MIRR/OR/ED

|Chapter 11|

Chapter 11. Truck!

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The tides wash up on the shore as Devin and I rest ourselves on the ledge of the peer, looking down at the sand I watch as a top layer gets dragged under at each pull of the waves. The shine of the sun reflects on the surface below, casting an orange reflection on the bright blue water. Leaving a ring of light to spread out across the never still ocean.

I reach to my satchel and pull out two bright red apples and pass one over to Devin. He smiles back at me as he takes it from my grasp.

"Thanks." He says, turning back to the endless view before us. Comfortable silence sits in the air.

There's a moment of peace before I hear a high pitch yell from the hill we came from. Turning I see Lilly pounding her feet into the sand as she runs down the slope. My heart skips a beat for a moment thinking the worst of her presence.

I push myself up so that I'm standing. "Hey," I yell. Shrinking the distance between us, the creak of the boards below feels like they are going to give out as I slowly step along them. The wind tunnel that brings the tides up sweeps my hair in front of my eyes and I hold my palm up to block it.

Lily grows closer and I can hear the audible. "Hey," she wheezes, out of breath from the run. Maria runs to catch up as she slides down the incline of the hill, followed by Blake and Allison bouncing down behind her.

Sand kicks up at each step they make, and as Lilly steps onto the dock there is a slight sway at the change in weight. "I thought you would have brought me to go scouting?" She asks, as her eyes go in between me and Devin.

"Sorry, some things came up with Tom and I thought getting out for air would be best." I lie through my teeth. The truth sitting on my conscience causing a pang of undeniable guilt to build from my leak in memories of the other her. The nights we spent as kids, building blanket forts while watching cartoons. I push past the image and meet her squinted gaze as her blond hair gathers at her shoulders from her sudden stop in motion.

"Yeah, I heard Blake say something about talking to you two. What was that all about?" She asks with furrowed brows. Behind her, Blake and Allison hold hands as they veer the other direction to the washed in shoreline, dipping their toes in the water.

I try my best to look relaxed, as her question doesn't affect me. "He just needed the full breakdown from Devin, and wanted to be sure I was okay after the fall." I slide off the guilt on my shoulder, hoping she doesn't sense it.

Lilly gives me a slight head nod and the eye that I know so well, searching inside me to see if I'm holding the truth, a small tingle begins on the base of my neck but stops right afterwards. Hoping she doesn't look too deep. I promised myself I would tell her everything, and I will, but all of this is so much for me to process I don't want to give that burden to her.

"Okay, I feel like there's something you're holding back." She points her finger at me with a knowing glare. "But I want to write so I'm not going to press." She taps her book lightly and takes a small leap to the sand below the pier, popping a squat next to Maria and pulling open her paperback book.

I huff out the breath I had been holding in and turn back to the spot I was occupying next to Devin. His head is turned up to me, obviously listening to the conversation we were having.

"You going to tell her?" He asks, his voice hushed so it's not heard by Lilly. I push my finger to my lips to shush him more.

"Yes, but I need some time with these memories..." As I sit on the edge, the splintered wood presses through my jean pants. Holding the apple in one hand I take a bite of it, the flood of the sugar coats my mouth and the juice flies back up at me.