by Jody Morse
I found myself staring back into Jackson’s intense blue eyes. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” I replied, stepping out of the grip he held on me. “I was just going back.” I took a step forward, expecting him to follow me. When he didn’t, I turned to him. “You’re not supposed to just abandon your chair while you’re on duty either,” I pointed out.
“I always help friends whenever they’re in need,” Jackson replied coolly, shrugging his shoulders.
I walked a few steps further before saying, “So, I’m your friend now, huh?”
Jackson’s lips turned into a cocky grin. “Well, I figure . . . I’m in chair twelve for the rest of the summer, and you’re in chair thirteen. We’re practically neighbors, so we might as well make the best of it, right?”
“I suppose,” I replied, even though I wasn’t completely convinced that I wanted to be his friend. Maybe I should just do what Gram always says to do when people are giving you a hard time—forgive, but never forget.
“So, friends, then?” Jackson asked, extending his hand to me.
“Friends,” I replied, shaking it. “But no more trying to act so mysterious.”
“Now, that, I can’t promise you,” Jackson muttered.
Before I could question him further, a woman, who looked to be about twenty-five, strolled over to us. “Well, well, look what we have here. Parks . . .” the woman said, nodding at me. “It’s Felicia, isn’t it?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“I noticed that you left your lifeguard chair unattended for a good ten minutes without letting your supervisor know,” the woman said.
“Well, who can blame her?” Jackson asked. “I hear the supervisor’s a total bitch.”
“Very funny, Jackson. You’re lucky dad made me get you this job,” the woman snapped at him, studying his face. “In case you didn’t forget, I can just as easily take it away from you.”
I stared back at them both blankly. Our supervisor was Jackson’s sister? Glancing from one to the other, I realized that they did look alike. They both had dark hair and tanned skin. But why were they arguing? Talk about sibling rivalry.
“Oh, please,” Jackson said. “You need to pull your panties out of a knot.”
Jackson’s sister stared at him for a moment, her face expressionless, before she said, “You’re both fired. You may finish out today because we don’t have any other lifeguards to replace you with, but after that, you’re done. We don’t have time for this type of foolishness. If you can’t take your jobs seriously, someone else will. And I’ll make sure dad hears about this, too.”
As Nora was about to walk away, I called, “Wait! You can’t fire him!”
Nora turned to look at me with a confused expression on her face. She’d probably expected me to defend myself instead of Jackson, but she had no idea that it was mostly my fault we were even in this situation, which made me feel guilty. “And why is that?”
“I wasn’t feeling well,” I lied. “And Jackson . . . he was just making sure I was okay. I promise he won’t do it again as long as you don’t fire him.”
Nora hesitated as though she were seriously taking my words into consideration. I got the feeling that it gave her a new impression of her brother.
“And you can’t fire her for being sick,” Jackson pointed out. “I told her she’s probably just dehydrated. She needs to keep more water at her station, and she’ll be fine in the future. Please don’t fire her.”
“I’ll consider it,” Nora replied curtly before turning around and walking away from both of us.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Jackson said quietly. “I don’t mind if I get fired. I hate that she’s practically my boss as it is. What’s one more failure in my dad’s eyes?”
“Nonsense,” I replied, shaking my head and trying to ignore his comments. “I can’t let you get fired because of me.”
Jackson looked at me and opened his mouth, but he quickly closed it. “Well, I guess we better get back to our chairs if either of us wants to try to keep our jobs.”
I agreed and climbed the steps of my own chair. Once I was settled, I glanced over at Jackson. As I suspected, he was staring at me. Except that now, when his blue eyes met my own, I didn’t feel creeped out. I felt like, for the first time in a long time, someone actually had my back.
*
As I was about to leave for the day, Carrie waved and ran over to me. Bumping me with a hip, she smiled. “Want to go out? There’s a party at Bryson’s again tonight.”
“I have plans with Tyler already,” I said apologetically.
“Well, you could always bring him along, you know,” Carrie suggested.
“We’ll see,” I replied. “If he wants to, we might.” Carrie’s lip turned into a pout, and I decided to change the subject. “So, how did things go with that guy earlier?”
“Not so great,” Carrie admitted.
I felt my eyes widen with surprise. “It seemed like he liked you. What happened?”
“He liked me at first, I think. His name was Tate, by the way. But when he saw you . . .” Carrie trailed off, before looking over at me. “He completely changed when he saw you. I’m supposed to ask if you want to go out with him sometime, by the way.”
I raised an eyebrow. “He’s got to be nuts if he would choose me over you.” I knew it made me sound really unconfident, but I didn’t care. It was the truth. Carrie had won Homecoming Queen this year, and I was just a Nobody. I didn’t think I was ugly, per se, but I was a lot plainer than Carrie—which usually wasn’t what most of the guys in Ocean Grove went for. Not to mention the fact that she was way more confident than me, too.
Carrie shrugged. “It doesn’t matter either way. It’s whatever. He’s more interested in you, end of story. I’m over it.”
“Good. I think we’ll be able to find you a much better guy this summer, anyway.”
“Speaking of which,” Carrie said, motioning ahead of us with our chin. I followed the direction that she was pointing in, and I felt myself suck in my breath.
The guy who stood in front of me was breathtaking. Cute or attractive didn’t even begin to describe it. His dark brown hair was longish and fell into his eyes, a stark contrast to his fair skin tone. From afar, his abs looked perfectly chiseled into his body.
What was most breathtaking, though, were his eyes. They were the lightest shade of hazel I had ever seen. They nearly blended in with the color of the almost white sand. I had never seen anything like it before.
“I’m gonna go talk to him. See ya later at Bryson’s, hopefully,” Carrie said, blowing me a kiss over her shoulder as she practically skipped over to the guy.
I hoped that she didn’t notice that he was staring at me.
Chapter 11
When I got home, my grandma was gone. I found a note on the counter that said: Bumblebee, I’m going to a spaghetti dinner at the elementary school with Maureen. It starts at 7. Feel free to join us if you get home in time. Love, Gram.
I felt bad about not spending time with her lately, but I had already made plans with Tyler. I couldn’t just cancel on him at the last second.
Glancing at the clock above the stove, I realized that I had better get ready if I was going to meet him in time. I quickly jumped into the shower to wash off. Even though I’d been really hot today, I hadn’t sweat at all. Still, I hated going out—especially with a cute guy—without showering after a hot day on the beach.
As I watched the water stream over me, my breath caught in my throat. Not a drop touched my body. Glancing down at the shower drain, I found that the sand was coming off, but I was completely dry. It didn’t make sense, but I wasn’t going to question it. Whatever was going on with me lately, it saved time getting ready.
When I got out of the shower, I didn’t bother grabbing my towel. I immediately changed into a pink floral sundress and slid on a pair of flip flops. I ran a brush through my hair, more out of habit instead of necessity, since it was al
ready straight, and applied some gray shadow to my eyelids. I puckered my lips as I applied a pink gloss. Looking in the mirror, I decided that I looked better than usual—but I wasn’t sure why.
Once I was on the boardwalk, I sat down on a bench in front of Scoops. Glancing into the ice cream parlor, I didn’t see Carrie anywhere, but that was probably because the shop was so crowded. I tapped my flip flop on the wooden boardwalk as I waited nervously for Tyler to show up.
After twenty minutes of waiting, I pulled my phone out of my bag and texted Tyler. Where r u?
As I waited for him to text me back, I watched the blinking lights of the boardwalk Ferris wheel flashing against the darkening night sky. I thought about how romantic it would be to ride the Ferris Wheel with Tyler once he finally got here.
But he didn’t text me back.
I sent him a second text. Are u mad at me?
When I didn’t receive a response to that text message either, I sighed. Sitting here waiting for him to show up was obviously hopeless—and desperate.
Standing up, I began walking down the boardwalk looking for Tyler. I passed by happy couples, popping cotton candy into their mouths and laughing. The bleeping sounds of arcade games filled my ears.
At a snow cone stand, I noticed a guy with short brown hair.
I tapped him on the shoulder, but when he turned to look at me, I was greeted with his cold brown eyes. “Sorry,” I said. “You just looked like someone I knew.”
And that’s when I heard her laughing; her laugh was sweet and melodic, but for some reason, it also made my ears ring. I looked around until I spotted the girl with the coppery auburn hair as she spun around on the Tilt-A-Whirl.
I stood there, frozen in place, just watching her until the screeching sound indicated that the ride was about to come to a halt. She got off the ride, but she didn’t notice me. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, and I knew it was Scarlett. I was sure of it.
I couldn’t just let her get away from me this time, so I followed her.
This time, I kept myself at a distance. Any time I suspected that she might look over her shoulder, I ducked behind someone. I got strange looks from people, but it didn’t matter. The only thing that I cared about right now was reuniting with my sister—and getting her to admit that it was, in fact, her.
I followed Scarlett until she led me off the boardwalk and a few blocks away, until we reached the sandy path that I knew would bring us to the cliff the lighthouse was located on. I only hoped that Tyler wasn’t there tonight, like he seemed to be every night I had wandered there in my sleep. But it didn’t even matter right now. I just wanted my sister back.
Once we were closer to the lighthouse, I crept along the large rocks that surrounded the sandy path that led up to it. I didn’t want Scarlett to see me. That was just too risky. I needed to catch her off guard.
“I’m back,” Scarlett called.
Two girls stepped out from behind one of the rocks, but they were so far away that I couldn’t really make out what they looked like. One of them was taller and the other one was short, but I couldn’t tell much more.
“Did she see you again?” one of the girls asked I froze. Somehow, I was certain that they were talking about me.
“I don’t think so,” Scarlett replied, a sweet tone in her voice. “At least, I didn’t see her.” She sat down on the rock and added, “I don’t really know what to do.”
“I think you need to talk to her,” a third voice replied. “She’s going to need you soon. You can’t just leave her in the dark about this.”
“I know you’re right, I just . . . I want to put it off,” Scarlett said. From a distance, I could see her shaking her head the way she always had when we were children when she was feeling indecisive about something. “The longer I can avoid talking about it, the better.”
“Not talking about it isn’t going to make things any safer for her, though,” the second voice spoke quietly. “You could help her by telling her the truth.”
“Just let me handle this my way,” Scarlett snapped at them. “As of right now, I’m not telling her. Not until I absolutely have to. The same goes for both of you. If I find out that either of you open your big mouths, I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” the third voice asked. “I’d like to see you try to hurt me.” The girl laughed sarcastically.
“If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be in this mess!” Scarlett shot back. I watched from my place on the rock as she stormed away from the two girls. Holding my breath, I ducked down, feeling a gust of wind blow against me as she breezed past me.
Once she was gone, I allowed myself to breathe normally again. Scarlett hadn’t seen me.
I debated whether or not it was a good idea to follow her again right now. Glancing in the direction she had gone in, I knew my answer; my sister had already disappeared.
*
As I walked back to Gram’s house, all I could think about was what Scarlett and the girls had said. What was my sister keeping from me that was putting me in some sort of danger? Did those girls help her fake her death? Maybe they thought that I could get her in trouble for her still being alive—although that didn’t make much sense either.
When I reached to twist the doorknob, the door was pulled open for me. I stared back into Gram’s angry-looking hazel eyes.
“Ahem,” Gram said pointedly as I stepped inside the house and closed the door.
I glanced at the clock. It was only eleven. My curfew during the summer was eleven thirty. I was home in time, so I wasn’t sure why she seemed mad.
Before I had the chance to ask what was wrong, Gram said, “Beatrice called me today.”
“Oh,” I replied quietly. Beatrice was a Senior Lifeguard and one of Gram’s closest friends.
“She told me what happened today. That you were fired?”
I nodded. “Yes, but . . . it wasn’t my fault.” I hated lying to my grandmother, but I also couldn’t tell her the real reason I had left my lifeguard chair unattended. “I wasn’t feeling good.”
Gram wrinkled her nose. “I was under the impression that you were just busy goofing off with some boy.”
I shook my head. “No, I wasn’t feeling good, so I walked away to get some fresh air, I guess. And Jackson came to see if I was okay. That’s when Nora—our supervisor—came and fired us.”
Gram’s face softened. “What was wrong? Why weren’t you feeling well?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just haven’t been feeling well lately.”
My grandmother let out a loud sigh. “Well, I can’t blame you for being sick. The good news is that you’re not out of a job. Beatrice spoke on your behalf. She told your supervisor that you’re a really good kid most of the time, and she decided not to fire you.”
“What about Jackson?” I asked hopefully. It would be a huge blow to my self-esteem if I was fired from my first real job (and on top of that, I needed the money for college), but it would be even worse if Jackson was let go because of me. I’d feel forever indebted to him.
Gram shrugged. “I wasn’t concerned about that Davis boy. He’s not my grandchild.”
“I don’t really know him that well,” I said honestly. “But he seems sort of nice.”
“Where were you just now, anyway?” Gram asked. “I know you weren’t with Carrie because I called her.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Why didn’t you just call me to find out where I was?”
“I wanted to see if you would lie to me about it.”
I laughed. “Gram, you didn’t even wait to see if I would lie to you about it! You told me you called her without waiting to see what I would say.”
“Oh,” Gram replied, waving her hand at me. “I can’t help it. I felt bad about trying to trick you. I know my Bumblebee wouldn’t lie to me, anyway.”
I looked down at the floor. Knowing that I could only tell her half of the truth about where I’d been that night, I said, “I was supposed to meet Tyler, but he stood me
up.”
“Did you give him a reason to?” Gram asked.
“Gram! What makes you think it was my fault?”
“Sometimes, you can be pushy, Felicia,” Gram said with a shrug. “Not all guys like a girl who comes on so strong like that.”
“I am not pushy! And I didn’t do anything to make him stand me up.” I shook my head, deciding to leave out the part about my sleepwalking. “I know I’ve only known Tyler for a short time, but it seems really out of character for him.”
“Then don’t get too mad at him, Bumblebee. Not until you know the reason. Maybe he has a good excuse.” She stood up and, leaning in for a hug, she whispered, “And if he did just stand you up, you can do better than him, anyway.” She gave me a kiss on the cheek before going to her bedroom.
I knew Gram was right, but that didn’t make the fact that he ditched me hurt any less.
Chapter 12
When I woke up the next morning, I had three unread text messages. Tapping the touch screen on my iPhone, I opened them. The first was from Carrie, saying: I need to talk to u later.
The next two text messages were from Tyler. I could feel my heart pounding through my chest as I opened them. I expected him to say something like: Sorry, I’m just not that into you. I think we should see other people. Even if he had told me that he’d fallen asleep and hadn’t woken up in time to meet up with me, I knew I would still be upset—I would feel like I just wasn’t important enough for him to give the time of day to.
What Tyler had sent instead completely shocked—and horrified—me.
I’m so sorry about last night. I was in the hospital because I had a seizure. It happened on my way to see you . . . I think the flashing lights of the Ferris wheel might have triggered it.
Five minutes later, he had also texted: Are we still on for tonight? Me cooking dinner at your Gram’s?
I let out a sigh of relief. I wasn’t happy that Tyler had a seizure the night before. In fact, the idea that he could have a seizure while he was with me still terrified me. But I was glad that he hadn’t just stood me up because he didn’t want to see me. It made me happy to know that it wasn’t just that he didn’t like me.