The-Lucky-List-Rachael-Lippincott

“I think I lost a boob on impact,” I say, double-checking that my black bathing-suit top is still in
place and that both my boobs are still there. “Oh, thank God,” I add, breathing a sigh of relief. “ey
made it.”
We both burst out laughing, giling as we swim toward the shore, the water slowly getting shallow
enough for us to stand on the slippery, mossy rocks at the bottom. I stumble, and Blake reaches out
quickly, grabbing on to my arm to steady me. e two of us tiptoe carefully around the jaed stones
and twigs covering the shore and make our way to the trail leading back up to the cliff.
I gaze up in awe, slightly impressed I fell all that way and lived to tell the tale. It was nowhere near
as neat as Blake’s graceful little dive, but a cliff jump is a cliff jump. I did it.
Blake turns to look at me, her brown eyes glowing almost amber in the sunlight.
“You up for a round two?”
My heart beats loudly in my chest, my shins tingling from the smack of the water, the burn
suddenly more intense at the thought of a second jump.
I feel… exhilarated, though. Like my body’s been asleep and I just woke it the hell up. Like I haven’t
ever used it properly and it wants me to, long-dormant adrenaline coursing through my veins, making
me feel like I can conquer just about anything.
Making me feel the tiniest bit… invincible.
My adrenaline rush forces a nod out of me, which provokes a smile so big and genuine out of Blake,
I can see every tooth, and the gap between the first two. It’s adorable and my heart rate spikes again,
because I know that smile’s there because of me.
I don’t know why that matters so much, but it does.
“You going to do a flip this time?” she asks, clearly joking.
I roll my eyes at her, my legs still stinging. “Blake, I’m honestly just trying not to give myself a
permanent wedgie this time. Last jump was a close call.”
We make our way back up the trail, faster now, the excitement of the first jump fueling us, even as
the dirt clings to our wet feet. Blake pulls me back up onto the uneven rock, and this time I’m able to
finally look out at the view.
Really look, now that my vision isn’t clouded by as much fear or vertigo.
e lake is glittering, there are trees as far as the eye can see, and… Blake’s mom was right. From up
here, everything does feel small. What happened at Snyder’s Orchard with Matt. What happened at
junior prom. Even the house that soon won’t be mine anymore.
But what she didn’t tell me to expect is that by everything else shrinking away, it leaves room for
other things to become bier. Something that sometimes feels so small and far away can suddenly feel
closer than it has in years.
Three years, to be exact.
My mom. She taught me to live so fearlessly. And I’ve spent all this time since her death pushing
that away because her words were so completely drowned out by everything that happened to her.
We jump for the rest of the aernoon, each plummet o the cli less scary than the last. Blake, of
course, does a flip or two. I cringe every time she does, holding my breath until her head resurfaces,
completely unharmed.
Aer a while we sit on top of the cli, our legs dangling over the ledge as the aernoon sun begins