AN- Well hello again, I think that it's about time I uploaded another chapter!
HTFan- Thank you so much! And you can climb back onto the cliff now, as the mysterious driver will now be revealed, and you will meet somebody else as well!
Chapter 4
Flaky jammed on the brake. Her car swerved. Tightening both hands on the wheel, she fought to control it.
With a shriek of its tires, the red car lurched to a halt. Flaky's car spun around and stopped.
Flaky was out of her car first. "That's the second time!" she yelled, slamming the door hard enough to rock the car. Furious, she stamped over and stood glaring at the driver as he scrambled out of his car.
He was about her age, wearing a loose yellow T-shirt. His hair was blonde and his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses.
He was talking fast.
"Hey, I'm sorry! I don't know what happened! I mean, I look away for just a second to keep something from falling off the front seat and the next thing I know, my whole short life's flashing right in front of my eyes!" The words spilled out one on top of the other. With jerky rapid gestures, he pushed the glasses on top of his head. "I'm sorry," he said again. "Really it was my fault. You okay?"
"That's the second time you've almost crashed into me!"
The young man peered over Flaky's shoulders at the car then snapped his fingers. "The gate! Right? About an hour ago, right?"
Flaky was still shaken and angry. But what good did it do to be angry at such an obvious lunatic?
"Forget it," she said, turning back to her car. "Just watch where you're going and try driving under eighty, okay?"
"Wait a sec, you gotta let me explain," he said. "I mean, I know it's not an excuse, but... wait, I'll be right back!" He dashed over to his car, reached inside and pulled out a bunch of yellow flowers wrapped in flimsy pink paper. "These were about to fall of the front seat. And the floor's pretty messy and I didn't want them to get messed up. So I looked over when I grabbed for them and... there you were!"
Flaky believed him, but it didn't make her any less forgiving. "What about before?" she asked. "When you almost pushed me off the cliff?"
"Oh. Well, I was mad." He held his hand up. "I know I know, never take your anger out behind the wheel of a car... here." He pulled a flower out of the bunch and held it out to Flaky.
Flaky shook her head.
"Oh, come on. Take it," he said. "It's already out; I'll just break the stem if I try to get it back in."
"Okay." Flaky took the flower. "But I've already memorised your registration plate, so watch out."
"Now you sound like Mrs. Joy."
Flaky grimaced. "Thanks a lot!"
He grinned. "You mean you don't like Sweet Joy?"
"I guess I shouldn't complain about her, I hardly know her. Besides, she just hired me."
"Hired you? What for?"
"To read to Giggles," Flaky said. "Do you know her?"
He looked towards the house. He lowered his dark sun glasses over his eyes, and, for a moment, was still. "Yeah, I know Giggles," he said at last. "We've been going out for almost a year."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I mean..." Flaky broke of and looked at the flower. "Are they for her?"
"Yeah, Mrs. Joy wouldn't let me hand around before, that's why I was mad. The physical therapy's kind of hard on Giggles. So I took off to get her something to cheer her up." He took his eyes off the house and looked at Flaky. "I'm Cuddles by the way."
"Flaky."
"So. You're going to read to Giggles? That's good." Cuddles said. "I tried it a couple of times, but I wasn't great at it. And then Giggles started blinking her eyes, and Hawk-eye Joy decided she was getting upset."
"Giggles moved her hand a few times when I was reading and Mrs. Joy saw it on the cameras," Flaky said. "She told me to get dome water."
"She moved her hand?" Cuddles looked surprised. "I knew she could mover her legs a little, but not her hand. Huh... So, is that what she wanted, water?"
"I'm not sure. She drank some the first time, but not the second," Flaky said. "I should have just asked her. Next time, I will."
"You mean like, blink twice for yes and once for no?" he asked.
"Sure why not?" Flaky said. "Don't you do that?"
"I've tried but..." Cuddles broke off and looked over Flaky's shoulder.
There was a low rumbling noise, and as Flaky turned to look, she saw Flippy's gardening truck lumbering towards them. Flippy stuck his head out the window as the truck rolled to a stop. "Car trouble?" he called out.
Flaky smiled and shook her head.
"What could you fix it with anyway, a rake?" Cuddles snapped.
Surprised, Flaky glanced back at him, but all she saw was his back. Cuddles was already walking ot his car. He tossed the flowers onto the passenger seat, got in, jerked the car into gear, and sped backwards down the drive towards the entrance.
Flaky couldn't see the red car anymore, but she could hear it. Every few seconds Cuddles revved the engine. It was a loud impatient sound.
She looked back at Flippy. Flippy shrugged. "He's definitely got an attitude," he said.
"I guess he's worried... about Giggles."
Flippy looked towards the end of the drive as Cuddles revved the engine again. "Yeah," he said.
But he didn't sound as if he believed it.
Back in town, Flaky went to the diner for a burger. Petunia was behind the counter, cleaning the top.
Petunia was Flaky's age, and lived across the street. She talked a lot and laughed a lot. Flaky liked her, which was good, since she was the only person Flaky really knew so far.
"Flaky!" Petunia said as Flaky slid onto a stool at the counter. "Listen, I spoke to the boss about a full time job for you, but he's looking for somebody full time." She rolled her eyes.
"Well thanks for asking anyway," Flaky said. "I guess I'll keep babysitting. And I got another part time job this morning."
"Great! What is it?"
"Reading to Giggles Joy."
"You're kidding." Petunia's eyes widened. "Isn't she still in hospital?"
Flaky shook her head. "She's at home, in a wheelchair."
Petunia leaned her elbows on the counter. "Does she look really awful?"
"No," Flaky said. "I mean she's got some bruises and she can't move much, or talk. But she doesn't look gruesome or anything. She's pretty."
Petunia shuddered. "Doesn't it make you feel kind of weird? Reading to her, I mean. I don't think I could stand it."
"It's the house I can't stand," Flaky said. "And her mother. She's like an iceberg. I feel sorry for Giggles, being stuck in that place. You know her, don't you?"
"Sure." Petunia got busy cleaning again. "Before I got this stupid job I hung out with that group. She's bubbly, and much smarter than she looks."
"What happened to her?" Flaky asked. "Was she climbing rocks or something? No, wait," she said. "First, I'll have a cheeseburger and a chocolate shake."
Petunia gave her order to the cook, then poured coffee for a man who came in and sat at the other end of the counter. She made the shake, and by that time, the cheeseburger was ready.
"Now," Flaky said, whilst squeezing the bottle of ketchup. "What happened to Giggles? Her mother didn't even bother to tell me that she was our own age. I went there expecting someone much, much older. She picked up the burger and took a big bite.
"Nobody knows exactly what Giggles was doing," Petunia said, wiping away at the counter again. "It happened at night. In May, just before school was out."
"What was she doing out on those cliffs at night?"
Petunia shook her head. "Maybe she went for a walk or something. Or maybe she was sleepwalking. Anyway, the gardener found her."
"The gardener?" Flaky said. "You mean Flippy?"
"I think that's his name. The one who's kind of new here?"
Flaky sipped her shake and nodded. "I spoke to him this morning. But he didn't tell me that he was the one who found Giggles." She wondered why.
"He probably wants to forget it," Petunia said shuddering again. "It must have been awfully gruesome. Her boyfriend was really broken up about it."
"Cuddles? I met him this morning too," Flaky said. She told Petunia about the two near collisions with him.
"But he was bringing Giggles flowers, so it was hard to stay mad at him."
"That definitely sounds like him. He was crazy about Giggles." Petunia looked towards the door of the diner, "Is, I mean."
Flaky spun on her stool and saw a group had just come in. The one in front was Cuddles, still wearing his sunglasses. he was talking over his shoulder to one of the others, and Flaky couldn't' make out what he was saying. But the sound of his voice was the same, tense and rapid, as if he couldn't get the words out fast enough.
Watching him, Petunia murmured, "What happened to Giggles must have really changed him."
"What do you mean?"
"I guess it made Cuddles go a little crazy himself."
