Take Me to the Lake Read online

  For Mum and Dad

  You blessed me with wings and encouraged me to soar, teaching me the sky is the limit, and for that, I am grateful.

  Contents

  Dedication

  Preface

  Acknowledgements

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Preface

  Writing has always been a passion of mine. When I was little, I would write down anything my imagination came up with, whether it was a short story, characters and their backgrounds, or just a different universe entirely. I especially enjoyed writing poetry, and when I took part in a competition through my primary school to write a poem about bullying, I used my experiences of being a victim of it to write a piece. I never thought I would win the competition at only nine years old and get to have it published in a book with other winners throughout the country, or two years later to have another poem published, this one written about homelessness.

  It was only as I got into my teens that I decided to have a go at writing a novel in the six-week holidays, but once I’d written it, I didn’t think to do much with it other than be proud of myself for drafting a whole novel. I wasn’t the most confident of teenagers, so the thought of showing what I’d written to anyone was enough to make me run for the hills.

  Years went by, and in my twenties, life took me down a path of some sort that I wasn’t expecting it to, an emotional rollercoaster I wasn’t prepared for, with plenty of twists and turns. I had many feelings that I’d never experienced before and didn’t know how to make sense of them. I decided that the best way to deal with these emotions was to put pen to paper, so I did, but instead of just writing how I felt, I chose to create a character who could feel my emotions for me.

  Coral, the main character in the novel, had different reasons for feeling the emotions she experienced, and she reacted to them in different ways than I did. The situations messing with her emotions were not like mine, but being able to describe them in such a creative way spurred me on to do so much more than just write about one character and how she felt. Instead, I created a whole world surrounding this character with a mystery to solve and so much more than I expected from the start.

  In the end, years later, after starting and stopping my writing of this novel, I found myself again. I was on a much clearer path and had finally found a way out of the darkness, and I was able to finish the novel, and finally had the confidence to show it to the world.

  So, in a sense, this book is to show people that no matter what darkness you may find yourself in and how tough situations may be in your life, it’s not forever; you can find a way out and back into the light again, no matter how long it takes.

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to Grosvenor House Publishing for giving me the opportunity to make my dream of becoming an author a reality. Everyone at Grosvenor House Publishing has been so welcoming from the very first day, willing to help in any way they can, and providing all the help and positivity I could ask for. Also, a huge thank you to Melanie for all you have done – you put my mind at ease throughout the process and have been so forthcoming with giving advice and support along the way.

  Thank you to my mum and dad for bringing me up to know that the sky is the limit, and that if I put my mind to anything, then I can do it. Especially that no matter how many hurdles get in my way, anything is possible; there’s no such word as can’t when it comes to wanting to achieve my dreams.

  I also have huge gratitude to everyone who has supported me over the years, whether that be back in my teenage years or throughout my twenties – your love and support has never gone unnoticed, and you’ve helped me get back on my feet in more ways than I can list. It’s helped me to become the woman I am today.

  Above all else, thank you to every author of every book that I’ve ever had the privilege to read and get sucked into the world they have created, never having the strength to put the book down and stop reading. Books have always accumulated in my bedroom, and they will continue to do so. I will always be a bookworm, and that’s because of the immensely brilliant authors out there who I’ve grown to love from childhood to adulthood – a constant inspiration for the creative imagination I will continue to let flourish. You let childhood Sophia explore many worlds, with many characters and many stories, and that will always hold steady in my heart, and will continue to do so throughout every book I get to lay my eyes on and delve into.

  1

  Coral frantically scanned the road outside the sixth form block of her school, and a sudden rush of relief consumed her as she spotted her best friend’s pickup truck. Charging across the road like a rhino, despite oncoming cars, she swiftly opened the truck door, slid through the gap and hopped in, throwing her bag into the back.

  “Go, Iris, go,” she shouted, forcefully slapping her hands down onto the dashboard. Iris put the vehicle into gear and sped off down the road, dodging out of the way of a car pulling out of the school gates, blasting their horn in disgust at her sudden burst into the road.

  “What happened?” Iris asked in a panicked tone, checking the road behind them as her eyes darted from the road to the rear-view mirror like a scared animal would in a heightened chase. Coral didn’t answer, her mind elsewhere, thinking about what she would do tonight. Probably the usual; blasting music and knocking back unlimited amounts of vodka or whiskey, which she’d always kept hidden under her bed, or maybe she’d roll a few spliffs and see what happened…

  Pain suddenly shot through Coral’s arm, disrupting her thoughts and returning her to the current situation of present life.

  “Ouch!” she shrieked. “Why did you nip me?” she asked, rubbing her arm and looking at Iris, sending piercing daggers her way.

  “Because you’re having me drive like a lunatic, and you’re not explaining why! Are we being chased? Did you piss someone off?”

  Coral smiled to herself. “Well, I was getting chased, and I most definitely pissed someone off; I was due to have detention with Mr Rowland and had to make a run for it. It’s not like he could’ve caught up with me anyway; he walks like he’s shit himself most of the time. It’s Friday. No way was I staying behind to listen to him ramble on and on.”

  Iris looked at her for a split second with absolute fire in her eyes before returning her focus to the road. “I can’t believe you made us nearly crash because you chose to skip detention. You need to get back on track, Coral, it’s getting ridiculous now, and you’re nearly at the end of sixth form. It’s almost the start of real life outside of the school gates for you; you need to wake up and realise this.”

  Coral sighed, rolling up the sleeves on her hoodie and turning her gaze to Iris with the best puppy dog eyes she could muster up.

  “Take me to the lake.”

  That was the famous sentence of Coral Bayles. She would forever use this five-word sentence to free herself of life, and the only person who could ever bring her to her freedom was Iris, her Latina bombshell of a best friend. She always knew what Coral needed, whether it was booze, good music or an escape in the truck on the open road. However, Iris also gave her plenty of life advice, trying her best to keep her on the straight and narrow, but Coral knew she was too deep in, to the point of no return and had been for a long time. We can’t all be perfect, she thought. It would take way more effort to be perfect anyway, and who has time for that?

  From when Coral was in single figures of age, right up to before she was a teenager, Iris and Kruze, Coral’s brother, had been friends for years. They’d worked on homework projects together for their ICT and business class, creating joint PowerPoint presentations and revising for exams with each other; that was how Coral and Iris’s long-lasting friendship began. Once, when Iris came over to study with Kruze, there stood twelve-year-old Coral, innocent and willing to make a new friend out of Iris, no matter the age gap. She’d waited years to pluck up the courage to ask her without being embarrassed, watching Iris and Kruze in awe of the friendship they had, but Iris thought Coral was sweet and could tell she looked up to her, so she took that on board and helped Coral through every milestone she hit, or tried to at least. She was the older sister Coral never had, in a sense, in more ways than one.

  Coral continued to stare out of the window as Iris drove them on the long winding roads until she pulled into the lay-by and turned off the engine. Luckily, there weren’t many cars parked up in the afternoon sun, and as Coral hopped out of the truck, stretching her legs, she could just see in the distance a few dog walkers and a couple who were walking hand in hand. She took a deep breath and smiled to herself; being outdoors was something Coral loved doing the most. Right back from when she was a child, the fresh air filling her lungs made her feel more alive than anything as if she were an eagle ready to take flight or a wolf ready to howl and run with its pack; in those moments, it felt so much easier to breathe.

  Iris joined her at the front of the truck, and they took the dirt path together, walking down through the trees to the water’s edge. Coral wriggled out of her hoodie and tied it lazily around her waist, causing the sudden change in temperature to make her skin feel less clammy. As their p
ace slowed at the sight of the end of the dirt path, they both stood looking out across at the exquisite scene in front of them; the sun glinting off of the water as if beneath the shimmering depths lay glittering crystals waiting to be discovered.

  Iris crossed her arms over her chest, not in a self-conscious way trying to hide away from the world, because that wasn’t how Iris thought of herself, but instead, Coral could see it was most likely from feeling awkward at where they were stood.

  “I still don’t know how you do it,” Iris said in a low voice, now looking at the ground, kicking away a few twigs and stones by her feet. Coral turned to her, trying her best to force a smile at her best friend but struggling ever so slightly.

  “Do what?” she asked, even though she knew full well what it was that she meant. Sometimes she just wanted to hear it. It made it feel quite real at times, as if she needed reminding it wasn’t just a bad dream she once had, but instead the grotesque reality she lived and breathed every single day.

  “You know… coming to the lake after... what happened here.”

  Coral turned away and looked out at the lake in front of her. Such a beautiful place full of such sorrow, but only if Coral allowed it to feel that way, which she tried extremely hard not to do on a regular basis. That’s what the alcohol and drugs were for, to drown it out and surround her like a comfort blanket.

  “Well, the lake holds more good memories than bad ones for me,” she said, cupping her hands over her eyes as the sun edged its way from behind a tree ever so slightly. “Plus, the lake parties here are immense, so I definitely can’t miss out on those, can I?”

  Iris smiled at Coral, but she could still sense the haunted look in her eyes.

  Coral knew that everyone was aware of the lake and its ghost stories, especially hers, but she did her best to ignore it and block it out. Either that, or she’d end up back in the base of the black hole that once engulfed her years ago, and she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to climb the slick black walls of it this time without giving up completely.

  Taking a moment to think, she realised she was only halfway out of this bad place she’d mentally been in for years. Coral tried to convince herself she was fully out of it, but she knew even saying halfway out was beyond an exaggeration. This black hole in her mind and chest always reminded her of the rabbit hole from Alice in Wonderland, but instead of falling down it and ending up in Wonderland, Coral ended up in pure torturous hell. Maybe one day, she wouldn’t have to convince herself anymore, and it would be a complete truth of her progress that she was out of the black hole and back into the fresh, vibrant, colourful world everyone else seemed to live in. Maybe one day she’d be truly at ease with her life.

  I can wish and hope, Coral thought.

  Iris cleared her throat, completely interrupting Coral from her thoughts and said, “Are you even listening to me?”

  Coral shook her head, completely having lost track of what Iris had even said in the first place.

  “I agreed with you; you can’t miss out on the lake parties, and neither can I,” Iris said, draping an arm over Coral’s shoulders. Iris squeezed her shoulder and said, “Speaking of, how do you feel about engagements?”

  Coral raised an eyebrow at Iris and smirked, pleased with the change of topic, suddenly feeling the sensation that her body was relaxing a little. “Listen, Iris, if that was your way of proposing to me, I’ll have to pass. I mean, the lake is a good scenic place to do it, but I like the idea of someone getting down on one knee for me.”

  Iris smirked back at her and said, “That doesn’t surprise me. We all know about you getting down on one knee yourself, or maybe both knees,” and to that, Coral leant away, pulling an exaggerated half shocked face while laughing and lightly punched her friend in the arm. Iris started laughing too; any fragments of the negative vibes that were there between them moments ago had now fluttered away in the breeze. “Anyway, I don’t know if you remember a jockstrap jack-off of a guy I knew at school?”

  Coral stretched her arms above her head, saying, “I’ll need more than that, Iris. There’s a whole list that comes under that sort of description.”

  “Mason; he was in mine and Kruze’s business class. Anyway, so he’s now engaged to his girlfriend Brianna, and because I’ve been such a good neighbour to Bri-Bri over the years, I got an invite, including a plus one. So, if you don’t mind having to drink a hefty load of alcohol at a lakeside party with yours truly, then you are more than welcome to be my date tomorrow night.”

  Coral grinned and launched herself at Iris, wrapping her arms around her. “This is one of the many reasons why I love being your best friend; you understand my destructive needs completely.”

  ****

  After Coral and Iris had spent a handful of hours by the lake, talking about a range of things, laughing and joking until the sun had dipped enough for them to call it a day, she dropped Coral off back home. Coral looked up at her little house as she heard Iris pull away from the pavement; the dull early evening sky that circled above it that always seemed to be there was getting darker by the second. No matter how sunny a day it had been, it always seemed gloomy above her house. Suddenly, all the positive vibes she had from her and Iris’ sing-along on the way home were quickly vacuumed away and replaced with a pang of cold dullness.

  Coral’s home used to be the one people talked about in the best way; the one where even if they only caught a glimpse, they’d instantly get a good sense of knowing it was full of happiness and love inside, just as it showed on the outside. It was always kept pristine, both inside and out, and the garden was always immaculate, full of arrays of flowers to brighten any day. People would come over just to say hello, to admire what had caught their eye and would be so hopeful of an invitation to come in and see just how beautiful the inside could be, if it was anything to go by from what they’d witnessed outside of the house. Who’d have thought one person leaving could have such an effect on the remaining family and its surroundings, Coral thought.

  As Coral reached the front door, she placed her forehead against it and closed her eyes, feeling the coldness of the glass seep through her skin to her mind, merging itself with the icy darkness that had made a home in there already. She always struggled the most at home; even with her family around her, it still felt dysfunctional and broken beyond compare. The home that was once full of life now felt like an empty carcass.

  If she had enough money, she’d most likely get her own place with her boyfriend Dylan and escape fully, but she knew she couldn’t, and as much as she despised the thought, she did have to get through the rest of her final weeks of sixth form, as Iris kept reminding her. She could almost picture her friend now, looking at her with both sympathy and sternness, saying failing isn’t an option if you want a future. But that was the thing; Coral wasn’t sure if she did want a future.

  Using the last segment of energy that she could muster, Coral made her way through the front door, and as she closed the door behind her, Kruze walked into the hallway, alerted by the only sound in the eerily quiet house. He gave a tired smile in her direction before looking in the hallway mirror.

  “How was school?” he asked her, fixing up his uniform, looking as smart and nerdy as ever. Having a brother in the police force instantly made Coral feel that little bit safer, but she did worry that he overworked himself most days. Not that there was any need for it to feel safer than it was; there wasn’t much chance someone would break into their house, unless someone had a way of stealing emotions. If that was the case, she’d open the door and happily invite them in to steal away every last speck of sadness and anger and let them take it all with them to dispose of somewhere far away from here.

  At first, it was a lot to take in every day, breathing in the cold gloom that haunted the house, sticking to the walls and burrowing into every nook and cranny. But so many years had passed that the cold feeling had become normal room temperature to her; to them all, so much so they hardly even noticed it still lingered, completely numb to it. Probably because it was the only choice they had, accepting it was here to stay.

  “It was fantastic. I love it so much that I might even consider extra classes after school, just for the fun of learning more,” Coral said, looking deadly serious. Kruze rolled his eyes.