Chasing Destiny

5. Echoes of the past

It was my second day off and after coming home yesterday I had slept in quite long today. Lazy I looked out the window, it was a bright day. Maybe I should go down to the beach and have some fun on my own. That was as good a plan as every other.

I rolled out of bed and took a long shower. I decided to put on my bikini here for I didn't know if I could change at the beach. I decided on a plane white bikini with some black lace ornaments that didn't make me look to pale and threw a thin black summer dress over it that barely touched my knees.

I put on some black sandals with the small heel and left a note for Shelly on the kitchen table.

Walking down to the beach took me a bit longer because I took a wrong turn at some point and had to walk all the way back. When I finally arrived I walked alongside the water line until I found a spot that wasn't packing so much.

After settling down under a parasol I took out the book I brought along and started reading while enjoying the warmth. I couldn't stay out in the sun for long, I tended to get sunburned quite easily due to my pale skin.

I was startled when a ball hit me. Lucky for me it was one of those soft volleyballs.

"Hey. I am sorry. Did we hurt you, gorgeous?" I looked up into the face of one of those sunburned surfer boys. He had the ball tucked under his arm and was looking me over.

"Nah, I'm alright." I turned back to my book but a second later he had snatched it away from me. I looked up annoyed and raised my eyebrows at him.

"I haven't seen you around. You're new in murder town number one?" He laughed and obviously found himself really funny. I wrinkled my nose.

"I'm not new. Can you now please give me back my book?"

"Hey Shane! Get your sorry ass back here!" One of his friends had been getting impatient and with a roll of his eyes he finally gave me back my book.

"You can always join us. To play or for some other fun." I wanted to throw up. Why did guys like this always think they would be successful with shit like that.

When the sun started getting lower I packed up and put my dress back on. When I made my way to the stairs leading up to the boardwalk I could hear Shane and his idiot friends holler and wolf whistle at me. I decided to just ignore them, everything else wouldn't get me far.

Up here on the boardwalk I regretted not bringing a jacket for later, I hadn't expected the wind to freshen up. Maybe it was just because I had been down at the beach all day.

I decided to walk over to the video shop, show Maria that I was still alive and kicking. When I opened the door it was already dark outside.

"Hey, girl. How are you doing?" Maria asked from behind the counter with a big smile.

"I'm better. How are you?" I leaned on the counter as well.

"I'm good. You know what. Max will be here any minute. I'm sure he will be happy to see you." I smiled back at her. I have seen the owner of the shop a few times in the past year and had taken an instant liking to him. Sure he looked a bit odd but he was kind, always concerned for us girls. He had this fatherly vibe about him and he often told us he cared so much because he didn't have kids himself.

"Amy. What a pleasant surprise." Max had stopped next to me and pulled me into a strong hug. "How are you holding up? Maria told me what happened with Devin." My smile faltered for a second and I just shrugged.

"I'm dealing with it. Haven't seen his face for over a week now. Not that I would complain about it." He nodded and reached behind the counter to hand me one of the lollipops he had stashed there. I took it with a smile and quickly unwrapped it.