Surviving it would take a miracle. And those weren’t usually offered out to rich boys with black hearts and empty souls.
We took the winding path through the thick woodland right up onto the cliff and headed out towards the edge just as the sun drew low in the sky and gilded the waves with the onset of sunset.
“Why doesn’t this seem like a good idea anymore?” Punch muttered and I tossed a scathing look his way as I shrugged out of my blazer.
“Because being an Unspeakable basically castrated you,” I deadpanned. “And now you’re such a pussy that I can probably make you shit yourself with a raised eyebrow.”
The other guys all fell about laughing, shifting towards me and putting distance between them and Toby as his neck flushed red and he fought to hold my eye. I half wondered if I’d be able to goad him into punching me again. There would be something really fucking poetic in that.
“I’m not a pussy,” he grunted.
“No?” I lunged towards him, clapping my hands right in his face and he flinched backwards, tripping on a branch hidden in the grass and falling on his butt as the rest of the guys howled with laughter.
Still didn’t really make me feel any better but it made my point.
I turned away from him dismissively and continued to shed my clothes until I was wearing nothing but my boxers.
I rolled my shoulders back as I approached the edge, looking down at the enormous drop below and the way the water lapped around the huge rocks which jutted up out of the lake.
As I looked down at what could very well be my death, I had to wonder if that was even the worst thing in the world? It would at least mean an end to all this heartache. Not that I’d ever really considered ending it all, but what if that was the only solution? What if living with this grief didn’t get any easier? It just got harder. What if more people I loved caught that fucking virus that Tatum’s father had released and were stolen from me? There was real fear in that. In living in a world where something so unpredictable could take away the few people who really made my life worth living in the blink of an eye.
And as I thought of them. Of my family and of Saint and Kyan, I knew I wasn’t really considering leaving them. But sometimes it almost felt like I already had. Like I was living a life wrapped in cotton wool with the sound deadened and everything muted. So maybe doing something reckless would jolt me back into feeling like myself again.
I backed away from the edge with determined strides, but before I could jump, Punch hurtled past me, fully dressed and screaming defiantly as he charged for the cliff yelling, “I’m not a pussy!” as he leapt over the edge.
I scrambled forward between the others, a laugh falling from my lips as we watched him hit the water far below with an enormous splash.
I held my breath as he disappeared beneath the surface, the waves hiding him from view as he sank out of sight. And we waited. And waited. And waited.
“Holy shit, I think he’s dead,” Danny murmured.
“How the fuck do we explain that to the teachers?” Chad gasped.
“Shut the fuck up,” I growled, staring at the surface of the lake as the ripples spread away and the spot where Punch had disappeared became glassy again, until-
“I’m not a pussy!” he roared as his head broke the surface and he punched the air with a howl of triumph.
Everyone cheered him and a dark grin pulled at my lips as I backed up again. I wasn’t best pleased that he’d beaten me to being the first one in, but I was pretty fucking certain that Toby Rosner had just been reborn and no one would even mention his previous life as an Unspeakable again.
Once I was far enough back, I broke into a sprint, my bare feet pounding across the mud as I raced for the edge and propelled myself over it with all of my strength. A whoop of excitement spilled from my lungs and my arms and legs whirled as I plummeted through the air, falling, falling, falling, until my feet crashed through the water.
I barely even slowed as I shot beneath the surface, sinking at speed, my arm catching on a rock with enough force to split the skin open.
But the pain was nothing to the adrenaline coursing through my body. To the pure, undeniable thrill of surviving that insanity. And if anything, knowing I’d barely missed a collision with the rocks only made the thrill more intense.
When my descent finally ceased and my lungs were burning, I kicked for the surface, my gaze fixed on the golden light far above my head as I fought for a way back to fresh air.
My muscles bunched and flexed, my chest heaving with the desire to inhale and I finally breached the surface, sucking down a breath before whooping in triumph.
“Any more takers?” I bellowed, squinting up at the figures on the cliff high above, but none of them seemed inclined to risk their necks anymore. “Bring my shit back to The Temple for me then!”
I exchanged an excited grin with Toby and we both turned and started swimming for shore. The water was icy cold and the sun was sinking
