Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they're supposed to help you discover who you are."- Bernice Johnson Reagon
CHAPTER #2
Chris settled in to the routine with the other Cliff Hangers. She liked the outdoor activities and did okay with school stuff, except math. Everyone found out she was good at art. But socially, Chris mainly kept to herself. At night it was a whole different kind of problem. Her nightmares became worse and worse, until they began to wake the other girls up. This went on for a few weeks. Then after a particularly bad one, the girls of her dorm ratted her out to the counsellors. Sophie had to physically wake Chris, to make the nightmare break. Chris came awake fighting, mid scream.
Sophie had her in a bear hug, "you're okay Chris. You're safe."
When Chris finally calmed down, Sophie took her to the main lodge so the other girls could go back to sleep. "Do you want to talk about your dream?"
Chris shook her head negatively. She sat in a chair, knees drawn up to her chest, hugging herself and rocking. This is how she remained, even after Sophie fell asleep. She had to stay awake, or the nightmare would return. In the morning, she watched the counsellor stretch and glance her way, realizing she had fallen asleep herself. Seeing that Chris was still there, relief flooded her face.
"Did you sleep at all?"
Chris nodded no.
"Go on and change. Join the rest of your group for breakfast," Sophie instructed. She went to go find Peter and fill him in on what had happened. "Chris has been having violent nightmares. The other girls have covered for her until last night. She was screaming and once I woke her up, she didn't go back to sleep."
Peter nodded. "We have a group session today, maybe we'll explore dreams in it."
"Good luck getting her to talk," Sophie sighed.
Peter hugged his fiancé, "she'll open up eventually. They all do in their own time."
"How are the sessions with Shelby?"
"She's been able to talk about what happened at home. But she still won't say what happened on the street."
Sophie nodded. "When does she go to court?"
"That's not for a few months still. She'll be ready and we'll be with her every step of the way." Peter said. "Her sister is seeing a shrink back at home. Shelby says it's working, but being in that house doesn't help. Depending on what happens in court, Mount Horizon might be able to get custody of Jessica."
"I hope that Jess can be enrolled here too. Sometimes I just want to punch that mother."
"How's Mark?"
"Mark has been doing well in the group sessions, but won't open up one on one. I still get the impression he's hiding something. The girls think he might be gay, but he hasn't given any indication that he is."
"It would explain his past behaviour. Especially if he hasn't accepted who he is yet," Peter analysed.
They continued discussing the children in their care. Then about the over night hike the Cliff Hangers were going on that weekend. "Remember when we had them do that essay about five things they fear?"
"Yes. I think Shelby put down heights as one, spiders as two and loneliness as three," Sophie recalled.
"Right, they all listed something to do with their lives and then some of the more standard fears. Maybe overcoming some of the smaller fears, will help them face the bigger ones. This could really help Chris open up too."
"So did any common fears come up?" Sophie asked.
Peter looked at a few papers on his desk. "Shelby, Juliette and Ezra listed spiders as a top three fear. Daisy and David listed heights and falling as part of their top five fears. Scott and Auggie listed drowning and loosing their sight."
"So you're going to drown them?" Sophie teased.
He rolled his eyes. "I think once we reach the plateau on the mountain, I'll rope off the area and then blind fold them all. We'll do a listening exercise. Then see how it goes from there."
"The Ridge Runners are doing their solos this weekend too. Clair said they're leaving friday afternoon."
"Busy weekend. At least you won't have to handle any new admittances, while we are gone," Peter advised.
"Even if we did, Jeff and I can handle it."
He hugged his fiancé and gave her a kiss, "never doubted you."
When Peter told the Cliff Hangers about the camping trip, everyone was excited, except for Chris, Ezra and David. The others in the past wouldn't have enjoyed it, but since they'd coupled up, some time alone would be appreciated. Peter couldn't watch them all at the same time, so they could plan secret rendezvous at night. Chris use to love camping and the out doors. But with these nightmares, everyone would be woken up in the tents.
For their group session they talked about their dreams. Chris claimed she didn't remember what happened, but Daisy called her out on that lie. "You wouldn't try and stay awake, if you didn't remember what your nightmares were about."
Chris felt cornered and started fidgeting. She knew something had to be said. "I re-live stuff. I dream in colour and it's very vivid. It's like a movie almost and I can't escape."
Peter was impressed with how much Chris said in group. Daisy had a way of saying the right thing. "What about you Daisy, what do you dream about?"
"Well Peter, I dream about sugar plums," she said sarcastically.
The group snickered. Before he lost their attention he instructed, "for the trip this weekend I want you all to write your feelings in these journals. You can keep the journals afterwards or hand them in. The choice is yours."
"I knew there was a catch, some kind of homework," Ezra complained.
That ended the group session and they went to do their assigned chores. Chris, Daisy and Juliette were joining two members from the Sun Dogs washing dishes in the kitchen. Chris didn't mind drying, but hated the washing. The food chunks grossed her out and made her gag.
"Why are you making those noises?" Daisy asked.
"The food chunks remind me of puke."
Daisy laughed, "then don't put your tent near Juliette's. She's bulimic."
Juliette frowned, "I haven't barfed in ages. That's not fair Daisy."
The two girls bickered back and forth. Until Chris had enough. She told them a story about her barfing. "I hate barfing. The feeling of the chunks coming out. I drank so much once I had it coming out of my mouth and nose. My sister found me choking and helped clear my airway. She thought she was saving my life."
The whole kitchen got silent. Then Clay from the Sun Dogs asked, "what do you mean 'she thought she saved your life'. She did, you would have choked to death on your own vomit. It's the rock star way to go."
Juliette understood. "She means that inside she's dead. Just like the rest of us."
That shut everyone up as they reflected on their own problems. All that was heard in the kitchen for a good while was the clank of dishes. Eventually Juliette said, "when I came here I did barf, but I'm doing much better now. So don't worry about the camping."
Chris nodded once again retreating in silence. She didn't talk again until just before bed time. "When do we leave for this camping trip?"
Shelby answered, "Peter said not until Saturday morning. Tomorrow afternoon he will give us our list of what to pack." Then to the rest of the girls she added, "I vote we gag her, so we can't hear her scream. That way we get one night of sleep."
"She's kidding, relax." Daisy said to Chris and throwing a pillow at her friend.
The lights went out and Chris closed her eyes. She tried to think about things that made her happy. Sometimes that worked and she could prevent the nightmare from coming. She hoped it worked or the other girls just might really gag her.
Friday morning came, without Chris having woken up her dorm mates. They got showered and changed before heading to breakfast. Then they had regular classes. In history, Jeff praised Chris for an excellent essay and the highest mark in the group.
Auggie approached her after class, "I'm dyslexic and Jules helps me a lot. But maybe you can too for the next assignment."
"Sure," Chris said. Then to Juliette, "considering you help Auggie and do your own essay too, that's a great grade."
"Thanks. I don't mind helping him. He's very smart, it just doesn't translate on paper so well."
He blushed under his girlfriend's praise and it was not missed by Chris. "Your graffiti style art is awesome. Anyway you two help me with math and I'll help you with english and essays."
"Deal," Auggie and Juliette said in unison.
The rest of the day was like any other, until Peter had a one on one session with Chris. He wanted to see how she would be with the overnight camping. "Have you been camping before?"
She nodded. "With my parents as a kid."
"Your sister mentioned that both of you were introduced to the outdoors early in life."
"My dad had a sailboat, we spent every weekend camping and sailing."
Peter probed further, "sounds like your parents gave you a good childhood."
"They were the best back then, but I'm not a kid and they don't care anymore. They're dead to me."
He next asked about the ranch. "So the ranch you were living on, was it horses or cattle?"
"We did trail rides for city people. The ranch took me in, when I got kicked out. Time stood still there."
Peter was impressed that she was even talking, but he wanted her to open up more. "They gave you alcohol, you're a minor."
"They didn't give me anything, I took it. They didn't punish me for it, as long as I paid them back. The ranch manager watched my back. His douche bag friend tried to get into my pants when I was passed out once. He chased him away."
"Were you sexually involved with any of them?"
"I did things," she admitted. "I did what I wanted, when I wanted. I wasn't forced." Her tone became hostile, she was ready to defend her friends.
Peter backed off. Changing the subject to more neutral ground. "So you can ride horses?"
"I'm okay of a rider. Some of the horses were boarded at the ranch. One of those people, who owned a beautiful palomino, said once that I had natural talent." Chris relaxed, since he wasn't asking her too personal of a question. "I use to be scared of the spirited horses, like arabians. Because of the ranch I'm not scared anymore, I respect them, but I have the control."
"So not having control scares you?"
"I guess." She paused and blurted, "I'm scared of feeling helpless." Then just as quickly added, "and spiders, sharks and heights."
He didn't push her any further, but was pleased that she had shared as much as she had. That one on one session revealed to Peter, a lot more than Chris thought. It had been the most she had spoken since she'd come to Mount Horizon. The camping trip might be just what was needed, to have her confront her fears.
"Okay you can return to doing your homework," Peter said to end the session.
"I'm done my homework already."
"Even math?"
She rolled her eyes and dragged herself out of the door, "except that." Chris rejoined her group who were sitting at tables doing homework. Auggie and Juliette tried to explain the problem solving section, but she still didn't get it. "Anyone else here, good at math?"
Shelby grinned, "Scott is. Come sit down, let's make a deal."
"I hate problem solving. Algebra is okay, but this crap…" Chris sighed dramatically.
"Tell you what. Scott and I will help you with math, but you give us your notes from english."
"Hey wait how did I get roped into this?" Scott complained.
Shelby gave I'm a pointed look and he shut up. "Is it a deal?"
Chris handed over her notes and opened up her text book. "Who cares about point A car and point B car. If they meet in the middle, then they'll have a nice car accident."
Sophie heard her and said, "that's not the answer it's looking for."
Scott snickered and whispered, "give it up, you'll still have to do the work."
"Here you need this formula to find the answer," Shelby pushed her binder towards Chris.
So began their information exchange. Chris didn't realize it, but she was developing friendships, due to her need to finish her homework. This evolved the next day, when she helped Ezra on the hike into the forest. He was lagging behind and hence making them constantly have to catch up. She took his pack over, to help with his balance, as they walked along a downed tree, over a creek.
"Thanks for the help," Ezra said. He glared at David's back.
"You're better than him. Boyfriends are a dime a dozen, it's real friends that are hard to find and keep." Chris said softly.
"Do you have a friend like that back home?" Ezra asked.
"Yes, his name's Mike. He saved my life after the first time. I didn't tell him about the second."
"The first and second what?" Ezra asked confused.
"Nothing, never mind." Chris realized she'd revealed too much and walked ahead of him for a while.
Peter had overheard their conversation and hoped she wasn't talking about her suicide attempt. He'd have to keep a closer eye on her. As they got to a clearing, Peter checked the sky and then his watch. It was time to make camp. "Ok everyone, set up your tents. I need two volunteers to find firewood, two to get the fire going, two to get water from that creek and the remaining two get diner started."
Shelby and Scott volunteered to get fire wood, Auggie and Juliette were on water, David and Daisy would get the fire started, so that left Ezra and Chris to prepare diner. Peter was aware that the two couples that were on water and firewood would try to get closer, so he gave them a few minutes before searching them out.
"Do we have to do the dishes too?" Chris asked.
"Yup."
"Next time I'm volunteering to start the fire," she replied.
Before Peter could catch them making out, the two couples returned. Scott and Shelby had plenty of wood. Auggie and Juliette worked together to carry the bucket of water. Peter handed out the canned veggies and drinks, then Chris and Ezra gave everyone buns and hot dogs.
They played a game after diner was done, dishes were cleaned and put away. "For every letter of the alphabet, name an animal. I'll start," Peter said, "anteater."
They went around the circle, listing off animals. When they got to "i" it was Christine's turn.
"Icelandic Horse," she said.
David shook his head, "that's cheating."
"Fine then, Iguana." She said with a little hostility.
"Keep it friendly guys. It's just a camp fire game," Peter cautioned.
Chris didn't like David and wasn't sure why he always antagonized her. There was something dark about him, like he could turn on you at any second. It's why she ignored him as much as possible. She stepped away from the fire, getting her flashlight. Then she went into the forest to pee. The time alone, helped calm her down. As she returned to the camp fire, everyone was getting ready for bed. Tomorrow morning would come quickly. She tripped on a root and bumped into Daisy.
"Sorry."
Before Daisy could reply, David whispered near her ear, "watch it Spaz."
Chris spun around and growled, "back off."
David grinned nastily, but gave her space. "Good night Daisy."
Once inside her tent, Chris took some deep breaths. It helped calm her beating heart and help her sleep. She had noticed that the other tents were spaced further away from hers. Word had already got around that she had loud nightmares. Only Peter had his tent close to hers. She hoped to prove them all wrong and not have a nightmare. With that hope in mind, she closed her eyes.
…His hands were around her neck, forcing her to open her mouth. She tried to scream….
Peter had the zipper of the tent down in seconds, flashlight shining on Christine's face. She was having a nightmare and screaming "NO!"
"Chris wake up! You're safe!" Both Peter and Shelby shouted.
"What's going on?" Asked Scott, still half asleep, poking his head out of his tent.
Juliette rubbed her eyes, "Chris is having another nightmare. I need ear plugs."
Chris jolted awake, she saw Shelby and realized what had happened. "I'm sorry. I guess you wish I were dead."
Peter took charge, "everyone else back to bed. Chris come sit by the fire with me."
The others whom had come out of their tents at the commotion, returned to them. Chris grabbed her sleeping bag and put it around herself. She looked at her watch, she'd managed to sleep three hours, which was better than usual. "It's okay Peter, I will just stay up and keep the fire going. I won't sleep anymore."
"How about you talk to me about your dream. What has you so scared?"
She hugged herself, but it wasn't from the cool night air. "I… I can't. I just can't."
He tried something else. "I heard you tell Ezra earlier that your best friend Mike helped you once. How did he do that?"
"He told me to write it down, if I couldn't talk about what happened. For a long time I was the living dead. Daisy would have loved me back then," Chris said.
"Would it help writing it in a journal now?" Peter asked.
She shook her head. She wanted so badly to trust him, to tell him why she had nightmares. Even with Mike's help, she still couldn't get rid of the bad dreams. "I'm scared to tell you what happened."
"Why are you scared to tell me?" He asked the obvious.
"Same reason I never told my parents or my sister. Because you'll look at me differently; either with pity or disgust."
"I think you'll see that it won't be either. Come on try me."
"I can't. I just can't." She got up and went back into her tent, shutting him out. She could lie awake until morning.
He let her go, there was no use in pushing her for more. He added fuel to the fire and then returned to his own tent. Morning would soon arrive and he had a feeling the blind fold exercise would bring some interesting developments.
As the day got lighter, the forest animals got louder. Chris was still awake. She'd gone for fresh water, added fuel to the fire and was in the process of making pancakes on the skillet. Peter woke up to that smell.
"Good morning," he said to Chris. He could see from the dark circles under her eyes that she had not gone back to sleep. "Thank you for starting breakfast. I'll keep making the pancakes, if you want to wake the others."
Chris handed him the spatula and then went tent to tent. She shook the tent and then yelled, "rise and shine camper!"
"Go away Spaz," David groaned.
"Everyone up, come on people," Peter encouraged.
Chris got an evil grin on her face and winked at Ezra. "Oops, I just tripped." She kicked out the pegs that held David's tent together, then as she stood back up, pulled out a pole.
"What the f….," David swore as the tent fell on top of him. "You did that on purpose!"
Ezra grinned and mouthed to her, "thanks for making my morning." Then he added much more loudly, "I saw her, she legit tripped, it was an accident. Anyway we have to tear down and pack up today."
The others not wanting the same treatment, came out of their respective tents. They then smelled the fresh pancakes and grabbed plates to eat. "Thanks Peter," Scott said.
"Thank Chris, she made the first batch."
Shelby grinned, "didn't sleep again eh? Mmm… these are good."
"Look even Twig is having seconds," Auggie teased Juliette.
Chris nodded, picking up a pancake and shoving the whole thing in her mouth. This way she didn't have to talk.
"So Peter, what are we doing today?" Daisy asked.
"Facing our fears," Peter replied.
"Why would I want to do that?" David groaned.
"Because it can show you who you really are, right Peter?" Daisy said sarcastically. "Or if you can conquer the small fears, you can overcome the big ones."
"That's some pretty good psychotic babble," Juliette said.
Shelby and Daisy smirked, as they laughed at the girl's verbal mistake. They finished eating and helped each other take down their tents. Scott helped Auggie, after he packed his own tent. Chris helped Ezra, who was getting tangled in the lines of the cover.
"Okay gang, let's tear down camp and get going. We've got a bit of a hike and then we'll be at our destination."
The fire was extinguished, the dishes were packed and they headed out. Peter lead the way. David picked on Ezra as they walked. "Ezzie's fear is that he'll never get laid."
Chris waited until Peter was out of ear shot and then said, "and you fear that size really does matter. That being small is not just an issue with your brain, but also with your other head."
Juliette gasped at the rude innuendo, Shelby and the other guys laughed. "Ouch, dude, don't mess with her or her friends."
Chris grinned, but she could feel the daggers of hate radiating off of David. She was pushing him and knew it. Part of her loved the danger and wanted him to come at her, just so she could prove to herself she wasn't afraid of guys like him. The other part of her was uncomfortable, with the possible confrontation. But all she had to do was look at Ezra's grateful expression, to know she'd stick up for him again. She hated bullies and that is exactly what David was.
The rest of the way, David stuck to Daisy's side and left Chris and Ezra alone. Scott and Shelby walked at the end of the group, holding hands. Auggie and Juliette had caught up to Peter and were chatting about random things. Soon they arrived at the clearing.
"Okay, everyone can take a break while I rope off this area." Peter tied a rope to one tree and walked in a circle on the outside, until he returned to the starting point. "Take your packs off and leave them on the outside of this rope. Next come to me and get one of these blind folds."
"Let me guess, the fear of being blind or out of control?" Daisy mused.
"Correct. Everyone go stand in the middle, back to back. Now put the blind folds on," Peter instructed. "Shelby walk two steps forward and four paces left. That's it, okay stop. Scott take four steps forward and two paces right."
Peter continued until they were all spread out, too far to reach out and find each other. Then he got completely silent and waited to see what happened. First they called out to him, when he didn't answer they tried to find each other. When that failed, panic set in. He saw Chris breathing heavily.
"Everyone sit down and shut up," Daisy said.
Ezra, Chris, Shelby and Scott did as she said. The others wandered aimlessly. David stopped when he found the rope. Auggie tripped over his own feet and stayed down. Juliette freaked out when she couldn't hear anyone else. Finally she too sat down and just cried silently.
"Calm down and listen. Peter is still here, he's messing with us."
Scott didn't like being blind, he hated the feeling of not knowing what was going on. But he did as she said. It took him a while, for his breathing not to drown out the sounds around him. He heard Juliette crying. He also heard the snapping of twigs to the right of him. Either it was Peter or a bear. If it was a bear, he could run faster than everyone, except maybe Chris. As he picked apart his feeling of fear, analyzed it, he calmed down. Scott eventually realized his other senses got heightened, when he lost his sight. He could smell Shelby's shampoo, when it drifted by on the light breeze. He was no longer scared, so he lay back, hands behind his head, to relax.
"Scott take your blind fold off and stand outside the circle," Peter instructed when he saw that the fear had been conquered. "Shelby and Auggie can do the same."
In passing Auggie said, "come on Jules, you can do this. You know I wouldn't leave you behind."
That comment was all Juliette needed to stop crying. When she did that, she calmed down. She reminded herself she wasn't helpless and used the tools that Peter and Sophie had taught her. When she smiled, Peter let her join the others on the sideline.
David, unknown to Peter, had found a way to peak out under his blind fold. When he marched military style up to Peter, he too could take off the blind fold. So that left just Chris. She could sit there for hours, as long as no one came near her. She already had hypersensitivity. Being blind was not one of her fears.
Everyone watched Peter approach Chris from behind her back. Shelby said under her breath, "that's a bad idea."
"Chris it's Peter. It's just me. I want you to trust me to come up behind you and remove the blind fold."
"NO."
"You can do it. Just listen to me talking and know that I won't hurt you. Trust me, not to hurt you." Peter kept talking until he was two feet away from Chris.
She sat frozen and stiff, waiting to spring away if he did try and hurt her. He kept talking, telling her to breath slowly with him. She could feel him behind her, she was scared. If he wanted to, he could hurt her very badly.
"He's going to end up with a black eye," Daisy said dryly.
"Would the Peanut Gallery please stay quiet," Peter called out. Then returned to talking to Chris. "I am going to crouch down behind you and put my hand on your shoulder. You are going to be okay."
Chris knew he was forcing the trust issue. She had to trust him. Weighing the pros and cons, helped. She focused on how calm he was, how his vibe didn't come across as threatening. So when he put his hand on her shoulder, she didn't freak out.
"How do you feel?'
"I'm not scared of you any more. But I'm still tense," Chris said honestly.
"Do you trust me?"
She just nodded yes. So he took off the blind fold. She stood up and turned to look at him, her eyes adjusting to the sudden light. "One fear semi-over come. Trusting you is a little easier than trusting others."
That gave Peter an idea. "Everyone come here and line up in single file. Chris stand right here and put your blind fold back on." He waited until they did as he said. "We are going to test Chris. I want you all to walk up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, say who you are and then go stand over there."
Ezra said, "this is definitely not a good idea. She's going to knock someone out."
David grinned, "it won't be me, hopefully it's you Ezzie."
"Everyone stay quiet until you are behind Chris." Peter motioned for Daisy to begin the exercise.
Chris could feel that the person approaching her was not hostile. The weight of the hand on her shoulder, told her it was one of the other girls. She smiled when Daisy spoke. Next came Ezra, then Shelby who's shampoo she smelt. Juliette she identified by the light perfume she always wore. Auggie came up and touched her shoulder, with no incident. Chris had not recognized him. When it was Scott's turn, even though Chris didn't feel a threat, she was a little more agitated. She felt a sexual undercurrent from him. That made her nervous, even though she knew he loved Shelby and it wasn't directed at her. Grinning maliciously, David purposely waited until he was last. He didn't like Chris, especially since she always ran interference for Ezra. He walked up behind her as instructed, taking longer than the others had, on purpose.
Through the process of elimination Chris determined it was David behind her. She knew that Peter was right beside her and wouldn't let any harm come to her. Still she could feel his vibe. He was dangerous, everything in her screamed to get ready to fight. Even though she couldn't see him, she turned her head towards Peter. She had to trust him to protect her. Peter saw the head movement and how her fists were clenched.
David dropped his hand heavily on to Chris's shoulder. "Hi Spaz, it's David." He expected her to spin around and punch him, but she didn't move. Not getting the reaction he desired, angered him further.
"Good work Chris, you can take off your blind fold. Alright we're done here, Auggie can you take down the rope. Everyone else grab your packs. We're going to the rope course."
Chris looked at Ezra, "what's the rope course?"
"It's like a rope bridge up in the trees. You walk on one rope, holding on to two others until you make it to the other side."
"Peter is this pick on Chris day? Seriously first I have to face my fear of people coming up behind me and now heights. Do you have a container of spiders to dump on me too or maybe a shark tank?"
"You're not the only one with fears to face today. And for the record, no I don't have spiders or sharks," Peter clarified.
"I like spiders and sharks," David said.
Ezra rolled his eyes at Chris, "figures he would."
"Did you say something Ezzie?"
Ezra didn't reply. But Shelby did, "just shut up David, no one wants to hear your voice."
Daisy decided to intervene, "I don't like heights either, but after the climbing wall at least I'm not scared anymore."
"When you confront your fear, it looses it's hold on you. The control is yours," Peter explained.
"Confront my fears… right. Let's add falling off a rope up in the trees to my list," Chris grumbled.
Scott grinned, "relax. You're in a harness, that has a safety line attached. If you fall it holds you in place, so that you can get back on the rope. And you'll be wearing a helmet so if the safety line breaks your head will be fine."
Peter sighed, "Scott you're not helping."
Eventually they arrived at the rope course. They took a break and had lunch. Then Peter got out the harness and Daisy went first. David had no problem and beat Auggie's time to cross the rope bridge. Ezra was slower, but made it across. Scott made it look easy. Then it was Shelby's turn.
"I know you hate heights too Shelby, but last time I let you get away with not doing the task. This time you don't have that option." Peter checked the harness and that her helmet was done up.
"You can do it Shelby. One step at a time," Daisy encouraged.
"Look at the rope and not at the ground," Ezra suggested.
Scott made eye contact with her and said, "come on Shelby, it's not far. I'm right here waiting for you."
She took a deep breath and stepped out on the rope, holding tight to the guide lines. The rope swung a little and she stopped moving. Fear was paralyzing her, but she was already up there, so she took another step. Once she had the hang of it, Shelby made it all the way across, hugging the tree at the end.
Everyone cheered, "way to go Shelby!"
"Come on down Shelby and we'll get the harness off you. Good job," Peter praised.
Once on solid ground, Scott took Shelby into his arms for a comforting hug. Then everyone looked at Chris expectantly.
"Come on Spaz. Or are you too chicken?"
"He's right Peter I'm a chicken, cluck cluck." Chris said, not to be goaded into doing the rope course.
"Did you climb trees as a kid?" Peter asked.
"Sure did," Chris admitted.
"It's just like that. It's a little fear, that only gets bigger if you let it. Embrace the fear and let it push you to discover just how much courage you truly have."
She made a face at him, but was done talking. She let him put the harness on her and clicked the helmet in place. Chris didn't know if she could do it. But for some reason she wanted to please Peter, show him that she was worthy of his time. The climb up to the rope bridge was easy. She clipped her line to the safety rope.
'If there is a God, may you protect me now,' Chris whispered out loud.
She was scared and it showed when her first step made her gasp in surprise. She held on to the guide ropes with a death grip, not moving. Her eyes refocused on the tree across from her. Chris forced herself to move forward, one tiny step at a time. It took so long for her to cross, that only Peter remained standing on the ground. She didn't hear them or see anything except the other tree. Her heartbeat was loud in her ears, adrenaline rushed through her body, but at last she made it to the other side. Relief flooded her, then she quickly climbed down. She was still scared of heights, but she knew she could push herself through it.
They headed back home, taking the shorter route. Chris said under her breath, "but this kind of fear, is not the same that haunts me in my dreams."
Shelby heard her, as they were walking beside each other, "agreed. If you haven't lived through that kind of fear, you just can't understand it. Peter is better than the rest, but he'll never understand."