Author's Note: This chapter is rated PG 13 for language, and mature content. It's a short chapter, I know, but I figure the shorter they are the more often I can post new ones.
Chapter preview: It's a little thing I like to call "sharing time" (otherwise known as group, or in this case "coffee time"…geez, Peter is really losing his stealth and imagination, isn't he?) for the Cliffhangers, and things start to heat up, (or cool down, really), when they are forced to come to terms with the events they despise the most.
"Now this is something I definitely couldn't live without," Daisy said as she took a sip of steaming hot coffee.
"I'm more of a tea person," Shelby replied, curling her legs underneath her.
The cliffhangers were sitting around the fireplace, waiting for Peter to arrive. He had asked them to meet him for coffee after dinner, but none of the cliffhangers had been fooled. This meeting was not about coffee, or about relaxing in front of the fire with friends. It was about digging up their hearts and laying them out on the table for everyone to see. It was about uncovering secrets they hadn't whispered in years and letting their friends rip them apart for the things they had done. It was the time to finally be honest about all the things that had happened since graduation, from life and death to love and heartache.
"I have a task for you guys," Peter announced as he took a seat in one of the armchairs by the fire.
"I don't have my hiking boots, Peter." Ezra muttered.
Peter just laughed.
"No, this task is more based on internal reflection than physical exertion. I want you guys to think back over the past few years since you've graduated. I want you to think about the best and worst things that have happened to you."
The group was silent as they were each caught up in their own memories. They sifted through their memories in an attempt to find those single moments that had defined their lives for the past few years.
"I'll start," Juliette offered after a few minutes.
Each member was shaken from their thoughts as they focused on Juliette.
"The best thing that happened to me was all the time I've spent teaching. I love helping kids learn, especially teaching them to read. It's so fulfilling to see them go from not knowing anything to being able to read a book all on their own. I love that," she shrugged.
"What about the worst?" Ezra asked carefully.
"I know what I am expected to say for this. I know that a lot of us have the same answer. But while I thought about it, I realized that there is something worse that has happened to me. My worst moment was the night that Auggie and I broke up," Juliette explained.
A few of the cliffhangers frowned in confusion, unsure of how that could be the worst moment. Yes, their relationship had been special, but hadn't there been other moments?
"I know what you guys are thinking, so I will explain. When, well, at the funeral, I had you guys there to help me through it. I wasn't alone. But when I lost Auggie," Juliette shook her head slightly and allowed her eyes to meet Auggie's. "I had no one there to help me, and I lost the best thing that had ever happened to me."
The group was silent as they absorbed what Juliette had just said.
"I guess I'll go next," Ezra spoke up. "As most of you know, David and I became really close after we graduated. We both wanted the same thing, and neither of us could get it." Ezra glanced at Daisy, and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "That drew us closer, surprisingly enough. I thought we were best friends, I thought we told each other everything. I guess I was wrong because suddenly he was gone and I didn't even see it coming. So the worst thing for me was losing a friend I guess I never really had."
It was the first time any of the cliffhangers had talked openly about David's death. In the past no one had been able to get past the shock that he was gone.
"What about a best thing?" Peter tried to lead Ezra on, as the rest of the cliffhangers wiped tears from their eyes. They had needed to talk about David, about what his death had really meant.
"The best thing was getting the job at the counselling center. It feels good to help people, to know that you are preventing others from ending up like you." Ezra finished quietly.
"I'm next," Auggie spoke up. "The best thing for me was the first few months after I graduated. I had freedom, and I was happy. I had escaped the fear and the danger, and I was okay…The worst thing…well, the worst thing was when my brother asked for my help. I knew I couldn't help without getting pulled back into that life, his life, and I helped him anyway. I haven't been good since then. Shit, I haven't even been okay." Auggie told his friends what he had been afraid to tell them for years.
The cliffhangers offered small smiles of comfort to Auggie, who made himself look each of them in the eye. He could tell from their reassuring glances that he was going to get help.
"So I guess I'm next," Shelby took her eyes off the fire for the first time since she had sat down. Sophie was taking care of Ava for her, and Shelby seemed relieved to have a break from the constant demands of motherhood.
"Uh, I know you guys have been wondering about Ava. I can tell by the way you look at me, that you want to ask who her father is, but you don't know how to, not without upsetting me. So I'll clear the air right now, because you guys deserve to know the truth." Shelby took a deep, shaky breath. "I don't know Ava's father. I don't know his name, or where he is, or how old he is, or what he was doing in the alley that night."
Tears were streaming down her face now, as she fought an internal battle – heart against mind. So far her brain was in the lead. She had to continue, despite how much her heart and soul told her not to.
"I was so scared when I found out I was pregnant, so angry. I didn't want the baby, but I couldn't get rid of it. I couldn't bring myself to let it go. It was part of me, part of whom I had become and who I would never escape."
By this point Shelby was beyond the point of recovery. She glanced up at her friends, most of who were staring at the ground. Shelby let out a sob as the
realization hit her hard. No one could look at her, not one of them.
So she did the first thing she could think of, the same thing she always did. She ran. She fled from the building, her feet guiding her unconsciously towards the one place she always went, the only place that could ever bring her comfort.
The water was calm as she sat on the dock, her arms wrapped around her frail body to keep warm and to hold back the sobs that wracked her body. And then she waited. She waited for something to happen, for someone to come get her, for the pain to stop. She waited for the world to stop spinning and for the noise to escape her head. She waited for solace that she knew would never come.
It was twenty minutes later when someone joined her on the docks. He stood a few feet behind her, waiting for her to acknowledge his presence. By this point she was nothing but a crumpled figure sprawled on the rotting wood, her tears outlined by the moon's glow.
The young man took a step forward, more unsure of himself and his actions than he had been in years.
"Go away," she spoke finally. Her voice was scratchy and her throat ached with each breath.
He didn't bother replying as he sat down next to her on the dock. Neither of them moved for a few minutes, adjusting to the foreign feeling of being within a few feet of each other.
"You dream about him, don't you?" Scott asked finally.
How did he know? How could he possibly be able to read her mind after all these years? Shelby frowned only slightly, regretting it instantly when Scott ran a hand through his hair. Why did he have to notice everything?
"Shouldn't you be with your girlfriend?" Shelby asked, keeping her eyes focused on the water.
"She wasn't raped in an alley and then forced to raise a child on her own. She isn't sitting at the end of the dock crying because people who claimed to be her friends couldn't even look at her. She doesn't need people Shelby, you do."
"I'm not weak." Shelby spat defensively.
"I didn't say that."
"So you came out here to play the hero? Well guess what, Scott? I don't need you. I'm fine. Go be someone else's knight in shining armour."
There was a long silence as Scott contemplated his next words. He had to be honest, had to get the truth out. It was the only way to make things better.
"I'm out here because I need people, too." Scott replied quietly.
It sounded so lame when he said it out loud. But it was the truth, plain and simple.
Shelby looked at him for the first time since he joined her on the dock.
"What could possibly be wrong with your life Scott? You have a beautiful girlfriend, a nice car, a good job."
"Sounds kind of like a guy I used to know." Scott replied wryly. "Star football player with a perky, pretty girlfriend. Maybe a small drug problem, but hey, aren't all teenagers into drugs these days?" Scott gave her a pointed look.
"So you came out here to cry on my shoulder? Two distressed people aren't exactly good for each other, Scott." Shelby rolled her eyes.
"We were." Scott answered without hesitation, looking her straight in the eye.
There was the distinct sound of a sharp intake of breath as Shelby froze. Scott's words were meant to prove her wrong, to guilt her into pitying him, to remind her of the many times they had leaned on each other for support.
They were not meant, however, for the reason Shelby had always imagined Scott would say them. She wanted to feel his arms around her, his breath on her neck, his fingers in her hair. She wanted him to love her.
"So spill," Shelby finally replied, turning to Scott and waiting patiently for the inevitable pain to fill his eyes, for his jaw to twitch, for him to run a hand through his tousled hair. She waited for all the things she could never admit she had missed.
