The water glittered in the darkness as I approached the water.
The sight of the familiar log cabins nestled in the forest surrounding Lakeview Campsite wrapped around me like a warm blanket. Daisy and I spent many summers here with Amy and her family. Camping with the Macintoshes was an escape from whatever was going on at home.
A silhouette sat on the dock at the edge of the water.
“I’m surprised to see you out here. The last time we visited you didn’t stop complaining.”
Even in the ghostly moonlight, his smile lit up his face. “I didn’t know how good I had it back then. This place reminds me of you.”
I sat down next to Jack, and he slid his arms around my waist, pulling me against his chest. We stared out at the lake, soaking in the tranquillity of the still water. Leaning back against him, I could feel the slow, steady beat of his heart. I could stay like this forever.
A low rumble in the distance cast a ripple across the lake.
I lifted my head. “What was that?”
“What was what?”
“You didn’t hear—”
BOOM!
A huge crash ripped through the peaceful campsite. A fork of lightning cracked across the sky, tearing through the clouds above the lake.
“Jack!”
He scrambled to his feet and grabbed my hand, yanking me up. We stared up at the sky as the tear grew bigger, stretching open, making a huge hole. Inside, a blur of shapes moved and shifted. The whirl of dark greens and blues gradually sharped until I saw the entire image in focus, as if it played on a giant movie screen up above.
In the image, a little girl was running through a forest. Her footsteps pounded through the undergrowth; her breath came out in short, frantic bursts. A handful of other people appeared from the dense trees, joining her. Behind them, something crashed through the woods as it chased them deeper into the forest. The little girl stumbled on the uneven ground and fell to her knees. When she turned to check on her pursuer, I saw the terror etched on her face, and my legs almost gave way beneath me.
“Daisy!” I cried as my sister screamed. I watched on helplessly as Freddie appeared at her side. He grabbed her hand and pulled her underneath a tangle of bushes. They panted silently as they waited.
“They’ve found us,” Jack said beside me. He cupped my cheek and pressed his lips to mine in a crushing kiss. “I have to go.”
“What? No—wait! Where are you going? Who found us? I’ll come with you.”
He took off running.
“Jack!” I called as he ran towards the water. To my shock, he didn’t dive in. He stepped off the dock and kept going. I watched, gaping like a fish, as he ran across the surface as if it were tarmac. What was happening?
I looked back up at the image. Daisy and Freddie were running again, darting around trees and dodging bushes. I still couldn’t see what was chasing them.
A mess of confusion and fear for Daisy churning inside me, I ran after Jack, who was already a speck in the distance. As I reached the end of the dock, I kept running just as Jack had. Instead of continuing on solid ground, I plunged into the freezing black water.
Ice-cold needles stung my skin as I thrashed my arms and kicked my legs, struggling to reach the surface.
I fought my way back to the top, breaking through the water, gasping for air.
“Jack!” My scream cut across the campsite, but there was no one there.
I jerked awake and sat up, the scream still caught in my throat, the chill of the water still coursing through my veins. Light snores came from Roxy’s bed. The room was dark, still, and quiet. My top clung to my damp skin. It was sweat, not water.
It was only a dream.
Flopping back against my pillow, I closed my eyes, then immediately opened them again when Daisy’s terrified face filled my mind.
It was a long time before I fell back to sleep.
* * *
Early-morning rays streaked a cocktail of pink and orange across the sky. My focus fixed on the pounding of my feet; I forced my tired body along the track. I had hoped a jog would clear my head. So far it wasn’t working. Daisy’s scared face filled my mind as I ran. A pink-and-white butterfly danced in front of me as I ran by. Before, whenever I saw a butterfly, I had thought of my dad. Now I would think of Daisy.
A robin emerged from the trees and flew past the butterfly. Maybe it was a sign? Ruby had always told us that robins were a symbol of hope. We had a nest of them in the tree at the bottom of our garden once, and whenever Ruby would come round and see one sitting on the fence, she would point it out to Daisy and me and tell us it was sign of new beginnings.
This was a new beginning, that was for sure. My mind was trying to process everything that had happened. Perhaps this was a sign from the universe to focus on the present and not keep dwelling on the past.
Halfway into my run I realised my fitness tracker was missing. Shoot. It must have fallen off my wrist. Retracing my steps, I ran back along the path. When I rounded the curve alongside the pond, I did a double take. A robin emerged from the trees and flew past a pink-and-white butterfly—again.
What the hell?
Resting my hands on my thighs, I waited while I caught my breath, watching the trees.
Just as I decided I had imagined it, the robin flew out of the trees.
I rubbed my neck, staring up at the woods. No way. I must be seeing things.
I stayed there all morning. I even timed it. Every forty-five minutes on the dot the robin flew out of the trees. Eventually I had to leave, or I would miss my afternoon class.
The robin stayed on my mind for the rest of the day. It wasn’t as if I had stumbled upon their nest and they were in and out of the trees. It had been the same robin, passing the butterfly with the exact same pink and white markings, at the same spot, every forty-five minutes to the exact second. What did that mean? I had never heard of anything like that before. Could it be a sign from the universe? A sign of hope, or my new beginning here at Riverdell University?
When I finished class, I already had seventeen messages in a group chat on my phone about what Caroline and Sadie would be wearing to the Student Union Bar tonight. Apparently, they were both wearing fuchsia in some form or another, and I was to wear it too. With a groan I headed back to my room. How did they have the energy to go out every night? Didn’t they ever want to switch off and curl up in loungewear for the evening?
I considered cancelling and hiding under my duvet with a tub of Ben & Jerry’s. Instead, I decided to go. After my dream last night, and the weirdness with the robin, sitting in alone with my thoughts was less appealing than it had been the night before. I needed a distraction.
After a deliciously piping-hot shower (something I would never take for granted again), I surveyed my wardrobe. My hand hovered over a fuchsia satin shell top for a brief moment, then moved on to an emerald blouse instead. Maybe I was being ultrastubborn, but matching outfits wasn’t my thing.
The instant I walked into the Student Union Bar, I knew I had made a mistake. Sadie and Caroline were already on the dance floor, strutting to Bruno Mars.
“Eliza, what are you wearing? Didn’t you get the message?” Sadie snapped when she saw me, her tone shrill. She gestured to her fuchsia bodycon dress. Behind her, Caroline and two other girls all stared at me, each dressed in variations of vibrant pink.
“Sorry,” I said with a little shrug, not elaborating further. Sadie eyed me for a minute as if debating whether to drop it or take me to task. Thankfully, she decided on the former and went back to Caroline with a pout while I ordered a vodka and cranberry.
“Eliza, you made it,” Roxy called. She had on a black dress with a fuchsia ribbon tied around her waist and a matching bow in her hair. She gestured to one of the tables on the other side of the bar. “I’m sitting over there with Barnaby and his friends. I’ll catch up with you later.”
I got a drink and took a seat next to Scott.
“How come you’re not part of the pink ladies tonight?” he asked. I followed his gaze to where Sadie and Caroline whispered intently in the corner.
“I guess I wasn’t in a pink mood. I’m not really one for matching outfits. I usually like to do my own thing. What?” I asked when I noticed Scott staring at me like I’d grown a second head.
“Nothing, it’s just… this sort of stuff is usually your idea.”
Really? I tipped back my drink, downing it in one. Who was this girl? I understood that your circumstances shaped your life, but wearing matching colours to the pub? Catching spiders with my hands? It felt like someone completely different. Like an imposter had been living my life and got it all wrong. Except I suppose it was me who was the imposer. I slammed my glass on the table and wiped my mouth on the back of my hand. “Well, not anymore. Another drink?”
* * *
For the first time in what seemed like forever, I relaxed and actually enjoyed myself. Perhaps I decided to take the weird robin and butterfly as a sign and embrace my new beginning. I’d seen it so many times because the universe needed to hammer the message through my thick skull. It was time to move on.
But the moment I thought of Jack, the familiar ache returned. Tears burned the back of my eyes. Uh-oh. I was rather tipsy, which made me extra-emotional. Next thing I would be crying on Scott’s shoulder. I just missed Jack so much. What would he think about the robin? What would he say about Riverdell, or any of this?
“Eliza, are you okay?” Scott asked.
I swallowed and lowered my head, dabbing at my eyes. “Yeah, I’m… wow, these vodkas are strong.”
“I know, right? Let’s have another,” he said with a grin. He looked a bit glassy-eyed himself.
While he ordered us more drinks, I excused myself and went to the toilet.
Considering the bar was three people deep, the ladies toilet was surprisingly quiet. A few girls loitered at the mirror, but there was no queue. Once I’d used the cubicle and came out to wash my hands, the two girls at the basins scarpered, unable to get away from me quick enough. I stared at myself in the grimy mirror. Was I that awful? The girl looking back at me, although a little blurry, was still me. I ran my hands through my hair and touched up my make-up. Pull yourself together, Eliza. Go and enjoy yourself and take a night off from crying about Jack. I had seen Rick in Soho. I would find them. I would figure it out. With one last sniffle, I gave myself a goofy, vodka-laced smile and headed back to the bar.
The dim hallway was empty, the buzz from the bar muted by the heavy doors up ahead. Soft feminine laughter rose from the staircase that wound down to the left; the sign on the wall said it led to the cellar.
“You really are gorgeous, but I suppose you must hear that all the time,” a voice drifted up.
Wait, I recognised that voice. No one else around here was that posh. I covered my grin with my hand. Had Barnaby and Roxy snuck off for a quickie? At least they hadn’t gone back to our room. She said he had a fancy penthouse flat on the other side of the park. Couldn’t they wait until later?
The giggle came again, and the grin slid from my face. That didn’t sound like Roxy.
With a quick glance around, I tiptoed to the stairwell and peeked down the stairs. It was dark and an awkward angle. I craned my neck as far as I could.
Barnaby had a blonde girl pinned against the wall. She smiled up at him like he hung the moon. As his fingers trailed along her collarbone, I caught a glimpse of her face before they began kissing. Nope—definitely not Roxy.
My mind whirled. What was he playing at? The brass neck of the guy. Roxy was in the other room, for goodness sake.
And then I gaped as Barnaby reached out and touched the side of the girl’s face, his hands glowing with a bright white light.