A Beautiful Mess

Chapter 9

It had been two weeks since Sydney's visit to Cole's home, and true to his word he had avoided her, and so had everyone else on the dig site. Sydney had fallen back into her routine of caring for Flora on the weekends, thankful that Cole had not asked her to stop.

They were five weeks into the dig which meant that they only had five more weeks to left. Halfway done. Halfway to ending her misery. Halfway to never seeing Cole again, not that she saw him all that much as it was, but there was always the hope that she would.

It was Friday which meant that she would have Flora to keep her company that evening. Now that she had the car, it made going back and forth between the trailer and the hotel much easier, but she was still choosing to sleep at the trailer on the weekends. She would leave at her usual time, go to the Millers' and have dinner, then come right back to the trailer and settle in for the night. Cole always left as soon as the site was locked up, which meant that he was gone by half past six, so bumping into him was never an issue.

Sydney was so caught up in trying to decide which book she was going to read that evening that she was caught totally by surprise when the door to the trailer flew open and Cole stood before her frowning heavily.

"I didn't do it!" she denied, putting down the piece of pottery she had been cleaning with shaking hands. She wasn't sure if her hands were shaking because Cole looked so displeased or because she was finally seeing him after two very long weeks.

His eyes scanned her face taking in every detail before he spoke. "I need your help."

"Ouch, I bet that hurt you to say," was her quick reply.

"This is serious." He motioned with his hand as he stepped back out of the trailer.

Sydney was curious as she jumped up and followed him out of the trailer and towards the waiting golf-cart that he and Theresa used to get from one end of the site to the other with ease. She climbed in next to him, aware of their closeness in the small space.

They arrived, a few minutes later at an old well, and Cole stopped the golf-cart with a squeaking of breaks. He jumped out and waited for her to join him on the other side of the cart. Sydney had the brief thought that there might be some manners buried deep within him somewhere. That thought only lasted a minute as she looked over at the well and saw Theresa, Paige, and Peter waiting for her and Cole to join them.

Sydney didn't have the choice to do anything but join them as Cole put a pressing hand into the small of her back driving her forward. She guessed she should be pleased that he wasn't pulling on her arm and dragging her.

She noticed that Theresa looked grumpy, Peter looked curious, and Paige looked worried. As soon as she reached them she heard a small whimper coming from the well, and she stopped, looking up at Cole with concern.

"There's a dog trapped at the bottom of the well. I don't hear any splashing, so I think it's dry, but it's deep." Cole filled her in as she peered over the side into the dark abyss below.

The well was a good four feet above ground level, and she supposed there was a chance that the dog could have jumped in accidentally while chasing something, at least that's what she hoped had happened because the thought of someone throwing the dog down the well broke her heart.

"What can I do?" Sydney asked, confused. She looked up at him then at the others, and as she noticed Paige's concerned look, she knew what he wanted.

"You're the only one that will fit," Cole said, knowing she had finally figured out why she was there.

"No, Paige and Teresa are just as thin, maybe thinner. They'll fit," Sydney insisted. She had a deep-rooted fear of enclosed spaces. Her sister had locked her in a cabinet under a bathroom sink when they were little. It had been during a game of hide-and-seek, and Angel had claimed to have not been able to find her, but Sydney had watched her lock it through the crack between the doors. Sydney had known why. It had been because Paige was coming over to play and Angel was determined that Paige should like her better.

It had taken them until after dinner to find her. She had been in the cabinet for over ten hours. She had never let Angel know how scared she had been, but she had told Paige, and that was why Paige was now looking at her with such concern.

"You're the lightest," Cole said reaching for a harness and rope.

Sydney could hear the dog crying and the clanking of the metal of the harness, and she thought she might faint at the thought of going down that dark hole. What if the harness broke, what if the dog bit her, who knew what lay at the bottom of the well, what if there was a dead body or something?

Realizing that her thoughts were getting out of control, she took a deep breath and looked at Paige. Paige gave a subtle nod promising her that she wouldn't leave her behind, but it wasn't enough as she looked back down the hole.

Paige came to stand behind her. "You can do it, Syd," she whispered as she held out her pinky, "I promise not to leave you."

Sydney swallowed hard, took her pinky with hers, and closed her eyes. When she opened them, it was to find Cole looking questioningly between the two of them. Paige gave him a brilliant smile and took a step back.

She knew Cole's look meant that it was only a matter of time before he wormed the truth out of her or Paige. Sydney knew she would hold strong, but Paige was weak, and when he found out the truth it would be game over where her heart was concerned. Cole would no longer have a reason to be mad at her, and he would have to reject her outright. For now, at least, she could blame Cole's rejection on the fact that he thought poorly of her based on a misunderstanding, not because he didn't think she was pretty or smart enough or whatever the case would be. At least now Sydney knew he didn't want her based on a falsehood.

Cole moved in and held the harness instructing her how to step into it. She was trembling, and she knew he had to feel it. He had bent down to hold the harness while she stepped into it, and she had to place both of her hands on his strong shoulders to keep her balance.

Sydney quickly forgot the dark void that awaited her as Cole's hands skimmed her legs and waist as he pulled the harness into place. She was glad that she had worn shorts that day. His hands continued to push and pull the harness skimming some personal parts of her body, and she was enjoying every minute of it, and she got a distinct feeling that he was as well because it seemed to be taking him a long time to make sure everything was secure.

"Stop feeling me up!" she hissed softly in his ear when he bent down to check a buckle one last time.

"Just making sure your safe, Syd," he insisted. His use of her nickname confirmed that he heard her and Paige's exchange. He put a headband around her head that had a light on it, and he strapped a flashlight pointing down on one of the straps of the harness.

"The thought of what you might do in your spare time scares me," Sydney muttered as she watched his expert handling of the equipment.

Cole gave her a grin that made her knees weak. It was the first smile he had ever directed at her, and she felt like she had won the lottery. She wanted to throw her arms around him and kiss him, but he didn't give her a chance as he spun her around and pushed her towards the well.

"What if I get down there and the dog attacks me?" Sydney tried to stall.

"Here," Theresa said, handing her some pepper spray, "use this and scream."

It wasn't the best plan since it would blind her too, but it was something she supposed as she gripped the can tightly.

"We'll let you down slowly, yell if you need us to stop." Cole didn't give her a chance to be nervous after that. He scooped her up and held her tight to his chest as he approached the well. "I won't let you go," he promised.

If only he would never let go of her and hold her close forever, she thought as he sat her on the edge of the well before telling her to swing her legs over.

She did, and she almost threw-up. Cole went over some quick repelling tricks, none of which she heard, before he stepped back and told her to lower herself down. As she did so, she felt like the darkness was rushing up to meet her.