The Summer I Drowned (SEA GLASS)

chapter four

"Sorry. I'll remember that." His half-smirk shows off his dimple, and there's that swelling feeling in my heart, boiling through me like hot water. I open my mouth to say something—anything—but then Miles appears at the side of the house, his eyes wide, his lips in a tight line.

"West." He almost growls. "What are you doing here?"

West meets my eyes, increasing the rapid fluttering in my chest, before he pushes past Miles. "Leaving," he says, and then he's gone.

***

Miles lied to Roger.

Yes, we're at the cabin, and yes, both Faye and Miles are here. But Miles had failed to mention—to everyone—that Sean Watters and Drake Bowman are joining us, too.

"I didn't want you guys to back out," Miles explains, the sunlight reflecting off his aviators and into my eyes.

I pull my backpack out of the backseat of his Cadillac. Caldwell is a small place, but it's still crazy for me to see so many kids my age with cars. Back in Toronto, none of my friends even drive. There's not much point when the subway can soar wherever we need to go without the burden of traffic.

"So you tricked us," I say.

"Hold on, Liv." Keely rounds the car and grabs my arm.

"He lied to us, Keely."

"What's with you? Who cares! Obviously we weren't gonna tell my parents that there'd be other guys here."

"Sorry, Liv." Miles ruffles his blond waves. "I wasn't trying to trick you."

Guilt sinks my heart. Suddenly I feel dramatic, and like a total bitch. "Sorry. It's okay."

I don't know why I'm so on edge—Miles must think I'm such a buzzkill. That's it, I'm done being sketchy. I can have fun, too, and I'm going to prove that. Besides, I'm in a bit of a better mood since West apologized. His dickish behavior the other day had been weighing on me.

There's a rusty yellow car parked outside, and laughter echoes from behind the log cabin. Must be Faye and the others. We circle around the house, and sure enough, Faye Hendricks stands around a daytime campfire. She passes through a cloud of smoke and walks toward us.

"You guys are late."

Platinum blonde curls reach the small of her back, freckles stipple her pale cheeks, and her legs are long and willowy. Miles and Faye are twins, but their faces look nothing alike—it's their palettes. It's their blondeness and paleness and susceptibility to sunburns. The skin beside Faye's pink spaghetti straps is rosy, and Miles' cheeks below his sunglasses are a matching red.

"Wow, Olivia. You look amazing," she says.

Her lips smile but her eyes drip with poison. Faye has always hated me. And I mean always. We're total opposites, and as kids, she'd despised how her brothers had liked spending time with me over her. I feel kind of bad about that, but what was I supposed to do? West and Miles had wanted to play pirates and mermaids in the water, and Faye had wanted to dance and play fairies in the forest.

"Thanks," is all I say. I'm not going to waste her time with a disingenuous plastic comment.

"Seriously, I didn't expect you to be so tall."

I'm not tall. I'm five-foot-six.

Drake comes up behind her and slings a limp arm around her shoulder, wearing the same SpongeBob shirt he'd been in at the boat party. I wonder if he's washed it since, or if he just gets drunk for days at a time and never changes. I'd assume the former if he didn't smell like soup, which... he does. Drake kisses the side of Faye's head, but his eyes are on me the whole time.