Salt

The Liquid Courage

After pulling through another tiresome shift at The Shell Shack, I pulled out my mobile to find that I already had a parade of texts from Ambrose. No different from usual, I had no reason to believe Fletcher told him.

        Although I was flattered by how protective he was of me, I wasn't stupid. This could mean bad news. It could put a stop to my and Ambrose's digging of our own, and the police force could easily claim it was for my own good. I loved Fletcher but I'm not going to lie, if it came down to losing friends or losing his job, I knew I wouldn't be in the winning category.

        My instincts were right enough, Ambrose had just text to say that his parents were at work, so we could brainstorm however we like.

        It didn't take me long to arrive, since Jasper was a small town and all, and while I ultimately wished Ciara would be out partying with friends or on the prowl for some torture, I didn't rule out bumping into her.

        Ambrose had extended the invitation for me to just enter all week, so I bounded up the stairs and made it to his room without any sense hesitation.

        Luckily, he was finishing up a game on his computer, and looked at me briefly when I came in. He spoke into his headset before closing the window immediately, although not before I heard the protests of his fellow teammates.

        I sat on the bed, touching his sheets. They were a pleasant grey.

        "You could still game, if you wanted to? I didn't mean to interrupt."

        "Nonsense! It was just to pass the time anyway."

        Oddly, my body warmed at that comment.

        Disregarding it, I turned my attention to the corkboard. In the past few days, it had been filling up, with post-its and head shots, sweet expressions of our friends facing right at us. Some smiling, all of them cut from the same photograph.

        I remembered that day perfectly. It must have been about six months ago. Chief Gilbert held a barbecue and everybody showed up, even my parents. It was a fun party, with a lot of highlights, and we made promises that we'd been so sure were going to come true.

        I traced the outline of Jesse's face. His expression was nothing short of ecstatic, although I could pinpoint that it may have been because it was the first time we'd hung out since our break up. Every other time before then it had been awkward, or excuses not to be in the same room, we avoided each other so badly it was embarrassing. But that day... it seemed like all our problems had faded, and it was just us. Two exes who no longer just existed in the lives of their friends' because it was expected of them, but also because we'd found peace and serenity in our time apart.

        We bounced back. And if we could do it, then surely what I'd done to any of my other friends to cause them to drown me... it couldn't be that bad, right?

        "You're really thinking of everything here, aren't you?" I put Jesse's adorable face back, to where it connected with little points, the most obvious of our connections being our romantic past.

        Ambrose was standing beside me now, dimples showing as he smiled sadly.

        "I guess we have to."

        I followed his gaze, to the top right corner, where a sickly-sweet portrait of Ciara beamed at us. Photographs were staged, an elegant lie, everyone knew that – but if one didn't know her in and out, your first impression of her would be the same as everyone else: how could this stunning little girl be so horrible, to anyone?