On the Fringe

by Courtney King Walker

  COURTNEY KING WALKER

  ON THE FRINGE

  Published through Lands Atlantic Publishing

  www.landsatlantic.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved

  Copyright © 2011 by Courtney King Walker

  ISBN: 9780982500552 (print)

  Cover photo by Elena Kalis

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the author or publisher.

  James & Afton King and Ray & Grace Hassell

  We are all connected.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE: THE BEGINNING

  CHAPTER TWO: THE END

  CHAPTER THREE: THE FOG

  CHAPTER FOUR: SWEET SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER FIVE: MOONBEAMS

  CHAPTER SIX: BOO

  CHAPTER SEVEN: FOUR AND A HALF MINUTES

  CHAPTER EIGHT: TWENTY QUESTIONS

  CHAPTER NINE: RAIN

  CHAPTER TEN: THE WICKED TRUTH

  CHAPTER ELEVEN: BLIND DATE

  CHAPTER TWELVE: WILD GHOST CHASE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN: SURPRISE PARTY

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN: MATTHEW’S SECRET

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN: DAWN OF THE DEAD

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN: SUBMERGED

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: NOT THE END

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: SUNRISE

  Acknowledgements

  CHAPTER ONE

  THE BEGINNING

  Claire

  I regretted never telling Daniel how much I liked him before that terrible night. To my credit, I was only fifteen. Not many fifteen-year-olds would admit to crushing on their best friend’s older brother. Instead, they’d just act funny around him and hope no one noticed. I even spent the whole week mapping out a bunch of sneaky flirting moves in my head, with the plan to test some of my best ones really soon.

  Like, tomorrow.

  But tomorrow never came. At least, not a tomorrow I wanted.

  The day started out pretty average; it was even on the verge of boring. Then Daniel showed up. True, he was only there to pick up my brother, Matthew, but my heart (or my nerves) couldn’t tell the difference. That was why I was hiding out in my bedroom, trying to spy on Daniel, instead of going out there and talking to him like I really wanted to.

  When had I turned into a stalker?

  Ducking my head under the lime green curtains, I pressed my face against the window screen, debating the pros and cons of staying put versus ‘accidentally’ running into him on my way down to the lake for an evening jog.

  News flash: I don’t jog.

  I pushed my glasses back up the bridge of my nose as a whiff of eucalyptus mixed with the scent of an earlier rainstorm hit me. A sneeze shot out of my mouth so fast that I dropped to the floor and counted to thirty before taking another peek.

  Had he heard me? Hard to tell. But he had definitely moved.

  Now he was leaning against the side of his car, still looking cool and relaxed, seemingly content to wait forever in my front yard. Behind him the fading sun was tipping over the horizon, sending out its last light across the surface of Hidden Lake, as if trying to decide whether to come or go. Just like me.

  My stomach somersaulted, making me feel nervous, embarrassed, and excited all at the same time, despite the fact that I had known Daniel Holland my whole life. It wasn’t like he was some hot, brooding guy who had just moved in down the street. No, not only was Daniel my older brother’s best friend, but he also happened to be my best friend’s older brother. I have seen him cry like a baby and dance in his underwear. For as long as I could remember, he had always been like another brother to me—one who ate too much, burped too loud, and harassed me as much as my own brother. And then, unexpectedly, he went from being my older brother’s annoying friend to my very own secret crush.

  Daniel

  I knew Claire for twelve years, so it was pretty impossible to pinpoint the exact moment I started liking her. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about love at first sight or anything cheesy like that (because that would make me a real Romeo at age five). But there was one day that stuck out above the rest when I finally admitted (only to myself) that Claire James—Matthew’s little sister—wasn’t too bad.

  It was March, and it had been raining on and off for weeks, until one random day the temperature climbed to almost 85 degrees. After three or four hours of staring out the window and ignoring my teachers, it dawned on me that I’d almost wasted a perfect day. Matthew agreed with me, so we ditched seventh period to go mountain biking in the hills behind Hidden Lake.

  A couple of miles from the trailhead we veered off the rocky trail, down a muddy embankment, briefly stopping in front of a path hidden by overgrown bushes and something suspiciously poison-ivy-like. We decided to take our chance with the ivy, and shot straight through it over a trickling stream to the base of an ancient, oversized eucalyptus tree. Hanging from one of the branches was a thick, knotted rope in the beginning stages of unraveling.

  That was a no-brainer.

  We immediately tossed our bikes off to the side, and took turns swinging across the stream for close to an hour. Just as Matthew headed up the tree for probably his twentieth time, I heard a familiar, out-of-place voice behind me. “Hey, I want a try!”

  I spun around to find my sister, Addie, emerging from the bushes.

  “How’d you find us?” I asked, annoyed. The last thing I wanted to be doing right then was hanging out with my little sister.

  When she spotted the rope swing, she pushed past me, and raced over to the tree. “You think you’re the only one who knows about this place?” she answered with an attitude. Typical.

  I was about to tell Addie exactly where she could go, when Matthew’s sister, Claire, popped out of the bushes with mud on her shirt and a bunch of leaves stuck in her hair. I felt a smile coming on, but immediately shut my mouth and turned around because something felt off. Normally the mud on her shirt would have been plenty of ammunition for at least three or four jokes at her expense. But this time I felt a strange sensation building up somewhere inside my chest. When I realized what it probably meant, I refused to believe it. Was I happy Claire was there, even if it meant having to hang out with Addie?

  Seriously?

  Claire smiled. “Hi, Daniel.”

  “Hey,” I said. Just like that.

  When I couldn’t think of anything else to say, I tried playing it cool by ignoring her as usual. But inside my head a fight was raging. I tried pretending not to care about her, but was shocked by how much I really did.

  Get a grip. This whole heart-fluttering thing seemed just slightly moronic. Plus, she was only fifteen.

  As Matthew soared like an out-of-control Tarzan, Claire made her way toward me until we were only a few feet apart. “Nice look,” I said, plucking the leaves out of her hair, trying to keep my sarcasm in check.

  “What…?” She stepped backward like she was afraid I was going to hit her, or something. When I showed her the handful of leaves in my hand, her shoulders dropped, and she seemed to relax a little. “Oh, thanks.”

  “Look out!” yelled Matthew before dropping right on top of us.

  I jumped out of the way in time, but Claire wasn’t fast enough. She screamed when he took her out, both of them slamming to the ground.

  “Whoa, are you okay?” Matthew asked, still flat on his back.

  Claire slowly crawled to her knees and brush
ed herself off. “Thanks a lot, Matthew,” she said, half-heartedly kicking him in the side.

  “Hey, you guys—over here!” We turned to find Addie clinging to the top of the rope, stranded above the stream. “Hurry and help me down before I fall…”

  None of us could bring ourselves to rescue her because it was much more fun watching Addie in meltdown mode. Of course, she vowed revenge, but I wasn’t worried; she usually picked Matthew as her target.

  Finally Claire decided to give the swing a try, and slowly started climbing the trunk. She stood at the edge of a thick branch, gripping the rope with what appeared to be courageous fear, and balanced there, ready to jump. When the setting sun broke in through the trees, lighting up her face, I realized Claire looked kind-of cute, even with her funky red glasses. I tried looking away, uninterested, but couldn’t. I was also pretty sure I was either having some kind of panic attack, or for some strange reason, I liked Claire James.

  That sounded more ridiculous than I’d hoped.

  We all cheered and whistled from below when Claire finally jumped off the ledge and flew through the air, straight for Addie. They both started screaming at the impending collision, as if they had no ability to dodge each other whatsoever. I was afraid to watch. It looked like it was going to be ugly, especially sinceit involved two fifteen-year-old girls smacking into each other. But then again, it involved two fifteen-year-old girls smacking into each other. Who wouldn’t watch?

  Sure enough, they hit hard and toppled to the ground. When their screaming turned to laughing, I assumed they were okay. Matthew and I looked at each other, wondering how we’d let our afternoon be hijacked by our sisters. But there was nothing we could do about it now. Plus, as weird as it sounded, I didn’t want them to leave…well, at least not Claire.

  After that, we abandoned the rope swing and took off through the trees along a shallow creek bed. Matthew and Addie quickly fell into their familiar pattern of one-upmanship, leaving Claire and I awkwardly stuck with each other, mostly in silence. I kept hoping Claire would think of something to say first. Then I realized it was the first time I’d ever been speechless on account of a girl. So, I decided to quit acting like I was twelve, and kick it up a notch.

  As soon as Matthew and Addie disappeared around the next bend, I hung back to help Claire through the stream, because not only did I consider myself somewhat of a gentleman, but was also excellent at spotting a good opportunity when I saw one. Unfortunately, my nerves wouldn’t cooperate with my newfound interest, and each time my fingers came close to hers, I seemed to lose all confidence.

  Around the next bend, something shiny in the stream caught my eye. I crouched down and plunged my hand in the freezing water until I caught it.

  “What are you doing?” Claire asked, peering over my shoulder. Her face was suddenly next to mine, and I almost jerked back in surprise.

  “Hold on a sec,” I said, trying to buy myself more time by leaving my hand buried in the stream, pretending to keep searching. She leaned against me, her hair dangling in front of me and tickling my neck. Finally, I took a deep breath and pulled my hand up, water dripping down my arm. “Look—I found something.”

  She pulled at my clenched fist. “What is it?”

  I squeezed my hand tight, making her peel my wet fingers apart, and then finally gave in.

  “You found that in the stream?” she asked, pulling my hand closer to get a better look. “Wow, that’s really pretty.”

  Picking up the thin, silver ring I’d found, she twirled it around in her fingers, running her thumb along the beveled edge before sliding it onto her finger. We stood there silently admiring it until Matthew and Addie suddenly reemerged from wherever they’d gone. I looked up in surprise, disappointed to see them so soon.

  “This way’s a dead end,” Matthew called. “And you guys are waaaay too slow.”

  “Yeah, and it’s getting dark,” said Addie. “Let’s get out of here before we’re attacked by a wild animal or serial killer. I have a science test tomorrow.”

  Claire shoved the ring back in my hand and turned around, taking the lead back up the stream. I didn’t know what to do with it. I didn’t need a ring, but what if…?

  I stood there weighing my options, letting Matthew and Addie pass me. Finally, I shoved the ring in my pocket and caught up to Matthew just as Addie flicked a branch into his face, tagging him in the nose. That’s how things usually went between them.

  “That’s for leaving me stranded on the rope swing,” she said.

  He rubbed his nose. “What? I wasn’t the only one, you know.”

  “Yeah, well, it was probably your idea,” she said, catching up to Claire.

  Matthew looked my way and rolled his eyes. I shrugged my shoulders and turned away. It wasn’t my fault my sister took payback so seriously.

  Addie suddenly stopped and turned around, her eyes bright and animated, her grudge forgotten, just like that. “Hey! We should give this place a cool name…something mysterious. Something like–”

  “Mystery Rope Swing Grotto,” Claire said with a big smile, like she’d given it ten hours of thought. Maybe creative writing wasn’t her thing.

  “What about the ‘Secret Walk?” Addie said, ignoring Claire’s suggestion, though I couldn’t blame her. “That’s perfect, don’t you think?”

  “LAME,” Matthew said, kicking water up on her. I agreed, and would’ve probably even turned it into a perfect opportunity for a water fight, but my mind was somewhere else.

  Claire placed a supportive arm around Addie and continued with her up the stream, adding quietly, “I think it’s a good name.”

  It was almost dark when we hopped on our bikes and headed back down the trail, yet Matthew still found the need to challenge everyone to a race, as if racing two girls was even remotely challenging. Claire immediately took off close behind Addie, but held back when I called her name. She hesitated, probably convinced I was tricking her into last place, which I had been known to do on occasion.

  Finally she stopped pedaling and turned to face me. “What?” she asked, not even looking at me. She seemed really annoyed.

  I caught up to her, but suddenly felt like an awkward fifth-grader handing out a valentine. Embarrassed, I looked down at my feet and wondered who this wimp was that seemed to be taking over my body. “Here,” I mumbled, pulling the ring out of my pocket and shoving it into Claire’s palm.

  She didn’t say a word, but I could tell she was surprised by my gesture. Our fingers touched again, and my heart thumped like a subwoofer let loose inside my chest. “You can have it,” I added, as a strange, unwanted noise escaped from my throat—something like a half-sigh, half-chuckle. I felt mortified about it the rest of the night.

  But Claire didn’t seem to notice. “Wow, thanks, Daniel.”

  She slid the ring on her finger. We both stared at it in awkward silence until at last Claire looked up at me and smiled. I brushed a strand of hair away from my eyes and smiled back, trying to extend the moment a second longer, while at the same time wishing it would end already. When I finally couldn’t take it anymore, I jumped on my bike and took off down the hill in a mad dash for third place.

  “Hey!” I heard her yelling behind me, trying to catch up.

  Claire

  Three weeks before the night everything fell apart, I fell for Daniel. Literally. All because of the rain…or lack of it.

  See, if it had rained the day before, all those annoying pollen particles would have been washed away instead of multiplying en masse until they found their way up my nose; I would not have had an allergy attack the next morning, would’ve worn my contacts, and never ridden off the edge of a cliff.

  But it didn’t rain.

  So, the next day I put on my helmet and glasses, and went biking with Addie because it was finally sunny and dry enough. It had also been too long since my last ride, and I was dying to get out.

  But just as we were leaving, Addie’s paranoid Mom dashed our ambitions by
inferring that we were two helpless girls out in the middle of nowhere, refusing to let us go biking alone, thanks to the local newscast about a recent bobcat attack.

  Please. We were fifteen, not five.

  Still, Addie’s mother would not give in, so we begged Daniel to come with us. Since Matthew was working all day and Daniel happened to be home just watching TV, we figured it was worth a shot. We definitely didn’t get our hopes up, which was why we were so shocked when he agreed to come.

  A couple miles and a half-hour later, Addie and Daniel were stopped at the edge of a steep incline when I came up from behind them and wildly plunged down what looked like a little hill instead of a cliff, in an attempt to impress them. I would’ve been much better off flaunting the sweet spin I could put on a football, or even demonstrating some of my legitimate baking skills. The next thing I knew, I was crumpled up at the bottom of the ravine, my body contorted in pain, and my bike resting vindictively on top of me, as if saying ‘what were you thinking?’

  “Claire!” Daniel and Addie yelled from above.

  My head hurt only slightly. Thankfully there was no blood spurting out, nor was anything that belonged inside me now on the outside.

  Good. I wouldn’t have to throw up.

  “Are you okay?” Daniel raced down the hill and effortlessly lifted the bike off of me. He stood over me, his shadow blocking the sun from my eyes. Addie stumbled down a little more carefully, but was soon right in my face, fiercely hugging me as her smooth curtain of fruity-smelling hair slid into my face.

  I tried to stand, but my ankle gave way as pain shot through my foot, forcing me to sink back into the dirt. Tears hovered inside the edges of my eyes, making my blurry vision even more blurry. But I held it all in because there was no way I was going to start crying in front of Daniel and risk him making fun of me later.