The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.- Abraham Lincoln
CHAPTER #14
The overnight trip would start out with a kayak trip down the river. The other Cliff Hangers were getting better at kayaking, than they were in the past. Scott helped Ezra and Auggie helped Juliette. Peter instructed Chris and as he predicted, she picked up the skill easily. Peter lead them and Scott was the safety, so he paddled beside them and helped if it was needed.
Sunlight caressed their faces and made the water glitter like diamonds. The longer they paddled the warmer it got. When they finally stopped it was afternoon. Kayaks were pulled up on to the rocks and inland, then secured in a pile, so no chance they could fall into the river. After a short break they hiked into the bush. Their noisy trekking scared a deer and it leaped across the path, making everyone stop and watch it take off.
"There goes Bambi's mom," Ezra said.
Chris grinned, "one of my favourite Disney movies. Makes me cry every time."
"Have you guys ever seen the movie Bambi meets Godzilla?" Daisy asked.
"No. What happens?" Chris asked.
Daisy grinned, "let's just say that Bambi ends up stomped."
Scott laughed as Chris rolled her eyes and said, "I'm not surprised you like that."
"Come on guys, head up the trail." Peter waited until they passed by him and then walked at the end of the line.
Juliette turned and walked backwards, "where are we going?"
"You'll see. You might want to turn around, you're about to trip over a stump," Peter replied.
She turned round just in time and walked a little faster to catch up to Auggie. Then she flashed him her pearly whites, "I don't know why I keep asking him. He never tells us does he?"
Auggie smiled back, "nope. You never know Jules he may tell us one day."
Ezra snorted, "not likely."
Chris let the couples walk in front of her. Daisy didn't want to walk beside her though and went a little faster to join Scott and Shelby. Peter took the opportunity to walk with Chris. When she talked to him, he wasn't expecting what she said.
"How do you help people when they can't talk to you, because you rat to Child Services or the cops? I know you have to, so that you keep your license, but it seems counter productive. We're supposed to trust you with our darkest secrets, but we truly can't."
Shelby heard her and said, "you could always just tell authorities that you lied, if Peter reports it."
Daisy added, "or stop protecting the people who hurt you and make them deal with the consequences."
Peter finally was going to say something, when Chris ended the conversation. "Never." She shut up and just walked in silence.
In the late afternoon, they arrived in the area that Peter wanted them to be in. "So you're lost in the wilderness, what's the first thing you do?"
"Build a shelter," Scott, Auggie and Juliette said at the same time.
Daisy, Shelby and Ezra rolled their eyes.
Chris looked around at the trees, picked two and dropped her pack. She began building her shelter, gathering branches. The others resigning to do what they had to, followed her lead. Peter watched them as he set up his tent and built the fire pit.
Ezra looked at Chris, "I thought you were a city girl."
"Grew up in the country. I was a tomboy and loved the outdoors."
"Ugh, that just makes me hate her even more," Daisy grumbled to Shelby.
Chris's shelter was a big branch braced between two trees and re-enforced by two Y shaped branches at the ends and one in the middle. She used a rock to pound them into the ground. Then she got other branches and leaned them against the main horizontal pole. Once satisfied with her roof, Chris got leafy branches and grass to weave and layer on top, in case it rained. Then she collected more grass to cover the floor. When she looked around, everyone else had either a teepee or some lean-to. Auggie's and Scott's shelters were comparable to hers. Not wanting to get stuck making food and cleaning dishes, she began to work on starting a fire. She used two rocks at first to start the fire, then Peter gave her a knife, which created a spark faster. She gave it back, once the grass and twigs were lit.
"Fire's taken care of, you guys decide who's getting water, firewood and getting dinner started," Peter said.
They split up to do their assigned chores. Peter got Chris to talk about her childhood. He noticed that she didn't once mention her parents. As everyone came to the fire pit to sit and wait to eat, they too contributed things about their childhood, except for Daisy and Shelby. After they ate and cleaned up, Peter gave everyone some free time, but he kept a closer eye on the couples. Later they had a group session, played a campfire game and then went to bed.
Chris woke up and had to go pee. She took her flashlight and went into the woods. On her way back she got some more firewood and put it on the pit. She was about to return to her shelter when she heard a crack noise behind her. Whirling around she saw one shelter fall apart. Trying hard not to laugh, she watch Daisy crawl out from under the collapsed shelter. Daisy kicked the shelter and swore.
"Come on, you can sleep in mine. It has room for two," Chris invited. She didn't wait for a response, but could feel Daisy walking reluctantly behind her.
"Thanks," Daisy said crawling inside.
Chris gave her a pile of grass to shape into a pillow, then turned on her side. Daisy fussed a bit and then finally stopped moving. The girls lay back to back.
"What you said to Peter earlier about not being able to tell him everything.... what is it that you can't tell him?" Daisy asked.
At first her question was met with silence and then Chris said, "about my parents."
"Well?" Daisy prompted.
"My dad's temper was really bad. This one time I got beaten so bad, I couldn't sit on my ass for a week. They told the school that I had the flu. On my tenth birthday, I wanted my friends to stay longer and talked back to my mom. She broke a wooden cooking spoon, she beat my ass so hard. That's why I don't care that they're out of my life. But I know that my daddy issues are a part of my other issues."
Daisy rolled over and waited for Chris to face her. "My parents were drunks and ignored me. But that's nothing compared to what you, Scott and Shelby have been through. How many times have you tried to kill yourself?"
"Wow that's blunt....twice. Once here as you know and one time at home."
"How do you stay sane?"
Chris snorted, "I'm not sane, that's why I'm here. I try to live one day at a time."
"You could tell Peter everything. But when the investigators come, just tell them you lied if you don't want to follow through with it." Daisy advised.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" Chris asked suddenly.
"You saved me from sleeping outside. Like you said tomorrow's another day, so I might be back to my old self then."
"Fair enough. Good night Daisy and thanks."
Peter had heard it all, having woken up when Daisy's shelter collapsed. He smiled when he heard the two girls getting along, but hearing about the other secret Chris was keeping, made him realize the extent of emotional pain she was carrying. If Chris could talk to her friends about her family problems, she might just heal herself. But he was glad that he knew why she had questioned his loyalty to the kids. At least this overnight trip was working, the Cliff Hangers were reuniting.
