Page 7 of One Last Summer

There’s disappointment in his voice which I take as a good sign. It must mean he’d rather stay here in our own little world with me.

We swim back, not nearly as fast as we came across the water. Once we’re almost to the part where we can stand, I spot someone push through the shrubbery at the top of the rock wall of the quarry—someone very familiar.

“Is that Emmett?”

“What? Where?” Ben asks from behind me.

I tread water and point up at the top of the cliff.

Ben turns his head in the direction I point. “What the fuck?”

Emmett is standing at the top of Dead Man’s Drop. A couple of decades ago, it’s rumored that a teenager jumped from there and died. The police roped it off right after and in all the times I’ve swam here no one has dared to sneak up there to jump off.

“C’mon.” Ben swims faster and I struggle to keep up, leaving me panting for breath by the time we reach where I can stand.

Now I see what all the fuss is about. Half the people are screaming at Emmett to quit playing around and come back down—mostly the girls, and the other half—the guys, are cajoling him on.

“Get your ass down here,” Ben bellows across the water.

“Hey, bro!” Emmett waves like the immature idiot he is at times. If he wasn’t such a teddy bear at heart, people wouldn’t forgive him so fast on the stupid shit that comes out of his mouth.

“How the hell did he even get here?” Ben mutters under his breath. “Don’t you dare fucking jump!” he scolds.

“What, like this?” He propels himself off the edge.

An audible gasp erupts from the crowd as his body sails down from the cliff. My hands fly up to my mouth, bile rises up my throat. My eyes don’t stray, fixated on his body freefalling through the air. Time slows as he’s suspended, the seconds feeling like hours.

He straightens out his body, dropping into the water, causing a giant splash. My breathing lodges in my throat, as we all wait in silence for his head to pop up to the surface.

Out the three Noughton boys, Emmett is the crazy one. Jude is the responsible one, and Ben is the athletic one. Emmett loves to buck the system and holds a wild side to him that gets him in trouble. The people around Willowbrook like to say that if Emmett had been born first, they would’ve been coined the Naughty boys rather than the Noughton boys. But risking his life just to put on a show for the people is taking his rebellious nature too far.

When Emmett doesn’t surface after a few seconds, I glance at Ben and see him step forward, ready to dive in after him. Emmett breaks through the surface, but he’s floating face up in the water.

“Oh my god!” I cry out.

Ben dives in, swimming in his brother’s direction as everyone whispers to one another. Tears spring to my eyes. The Noughton family cannot take another loss, they’ve never fully gotten over their mother dying.

“Emmett! Emmett!” Ben screams.

He’s inches away when Emmett’s eyes spring open and the lower half of his body sinks into the water. His laughter echoing through the warm air.

Ben’s back is facing me, but he stops swimming and treads water. The muscles in his back flex and he splashes water at his brother’s face.

“What the fuck?” Ben shouts.

“Relax, I’m just playing around.” Emmett holds his usual carefree facial expression, not the least bit concerned that he just scared the shit out of everyone.

I don’t know how he manages, but Ben stays afloat and cocks his fist, landing a hard hit on his brother’s face. “You ever fucking do that again and I’ll beat the shit outta you!”

Emmett cringes in pain, his hand holding his eye. Ben swims toward shore. I scowl at Emmett and follow Ben, meeting him on the beach.

“You okay?” I ask in a low voice, my hand on his forearm.

“He’s so fucking stupid.” He flops himself down on the blanket.

“You want a beer man?” Brooks asks, opening the cooler snug in the sand next to him.

“Nah, I’m driving.”

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