Chasing White [Draft 1]

Chapter 15: The Gravitational Pull of the Moon

Jaco, Costa Rica. June 4, 2025.

I let my fingers feel the water, waiting for a movement. Tori glares at the people next to us, her board bouncing up and down with the small waves.

"You know," Tori jumps, looking back at me. "The waves come from that way," I gesture to the horizon, "not that way."

Tori drums her fingers on her surfboard. "You never came to visit me. Was there a reason for that?"

I purse my lips. "Couldn't."

"Couldn't or wouldn't?" She looks over at me, a thin eyebrow raised.

I can feel my confident aura shatter as she looks me over.

"Wouldn't." The lie burns my throat causing a churning feeling to appear in my stomach.

Tori huffs, in annoyance. "Some mother you are."

"You have no idea." I whisper, my heart breaking a little.

"What was it? Were you just going to yell at me too?" She paddles closer to me, our knees bumping. "Couldn't look me in the eye?"

I swallow hard. "Something like that." My fingers twitch into the water.

Tori leans towards me, her lips grazing my ear. A shiver runs down my spine, nearly knocking me off my surfboard.

Tori smiles against my ear. "Why don't you tell me the truth?"

Because I can't.

"I am." I turn my head to get her away from my face but all that does is give her permission to move closer. Her golden eyes glance me up and down as if she can find some clue as to what my truth can be.

"I'll find it out eventually."

Swallowing hard, I wet my throat so that I'm able to speak. "I'm sure you're capable of that at a later date. Just not today."

Tori snorts, pulling away. I let out a breath of relief, the weight coming off my chest. Ignoring the sinking feeling in my stomach, I go back to watching the nonexistent waves.

"Quiet surf." Tori mumbles, clicking her tongue on the roof of her mouth.

"That means a big wave is coming."

"I know what it means!" Tori snaps, her cheeks flaring up. I flinch away, expecting to be slapped but the redness goes away as she relaxes again. "I just don't know how big."

I can feel the water pull forward, signaling a wave. I look over at Tori to see if she can feel it to but she's still glaring at the other surfers in the water. Looking behind me, I see Rachel looking at Tori and I, a hand acting as a shield from the sun. She waves at me, letting me know that she does, in fact, see me and is not looking somewhere else.

I smile, knowing full well that she can't see me but feeling better after doing so, before lying down on my board and paddle forward.

"Yo, Bryant! The hell you doing?"

I smile, knowing exactly what I'm doing.

The water starts to rise in front of me, forming a large wave. I quickly rotate my board and paddle like my life depends on it.

Everything seems to melt away as the back of my board starts to rise. Tori and Iz being taken, the nightmares, my mother. Everything.

I push myself up, dropping in, and quickly find my center on the board. I move down the board and snap it down the wave. Cutting back, I move back to the energy zone before performing an off-the-lip.