Chapter Eight
Shae
SHAE STIRRED TO THE distant sound of Seth’s voice echoing through the hallway like an off-key alarm clock. “WAKE UP, CHILDREN OF THE CORN! ADVENTURE CALLS!”
His voice bounced down the hallway, followed by a loud thump thump thump that was evidently at her sister and Brodie’s door since it was followed by, “Love birds, that means you, too!” more emphatically. “Nobody’s exempt.”
A second later, Kira's voice whispered urgently near her ear:
“Shae,” she hissed, “get up. We’re going cliff diving.”
Shae didn’t move. “Is that a threat or a dream?”
“It’s very real. Julian invited everyone. Like, ev-ery-one,” Kira stressed, tugging the covers halfway down Shae’s back. Shae cracked one eye open.
“And that’s supposed to mean something to me?”
Kira raised a brow. “To Seth, it means everything. He’s actually putting together a playlist like it’s his wedding day. You better get up before he starts throwing water at people.”
In the hallway, Seth’s voice rang out again, louder this time:
“Wear your cutest suits and doll it up! I better not see anyone bumming it. I want pictures, people. We leave in twenty!”
Shae rolled onto her back, rubbing her face. “God help us.”
“God’s busy,” Kira smirked, already halfway out the door. “But Seth? Seth is relentless.”
They all crowded into two cars. Kira, Claire, and Seth were in with Shae. Em and Brodie were with Lennon, all of them veering off along the coast, following the address Seth had given them. It hadn’t taken more than forty-five minutes before they pulled into an alcove off a bare stretch of road.
“Seth, are you sure we’re in the right place?” Shae asked. “This is literally in the middle of nowhere.”
Lennon pulled up behind them and jumped out of her car. Shae rolled down her window as Lennon strode up and leaned in. “Are we lost? Where the hell are we?” She directed her question toward Seth.
“We’re in the right place,” he insisted. “Look.” Seth held up his phone, the pin on his map confirming their location.
“Ugh, what is that? Can that even be trusted?”
Just then, another car pulled up behind them, and Julian stepped out.
“Eek!” Seth shrieked. “Look at that Greek god.”
“Oh-kay, everybody out,” Shae instructed.
Seth shoved past everyone, trying to hurry out of the car.
“Jesus, Seth. That’s my… foot,” Kira yelled as he stepped over them.
He jumped out and hurried over to Julian. Everyone piled out of the car and stood together waiting for Seth to stop talking Julian's ear off.
“So, where’s this cliff you speak of?” Lennon called over to Julian, shielding her eyes from the glaring sun, “Seth said you knew the best spot in town.”
“Haha. Well, I don’t know if it’s the best spot, but it’s definitely in the top three. There aren’t many around this area.” Julian motioned upward, “It’s up there a ways, though, so I hope you guys aren’t afraid of a little hike.”
Kira widened her eyes at Shae. “Nobody said anything about a hike,” she muttered.
“Alright. Well, follow me. You guys have everything?” Julian led the way down a dirt trail. Seth kept step beside him.
“At least we know he isn’t taking us on a death march,” Kira whispered. “The path looks well-worn.”
“I promise I’m not taking you into the woods to kill you.” Julian joked back at them.
Kira raised her brows, giving Shae a resolute nod. “See,” she grinned.
“Oh my God!” Shae replied.
“What? You’ve got to be cautious of these things!”
Claire caught up to Shae and Kira with a quick jog. Her hair was too short to put up, and strands clung to her jaw, wet and glistening. Shae followed the sweat trail down before catching herself and tearing her gaze away.
“For a minute, I thought maybe he was taking us into the woods to kill us.” She confessed, breathless from the short run.
Kira smirked over at Shae. “Looks like I’m not the only one here with ‘killer instincts,’” she joked.
“Clever!” Shae said, sarcastically.
“Shae, this is right up your alley, yeah?” Claire asked. “You’re not even breaking a sweat. Must be all those six am workouts.” She ran her eyes over Shae’s body, causing her stomach to jump. There was something about this girl. The more she was around her, the more she enjoyed her energy.
Shae smirked, “Not gonna brag, but I could probably do this hike with you on my back, no problem.”
“OMG, would you please?” Claire asked, stopping in place.
Shae squatted down to boost her up onto her back, hooking her arms under her legs.
Kira stood beside them, shaking her head. “You’re so extra, girl!” she said.
“Who, me?” Claire asked.
“Both of you,” Kira replied, falling in step beside them.
Claire wrapped her arms tighter around Shae, her breath tickling the back of her neck and sending chills down her spine.
“Just don’t slip and kill us both.”
“Ahh, she doesn’t trust me!” Shae teased. She spun in a circle, whipping Claire sideways before breaking into a jog.
Claire squeezed her legs tighter against Shae, letting out a small shriek.
“I’m not supposed to be doing any work here!” Claire said, her voice jolting with every step. “You’re like riding a damn stallion. I’m gonna be sore tomorrow.”
“You wanted a ride, didn’t you?” Shae joked, slowing her pace and whirling around to see where Kira was.
“I’m not going to answer that question on the grounds that I might incriminate myself,” Claire recited.
Kira had fallen back, trudging behind with Lennon, Em, and Brodie. Shae turned just in time to catch Em watching them, looking away just after Shae turned. They rounded a corner, and a stunning view appeared. Shae lowered Claire to the ground as they moved closer.
“Holy shit, it’s gorgeous out here!” Shae ahhed. “Len, how have we never heard of this place?” she asked as the rest of the group caught up to them.
They’d made it to Hollow Bluff, a hidden cove carved into the southern stretch of Monomoy’s shoreline. The bluff rose unexpectedly from the dunes, a jagged wall of rock carved down by erosion. It left a sheer drop into the inlet below.
The water shimmered in shades of bottle green and steel blue, darkening toward the channel. It was deeper here than most places along the Cape, Julian had told them. Deep enough that locals—the bold ones at least—came to leap from the ledge where the bluff jutted out over the sea.
Beyond the drop, a thin strip of beach hugged the edge, scattered with sea-smoothed stones and driftwood, hidden between rock and ocean. For a moment, it was theirs alone. Salt in the air and stomachs, fluttering with the thrill of the jump.
Julian, it turned out, knew a spot for cliff jumping, alright.
This was one of those moments Shae’d typically reach for her camera.
She didn’t know places this untouched existed on the Cape.
In Florence, she’d chased light along the Arno at dusk.
Waited for it to spill honey soft light across stone bridges.
She had hundreds of photos like that. Until now, she had begun to think she didn’t miss it there, but this place made her reach for it.
“I have no words,” Kira said. She drifted over to Shae and slung her arm around her shoulder. “Whew whoo,” Kira shouted into the expanse.
Shae took a step back from the group, settling down on the ground, taking in her surroundings.
It was so peaceful there. She wanted a moment to pause and take it all in.
She hadn’t been sitting long before Em came up and sat next to her, pulling her knees into her body and resting her chin against them.
“It’s amazing here,” she said.
Shae glanced over at her and found herself as much in awe of her beauty as she was of the picturesque view surrounding her.
She had this way of fitting so cinematically in a moment.
Shae pulled her phone from her pocket, swiped the camera open, and snapped a photo of her with the cliff and water in the distance.
Em grinned over at her, “Did you just take a photo of me?”
“Maybe,” Shae chuckled.
“Let me see that,” she grabbed the phone and flipped the camera around in their direction. Then leaned in to Shae, a warm smile on her face, and snapped a photo of the two of them before handing it back to her.
“The start of new memories,” she said, tipping one side of her mouth up in a subtle smile before resting her chin back on her knees.
“You know what this makes me think of?” Em asked. Her composure cracked first at the cheek, her dimple making an appearance. Then she tipped her head back in a closed-mouth laugh, her shoulders shaking when she couldn’t stifle it.
“What?” Shae was smiling already, curiosity winning. Em’s laugh was contagious, and a giggle escaped Shae’s throat.
“Honestly, it’s not funny. I don’t know why I’m laughing.” She straightened, shaking off the sudden burst of whatever that was.
“Do you remember that first weekend I came to the beach house?”
“I think so. What about it?”
Em smiled. “We really hit it off that weekend! I was so drawn to you. We were drawn to each other, I think.”
The statement hung in the air like a question before Em continued. “Your parents took a group of us girls and Seth to stay at the beach house for a week, and I spent more time with you than I did with anyone else.”
She studied Shae for a sign of acknowledgement.
“Anyhow, a few days in, you told me you knew of some place not far from here, with the best views where you could jump into the water, and you took me there.”
“Oh My God.” Shae covered her face, recalling the moment. “It is admittedly a beautiful spot.”
“We were sitting there on the edge of that cliff—”
“It really isn’t that high,” Shae interrupted. “More like an overhang. We were just smaller, inexperienced.”
“Touché,” Em chuckled, and nudged her shoulder with her own. “Are you going to let me talk?”
Shae grinned, “Sorry.”
“WELL!” she stressed light-heartedly, winking over at Shae. “We were sitting there, and you asked me who in our class I liked, who I would spend forever with. And I said...”
“You,” Shae said, almost inaudibly.
“I said, you.” Em repeated.