Take Me To The Ocean (Editing)

Chapter 12

I woke to the alarming orders of Dylan, and to a pool of tears in my eyes. Still. Last night was horrific, and I didn't even know where to begin thinking. Tobias was so foolish, thinking I'd be his again. I remember it so vividly, how we broke up. He did it in the middle of the halls, as I reached for some books in my locker. "Listen, Stella, I'm not sure things are going to work out. With you moving and all," he'd said. And that was after we had an entire day devoted to him wondering about long distance relationships. I was devastated for weeks.

So the fact that he came back, to actually get together for a week, pretty much came to me like an arrow at my back.

"Stella, get the hell up," Dylan called again as he entered my room. "If you won't, you're walking to school, get it?"

I exhaled deeply and buried myself in my blanket. "Dyl, I feel sick," I lied. I felt perfectly fine, physically. Emotionally? No. I was a wreck, as suggested by rosiness of my face.

Dylan pulled the blanket all the way down to my toes, revealing the mess that was me. He placed his hand on my forehead, looking for temperature. "All right cut the shit," he demanded, as I sat up. "Is this about what happened with Tobias?"

I ran my hand through my tangled hair, shut my eyes, and let it out. "I just can't deal with human interactions right now." I opened my eyes again, and continued, "and you're interfering."

"Listen," he began, sitting on the edge of my bed, "I get it. I'll put in a good word for you with mom, just promise me one thing."

"What?"

"You'll let me punch the jerk this time."

I scoffed. "Like you'd ever lay a finger on Tobias."

He snorted, and left without saying another word. I was glad. I'd finally get some peace, some privacy. I knew mom and dad had left for work, anyway, so the house was mine.

~

I pretty much spent my day in front of the TV, watching Friends, as I always did when I felt low. I got a few phone calls from Kianna, but declined them all. I didn't want to talk to anyone about this. But I knew what would cure my "disease." I got up from my utterly comfortable position on my couch, and walked straight to my room. I dug through my drawers and put on my purple bikini. I grabbed one of my towels before leaving my room to get my board.

The water was calm that day; nothing but a few baby waves. It was difficult to make sharp turns. I found myself overshooting and going over the wave. Despite the bore I got, it was more calming than I thought it'd be.

After a few waves, I paddled out far into the sea. So far, that the houses that lined up along the beach looked like a small blur to me. There were barely any waves out. It was silent. It helped me think. I flipped over so that I lie on top of my board, facing the sky; a painting of orange, yellow and pink. Surfing at sunset. Hardly any clouds were out, which presented more of the sky. I kept my hands rested on my stomach as it moved with my breathing. I've never felt more relaxed. For a moment the world seemed to have stopped and gave me a break for a minute, and no one could have possibly bothered me. Not even Tobias.

~

Darkness. It's all I woke to. The moon in its full position, rounder than a balloon. The stars out, blazing bright. I fell asleep in the middle of the ocean on my board. A sudden rush came over me. Quite frankly, I was an awful amount of scared. Rumor has it, sharks swim through the seas at night. Of course, I'd never seen one here. No one is out at this hour almost ever.

I quickly turned onto my belly, and paddled to shore. It was impossibly hard to see, for I was so far out. The lights on the houses were limited, and the few that were turned on looked the size of a bug. I followed it, restlessly pulling the water with my aching arms. It had taken me, what felt almost like years to finally reach shore. I detached myself from my leash, and carried my board back home. I was so drained from the long paddle, I basically just dumped my board on the sand next to the right side of our house. I walked into the house, to find Dylan and Kianna both staring patiently at our house phone. "What the hell," I murmured.