‘No, thanks,’ I said.
‘Jacki doesn’t smoke – she’s a singer,’ explained Colin.
‘Wow, cool!’ said Emily. ‘I wish I could sing. I’ve never sung in front of anyone.’
‘I can sing,’ claimed Fitz. It was the first thing he’d said in about twenty minutes.
‘Ha, no, you can’t,’ said Simon with a snort.
Fitz took a deep breath, and then sang a few bars of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ impressively well.
‘Fitz, you legend,’ said Colin. ‘Apologize to the man, Simon.’
‘I stand corrected,’ admitted Simon.
‘
‘What’s that?’ asked Emily, running her fingers through the pine needles beside me.
‘Well, basically you say something you’ve never done, like “Never have I ever… been caught by my parents getting stoned.” Then whoever has actually done the thing you said, has to drink. Like, if you had said that, Fitz would have drunk.’
‘Never have I ever… stolen something,’ said Chris. I’d never stolen anything ever. Nothing. Not even a jellybean when everyone else was stealing them from the sweet stand in the cinema. There was no way I could do it. Weird? Maybe.
Chris drank, Simon drank, Emily didn’t drink, Colin didn’t.
‘Never have I ever… got so drunk that I passed out,’ said Simon.
I didn’t drink. I’d never let myself go that far.
Colin drank, Chris drank, Emily didn’t.
‘Never have I ever had sex in the back of a car,’ said Fitz.
I didn’t drink for that one either. Not only had I never had sex in a car, I’d never had sex anywhere. Hopefully nobody would say that one.
Simon was the only one who took a mouthful from his can. I had a feeling he was bluffing.
‘Never have I ever kissed more than one person on the same night,’ offered Emily.
I drank. It was at a school disco when I was thirteen. I kissed my boyfriend at the time, then some random guy when my boyfriend went off with another girl. Those discos were never as good as we hyped them up to be.
Then it was my turn to think up something. ‘Never have I ever… had a crush on one of my teachers.’
Nobody drank, except for Emily.
‘
One can of cider later and I was way past my limit. Usually I didn’t drink much at all. I was talking too loudly, and stuff that wasn’t even remotely funny seemed absolutely hilarious.
Chris twisted the tab of his beer can until it came off, then he flicked it away. I watched as it landed beside my shoe. My mind was sort of spinning so I rested my head on Colin’s shoulder. At least I’d forgotten about my headaches and nightmares and about what the doctor had said. I hadn’t forgotten about Nick though. There was still no sign of him, but I couldn’t give up hope that he would turn up. I would have given anything to see him walking out from those trees.
Simon came over and sat between Emily and me. I guess he’d got over his earlier embarrassment. I was beginning to regret that I’d drunk so much as he was being really chatty, but all I could think about was how unwell I was feeling. Had I really had that much to drink?
‘Are you all right?’ he said, shifting away slightly.
‘Yes… I’m fine… Think I’ll just go for a little walk in the woods.’ I tried to sound casual. ‘I’ll be back in a minute,’ I said, making my way over to the trees.
Colin called after me but I kept going.
My vision was getting blurry, just like it had in the back garden, and there was a stale taste in my mouth. Then something moved over to my right. The trees rustled and I heard someone walking behind me.
‘I’m OK,’ I said. ‘I’ll be back in a minute.’
But the footsteps kept going, past me and then further into the trees.
‘Who’s that?’
There was still no reply. I followed the footsteps. I’m not sure why, but something told me to. I could see a grey figure moving quickly through the trees up ahead. It would vanish for a second and then re-emerge, weaving in and out between the tree trunks. It moved very fast. Unnaturally fast. I quickened my pace, jogging in the same direction. After a few moments it slowed down and stood still. I was getting closer to it. Part of me said turn back, but another part said to keep on running. As I got closer I could make out the frame of a woman – slim and tall with long black hair, but I couldn’t distinguish her features. She was close but I just couldn’t focus on her face. I stopped maybe a metre away, squinting through the darkness.
‘Who’s that? I asked. ‘Who’s there? Who are you?’
She didn’t stay still for long. She came towards me and sped past. I jumped back and stumbled on a root, landing hard on the ground.
‘Are you OK?’ said Colin. I looked up to see him and Simon standing behind me.
‘Yes, I was just… the girl.’ I looked around, but couldn’t see her. I couldn’t understand how somebody could move that quickly.
‘We were worried there for a second. We thought we heard a scream.’ I didn’t remember a scream. Maybe I’d cried out when I’d hit the ground. My arm was grazed, but I was so confused I didn’t feel the pain.
‘Where’s she gone?’ I said. I looked around again, but she wasn’t there any more.
‘Who?’ said Colin.
‘There was a girl here. I… I saw a girl.’
Simon leaned over and looked into my eyes. ‘What did you take?’ he said. Great, I was acting so weird he thought I was on something. But I knew I’d definitely seen her.
‘She didn’t take anything!’ said Colin, pushing Simon away. ‘She just had too much to drink. Maybe she’s not used to it. I’ll take her home.’
‘Right so. Whatever,’ said Simon, heading back to the group.
‘There was a girl here, I swear!’ I didn’t understand why neither of them would believe me.
‘OK, Jacki, just take it easy. We’re going home now.’ He helped me to my feet.
I shivered as we walked along the path, the chill seeping through my skin. I had tried to explain to Colin that I wasn’t out of it, that I had seen a girl in the trees, but he was having none of it. The night had got even darker, a half-moon offering the only light from a starless sky. I pulled the baggy shirt tightly around me. Colin noticed and immediately offered me his jacket.
‘No, I can’t be taking all your clothes.’
‘I insist.’
I put on his jacket and instantly warmed up. Even though I was freaked out by what had just happened, I felt safe with Colin. He seemed to know every pothole and every protruding branch on that path. I stayed close behind him, mirroring his every move, so I wouldn’t trip over.
‘Tonight was fun. Thanks for inviting me up to the forest,’ I said, trying to forget about the girl. Was she just some strange hallucination? She had looked very real. Maybe I’d just had one drink too many as Colin thought. But Dr Cahill’s words kept coming into my mind:
‘So, do you like Simon?’ said Colin.
‘Oh… no. He’s all right, I guess. But he’s not…’
‘Not Nick?’ he suggested.
‘What? How did you -’
‘Doesn’t take a genius to work that one out. Just be careful Jacki, he can be a bit of a dickhead.’
‘What do you mean?’ Part of me didn’t want to know what he’d done in the past.
‘He’s just not very dependable. That’s all. I suppose he’s all right though, if you like the brooding handsome type.’ Nick was kind of quiet, and I guess that could come across as moody, but I found it strangely attractive for some reason. Colin was probably just looking out for me, not wanting me to get my hopes up. But it was too late for that.
When we reached the top of my lane I began to take off Colin’s jacket.
‘Keep it for tonight,’ he said.
‘There’s no need, honestly, sure I’m home now,’ I said, nodding in the direction of the caravan.
