by Jordan Ford
It takes me a second to catch what he said, because I was expecting something else. When his words register, I let out a little giggle that soon morphs in a nervous laugh-slash-crying kind of sound.
“Dad’s not gonna like it. I’m pretty sure there’s a Green Family Law Book that states the importance of higher education.”
“Sav, you’re not asking to never go to college. You just want to take a little time off to figure out what you want to study when you do eventually go.” His smile is so kind and understanding.
“I don’t think Dad will agree.”
Griffin bobs his head, looking thoughtful before once again proving why I’m in love with him. “Not to cause tension in the family, but it’s really not up to him. This is your life, Sav. He can’t force you to go to college.”
I hold my breath for a second, struggling to contain the radiating emotions inside of me. “Holy crap, I love you.”
He grins at my teary voice and wraps his arms around me. “I’ve always got your back, babe. And if you want me to, I’ll even come with you when you tell him.”
I squeeze him tight, gripping his shoulders as he lifts me off the ground and kisses the side of my face.
“Come on, why don’t I take you out for dinner and we’ll come up with the perfect I’m not going to college yet speech.” He places me back down on my feet and touches the end of my nose with his knuckle.
“It kind of throws off our plans.” I wince while he scoffs.
“Babe, my plans were screwed anyway. Let’s take it as a sign to make some new ones.” He lets me go and starts walking to the shed.
“How do you do that?” I follow him.
He glances over his shoulder. “Do what?”
“Take everything so smoothly in your stride. It’s like nothing can ever ruffle you or throw you off. I’m like the opposite.”
He turns in the doorway and winks at me. “Which is why we’re perfect for each other. You organize my ass, and I calm yours down.”
I laugh and scratch the side of my nose while he finishes securing the shed. “Where do you want to eat?”
“Why don’t we just grab a table at Eat and Be Merry tonight? I could kill a chocolate shake.”
“Ooo, that sounds good! I’m starving too.”
He grins at me. “You go on ahead, then. Get us a table and order me my usual. I’ll join you as soon as I’ve dropped off the money box.”
“Okay.” I nod, knowing how busy the diner can get at this time of the day.
Raising my hand, I give him a little wave and head for the stairs. My insides feel tattered and bruised after my big confession. It’s been a crappy couple of days, dealing with Dad’s stuff and my own angst, but Griffin always has this way of making me feel better. He’s like a cool balm to soothe the soul.
Maybe I can find the courage to tell Dad how much I’m not ready to go to college. He’s such an academic, has always harped on about the importance of college and degrees. If we want a decent future, we need that bit of paper.
Dread tries to stir within. I don’t want it to ruin my evening with Griffin, but I’m guessing ignoring the problem doesn’t make it go away. And he’s right. It’s just time for us to make a new plan. When I think about it, that’s potentially quite exciting. As long as he’s in my future, then—
A grunt and slamming sound makes me spin, fear spiking through me as I watch someone in black bolting away from the Ryder Rentals shed.
“Griffin?” I whisper before sprinting back down the sand. “Griffin!”
I round the corner and find my man crumpled on the ground. He seems dazed while fingering something on the back of his head. He pulls his hand away and I notice blood on his fingertips.
“Oh shit.” I crouch down beside him. “Are you okay? What happened?”
He clenches his jaw, leaning forward so I can inspect his head. It’s kind of hard to see in the fading light, but I can definitely make out a lump. I hiss. It’s not actually bleeding that badly, but it probably hurts like hell. “Do I need to take you to the hospital?”
“No. I didn’t black out or anything. He just dazed me enough to grab the money box and run.”
I hate my man getting hurt. Someone attacked him from behind, the freaking coward. If Griffin had been aware, he would have downed the guy before he even had a chance.
Pulling out my phone, I unlock it and find Marshall’s number.
Griffin’s murmuring softly under his breath. I can tell he’s pissed about what’s happened. He’ll also be feeling really bad that he’s cost his boss a day’s takings.
“Hey, Sav. What’s up?” Marshall greets me in his usual friendly tone. I kind of hate that I’m about to kill it.
“Griffin was attacked, and the money box has been stolen.”
“Is he all right?” Marshall’s voice is urgent, and I can already picture him heading for his truck.
“Just a lump on the back of his head, but can you get down here?”
“I’m on my way.”
I hang up and focus back on Griffin. His jaw is set, his nostrils flaring. Slumping down on my knees beside him, I run my arm over his shoulders. “I’m sorry, babe,” I murmur into his ear.
He gives me a halfhearted smile before pressing his forehead against mine and closing his eyes.
15
SKYLAR
I CLOSE my eyes and rub my forehead.
I can’t believe the shit that has been happening to our crew over spring break. I mean, what the hell? We should have just all gone away together. Savannah and I kind of proposed the idea, but then Griffin had to work, and Jed and Harley couldn’t afford it. It ended up getting all complicated and we dropped the idea.
No one kicked up too big of a fuss over it, and I can’t help wondering if we’re all carrying the weight of the impending changes looming over us. I still haven’t told anyone about New York. I’m not uttering a word until I know what I want to do myself.
Jed’s been really quiet over the whole thing. I know he’ll support whatever decision I make, but I hate the idea of breaking his heart. My heart.
How the hell can we make long distance work? It’s such a long way.
I glance at my boyfriend. He’s staring at his poker hand, his mind so obviously a million miles away.
Savannah clears her throat and rearranges her cards while she takes her sweet time to make a call. She’s distracted too, still kind of reeling over the attack on Griffin…and then there’s the thing with her dad.
Savannah told me about it this morning. I actually burst out laughing at first. I didn’t mean to, but catching your dad doing it has got to be so freaking embarrassing. I just couldn’t help it. She slapped my arm and whined at me, then gave in to a few short giggles before we started joking about eyeball replacement surgery or maybe a memor-ectomy.
“If only that were a thing! I’d happily remove those memories from my brain!” She pulled a face, which got me laughing all over again.
I kind of wish we were back in that giggly, somewhat hysterical place right now, because the morose undertone pulsing through the Greens’ family room is freaking painful.
“Sav, are you gonna call or not?” I lightly kick her under the table.
She blinks, obviously surprised. “It’s my call?”
Aidan groans and rolls his eyes, dropping his hand on the table. “This is pointless. None of us are into this. Why are we even playing?”
Savannah lays her cards down. “I’m sorry, you guys. I’m just worried about Griffin. He said he’d text me when he wakes up. I just hate that he’s got this horrible headache and it’s all the stupid thief’s fault.”
Aidan scrubs a hand over his mouth. “This week is shit.”
I give him a sympathetic smile. Dad told me about Aidan’s tires being slashed. And Harley’s surfboard was stolen on Saturday.
“You don’t think…” I frown. “You don’t think someone’s coming after us, do you?”
“What?” Jed shuffles in
his chair, looking almost angry by the idea.
“Well, Aidan’s tires, Griffin’s head, Harley’s board.” Aidan winces when I say his girlfriend’s name, and I get distracted by it. “What is going on with you two, anyway?”
Aidan stares at the table, his expression glum. I almost think he’s not going to tell us until he finally mutters, “I think she wants to break up with me.”
“What?” We all say it at the same time, our faces different expressions of the same emotion: complete shock.
“Harley loves you, man.” Jed brushes his fingers through the air.
Aidan just shakes his head.
“Why do you think she wants to dump you?” Savannah gathers up the cards, shuffling them with nervous agitation. “Has she said something?”
“Not exactly. She’s just…” He sighs and rubs his forehead. “Ever since I invited her to prom, and then her board was stolen… Something’s off, and I should call and find out what it is, but I’m worried if I initiate contact that she’ll break it off with me.” His shoulders slump. “I know I’m being a coward.”
“I still can’t believe she doesn’t want to go to prom with you. What’s the big deal?” Savannah frowns, the cards slapping together as she shuffles them.
“Harley’s always hated prom. She says they’re stupid.” Jed glances at me.
I don’t say anything and look down at the table. A memory from a conversation Harley and I had last year starts to stir.
Prom.
Oh shit, I know exactly why she’s said no.
“Last time I spoke to her, I told her if she wants to break up, she needs to get it over with.” Aidan cringes. “She hasn’t called or texted me since.”
Crossing my arms, I glance at my cousin, feeling super sorry for him. He looks really down. I wish I could fix it, but it’s not my place to say anything. Maybe I should talk to Harley, though. She can’t do this to Aidan. It’s not fair. He deserves an explanation.
Harley and I aren’t super close, though. I mean, we hang as a group, but we’d never go out just the two of us. But we did share that moment on the beach. That one sunrise where we both laid our darkest secrets bare.
I have to talk to her. I’m the only one who might be able to help.
But I shouldn’t really meddle. I used to be the world’s worst at butting into other people’s lives and manipulating everyone around me. If Harley’s dealing with what I think she is, I’m sure she’ll come around. She just needs time. Jed’s right, she loves Aidan. And he loves her.
She won’t risk losing that. She’s fearless. There’s no way she’ll let what happened years ago rob her of a future with her boyfriend.
Love is strong enough to overcome her past. Love is a superpower.
My insides pinch with unrest as I look across the table and catch my boyfriend’s eye.
Am I right?
Is love strong enough to overcome anything?
The sad smile he gives me breaks my heart.
So much for an awesome spring break. This is turning into the crappiest vacation ever.
16
JACE
I WAS EXPECTING this to be a really crappy, difficult week.
But so far, it’s turning out to be pretty cool.
Frankie is adorable. As much as I didn’t want to go gaga over my baby sister, she makes it impossible not to love her. Sure, she drools and smells and cries in the early hours of the morning, but when she’s awake and happy, she’s too cute for words.
I snap my board up, catching the lip of the wave before dropping back down. Bending my knees, I lean into the ride, my mind shooting to Tony at the breakfast table this morning.
He’s a really sweet dad. Almost makes me wish he’d been my dad. My life would have been so different if Mom had met Tony earlier. I would have grown up with a father who gave a shit. One who wouldn’t cheat or bully. One who cared about our welfare. It’s hard not to feel bad about the way I behaved before they sent me away. I never gave Tony a chance.
Now that I’ve stepped away for a while, I’ve come home with new perspective, and I can see how perfect he is for Mom. Just like Lettie is perfect for me.
I dive off my board, resurfacing with a grin as I scan the beach for my girl. Last I saw, she was sunbathing with a book. It’s a warm enough day to wear shorts, although Lettie feels the cold so easily, she’s no doubt still got her sweater on.
I wipe the salt from my eyes and blink, trying to find her.
There she is.
I frown, noticing two guys crouched on either side of her. Jumping back on my board, I start to paddle in when I see that it’s just Vic and Isaac. I introduced them to Lettie last night at a party. We met down at the beach so I could catch up with my old crew. Unfortunately, Hayes was a no-show, which sucked, but there were a ton of other people there from school. It was awesome to see everyone. We set up a bonfire and hung out until past midnight. I would have stayed longer, but Lettie got really, really quiet and I noticed her starting to fade, so we left early.
She’s not a late-night gal, and I have to respect that.
She’s been up before me every day we’ve been here, which I think my mom loves. I walk out of my room and find Lettie either playing with the baby, snapping photos of the baby, or chatting with my mom over a cup of tea. They’re getting along great, and it’s making this week a million times easier.
I glance over my shoulder and notice a new set of waves rolling in. Quickly turning back, I paddle hard to catch another ride.
I’ll head back in after one more set…or maybe several. A grin stretches across my face when I notice Adam, a fellow avid surfer, paddling out to join me.
“Nice to see you back, man.” He sits up on his board once we’re side by side, and we chat for a while about life and love.
I point over my shoulder, indicating my girl on the beach. He glances back and nods but doesn’t say anything. We get distracted by the surf and are out there for at least five more rides before I decide to head to the sand and check on Lettie.
Coasting in, I grab my board and tuck it under my arm. My stride up the beach falters when I near the spot I last saw Lettie and notice that she’s gone. With a frown, I scan the area, worry skirting through me.
She just left?
What the hell?
I spot a squad of girls from school and head over to ask if they’ve seen her. Vic stands up to greet me as I draw near.
“You seen Lettie?”
His grin is wide and lopsided. “Yeah, she just left.”
“Why?” I frown.
He shrugs, but I don’t trust that look on his face. “What did you say to her?”
“Nothin’, man.” I narrow my eyes at him, and he starts to snicker. “What do you like so much about her, anyway?”
“What?” I snap.
“Come on, she’s a nerdy little bookworm. She can barely talk without stuttering.”
“She only stutters when she’s nervous,” I growl, giving him a light shove.
I don’t want to hear any more. I can guess what Vic said to her. No doubt some bullshit flirting that completely put her off.
Asshole.
He laughs at me, but his voice rings with a serious note. “Ditch her and come home, man. This is where you belong. These are your girls.” He points to the group at his feet.
A couple of them glance up and wink at me, but all I can do is curl my lip and spin away from them.
Isaac’s been watching the exchange. His eyebrows are dented with a sharp frown, but I just throw him a pointed look. “Where’d she go?”
He works his jaw to the side, obviously not loving that I’m putting a girl before them. I’ve never done that before. Even when I was dating Mia, I’d ditch her for the guys and she just had to put up with it.
But not Lettie.
Lettie is not the kind of girl you ditch. Especially not for two guys who are going to hassle her and make her feel small and insignificant.
“Where. Is. She?�
� I grit out the words, and Isaac reluctantly points over his shoulder.
I look down the beach and don’t see her.
“I don’t know, okay?” He shrugs. “But she walked off that way.”
Shaking my head, I give him a disappointed frown. “I thought you’d get it, man. You know how you felt about Allie?”
“Allie and me are over. She didn’t want to make it work,” he spits out bitterly.
“Yeah, well, I’m sorry about that. But Lettie and me, we’re gonna make it work, no matter what. So, next time you see her, do me a favor and walk the other way.”
He throws me a sharp glare and I turn my back on it, stalking down the beach, annoyed that my boys, the ones I thought understood me better than anybody else, were trying to talk me out of the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
17
LETTIE
I HUG the book to my chest as I amble down the sidewalk. I don’t really know where I’m going and I’ll no doubt get lost, but I’m not ready to call Jace and ask for directions. I don’t think he brought his phone to the beach anyway.
I should really return soon, though. If I just spin and walk in a straight line, I should make it back without a problem.
But there is a problem.
I don’t want to go back.
I don’t want to hang out on the beach with those pretty bikini girls and those sleazy guys.
I shouldn’t think that about Jace’s friends. When he was introducing me to them last night, I could see how much they meant to him.
And I tried. I tried really hard.
But I’m not a party girl. Small gatherings, I can handle, but a ton of people talking loudly over each other, dancing to thumping music and drinking alcohol around me? That’s not my style.
Jace seemed comfortable though, and it made me wonder how much of himself he’s been hiding in Ryder Bay. Is he doing it for me? Or has he honestly changed after what happened with his friend Hayes?
I don’t know.
Rubbing my forehead, I try to push out the confusion, but it doesn’t really work.