The chatter at the table is loud but I can't enjoy it. Instead, I am twiddling my thumbs under the table. With every day that passes, I'm filled with more worry that, that will be the day Elias will tell me what he is planning.
And by what he has told me, Elias is planning to wreak havoc in more than one way.
Something suddenly touches my bare leg under the table. I jump.
"Gosh, I really am scaring you," Alex murmurs with a smile.
I shake my head. "You scared me at the beach once, four days ago."
"Still."
I look at Alex with pursed lips, pretending to be mad. He lightly kisses my head.
"Are you okay, you haven't been yourself?" Alex asks.
I gently rest my head on his shoulder, causing him to put his arm around me.
"Yeah, I'm okay," I sigh.
"You don't seem it."
I pause. "Just... exhausted. I think I really miss home and Sarah. Competing every other week is also getting stressful."
I can't tell him about Elias, but I wish I could.
Alex kisses my cheek. "That's understandable, but we have only been on the road for a month."
"I know! We have seven to go," I groan.
"And I thought you wouldn't be missing home, with your Mum and all."
I groan. My mother and I are still on rocky terms. She sometimes acts like I'm the greatest thing ever and I make her so proud. Other times she will ring me up and just insult me or take out her grief over Margo on me.
I mean, what's new?
She hasn't called me once since being on this trip. Deep down, I wish she would.
"To be honest, I'm not sure," I finally reply.
"You will be fine," Alex whispers to me.
I go to smile but stop myself. What am I doing? He's the one who has real issues, not me. I shouldn't be complaining to him!
My face suddenly starts to feel hot. I look across the table and see Sienna, staring me down.
Gosh, what is her deal?
I try and give her a smile, but that just causes her to look away and be sucked into a conversation with Jack and Sacha.
One minute she hates me, one minute she loves me. I can't win with this woman!
I continue to glance around the table. We are out to dinner at this cool restaurant Justin found. It is our second last night here in Townsville. The only thing I hate about this trip-except for the obvious things-is that we leave all these cool places so soon.
"What do you think the chances of Elias and Sophie getting together will be?"
Bishop, who is sat on my other side, is smiling in my ear.
"What?"
"Look," Bishop smiles, nodding towards the other side of the table.
Trying my best to look discrete, I glance over at the end of the table, where Sophie and Elias are sat together. Elias is in Sophie's ear, whispering things that seem to cause her to giggle. Their hands keep bumping against each other.
"And look under the table," Bishop murmurs, excitement in his voice.
I pull up the table cloth and take a quick peek under the table. Sophie has taken off the red heel she was wearing earlier and is running her foot up and down Elias's leg. Elias has his other hand placed on her thigh, very high up.
My God, I want to vomit.
I sit back up in my seat and look back up at Sophie and Elias.
"Take a look at Georgia's face," I laugh to Bishop.
Next to Sophie is Georgia. Her face has shriveled into a sour frown as she pulls apart the bread she didn't eat from earlier.
"Wow, she is really taking her anger out on that poor little bread," Bishop jokes.
We giggle together.
"I honestly think Elias just wants a lay," I say.
Bishop nods. "Oh yeah. And poor Sophie actually likes him."
Poor Sophie indeed. If only she knew...
I grab my napkin and start fiddling with the edges. Should I? No, I shouldn't. But maybe...
"Do you like Elias?" I ask Bishop.
Bishop looks up at me with confusion. "I mean yeah."
"Wait, really?"
"Of course, he is a fun guy. Sure, I didn't really care for him in the beginning but I think he is coming around," he replies.
He can't be serious.
"Do other people feel this way about him?"
Bishop frowns. "I don't know. Let's find out!"
"Wait-no!"
Bishop turns to his left where Katy is sat.
"Hey, do you like Elias? We are taking a poll to see who actually does," Bishop tells Katy.
I slap my forehead.
Katy smiles. "Yeah, of course, I do."
"I think everyone does," Will suddenly chimes in from across the table.
"What are we talking about?" Lily asks, Will's arm wrapped around her.
"Elias," Bishop simply replies, taking a sip of his drink.
Okay, this is spreading like wildfire.
"Doesn't everyone like him?" Lily shrugs.
No, I want to scream.
"He is actually really fun," chuckles Will.
"I find him the coolest," Mia smiles.
Great, now everyone is joining in. And apparently, they all love him!
"I hope that answers your question," Bishop says, turning back to me.
"Thank you, Bishop," I say through gritted teeth.
Antonio then stands, announcing we will be leaving. I can't get out of here fast enough. We exit the restaurant. The warm night of Townsville hits my flushed face. We are in March now, but the temperatures still couldn't be warmer. That's Queensland for you.
Alex comes up from behind me and I smile. He puts his hand in mine and starts tracing circles with his thumb. It feels warm and comforting unlike how it felt when Elias did it to me a few days ago.
"Excuse me, people!" sings a voice from behind me.
All of a sudden Alex and I have been pushed apart. My footing is lost and I topple onto the cold, hard concrete. Sharp pains shoot up my hip.
Damn it.
"Sienna!"
I look up and Alex is by my side, checking over me. I groan and start scrambling to my feet, Alex helping me up. As I stand, Sienna is in front of me with a small smirk on her face.
"I'm so sorry," she says, placing a hand on my arm. "I didn't even see you guys there."
Alex pushes the hair out off my face. Sienna and I stare at each other.
Yeah right. I don't dare say it though. How could she just barge through Alex and I anyway like we are nothing? She isn't blind!
"That's okay," I murmur.
Sienna, with a smile on her face, spins around and starts marching towards Antonio and Justin. I continue to dust myself off.
"Are you okay?" Alex asks.
I grit my teeth and smile. "I'm okay."
Except for my hurting thigh and grazed knee that stings like hell.
"I'm going to go talk to her, she's been acting weird lately," Alex murmurs to me. "I'm going to talk to her."
Alex leaves me alone in the dark before I can ask him what he means by that. Though I'm not alone for long.
"Did Sienna just push you and Alex away from each other?" Lily cries.
Taking a deep breath, I nod.
Lily, who is still shorter than me even when she is in heels, growls. "God I hate her."
I laugh. "Me too."
"First she is coming for me and Will, now you and Alex."
"Yeah, she gave me some speech about only Antonio and her should be the ones caring about Alex right now."
"She said that?"
"Uh-huh."
"I can't believe the nerve of that woman," Lily grunts.
Antonio suddenly claps his hands together, and Lily and I break away from our conversation.
"Well, team we hope you get a good night's rest tonight," Antonio says with a grin. "Justin and I are going to finalize some things at the stables. I'm sure you guys can make your way back to the motel by yourselves."
Without another word, Justin and Antonio start walking off into the dark streets of Townsville. Not in the direction of the stable though.
"What's the bet they are just going to go to the nearest bar for a nightcap?" Lily whispers to me.
"Highly likely," I laugh.
We all stand together awkwardly. We are in the streets of a random town, nearly all of us are under eighteen and we have no clue where to go.
Suddenly an arm grabs me, and it isn't Lily's. I'm pulled towards someone else.
"We need to talk," Elias's voice whispers in my ear.
I try pulling away, but his grip on my forearm tightens.
"About what?" I hiss.
He smiles. I groan.
"Lily, we will be back," I tell her.
I don't even see Lily's response, I'm just dragged into the darkness next further away from the group.
"What Elias?" I ask when he finally stops pulling me.
"I need you to follow my lead," he says.
This can't be happening right now.
"It is night Elias! What could you be possibly be planning?"
"Just follow along," he demands.
I sag my shoulders and watch hopelessly as Elias breezes past me and towards the others.
"What should we do now?" he asks everyone.
"Dunno, it is late," Jack replies.
"Shouldn't we be going to bed?" Katy asks.
Elias shrugs and just puts his hands in his pockets. "Come one, it is only ten o'clock."
"So we should do something? It is dark." questions Will.
"Back in Sweden, the sun would have set at three in the afternoon, count yourselves lucky."
I start to creep forward.
"We need to go back to the motel," Alex stresses.
"Oh, you were always not very fun," Elias complains.
Alex scowls. I watch as Sienna puts a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
"We need to go out there and have fun," Elias continues.
"What do you propose?" Georgia challenges, stepping forward.
Elias looks her up and down. "Something maybe you couldn't handle."
Georgia pulls a scowl, playing with the chains that are sat around her neck that accompany her blue dress.
"What is it then?" laughs Lily.
Elias looks every single person in the eye for a split second each. When he gets to me, he winks.
"Who's up for a challenge?" he smirks.
Everyone starts to look at each other. My stomach falls.
"We do something in Sweden called nattensjöhoppet," Elias explains, clapping his hands together with a grin. "It means The Night Lake Jump."
"What the hell is that?" Georgia scoffs.
"Something we do at night with the horses."
"But it is dark and very late," Sacha points out.
"If we go out riding now, my dad will kill us," Alex cries.
Elias rolls his eyes. "That's why we don't get caught."
"Hold on," Will interrupts. "Depends what we are doing?"
I can see Alex tense through the darkness.
"It involves getting the horses and going out for a trail ride," Elias smiles.
"In the dark?" Sophie quips.
"Yeah. But that's not the best part. We go out, find a river and then see who can jump across it," he continues.
Everyone falls silent. It is a crazy idea. We could get hurt, our horses could get hurt. There are hundreds of stories of people trying to jump across large embankments. Horses will break legs, people can drown.
And at night? Elias has lost his mind.
"No way," Alex says, breaking the silence. "That might be what you guys do back in Sweden, but not us."
Elias scoffs.
"Alex is right, it is dangerous, we should just go back to the motels," says Georgia.
"Fine okay. Be wusses then," Elias shrugs. "What do you think Maddie?"
Elias turns to look and me with a grin. I feel everyone's eyes on me. I don't want to be here right now, I want to leave. I want to just tell the truth but why is it so damn hard?
I have to go along with Elias.
"Oh, umm. Seems like it could be fun. I'm up for the challenge," I reply, trying to sound as confident as possible.
Elias nods, satisfied.
"Maddie," cries Alex. "You can't be serious?"
I don't look at him. "It seems fun, Alex."
"This is crazy!" Georgia scoffs.
"Actually... it could be fun," Sophie says.
No Sophie, don't agree.
"It should be okay," Jack then says.
I see Lily and Katy nod to each other. Have they lost their minds?
"What do you say, Will?" Elias asks.
Will folds his arms in front of his chest. "I'm not a wuss and this seems cool. I'm in."
Elias points at Will with a laugh. "I love this guy."
"Then let's ramp up the stakes," Will cheers. "Let's go bareback."
"What?" I cry.
"Seems good," Elias agrees.
How are they agreeing to this?
Everyone slowly starts to put in their agreements and Elias winks at me. This is all my fault.
"You two in?" Elias asks Georgia and Alex, who have stayed silent this whole time.
The two glance at each other.
"No," Alex replies, his eyes fixed on me.
"Georgia?"
Georgia fiddles anxiously with her chains again.
"We will all get it if you say no," Elias shares. "We wouldn't want you breaking a nail, now would we?"
"Fine," Georgia snaps.
"Then let's go," Elias cheers.
What have I done? I've endangered not just Virgo but everyone else's horses.
Elias starts walking away from the restaurant and everyone follows. Trying to not hyperventilate, I slowly trail behind. Through the darkness, I see an angry Georgia strut towards me.
"Nice job," she growls.
I open my mouth to speak but she is already gone.
"What the hell were you thinking?"
My arm gets yanked and suddenly I am in front of an angry Alex.
"People are going to get hurt," he snaps.
I struggle to look him in the eyes. "I wasn't thinking okay? I just think it sounds fun."
"What part of riding at night while bareback and jumping over water sound fun?"
I grit my teeth. "I don't know!"
I have to get back Margo's necklace. I must. I'll do anything for it.
"God you are an idiot," Alex snaps.
My cheeks start to get hot and I feel like a knife has just been stabbed through my heart.
Alex jams his hands into his pockets and he turns away from me, walking in the opposite direction of everyone else.
"Alex!" I cry.
He doesn't look back, continuing to walk further into the darkness.
----------------------------------------------------
The horses are flighty. They can't see anything through the pitch-black night. When the trees rustle or a bush shakes, we all hang on tightly so their fear leaps don't send us to the ground. My heart rate is high and my mouth has gone dry.
Elias has led as lead us into an area that is off-limits to the public. If we get caught...
"We should find somewhere soon," calls Elias from the front.
Virgo spooks at Elias's voice. I cling to his mane so I don't fall onto the muddy ground. This is terrifying. I don't want to do this and by the looks of terror on Mia and Katy's faces, who are riding beside me, they don't want to either.
I look down into the murky water that is to our right. We are meters from the bank of the Ross River. The stable's back paddocks lead out onto a slightly narrow part of the river. Thick trees crowd us and there isn't much of a path for the horses.
Elias is looking for a place narrow enough for the horses to jump across. I'm surprised he doesn't just make us swim across the river and let us drown.
All of the sudden, Cobra halts, causing Virgo to suddenly stop. I lurch forward and land on his neck.
"This spot looks good," Elias cries.
Fantastic, I think, pushing myself back onto Virgo's back.
Elias pushes Åska to face the rest of us. "Who would like to go first."
No one makes a sound.
I look out at the river. In the darkness, I see it is a few meters wide and the landing area on the other side seems even narrower. The water flows at a quick pace, the sound of it rushing echos around us. One false move and we could get swept away.
I start to become paralyzed.
"Okay then," huffs Elias after he only receives silence. "I'll show you it is safe."
I make out Elias giving Åska a kick in the guts, sending the horse forward. Elias sits on Åska's back perfectly as they trot down to the bank. Åska starts to slow as they reach the water but Elias gives him another huge kick. Åska listens and springs across the dark water onto the other side.
"Easy!" cries Elias.
No that looked terrifying!
"Okay, if you can do it, I can do it," Will laughs.
I watch, still frozen, as Will collects Romeo's reins. He pushes Romeo into a forward trot. The chestnut pricks up his ears as they trot down the bank. At the last second, Romeo digs his hooves into the ground and lets out a snort.
He's too scared.
Will clicks his tongue, nudging Romeo on with his heels. Then like a cat, Romeo leaps into the air and crashes onto the other side of the river. Will and Elias both whoop. I let out a sigh of relief.
"Who's next?" Will calls, hands in the air.
We all look around at each other, all hoping someone else will volunteer. It feels like we are in the Hunter Games.
"What about Maddie?" I hear Elias shout from the other side of the river.
Damn it. What does he think he is doing? I'm meant to be helping him and he is going to force me to do it!
Everyone suddenly turns to me and I feel my finger start to quake. I can do this. Me and Virgo will be fine.
The look of the dark, bottomless river isn't so appealing though.
I take a few sharp breaths and stroke Virgo's glossy neck. "We will be fine, chocolate head. Just make it over."
I shorten my reins and feel Virgo's back start to sway under me as we trot. My legs hang loosely by his sides as we trot down to the embankment. Virgo's ears are pointed forward and I can feel him start to slow.
He has never had to jump a full-on river before.
Just as Romeo had done, Virgo plants his hooves into the mud and rocks back. I grip with my calves and sit back so I don't fall into the river. I try and push my nerves aside, nudging Virgo on with my heels.
He just lets out a few loud snorts, too terrified of the water to jump it.
"It's okay," I soothe, trying not to let my voice get too high.
I nudge Virgo once more which is enough to convince him to jump it. I am catapulted through the night sky as we soar over the river. I squeeze my eyes shut, praying that I don't land on the ground.
Miraculously I don't and Virgo's hooves land back onto the ground, causing me to slam into his bony back.
"Ow," I groan.
"Well done," Elias says to me, walking Åska up to me.
I glare at him. "Thanks..."
"Katy! You go!" Will cries to the other side of the river.
He has to yell over the deafening sound of the water.
Through the darkness, Katy, on a shaky Cobra, breaks away from the group. I can make out a slight frown etched on her face.
When Katy asks Cobra to walk forward, the gelding tosses his head and lets out a snort. Katy struggles to get Cobra to even move away from the group. He scrambles and tosses his head, not willing to budge.
I bite the inside of my cheek in worry.
"Katy doesn't have to do it," I murmur to Will and Elias.
"She will be fine," Elias replies gruffly, shutting me up.
I go back to watching Katy struggling to trot Cobra down to the bank. My heart is in my throat and it leaps into my mouth when I watch Cobra rear. The horses behind him are getting anxious now too.
"Come on buddy," I hear Katy say.
Cobra, still tossing his head, edges closer to the bank. He dips his head and snorts at the water, eyes wide. There is no way he is coming to jump this.
Katy continues to struggle not only with trying to get Cobra over the water but trying to stay on his back. This whole let's go bareback idea really was stupid.
"You got this Kate!" Lily suddenly calls through the darkness.
That is the push Cobra needs. The gelding spooks at Lily's voice and suddenly launches himself forward. I watch as he doesn't go up, but out.
Cobra's front legs scramble through the air before crashing into the water. The river is much deeper than it looks and I gasp. Cobra tumbles forward sending both Katy and him under the water. I freeze. Dark shapes scramble under the water. Bubbles start to appear at the surface.
I watch, hoping that they will come back up to the surface, but they don't. My hands start to shake and I can feel vomit start to rise up my throat. With each second that passes, my panic grows, spreading across my body. This is just like the night Margo died.
"Katy!"