Swell (Complete)

Chapter Seven (Part One)

"This is my world
You are just living in it."
....

The car park had a few cars parked on the gravel. Will put his jacket, helmet and outside leathers into his backpack and then put the pack on his shoulders. The road to the waterfalls had been narrow, barely wide enough for two cars to pass each other. His bike had been a godsend for most part around the corners with the occasional car trying to cut the corners to avoid the soft edges of the road. As dangerous to him as that was, he actually didn't blame the drivers; at one stage the road edges had swapped and he had been able to see the softness of the shoulder and the drop if someone went over. His heart had grown tense and his concentration had increased after he'd seen the moss covered trees and rocky slope below. The fear of falling rocks had been scary enough when his side had been bordered by the steep incline of the mountain, but imagining rocks and limbs falling, hitting him or a car and knocking them over the edge and down was just terrifying.
Will had arrived safe and sound at the car park though.
Tom had left about the same time to go and find Adora's place, by now all the Taylors knew she and her Mum lived out of town at a place called Edgar's Escape.
Will was intrigued, but he wasn't in a rush. After a week of trying to catch up on the school's curriculum and coursework, trying to learn the band's songs and trying to make nice with the locals, he was feeling suffocated.
He stood at the start of the dirt track and read the sign that told the walking times to certain points along the track. There were several picnic places named and two waterfalls listed.
After the rough cut road, Will decided to trek to one of the falls, after all, they had to be magnificent if the town had been named after them.
Wheeler Falls.
The forest around the dirt path was thick and lush with shades of bright and dark green and trunks of wet brown and light grey.
The dirt underfoot was damp and well worn; Will imagined the area to be crawling with tourists during warmer seasons. He was glad they hadn't moved to the town in summer when it would have been teeming with travellers. It was intimidating enough being new now, let alone being part of a non-permanent crowd.
The further along Will walked, the closer he felt to release. The sound of birds in the high trees was relaxing and the sound of the waves was entirely blocked off by the forest.
Eventually, he could hear the trickling of a stream along the path. He looked around and saw the deep crevice in the greenery, a smile crossed his face and the sound of rushing water started to join the trickle.
The path became wooden beams and he figured the main falls had to be nearby. The ground was wetter and the trickling was now a steady flow.
All at once the forest path opened around a viewing platform and the thunderous sound of the falls echoed around the mountain. A couple stood together leaning over the guardrails and laughing quietly.
His heart jerked slightly and he stepped onto the platform. The wood made his footsteps sound hollow and he leaned over the wooden railing to look down at the misty landing of the water.
Liss would have loved it; the water sending mist up as it hit the lake below, the lake a deep dark green, reflecting the colours of the forest around it.
His eyes moved up the wall of water and his breath caught as he watched the white water hit several rock landings and fall smoothly down.
Parts of the water looked clear as they dropped, some only small streams that escaped larger cascades as they broke off from jutting rocks.
He took his backpack off and moved along the railing to the corner of the wooden platform where a wooden seat had been built against it. The air was cold and moist. He put his bag between his boots and closed his eyes, letting the sounds drown his thoughts out.
He didn't know how long he had focussed on the sounds of the rushing water, but when he opened his eyes the couple had gone and he was alone in nature.
His body felt heavy and he let a loud breath out through his mouth. His solitude suddenly seemed endless and he sat up straight.
He was alone; he was a single man alone by the falls.
He stood up and looked at the cascading water again. It was a different kind of isolation actually being alone here, it wasn't the type of lonely he felt when he was with his siblings, or when he was in classes or riding his bike along the curvy highway.
It reminded him of Liss, the way his heart had dropped when he'd read her note.
He clenched his teeth in anger at himself.
Why did he keep thinking about her?
She had left him; she had left him with nothing but a note and she had said she didn't want to be followed or found.
He thought they loved each other, and that was why he couldn't stop thinking about it. It wasn't like her to do that. The Liss he knew would have said something, he was sure of it.
But maybe he hadn't really known her...
Did anyone really ever know someone else?
Some people didn't even know themselves.
He slumped forward on the wooden rail and shook his head, hurt now replacing the anger.
He needed to stop torturing himself somehow. Liss had dumped him, abandoned him, she didn't want him and she was not going to come back for him.
He had to let her go.
Marti had seemingly stopped thinking about her; she was already out with a new group of friends today. He closed his eyes to the scenery and wiped his hands over his hair, his hands stopped and connected at the base of his neck and his elbows met on the wooden rail.
Move on.
It didn't mean find a new girlfriend, it didn't mean try and replace the love he thought he'd had and lost, it just meant to stop remembering it. Stop feeling the hurt and abandonment, move pass the rejection.
A week and a half, that was all the time that had passed since they'd arrived in Wheeler Falls that meant two weeks since Liss' note had now passed.
Will stood up straight, dropping his arms to his side, maybe he should speak to the school counsellor on Monday.
Would that help?
It might at least give him some ideas on how to forget Richieville; it wasn't like he ever needed to go back there.

Brett had been trying to ignore the anxiety in his stomach all day. He'd played his guitar, he'd gone for a jog; he'd jogged by the cliff over the cove and followed the wooden boardwalk from the viewing deck to the beach, all of Adora's favourite places.
Part of him had been hoping to see her and Tom, to see how their day was going. Was he holding her hands? Was the confident, young man kissing her in the sand?
Was she accepting his advances?
He looked at himself in the mirror after his shower, and tried to figure out if he was allowed to be jealous.
Tom seemed like a nice guy, Adora was a smart girl. Tom didn't know it was Adora Brett had talked about whenever his crush came into their conversations.
Besides, what did Brett have to offer Adora when someone as attractive and confident as Tom wanted her?
Brett was fit, sure, sporty, musical... He stared at his boxers and his athletic build. Would he be classed as muscular or stocky? Maybe just broad? He lowered his towel from his dirty blonde curls and his shoulders sagged.
He had talents and things to offer, but he didn't have the guts to ask her out. He hadn't even mustered up the courage to ask her to go as his date to the end of semester formal.
Even if it began as just friends he thought he would have been fine.
But no, he was a stupid coward.
He threw his towel on his bed and finished getting dressed.
Adora had no clue how he felt.
Even Gus had seen it over summer, how could Adora be so blind?
How could she be going out with a total stranger?
"Brett?! Are you ready to start?" His older sister's voice called from the hallway outside his bedroom door.
"Almost. I'll be out in a few minutes." He called back. What would he do if Tom did bring his best friend in for dinner? Would he be able to watch them share a table, a meal, and any type of affection?
He took a deep breath, a last look at his bartender appearance and left his room.

Tara had already started moving tables around the dining room and he glanced at the reservation book to see if Tom's name was written in it.
No.
He hadn't booked a table that still meant that they might do something else for dinner. It was a morbid curiosity that made him want them to come in. Part of him hoped that they were having a horrible, awkward time; the other part wanted to see them happy, or at least Adora.
"Are you alright?" Tara stopped dragging a stack of chairs and frowned at him.
He pulled himself from his thoughts and looked up from the empty reservation page. "Yea just tired." He looked out the windows. "Nice weather today, do you think we'll be busy tonight?"
Tara pulled the chairs to a table and followed her brother's gaze to the windows. "It's hard to say, there's not much on the big screen tonight, and while it's sunny outside, there's a bit of a breeze blowing off the water."
"So, we're in for a cold night." Brett looked away as Tara nodded and tried to figure out options if Tom did bring Adora in for dinner.
If he stayed in the same area as they did he could keep an eye on them and see how the date was going. He had no doubt that Adora would tell him herself at a later time. He was in a position where he was sure even Tom would talk to him about how it went.
The question was did Brett want to help them have a good dinner, or sabotage them?
He could show Tom the closeness of the friendship, and maybe even then Adora might see how he felt, if he tried to be a little competitive...
"Hey Tara, have you ever had to serve a guy you had a crush on while he dated someone else?" Brett asked.
"Oh yea. And exes. Remember Joe? He brought a sexy, summer fling in here last year and made it so obvious he was trying to make me jealous. I was infuriated at the time, but looking back now, it was pretty sad considering how long ago it was that we dated and broke up."
"Joe? Wait, wasn't he your high school boyfriend?" Brett stopped what he was doing and looked at Tara in surprise.
She laughed. "Yup. Left him for uni in the city when we graduated."
"Wow." Brett knelt down by the fridge and started a stock list.
"What makes you ask?" Tara appeared above him, leaning over the bar with a curious expression. Her hair was slightly darker blonde than Brett's, and her skin was always a sun kissed tan from her daytime hobbies at the beach.
He looked from his sister, to his list and let his shoulders sag. "Adora might be coming in for dinner, with a date."
"Ohhh." Tara smiled sympathetically and then her smile dropped. "Wait, Adora has a date? Really? But she's so shy!"
"Yea, but Tom isn't." Brett stood up from his crouch and pressed his lips together. "Tom is one to the twin sons of the new bakery owners. He's in my year level, but of course Dodge made Adora and Iain do the tour guide thing."
"I guess its true when they say 'you snooze you loose'." Tara gave him that sympathetic look again and Brett just nodded. "Sorry hun, maybe they won't come here, maybe it will go badly and she'll come running into the arms of her childhood best friend."
Brett knew she was trying to make him feel better. Tara had been their babysitter when they were younger; the three of them had many good memories, and many of those also included Adora's cousins.
"Maybe." Brett gave her a pathetic smile and looked at the clock, five thirty.