‘Bam,’ he says solemnly. ‘See those people in front? They’re almost at the drop– listen for their screams.’
Like clockwork, the carriage plunges off the edge and the sound of their shrieks floods the air around us. I can feel Aiden’s whole body stiffen as we near their old point.
‘Want me to draw a letter on your arm to calm you down?’ I say jokingly.
For a moment– literally less than a second– his mouth contorts into a smile. In fact, if I saw correctly, I think a small little huff of laughter escaped from his nose as well.
‘Thought you’d be shitting yourself,’ he says, diverting the focus.
‘Me? Never.’ I say, and he scoffs in disbelief. ‘OK, I was. But is that not what this challenge is for? Plus, your fear’s making it easier to forget about mine.’
He turns to face me, a begrudging smile on his face as he prepares to deny his fear one more time. But before he has a chance, our carriage comes to an abrupt halt. My stomach leaps into my throat in time with the steep drop, the world dissipating into nothing but swirls and blurs. The ride ricochets off more sides than I believe possible, tossing us around like rag dolls in the process. I try as best as I can to clamp my jaw shut– to float through this like I’m entirely unfazed– but I needn’t bother. Even my loudest screams are drowned out by the shrieks of the man next to me. I can feel every flex of his annoyingly hard biceps as he bellows and howls, and squeezes hold of me.
We lurch forward as the carriage hits new flat ground, falling back into our seats with a thud. As we slowly coast forward, I’m spared a moment to catch my breath and take in my finally clear surroundings. Once again, all is steady and right with the world. Better in fact, because I now know that Aiden Edwards screams like a baby.
I shriek with laughter, the sound vibrating through my body and rippling into his chest. He still hasn’t let go and a part of me hopes that he’ll keep me trapped in his arms just a bit longer. It’s nothing to do with him, of course, but there’s an odd comfort in his embrace. A small pleasure to be found in the feel of his warm body pressed against mine.
I snuggle closer without thinking and await his inevitable recoil, but it doesn’t come. Instead, he pulls my body closer so he can lightly rest his head on top of mine. The effect is more dizzying than the death-defying drop we just survived on the rollercoaster.
‘I can feel it coming,’ he says.
‘What?’ I ask in a daze.
He’s fretting. ‘The next drop. I can feel it. We’ve been flat for too long.’
‘You think there’s another one?’ I ask.
‘You don’t?’ he replies, his chin rustling my hair each time he speaks.
‘I don’t know. I figured one might be enough.’
‘One is never enough for the maniacs who build these things.’
Screams sound faintly in the near distance, echoing their way back to our terrified ears. Except this time, they come with a grand finale, culminating in a definitive and spine-chilling splash.
‘There’swater?’
My features contort into unbridled fear. Speed, I can do. Drops, I can manage. But water? Water is where I draw the line. I did not account for water. I did not wear the right clothes, or right shoes, or right hair to get wet today.
‘It’s a water park, Maddy,’ Aiden says dryly, regaining some of his trademark bravado.
‘Not every ride at a water park soaks its victims. If I knew I would have brought a coat or plastic bag or something.’
‘It’s just a bit of water,’ he says. ‘We’ll be fine.’
‘You, with less than one inch of hair and no make-up on, may be fine,’ I tut, shifting from his shoulder to try to get a look ahead.
‘If it’s that important to you, why didn’t you check if this was a super soaker beforehand?’
‘Because I didn’t plan this, remember? I just dived in,’ I huff, turning to face him.
His features soften for a moment, a part of him almost proud, before his brow furrows and he starts to jump into action.
‘How long do you reckon we’ve got? Ten? Fifteen seconds?’
‘Not helping,’ I say, the nerves rising in my stomach.
I’ve never been good at being caught by surprise– a lesson my parents learnt very early on. The poor pair found themselves having to make scheduled itineraries for every single planned family day out. One time they tried to be cool parents and take us out of school for a surprise day trip, and I was so outraged that they had no choice but to turn the car around and reschedule for a day when I had fewer commitments, and prior notice.
