Pound.
 

“Two.”
Pound.
 

“Three.”
Pound.

“Jump!”

He
crushed me against his chest.  My feet lifted up in the air as we pushed off
the ledge.  The decent seemed to go for ten minutes when in reality, it
probably wasn’t even ten seconds.  My stomach lurched into my throat and my
breath was gone.  I screamed as we plunged into the water, knocking up apart. 
The impact pushed me deep in the black water. 

Jess
found my hand and pulled me to the surface.  I heard loud cheers around me.  My
nose burned from not pinching it.  I gasped for air, trying to stay above
water.  Jess pulled me around to his back and locked my arms around his neck. 

“Th…thank
you,” I said, trying to catch my breath.

“How’s it
possible, you never took swimmin’ lessons?”

“I don’t
know.”  I did know.  I hated the water and the Masons paying for it.

I clung
to his back; my bikini-clad body pressed tight against his skin.  I raised my
hand to high-five Gentry as we passed.  My eyes drifted over to Ashley.  She
wasn’t smiling like everyone else in the water.  Her eyes shot an icy warning
in my direction.