Rough Waters

by Nikki Godwin

  “Let’s go inside,” Colby says, turning toward the patio door. He walks into the kitchen and scrubs the sand and dog slobber off of his hands at the sink. He doesn’t say anything else.

  I walk into the living room and plant myself on his couch. He stares out the kitchen window for a few moments before he turns and picks up a stack of papers from the kitchen counter. Then he walks my way.

  “My parents’ lawyer called me yesterday,” he says, sitting next to me. “He said this was his final offer to pay for all the damage I caused. I have until next Friday to write the check. If he doesn’t have it by the end of business that day, he’s delivering papers to Drenaline Surf and Joe’s house Saturday.”

  He shuffles through the legal papers, avoiding eye contact, while I stare across the room at Shark’s photography hanging on the wall.

  “So you have one week from today to hand over a check or they’re declaring war,” I say.

  “You nailed it,” Colby says. “If I don’t cave in, by this time next week, papers will be packaged up for Saturday morning delivery. So you know what I have to do, right?”

  I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to hear that he’s giving up. He’s a forever chaser. He goes after his dreams. He freaking died to escape his life and make something of himself. Everything he has, he’s worked for. He’s earned it. He and Shark fought for this. Shark would not approve of his surrender.

  “You’re not paying them off,” I say, shaking my head. “It’ll never end. They’ll go through this money, and then they’ll demand more. They’ll always find a way to blackmail you into doing everything they want and giving them anything they wish. If you write that check, you’re caving in to them for the rest of your life.”

  Colby sighs. His shoulders visibly rise and fall with the deep breath. “I know,” he says, catching me off guard.

  “You know?” I ask. “Are you kidding me? You’re actually walking back into this willingly? You’re giving up everything you worked for and giving in?”

  He nods. “There’s one thing more important than my dreams, and that’s Jake McAllister. He gave me all of this. In a weird sense, he brought you here. I’m not letting his name, his store, or his dad go through that hell. Joe deserves better than this. I may have put my parents through hell, but I refuse to put that man through it.”

  I lock my eyes on the photograph I stared at last summer. It was taken underwater, looking up at Colby as he sat on his surfboard. It’s a literal shark’s eye view. Colby had said it was his favorite. Shark believed in him. I wish he’d remember that now.

  “Have you even talked to Joe?” I ask.

  “No,” Colby says. “But as soon as Vin gets back from his business trip next week, I’m turning in a resignation letter and asking to be released from my contract. I have a few matters to take care of before then, but in two weeks, I’ll be back in North Carolina for good.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “So what happens now?” A.J. asks. He sighs and stares at the carousel dolphin in front of him. “Vin and Topher come back tomorrow, and we all just pretend nothing happened?”

  I’ve been overworking my brain for a week trying to answer that very question. What now? How can we move forward, pretending like Topher didn’t almost drown? How do I pretend like Vin didn’t lash out in the hospital or fire me from Drenaline Surf?

  This entire summer has been one wildfire after another, and the flames don’t want to let up. Is this what I came back to Crescent Cove for? I could’ve gone to a community college and been forced into a business degree on the east coast. If I wanted to live someone else’s life, I’d have stayed home. This was supposed to be the summer where I chased down my forever, just like Colby did all those summers ago. Now both of our forevers have been set ablaze.

  “This sucks,” I say. “I didn’t move here for this – to take community college courses and make my parents’ dreams come true. Do you realize that even with a college degree you’ll still be making more money than I will after I slave away with ten-page essays?”

  A.J. glances over his shoulder. I instantly regret it. Yes, he’s a high school drop-out who hasn’t even bothered with a GED, but A.J. is no bum. He has motivation and drive, even if no one else sees it.

  “Thanks,” he says, dramatically rolling his eyes on purpose.

  I toss the wash cloth on the concrete and glance around the massive storage unit of Strickland’s Boating. These carousel sea creatures aren’t getting any shinier. They’re still as dull as my future.

  “I’m sorry,” I say, running my hands through my hair. “I just feel like I’m back at square one, and this time, I have nothing to chase after or hope for. I swear, it’s like my life mirrors Colby’s so much that it’s not even a coincidence anymore.”

  A.J. leans against one of the Jet Skis in the unit and folds his arms over his chest. “It’ll work out,” he says, nodding along. “For you, for Colby, for all of us. Shark’s watching out for us.”

  I laugh. Of course Shark is watching out for everyone. Shark loved these people and had a plan for them. Colby just screwed up, and I accidentally hijacked his plan. He should’ve never made that trip back to North Carolina.

  “Shark isn’t watching out for me, though,” I tell him. “Shark never even knew me. I’m not on his list of endangered species.”

  A.J. shakes his head. “You’re wrong. You’re one of us. You’ve been there for me, Topher, Colby, and even Vin. You’re part of this, and Shark has your back.”

  Everything in me wishes I could believe him. This summer feels cursed, like a bad omen telling me to leave, that I’m not meant to be part of the Drenaline Surf family. Maybe this is Shark’s way of watching out for me. Maybe he’s telling me to get out before the rough waters sweep me out to sea forever.

  I jump when my cell phone buzzes in the silence. A.J. watches while I move toward the glowing screen. The name flashing at me actually scares me. There’s no reason Shark’s dad should ever be calling my cell phone.

  “Hello?” My voice sounds foreign when I speak.

  “Haley, it’s Joe,” he says through the earpiece. “Are you alone?”

  I glance at A.J. but decide not to lie. “A.J. is with me,” I say. “But we’re alone.”

  The next few sentences literally freeze my body. He needs us to come to his house. He needs us not to speak a word to anyone. He’ll explain when we get there. I nod while he talks, unable to verbalize anything in my brain.

  I put my phone in my back pocket after I end the call. Then I turn to A.J.

  “We have to go,” I say.

  I play out every possible scenario on the drive to Joe’s house. Maybe Colby told him the truth about the lawsuit or maybe he’s already turned in a resignation letter. Maybe Drenaline Surf has already been sued, and we’re going under. Shark’s dream and legacy may have already crashed and burned and sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

  Topher’s truck sits in Joe’s driveway when we arrive. That unnerving feeling settles in the pit of my stomach. Topher isn’t supposed to be back in Horn Island until tomorrow. Joe stands on his porch and waves to us when I kill the engine.

  We follow Joe into his living room, and I feel crazy awkward because I’ve never technically been inside Joe’s house before. It feels sacred in a way. It’s almost as weird as what it’d feel like to be in Shark’s house, wherever that is.

  The sunlight pours over the hardwood floors and casts a glow on the living room. Joe motions us to the couch, and I’m thankful to sit because my anxiety would probably slam me into the floor if I had to stand any longer.

  He sits in a chair across from A.J. and me. A shelf with wooden tiki carvings rests against the wall behind him. They remind me of the ones at Kale’s house. It feels rustic and beachy here. It feels like Horn Island.

  “There’s no easy way to say this,” Joe begins. “So I’ll just be straight forward – Vin’s gone. He left last week with no intention of coming back here.”

  He
explains, as A.J. and I pick our jaws up off the floor, that Vin’s business trip to Florida was nonexistent. He signed Drenaline Surf back over to Joe, paid the next month’s rent on his and Topher’s apartment, left some cash for his brother, and headed to Louisiana for some mechanic job on an oil rig. This can’t be real. Vin Brooks would never leave Horn Island.

  “I know this is a lot to take in,” Joe says. “I was surprised at first too, but he’s had so much on him since we lost Jake. He took on too much, and he’s too damn stubborn to let anyone help him. I think he decided to take a page from Colby’s book and run.”

  The irony makes my insides twist around like a tangled octopus. But I don’t think I can truly call it irony. Colby ran for his freedom from something he couldn’t change. Vin could’ve changed his fate at any moment. He didn’t have to run. He just took the coward’s way out.

  “Why did you call me?” I ask. I’m certain Joe knows that Vin and I have been over. I’m one of the last people he should call in this crisis.

  Joe nods like he knew that question was coming. “My son out there didn’t walk to talk to anyone but you,” he says, nodding outside. “I told him I’d call and get you over here.”

  Topher. I honestly don’t even want to go outside and face him because I’m not sure how he’s feeling. If I know him at all, he’s pissed off. He’s probably cursing Vin straight into some fiery pit of hell. Regardless of their problems, Vin’s the only blood family Topher has left. He needs his brother, and Vin may not realize it now, but he needs Topher too.

  “I’ll be outside if you need me then,” I say, forcing myself off of the couch and back toward the door. Like it or not, this is where I have to be right now.

  I walk around Joe’s house, and Topher sits on the beach, near the shoreline. I trudge through the Horn Island sand and attempt to steady my breathing as I make my way toward him. He looks up at me when I stop beside him. I take a seat in the sand.

  “Are you okay?” I ask, even though I know the answer.

  Topher shoots me this ‘you’ve gotta be kidding’ look, which answers my question.

  “I can’t believe he fucking left,” Topher says. “I mean, quitting the store or moving out is one thing, but leaving Horn Island? Who the hell leaves Horn Island? Shark died three years ago, and he’s still in Horn Island.”

  We sit in silence for a few minutes while Topher eats sugar cubes and stares at the rolling waves ahead of us. I don’t think I could go back to a landlocked area. The sound of the ocean is normal now, almost comforting. I wonder what an oil rig in Louisiana will sound like. I wonder if Vin will miss this.

  “Motherfucker,” Topher mumbles. Then he laughs. “He seriously gave up the deed to Drenaline Surf. He paid next month’s rent and left me a thousand dollars on the kitchen counter. He sent me on that damned Ocean Blast Energy trip with Miles so he could pack up and move out. There’s nothing left.”

  He empties the last few sugar cubes from his bag but throws them in the ocean instead of popping them in his mouth.

  “Have you talked to him?” I ask.

  He shakes his head. “I have nothing to say to him right now. He left me a letter with all this bullshit about how he needed to get away and how he couldn’t take the pressure here anymore, like leaving a goddamned letter would make it all okay.”

  I wish there was something I could say. I wish I could tell him that he’s not alone and that he has this whole Drenaline Surf family behind him, but I know it’s not the same. No matter how much they fought, they’re brothers. Vin has been Topher’s lifeline for years. Vin is the only stability he’s had.

  Topher sighs. “I hate asking Joe to make phone calls for me, but I don’t think I can handle telling anyone. I’m going to Miles’s house when I leave here. He already knows. He walked into an empty apartment and goodbye letter with me.”

  “It’s okay,” I say. “I actually thought he was calling about Colby.”

  “Colby?” Topher asks. “What about him?”

  Damn it all to hell. I’ve been the freaking ambassador of keeping Colby’s name and the lawsuit out of Hooligan territory, and I’m the one who blows it all. I can’t tell him the truth – especially now.

  “It was nothing,” I lie. “You know how Colby is. He gets all diva about stuff, and he never got along with Vin. I thought maybe he went above him to complain or something.”

  Topher laughs. “Haley, that’s about the worst bullshit lie you’ve ever told me. Stop protecting me. I’m going to be okay. What’s going on with Colby?”

  I inhale as much west coast ocean air as I can and secretly hope it smothers me so I can’t speak. When I realize I’m still breathing, I decide to just confess all of Colby’s secrets.

  “Look, it’s not my secret to tell,” I say. “But Colby’s parents filed a lawsuit against him, and he’s been ignoring it, but he received word this week that if he doesn’t settle and pay them off, they’re going after Shark’s estate and Drenaline Surf too.”

  Topher doesn’t say a word. He stares at me for a few seconds, but I can’t handle the silence, so I continue spilling Colby’s troubles.

  “At first, he had the ‘fuck you’ attitude because they demanded he move back to North Carolina and change his name back and leave this life behind,” I explain. “But now, he’s planning on leaving because he refuses to let Drenaline Surf or Joe go through that because of him.”

  “You’re serious?” Topher asks.

  I nod. “Yeah, he said Joe deserved better. His exact words were, ‘I may have put my parents through hell, but I refuse to put that man through it.’”

  Topher shakes his head. “No, I know that. He loves Joe, and he loved Shark. I know he’d do anything for them. I meant about the lawsuit.”

  The ocean rages in Topher’s blue eyes, dancing like crazy waters about to join a hurricane. All this time I thought no one believed in Colby, that no one knew who he truly was. I thought Shark was the only person aside from me who saw that light in him. But Topher knows. In spite of everything Vin ever said about Colby Taylor, Topher knows.

  “You believe in him.” The words come out in a whisper.

  Topher nods slowly and sort of looks at me like he’s shocked by my statement. “Well, yeah,” he says. “I was in the store the day he walked in. I knew that look on Shark’s face when he was talking to Colby and talking about his future. It was almost the same look he gave me – almost. I’ve always liked Colby. Vin just made me stay away from him.”

  “Well, you won’t have to worry about that anymore,” I say. I bury my face in my hands. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

  But then it hits me. Vin isn’t the only one we’re losing. Colby’s about to leave too. Colby Taylor is going to cease to exist. He’ll change his name back to Spence Burks and move back to North Carolina and get a fucking law degree. This cannot be happening to us.

  “It’s cool,” Topher says. “My brother’s a dick. We both know that. I hate admitting it, but I’m sort of scared to start making decisions without him.”

  He pushes himself up from the sand and grabs an envelope that was sitting on his other side. He reaches for my hand and pulls me up.

  “He didn’t just leave a goodbye letter,” Topher says, handing the envelope to me. “Take this. Read it when you get home. Let’s just keep it between us…and Joe…and Miles. I’m actually going to crash at Miles’s place tonight. I don’t want to go home. It doesn’t feel right. Can I call you in the morning? After the sun’s up?”

  I nod and wrap him up in the best hug I can give. He holds on a bit too long, which I get – he’s distraught – but I wish he’d let me go so I can see what’s in this damn envelope.

  After we walk back to the house, A.J. lingers on the porch with Joe and Topher for a minute, so I rush to my car for isolation and open the envelope. Before I even unfold the papers all the way, I immediately know what it is – a Drenaline Surf contract…with Topher’s name on it.

  Chapter Tw
enty-Three

  Reed stands over the oven with a pot of boiling water. Alston sits on a barstool playing on his phone. This is how our household looks every night, except I’m usually attempting to help Reed and A.J. is usually outside smoking. I almost hate to wreck their normal little lives with what has happened.

  “Vin’s gone,” A.J. says from behind me.

  Alston looks up from his phone, and Reed turns away from the oven. At least I didn’t have to be the one to say it. Working in a management position at Drenaline Surf has given A.J. a whole new confidence. He steps into the leadership role so easily these days, so I don’t interrupt him as he tells the guys what Joe told him about Vin’s departure.

  “But now a lot of things are up in the air,” A.J. says. “Vin’s gone. We have no real management. I’m just a store manager. I don’t deal with payroll and public relations and marketing. I can check inventory and run the store while he’s gone, but there’s a lot I don’t do or know how to do.”

  Reed walks from the oven to the sink and briefly disappears in a cloud of steam when he drains the water. He darts around the kitchen like a chef on a timer in a five-star restaurant. Then he calmly leans back against the countertop.

  “What about the second store?” he asks A.J. “Is that even an option now? Drenaline can’t open a second store if the first one is at risk of floundering.”

  “That’s what we’ve gotta talk about. Joe asked if I’d keep my job and help him get the store fully staffed. I also told him I’d need a PR rep,” A.J. says as he shoots a look my way. “Joe said I already had the perfect candidate, so if you want your job back, it’s yours. Please say yes.”

  It’s funny how dreams change, like how I came here last summer hoping to escape a corporate life and be a free spirit like my grandmother. I still want to frame Shark’s photos in driftwood, but I could totally do that for my bedroom instead. Being part of Drenaline Surf and Shark’s legacy is so much bigger than any dream I ever had before.