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I’d work this all out Somehow

CHAPTER THREE

After giving Ethan a ride home, I headed down Tidewater Street toward my own house The scent of the ocean perh it was cool, the air was daulls in the distance weirdly coht off the beach, but ere only a short ten-minute drive to the waterfront Our location had its perks—far enough off thewe didn’t deal with the suo swi any time anted, yet only a short drive to doeet Water as well

This tiood majority of restaurants and little shops in Sweet Water were boarded up, lights off, closed down for the winter Even the little bowling alley and the olf closed its doors for a few months The weather was colder and the local business wasn’t enough to keep thehost town compared to mid-summer If it weren’t for the coastal air and the beautiful weather, I would’ve probably gone stir crazy long ago Sohts circulate way too easily

I arrived home quickly since there was no traffic, a side effect of December in Sweet Water and not the ti to town until May Even then, the ust, with a trickling of tourists throughout Septeh to home could take more than twenty minutes due to traffic Today, it took less than ten, which meant I found myself to and from Ethan’s, back at home, far too soon

I got out of ht foruntilforward to our i conversation about my little trip to the Principal’s Office Mrs Parks was nothing if not thorough, and there was no doubt in my mind she had informed my parents of my antics

I droppedthe file folder with the infor at my dresser on the way to ri my eye was undoubtedly bruised and puffy The contrast toUnfortunately for ot a tan I went from white to burnt like a crisp in the blink of an eye And I hated when I got sunburned because it brought out the red init this weird pink lemonade appearance, while I much preferred to emphasize the blonde

The darabbefore I realized my appearance would only help plead my case of temporary insanity to my parents

I didn’t knohen Carson and I became rivals Okay, that was a lie It’s funny how the mind worked I couldn’t reo, but I had a very distinct memory of the day I first met the Brooks boys—polar opposites in personality, as well as their i roles in my life—one destined to be my best friend and the other my nemesis

Although they lived around the corner from me, we met on the beach I was only nine years old at the ti to their fao in search of surf and sand and the temperate weather North Carolina had to offer Theoretically, one would think I would’ve gravitated toward Carson since he was e, doomed to be in the same class for the rest of our Sweet Water years Our s are supposed to work out and the way they actually do are often two very different things

I re Carson in the water Even then, he was a veritable fish He flopped around, dove, and splashed in the waves like a dolphin, while Ethan and I played in the sand Eventually, the ninety-degree heat and the blazing sun took their toll, and I needed to cool off, so I ventured into the water cautiously, dipping down in a soft swell, allowing the saltwater to cool htface He was floating on his red boogie board with a crooked ser back then It always hung in his eyes, and I foundto brush it away

The sun glistened off his boyish frame, yet to be broadened andHe had a s of freckles just over his nose Ones I knew only cropped up in the summer But it was his eyes that transfixed me, even then—all that vast blue

I hadn’t seen the wave co It crashed down over me just as Carson pushed off, propelled by thethe wave, while I practically drowned in it The undertow suckedasping for air, I pushed the hair out ofup salty water My belly burned from its brutal encounter with sand and shells My throat was raw,peacefully on the sand, still on his board, blissful after his ride on the waves, I frowned He glanced back at hed LAUGHED!

Noas no expert at nine, but I was pretty sure laughing when someone nearly lost their life because of you was not the proper way to make friends Call me crazy

“You were supposed to swim,” he said