We Thought We Were Invincible

by Michelle MacQueen

  We Thought We Were Invincible

  Invincible (Book 1)

  Michelle MacQueen

  2019 Michelle MacQueen

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons is entirely coincidental.

  This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Printed in the United States of America

  Cover by Daqri Bernardo at Covers by Combs.

  Contents

  I. When We Were Invincible

  1. Callie

  2. Callie

  3. Jamie

  4. Callie

  5. Jamie

  6. Callie

  7. Jamie

  8. Callie

  9. Callie

  10. Jamie

  11. Callie

  12. Callie

  13. Callie

  14. Jamie

  15. Callie

  16. Callie

  17. Jamie

  18. Callie

  19. Jamie

  20. Callie

  21. Callie

  22. Jamie

  23. Callie

  II. When We Were Broken and Strong

  24. Callie

  25. Jamie

  26. Callie

  27. Callie

  28. Jamie

  29. Callie

  30. Callie

  31. Callie

  32. Callie

  33. Callie

  34. Jamie

  35. Callie

  36. Jamie

  37. Callie

  38. Jamie

  39. Callie

  Epilogue

  About Michelle

  Also by Michelle

  Acknowledgments

  For the people who make me feel invincible.

  The waves rose up

  To shake our solid ground,

  Our peace torn away.

  What was once still

  Raged like an angry storm,

  Destroying, drowning,

  Dragging our refuge

  To the depths.

  Then all was calm once again,

  And we knew,

  We never were invincible

  I

  When We Were Invincible

  1

  Callie

  The waves rolled toward the shore in perfect formation. Days like this didn't happen much on Florida's Gulf coast; when the surf was perfect, making every board-toting salt water junkie forget for a few hours that they didn't live in California or some other surf destination.

  I was born into a life of tide reports and surf watches. Mom was a self-proclaimed hippie who always said they'd have to pry her board out of her cold, stiff fingers when she was old and dead.

  Well, she didn't get the old part right, but we buried her with her board six years ago.

  Eyes stinging from saltwater, I lifted my chin and pushed my board away from my chest as it sliced through another wave. The water crashed over me. I drew a long breath when I surfaced and scooped my hands through the water. Almost there, I told my burning arms. Just keep pushing.

  This, here was what I was used to, what I savored. It reminded me where I was meant to be. The ocean called me with its silence; its understanding. All my secrets, my feelings, were buried here. I carried them along to watch them sink into the depths.

  Once the beach was far enough behind me, I sat up, legs dangling on either side of the board. The water lashed against my thighs as I scanned the oncoming waves. A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth, and my legs kicked the board around. I flattened myself against it and paddled, the only thing on my mind was conquering that roller.

  My hands flew through the water until they pushed up. I tucked my legs under me and planted my feet on the board, feeling at home as I leaned in to turn.

  I focused my eyes on the beach and knew it would come too soon. Adrenaline buzzed through my veins as the water sprayed up around me.

  I didn't see it coming, or I should say I didn't see him coming. Some dumbass dropped into my wave, catching me off guard. Flinging my arms out to regain my balance, I leaned right when I should have leaned left, and my board flew out from under me.

  The board leash tugged at my ankle as I crashed into the wave. It flipped me over, throwing me about. I kicked my legs as hard as I could to be free of the sucking, pulling force. My head broke the surface, and the wave tried to drag me back under as I gasped for air.

  My board, still attached to its leash, tumbled nearby. I lunged for it and pulled myself up, opting to let the wave push me the rest of the way in. I was done.

  Being knocked about was nothing new, but this time it wasn't my fault. Anger built from the pit of my stomach that was now full of saltwater. I coughed much of it out and my throat felt raw. A pounding headache made it hard to see anything but red.

  The wave broke, dissolving into a line of foam rolling toward the shore. It pushed me forward until I could stand. I tore the Velcro on my board leash and heaved my board up under my arm as my feet crashed through the water.

  I reached the small beach and threw my board onto the sand before marching over to the boy who was running out of the water. He stopped when he saw me.

  “Jamie Daniels, you idiot!” I shoved him backwards. “That was my wave.”

  He shrugged, a smirk appearing on his tanned face. “Hello to you too, California.”

  “The name is Callie, numb nuts.”

  “Numb nuts, huh?” He laughed.

  “Yeah, as in your nuts will be numb when they connect with my knee.”

  I raised my leg to kick, but he caught it, sending me off balance. He let go as I fell to the sand.

  “Looks like someone can't seem to stay on her feet today.” He nudged me with his foot.

  I stood up and huffed out a breath. “I wasn't expecting anyone else to be out here this early.”

  He cocked his head to the side. “You know you shouldn't surf alone.”

  “Yeah, cuz you have so many buddies with you.” I gestured to the nearly empty beach around us. Besides, I'm not alone.”

  His face fell, but he tried to hide it. “Ah, yes. Where is my brother?”

  “He ran to the car. It's a good thing he didn't see you try to kill me.”

  “What would you say if I told you I was too lost in my own thoughts to notice you out there?”

  “Two things. First, that you're full of shit. Second that I don't believe you actually have a thought in your head.”

  “Why aren't we friends?” he asked, grinning.

  “Because I hate you.”

  “Are you two fighting again?” Jayden came up behind me and draped a lazy arm over my shoulders.

  “He's just being his usual douche-like self.” I turned away from Jamie to look at his brother. “I should go. I promised Kat I'd be at the diner for the Saturday morning rush.”

  “Waves are dying out here, anyway,” Jamie said. “Some of your aunt's waffles sound good right about now.”

  “Ugh, that was not an invitation for you to come.”

  I led Jayden across the beach. We climbed over the rocks that sat between the sand and the gravelly parking lot, stopping when we reached my pickup truck. It'd seen better days - peeling red paint made that obvious - but we were old friends.

  Jay threw my board in the back as I stripped off my rash guard. He didn't surf, but he loved the beach so he was usually up for hanging.

  I grabbed my clothes from the front seat and pulled on a black t-shirt and knee length jean sh
orts over my bathing suit. Brushing my hands through my sopping light brown locks, I twisted them into a single braid that hung over my shoulder before hoisting myself into the truck beside Jay.

  He leaned in to brush his lips over mine and frowned. “Our last beach day of the summer.”

  “I wish you didn't have to leave,” I whispered. “This summer has been so much fun.”

  He leaned back and stared at me, his lips curving up. “Anyone ever tell you that your eyes look golden when the sun hits them?”

  “If you don't want to talk about leaving…”

  “You're beautiful.” He reached out and ran a hand over the top of my head. “I love how the sun lightens the top of your head. That's how I know the surf has been good. Your hair changes color.”

  “Jay.” I pushed his hand away, coughing uncomfortably. “You remember the deal.”

  “I do.” He nodded and looked out the window as I started the truck and pulled out of the parking lot. “Okay then, how about this? I'm only going to be a few hours away, and I'm sure I'll come home from school for visits and stuff. If both of us are single, let's go out when I'm here.”

  I glanced sideways and smiled. “It's a date.” I didn't say that it would only be a matter of if he was single because I doubted I'd be anything else.

  I didn't like people. My Aunt Kat laughed about it as if it was some big joke. She was socially adept in a way I could never hope to be. Even my twin brother Colby, in his quiet way, had mad skills in the area.

  I was different. I preferred my solitude to anything else. That's why I loved the ocean. It gave me strength, peace.

  Then there was Jay. He'd been such a huge part of my life. So had Jamie whether or not I liked it. We'd all been friends since before I could remember.

  Unlike Jamie, Jay had always been there for me. He was about to start college and when school ended for the summer, we'd tested our friendship on a new level before he left. It was nice… but I didn't feel the things I think I was supposed to feel. I loved the guy, just not in that way.

  I parked in front of the diner that was already half-full with hungry tourists. Checking the clock on my phone, I realized I was over an hour late.

  Jay followed me in and sat at the counter as Kat stood in front of me, hands on hips.

  “You and Allison.” She shook her head, unable to hide a grin.

  Allison was my mother and the namesake of Ally's diner. Kat liked to tell me I reminded her of Mom, her sister.

  “I hope the surf was good at least.” She tossed me an apron which I caught mid-air.

  “It was.”

  “Table five needs their order taken.” And just like that, my tardiness was forgotten.

  Kat was good like that. Colby and I were twelve when mom died. Our dad was never in the picture and Kat was the only family we had. She was a twenty-eight-year-old travel photographer who lost her older sister. Her response? She quit her adventurous job and moved to the small town of Gulf City, Florida to take care of two heartbroken and lonely kids and one failing diner.

  I took care of table five and started running food out from the kitchen. Anna, the head cook, cranked out orders.

  “Duck,” Colby called.

  I obeyed, and he sidestepped me, swinging a bucket of dirty dishes over my head to get to the dishwasher.

  Leaning on the counter next to my brother, I noticed the bags under his eyes and the tired tilt of his shoulders.

  “How long have you been here?” I asked.

  “A couple hours. Kat needed help opening since someone ran out super early.”

  “Sorry, I know it was my shift, but-”

  “The waves,” he finished for me. “Yada yada yada. I know. You've been my sister for seventeen years and Jamie has been my best friend for almost as long. I know you guys have that obsession.”

  “Oh, come on, we rarely get to surf, especially in the summer.”

  “It's always too flat,” he cut me off again. “I know that too.”

  “Callie,” Kat called. “Colby.”

  “Coming,” we said in unison.

  He rolled his lean shoulders and straightened his glasses as he walked off, looking every bit as confident as he was. At school that confidence paid off. He was quiet, but strong; well liked, popular even, without trying too hard. The perfect combination.

  He was so very different from me. Our brown hair and dark eyes might give us away as twins, but he was calm and I could be volatile; a fact everyone knew.

  I followed him to where our aunt was ringing bills into the register. He took over for her as she stepped back into the kitchen, and I grabbed the warm plates from the pass-through, setting them in front of Jay and Jamie who now sat beside him.

  “You guys going to the beach party tonight?” Jamie asked.

  “The end of summer thing? I don't know.”

  “It'll be fun.” Jay sent me a charming-do-it-for-me smile. “One last hurrah before I leave tomorrow.”

  I laughed, knowing full well I had no other choice. “Fine. Let the debauchery begin.”

  Jamie clapped his hands together in excitement as I heard my aunt calling me again.

  “Duty calls.” Wiping my hands on my apron, I got back to work.

  2

  Callie

  Kids trying to hold on to the last remnants of summer with both hands packed the beach. I slipped off my sandals and picked them up with one hand while I held the other out to Jay. I didn't want to be there, but I wanted to be with him. My best friend.

  He smiled at me, the full pearly white kind of smile and pulled me to him.

  “Hi,” he whispered.

  “Hi yourself.”

  “Let's have fun tonight, okay?”

  He knew what I'd been thinking. This was not my scene.

  “Stop reading my mind.” I pushed him back, and he laughed, wrapping an arm around my waist.

  “You forget, I know you better than anyone.”

  “Yeah, don't think I could forget that if I tried.”

  We walked down the beach toward a fledgling bonfire that was sputtering and trying to pick up steam. Three boys stood around it, arms crossed as they tried to look like they knew what they were doing.

  “Think they need help?” My brother walked up beside us.

  “Nah,” Jay and I said at the same time.

  “You two just want to watch them screw it up.”

  “That's preposterous,” Jay used his best British accent, raising one finger in the air toward my brother.

  Colby swatted it away, shaking his head as I laughed.

  “Well, I want a fire.” Colby walked away, calling back over his shoulder. “Besides, I'm not an ass.”

  When he was out of earshot, Jay held up his hand, pretending it was a microphone. “Well, let's ask his sister about the truthfulness of that last statement.” He angled it toward me.

  “Well, Jeeves, I think I'd have to say someone's pants are on fire.”

  “You heard it here first, folks. The pants - the pants are on fire.”

  We were both holding our stomachs laughing.

  “Jeeves, huh?” he asked.

  “It was the British accent.”

  “Ah, you do get me, California girl.”

  I flinched away from him.

  “Sorry.” He bumped his shoulder into mine.

  “It's fine.”

  My mom named me California because that was the dream. She'd always wanted to live there, surfing every day. It was a dream left unfulfilled. When she got pregnant, she had to be more realistic, moving home to where her ailing father lived. I was eight the first time I asked her about my name. At first, I thought I represented something she had to give up.

  I reached up, touching my cheek as if I could still feel her hand there as she told me I didn't represent a failed dream, only a new one.

  Colby was busy putting more driftwood onto the fire as we chose a place to sit. We all had plenty of experience with beach fires. Colby, Jamie, Jay, and I used to
have them all the time. We stopped last summer when we were caught enjoying one without a permit. Our fires were some of the only times we all hung out over the last few years.

  Leaning forward, I dug my hands into the warm sand, feeling it shift back into place with every movement, each grain knowing where it belonged.

  The golden sun hung just where the water met the sky on the horizon, casting colors across the darkening space.

  “Want something to drink?” Jay asked.

  “Sure.”

  He got up to leave just as Colby walked toward me with Morgan Cook by his side. I had nothing against Morgan, but I didn't particularly like her either. She was one of those girls that everything seemed to come too easy for. Everyone wanted to be her friend. She was gorgeous with her cute blond bob and athletic build. No one could match her on the soccer field. Her dad was a bigwig doctor at the hospital in town, yet missed none of her games, sitting there with his perfect wife.

  Was it wrong to be jealous? Was I a horrible person to wish she was a bitch? But no, she was so damn nice that I felt guilty for even disliking her a little.

  “Callie,” Colby called. “Is this great, or what?” He gestured back to the fire that was now building.

  “You did great, oh genius one.” I bent at the waist to give him a bow.