Briar Rose (5 page)

Bliss’s lake, located south of town just downstream from Potter’s Mill, had gone through a number of ups and downs in its watery life. By the mid-sixties it was a
dumping ground and its beaches a mess. A concerned group of locals had laboriously cleaned the shoreline and constructed a series of floating docks. Even folks who’d griped about the nature
nuts messing with ‘their lake’ began to enjoy it once again.

According to Briar’s grandfather, the local kids had always congregated at the north-eastern edge of the lake, mostly because it was sheltered from sight. Besides a nice beach, there was a
handy set of woods right behind the parking area in case you wanted some privacy. He’d admitted to taking her grandmother there on more than one occasion, which was just too much information
in Briar’s opinion.

Without breaking her stride, Briar headed for the restrooms located near the parking lot, hoping that nobody had seen her. She ducked inside and was happy to find no else was there, unless you
counted a lone wasp buzzing along the ceiling. She pulled the cosmetics case out of her bag and fixed her face, trying to deal with all the sweat and oil. After more lip gloss and a spritz of body
spray, she was ready to go.

Once she was presentable, Briar headed towards the parking lot. It was already crowded with cars and trucks, with a few bikes in residence, as not everyone had a driver’s licence. The
music rolled up towards her from the shoreline and the bonfire was already lit. The scent of roasting meat and citronella candles hung heavy in the air. Kids were scattered around, some in groups,
some on their own. She guessed there were about thirty of them, ranging from freshmen to seniors, the majority of them from her high school.

As she wove her way through the parking lot, Briar looked for Pat’s car, but it wasn’t here. What if he changed his mind and stayed home? That would screw up all her plans.

She stopped to talk to friends, to find out what was new. Some mentioned the re-enactment; others had fresh gossip to share. Most of the kids were clustered around the bonfire, which was set
inside a pit ringed with concrete blocks and positioned far enough away from the woods to avoid a conflagration. A bucket of water sat nearby, probably some adult’s idea of a fire
extinguisher, though by the end of the night it was a good bet it would be dumped over someone’s head.

The
clip clop
of hoofs made her turn towards the road. Joshua angled his four-footed ride on to an open stretch of grass, climbed down and then tied the horse to a tree with a long
lead. As he petted the sleek black mare with genuine fondness, a Border collie trotted up and parked herself at his feet, tongue lolling.

‘There you are. I wondered if I’d lost you to that rabbit,’ he said.

‘Hey, it’s horse boy!’ someone called out.

A muscle in Joshua’s face twitched, but he didn’t reply. A couple of girls went over to
ooh
and
ahh
over the mare. He was polite with them, answering their
questions, but Briar could tell he was uncomfortable with the attention.

Joshua wasn’t a regular at the lake parties
. Why is he here
tonight?

‘Hey. Happy almost birthday,’ Reena called out as she crossed from the parking lot. ‘How’s it going?’

‘Pretty good. I nearly didn’t get to come. My mom is totally freaking out.’

‘And that’s different, how?’ her friend replied.

Joshua headed their way, the dog on his heels. ‘Hi. Sorry I’m late,’ he said, addressing Reena. ‘Lots of tourists at the stables this time of year so my boss
wouldn’t let me leave early.’

It sounded as if he and her best friend had planned to meet at the party.

‘No sweat. I just got here,’ Reena replied.

Joshua was staring at Briar now, a faint redness to his cheeks. He was dressed in a pale blue T-shirt and jeans that were worn at the knees, and, as usual, his hair was doing its own thing. On
him it looked good. Briar had to admit she’d caught herself checking him out at school more often than was wise. At least when she thought no one was looking.

She started in surprise when the collie’s cold nose nudged her palm.

‘Come here, Kerry,’ Joshua said, slapping his thigh. ‘Leave her alone.’ The dog complied, though the awkwardness of the situation didn’t change.

After Reena cleared her throat, he fumbled in his jeans pocket for something.

‘Umm, Briar, I have a—’ A spike of panic filled his eyes as if he’d just found himself head to head with a nine-foot grizzly bear. ‘Ah . . .’

Reena raised an eyebrow, but didn’t weigh in.

‘I should get Kerry some water,’ he said, and hurried off towards the lake, the dog in tow.

Her friend huffed. ‘Wimp,’ she muttered.

‘What was that all about?’

‘Give me a sec, will you? I need to talk to him,’ Reena said, already on the move before Briar could reply.

Everybody’s weird tonight.

Briar’s cousin waved her over to the picnic bench. Though everyone said they looked similar, Saralyn had shorter hair and bigger boobs, which she liked to show off by wearing tops that
were too small. That little trick bought her a lot of male attention, which she thrived on.

‘What’s up with Joshua?’ she asked. ‘Why’s he hanging around you?’

‘No idea.’

‘He’s just cruising for trouble.’ Saralyn watched a guy walk past, checking him out from head to toe. ‘Cute. Do you know who he is?’

‘He’s a sophomore this year. Name’s Greg something or other,’ Briar replied.

Saralyn adjusted a bra strap, tucking it underneath her sleeveless tee. ‘How’s Aunt Maralee doing? Is she going off the deep end yet about the curse?’

Curse?
‘You know about that?’ Briar hissed under her breath, stunned that Saralyn would blurt out that kind of thing in front of everyone.

‘Yeah. Most of the family does,’ her cousin replied. ‘From what my parents said, your mom’s been nutty since your Aunt Sarah died, only she’s much worse
now.’

‘It’s not like that,’ Briar replied. Though it really was.

‘I never believed the curse was for real anyway. I think it’s just her wanting attention. She’s such a drama queen.’

Before Briar could respond, a familiar sound cut through the party noise. The laugh belonged to her ex-boyfriend and it took her only a few seconds to find him near the bonfire, his arm round a
tall redheaded girl clad in a micro bikini.

The ex.

Mike was an athlete, with a cocky smile and an impressive set of pecs. His light-brown hair had gone summer blond and his eyes were a dark brown. In short, he’d been the perfect boyfriend
and everything had seemed great between them, at least until he’d dumped her a few weeks back.

The memory of that dumping rose along with a thick coat of acid in the back of her throat. Now here he was with another girl hanging all over him. No break-up grief there. Briar checked the girl
out and found that she wasn’t that special: her legs were short, her neck too long and her hair needed serious help.

‘Bet you miss going out with him,’ her cousin observed.

‘What? No way.’ But that was a lie.

She’d liked Mike. He’d been pretty cool, though his constant pushing for them to go all the way had doomed their relationship. They’d sorta come close one night in the back of
his car, but she’d decided it didn’t feel right. When she’d said no, he’d been mad, even though they hadn’t even got their clothes off yet.

Mike had accused her of being a stupid kid, which in guy speak meant he was angry that she wouldn’t put out. From what she’d heard, his new girlfriend didn’t have that
problem.

When Briar rose from the bench, eager to go somewhere where she couldn’t see the pair of them, Mike smirked at her. He said something to his date and she laughed. When they turned away, he
made sure to put his hand on her butt.

Now he was just being cruel.
Jerk.

Another check of the parking lot told her Pat hadn’t arrived yet. The evening was starting to suck.

Maybe I should have just stayed home.

If she left now, Mike would know he’d won, and she’d lose her chance at Pat, the chance to catch herself a really good guy. That would be the ultimate revenge, letting Mike know just
how much she wasn’t missing him.

Needing a friend, Briar looked around for Reena, but she was still talking to Joshua, so she forced herself to wander around, making the rounds half-heartedly. There were lots of happy-birthday
wishes and hugs, which she appreciated, though it was hard to muster sufficient good cheer.

There were also whispers behind her back, and it made her nervous. Did everyone know about her mother’s illness? Were they laughing about it?

Probably.
Bliss loved a good rumour even when it came at the cost of one of their own.

‘Too much drama,’ she muttered.

When someone offered her an unopened can of beer, she broke one of her father’s rules and accepted it.
Why not?
I’m almost sixteen.

After popping open the top, Briar took a sip and quickly discovered that the stuff didn’t taste that great. Since a couple of her classmates were watching her, she nodded and smiled like
it’d actually been good. Maybe that was why beer was so popular – everyone acted as if it was good just to impress their friends.

‘You better hope the cops don’t bust this party,’ Saralyn said as she walked by.

‘Now you sound like my dad,’ Briar replied.

Her cousin muttered under her breath, but she couldn’t catch a word. Briar suspected it hadn’t been very nice. The second sip of the beer made her head buzz and by the third she was
feeling pretty happy. Her worries about her mom were fading, at least for the moment.

She smiled as Reena wandered up. ‘Hey! What are you and Joshua up to? You guys going to hook up or something?’

‘What? No.’ Her friend frowned at the beer. ‘Josh is just having . . . issues.’

‘A Quinn with issues? Who knew?’ Then Briar giggled, rather enjoying the bubbling feeling coursing through her. ‘Sort of like us Roses. We’re all screwed up.’

‘Just how many beers have you had?’

‘Just one,’ Briar replied. She lowered her voice conspiratorially. ‘For the record, this stuff is yucky.’

‘So I’ve heard.’ The frown was still in place.

‘Guess what? You’re
so
not going to believe this one. My mom thinks I’m cursed and that I’m going to croak at midnight. Can you believe that?’

Reena didn’t respond, her eyes wider now.

‘This is the part where you say, “Yeah, your mom’s nuts. Sorry about that, girlfriend.”’

‘She actually said that?’

‘Dad did. It’s why she’s been so crazy recently.’

‘A curse isn’t something to joke about.’

Briar’s attention swung to the parking lot and she smiled. ‘Score! He’s here!’

Her dream guy unfolded himself from his car, and when Pat’s eyes lit on her he smiled in return.

‘Wow, did you see that?’ Briar said. ‘He’s totally hot.’

Her friend gave Pat a cursory glance. ‘Look, he’s just a dude. He’s not a handsome prince and he doesn’t have a fancy castle. Live in the here and now, girl,
OK?’

Briar shot her a glare, furious that her friend had peed on her daydreams . . . again.

Reena pulled her phone out of her pocket. ‘I’m going to call Gran to see what’s going on.’ She stepped away, turning her back to muffle the party noise.

Briar kept watch on Pat as he made his way towards her, stopping along the way to talk to other kids. His dark hair was softly tousled, just short of collar length, and he had a rich tan from
his job as a lifeguard at the local pool. He wore faded jeans, a black T-shirt that moulded to his chest, and a runway model smile.

When Reena turned back towards her, her eyes were wide and her shoulders stiff as she ended the call.

‘Hey, you OK? Something wrong with your gran?’ Briar asked.

‘No . . . she’s . . .’ Reena’s eyes met hers. ‘She didn’t pick up. Gran Lily always picks up.’

‘She’s probably just having a nap or something’.

Reena shook her head. ‘Something’s wrong here. I’m scared that the curse is for real, Briar.’

‘Oh, come on. That’s total crap. I know all the stuff your gran is teaching you is kind of spooky, but seriously – a curse? That’s kids’ book stuff.’

Her friend didn’t respond, but the way she stared at her made Briar take a step back. ‘OK, if you think this curse thing is righteous, what if tonight’s all I’ve got
left? What should I do to make it perfect?’ she said. ‘Here’s a clue: no one wants to go to their grave a virgin.’

Reena’s deep frown told her she’d struck a nerve. ‘Don’t be stupid. Don’t trust that loser. Pat’s not like you think.’

‘Whatever,’ Briar murmured. ‘Go be a bummer somewhere else, OK? I’ve got a guy to charm and you’re not helping.’

‘When you’re ready to go home, find me. I’m going to try calling Gran again,’ Reena said, then cut off towards the water.

Now Briar felt like a jerk. She didn’t like arguing with her best friend. Besides, if tonight was her last night, she wanted it to be special. Memorable.

Feeling her cheeks warm at what that might entail, Briar returned her attention to Bliss’s star athlete and full-time chick magnet. He’d already dated a few girls, but word was that
he was on his own at the moment and she knew that wouldn’t last long. To Briar’s amazement, he’d been paying more attention to her ever since she’d broken up with Mike.

He tracked right for her like she was the only girl at the party.

‘Hey, birthday girl,’ he said. Then, to her surprise, Pat leaned close and dropped a kiss on her cheek. The scent of musky aftershave tickled her nose.

‘Thanks!’ Suddenly self-conscious, she felt lots of eyes on them. In particular, she noted the stern frown on Joshua’s face.

Like he had any reason to be upset.

‘Briar?’ Pat nudged.

‘Huh? Oh, sorry. What did you say?’

‘I said I was hungry. Let’s go stoke up on some food.’

They wandered through the party, chatting with other kids. She couldn’t help but notice the jealous expressions of some of the other girls, including her cousin.