Dance In The Rain

~7~ Gilmore What?

I decide to sit on a bench on the boardwalk and call Tate. He answers on the first ring, and I can tell he's mad. "I can't believe you bailed on me and left me alone with him! You have any idea how awkward these last few hours have been?!?"

"Tate...." I get out, my tears running down my burned cheeks and stinging them with their saltiness.

"Are you ok?" He asks, losing his angry tone immediately.

"I-I'm l-lost and I d-don't know h-how to get b-back....." I sob, causing a few tourists to turn and look at me with pity in their eyes.

"Where are you?" He asks as I hear the screen door shut.

"Dock Street"

"Ok, stay there and I'll find you."

"Okay," I cry as I hang up and feel completely miserable.

"I promise I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but...Well I guess I was. You're lost? Which hotel are you staying at?" A cute boy with hazel eyes and sandy brown hair asks as he sits down next to me on the bench.

I shake my head and give him a watery smile. "I'm not staying at a hotel."

He gives me a funny look as he tilts his head. "You at a rental house on the beach?"

"No..."

He nods as he looks out at the ocean. "Uh, ok. Well where are you staying then? The houses and hotels are all we have for tourists here."

I laugh humorlessly as he turns back to me, his eyes somehow bluer than the ocean.

"I'm not a tourist."

His eyes widen as he looks at me like I'm crazy. "Did you and your family just move here? I had no idea there were any houses for sale right now."

I shake my head. "My brother and I moved in with our other brother yesterday."

I can tell he's trying to wrack his brain, but he really just thinks that I'm drunk...And burned....I'm actually just a hot mess right now.

"Who's your brother?"

"Holden Thompson."

His mouth drops open and he stands up suddenly, making me jump.

"Mr. Thompson?!?! You're living with Mr. T?"

"Uh...Yeah?"

He smiles big and sits back down next to me. "He's my favorite teacher. I wondered why he hadn't been in school the last few days."

"You always so friendly with people you don't know, or are you taking advantage of her?" Tate snaps, causing cute boy to stand up and straighten his back.

"Who are you?" cute boy asks.

"Who are you?" Tate asks as he comes up next to me, looking at my burned skin and rolling his eyes.

"I'm Gage...Gage Mackney."

Tate doesn't look impressed as he turns to me. "How the hell did you get lost? Holden is literally up that little road. Did the sun burn your brain?"

I sigh as I stand up and give Gage a smile. "Thanks for......Thanks," I say as I turn and walk away.

"I didn't catch your name," he yells after me.

Tate turns to him and starts to chuckle sarcastically. "This town is small. I'm sure you'll know in twenty minutes."

~*~

As we walk up the small path, I can tell Tate is really mad at me.

"Sorry I abandoned you," I say as I try to take his hand. He roughly pulls it away and scoots further, shaking his head at me.

"I never would've done that to you!" He seethes.

"Tate, you did it all the time."

"You're so full of shit, Julianne," he snaps as he picks up his pace.

When we get into Holden's house, he's waiting for us on his run-down porch, and his face is weird. When he sees me, he stands up and rushes over.

"Annie...Look how burned you are! Dang," he whispers as he inspects my now tomato-red skin.

He grabs my hand gently and makes me turn, looking at my back as a hiss escapes his lips. "Sleeping tonight is going to be miserable for you. Let's go to the drugstore and see if we can get you something."

"Like new skin?" Tate snaps as he goes inside and slams the door.

Holden ignores Tate as his eyes meet mine. "How long had you been lost for?"

At my shrug, his eyes look sad. "I'm so sorry. I was trying to give you space to clear your head, but I shoulda went with you."

"I'm fine," I say as I maneuver around him and go inside, only then realizing that it isn't any cooler inside than it is out.

"Is your air not on?" I ask him.

He gives me another sad smile and shakes his head. "I can't afford it on all the time. I save it for the super hot months."

I suppress a groan as I go by the fan oscillating and put my back against it, the air doing nothing to cool my burning skin.

This just keeps getting better