Picky Eater

Ch 25: Evie?

"Okay," Evie agreed. "I just wanna find a few souvenirs for everybody."

"Including your dad?"

Evie hesitated but nodded.

"Are you still worried about him?"

Evie nodded again. "My mom and dad are my best friends, which means he doesn't have anybody to take care of him. Mom has all her brothers. Daddy doesn't have that. Daddy doesn't have anyone."

Ben's stomach twisted. And he nodded with an understanding he hoped Evie would never understand. "Well, I'm sure this will all be over soon, but hey, let's make this a contest. The person who finds the most intact shells is the winner."

He held out his hand for a gentlemen's agreement.

"Deal," she agreed and then, they were off.

Ben went the other way on the shore, letting the water crash and splash up his legs. It was such a relief from the hot prickle of the sun. Even he had a high chance of getting burned today. The heat radiated from everywhere, the ground, the sky, and even himself. He was not made for the summer and he felt too guilty to dive into the water when the vampires couldn't.

"Watch out!" Someone raised their voice and just as Ben looked up, an inflatable beach ball popped him in the head. Someone cursed, hurrying over. "Hey, sorry. My bad," a young guy said with the kind of smile that could make any offensive forgivable. "I told them not to let me play. I end up repelling everything."

Ben laughed, instantly charmed by this tanned ken doll that walked up to him. Fine. If Nino didn't want to talk to him, Ben would talk to someone else. "Well, then we're a dangerous pair because things tend to gravitate towards me. I can't tell you how many drinks I've spilled on myself daily."

The guy laughed and he had such a pretty smile. Pretty blonde hair. Pretty eyelashes. This guy had heartbreaker potential. From the reactions of his friends, who were laughing and rolling their eyes, they expected this guy to talk to strangers. Ben couldn't tell if he was a lucky target or not.

"Oh, man," the guy joked. "You might have it worse."

"Don't tempt me. I do like some competition."

"Really? Well, uh," the guy glanced behind his shoulder as he stuck the ball between his hip and arm. "You can join us if you want."

Ben knew Nino wasn't a fan of Tim, despite being sponsored by Lincoln. This was a complete stranger, so Nino had to hate this the most. It was petty, but Ben wanted Nino to care about him, even if he was angry. Anything this checked out, apathetic Nino who was growing further and further out of Ben's reach.

Ben glanced at Nino, his eyes sunglasses hiding most of his expression hidden. However, if Ben could hope, he thought those eyes were just above the top of the book. Turning back to this new guy, Ben smiled and titled his head, trying to look as sweet as possible. He wasn't a natural flirt and he was rusty, but Ben was pretty sure he remembered how to turn on the charm.

"I wish I could," Ben said, pretending to pout. "But I'm on a very important mission."

"Are you?" This Ken raised his brow.

"Yes, that little girl over there and me are in a competition to see who can find the best shells."

"Oh, perfect," this guy nodded. He tossed the ball back to his friends. "I am an expert at finding seashells."

"I don't know. It kind of feels like cheating."

"No, no. It's the least I can do for holding you up for so long. You gotta play catch up now."

"Well, alright," Ben agreed, letting this guy fall into step with him. They walked along the shore, gathering shells but mostly talking. Ben learned all about this guy, Sean and this weekend's long vacation with his friends. Just listening to this guy talk was oddly comforting and sweet, like listening to an old folklore when times were simpler and when stakes were as high as they might run out of beer. He talked about how much he loved this place and he felt like it was all over in a blink.

Ben mentioned he was with a friend and his niece and how it was a nice break from his job. He admitted he wrote books, which Sean thought was awesome, but he was bad at writing essays in college, which was what everybody told Ben. Ben also gave him a fake name, too influenced by Nino at this point to not at least put a little bit of a guard up.

Eventually, Sean brought him back to his group of friends and they all greeted Ben nicely and knowingly.

"We're gonna have a huge country boil tonight, if you wanna come," Sean offered. "Uh, can I get your number?"

Ben glanced at Nino again, who shook his head and fully got up. He walked away, up the beach and Ben's chest twisted a little. Ben really was poking the bear. He just didn't know how to get through to him. Didn't know how to make him see that if they didn't do something, they were going to lose each other. Ben didn't want to be left behind. He wanted Nino to choose him.

A few of Sean's friends laughed, some cooing and hyping him up. Ben smiled, wondering if it was nice and easy for normal people.

"Sure," Ben said, but the number he gave was fake. He had his fun, but it was time to go back to reality. "It was nice talking to you and thanks for your help."

"Anytime," Sean said and watched him leave.

Ben walked up to their tent, checking the area for Evie. She wasn't here or by the shore close by. Ben walked down and followed the shore the other way, squinting out further ahead. She shouldn't be that hard to find. A little girl with long dark hair, big pink glasses, and a full cover up. Even down to her water shoes.

A spark of worry hit Ben's stomach, but he didn't fan the flames, keeping it small. Ben was always so quick to worry, but this could be nothing. She might've just wandered farther than Ben. She was faster than him and didn't get distracted by cute boys. Ben still picked up the pace, hurrying through the families and their fun. He found himself hitting the pier and seeing through it to the huge collection of rocks. Evie wasn't there. Ben twisted around, his heartbeat speeding up.

"Evie?" Ben called her name. She had super hearing. If he called, she'd definitely hear him first. "Evie?" He called again. His heart was speeding up again, pounding the wall of his chest, making his limbs shaken and weak.

She knew better than to talk to a stranger or go with them. She could overpower anyone. Then, Ben had an image of Jane and John, the vampires again. Matthew was able to find them. Those vampires found them once, they could always do it again. Ben's stomach folded in on itself. He snapped a look back at the tent and Nino hadn't returned. A horrible thought hit Ben like a bucket of ice water.

Could they have left? Without him? Did Nino finally get tired of him? Ben remembered the way Nino once said, "You're a handful, you know that."

Maybe Nino had finally gotten tired of caring for him. He got dropped. Ben's heart was jumping, doing jumping jacks and smacking the height of his throat. He was going to puke.

Ben tried running through the sand, stumbling through it, calling her name. "Evie? Evie?"

He searched the crowds, ran the length of the beach and back. His skin prickled and he could feel all the patches where his burn was starting to prickle and blister. Ben noticed something sticking out in the sand, something hot pink. Ben ran to it, finding Evie's smashed sunflower sunglasses. He gripped them, snapping his head up at the boardwalk. It was the only other place and maybe somewhere else with shade. It was closer than their tents. Ben hurried up, the sand in his shoes rubbing his feet raw.

"Evie?" He shouted this time, bursting through the crowd. People gave him looks, getting out of his way as he ran for the huge wooden atrium in the middle of the boardwalk. There wasn't a single familiar face in this crowd. Turning fast, Ben accidentally slammed into someone and fumbled back.

"Sorry," Ben said, but the person just huffed and was already walking away. Ben looked around. No Nino either. This was it. He fulfilled Nino's prophecy that they'd be too distracted by each other and their own stupid drama that it would get Evie hurt. He wouldn't blame Nino if he never forgave him, but Evie couldn't even have a chance to hear Ben's apology if he couldn't find her. If he found her too late.