cotton candy stitches

July 3, 2018

Tristan twirls me around on the beach, laughing at how ridiculous we probably look. He pulls me in and quickly kisses me before twirling me back out. Every Sunday during the summer, they play music on the beach. It's like a big party.

I look up to Tristan, a big smile on my face. He smiles back, pulling me back into him. He intertwines our fingers, kissing the top of mine. His forehead finds itself against mine once again, staring deep into my eyes.

Tristan softly kisses me as his hand gently snakes into my damp hair. Earlier, before the party started, we had gone for a swim. Somehow, Tristan's hair is pretty much close to dry at this point.

I let his lips linger against mine.

"I'm so glad I met you," he murmurs.

"Me too." Tristan pulls me into him. I wrap my arms around his neck. I close my eyes, feeling how well his body slots in between mine. As my head lays on his chest, I feel his heartbeat thrum against it. Tristan slowly runs his hands up and down my back.

"Marla?" My eyes widen. I know immediately who it is. I'm in deep shit now. I lift my head and turn it towards him.

"Z-Zach?" He stands there in pure shock. His eyes look so fucking hurt. Tristan slowly lets go of me as I try my hardest to not freak out. His hand still lingers in mine though. Zach moves closer to us, his hands  gesturing wildly at us.

"W-What... What the fuck is this?!" he shouts, tears beginning to pool in his eyes. Zach's fists clench. Fuck. I angrily back off from Tristan, turning fully to Zach. My heart clenches tight. I want to comfort him so bad but he makes me so mad.

"What you caused! You just... God! You just had to hurt me!" I scream, tears already spilling heavily down my cheeks. Tristan reaches out to hold my hand and I let him hold it. Zach gets even angrier at that.

"When?!" Zach shouts. Tristan puts his arm in front of me, and gives him a warning glare.

"I don't know what's going on, but I will protect Marla against anything. And I mean anything," Tristan warns. Zach practically growls at him.

"You don't even know what's going on, bud," Zach scowls, his eyes glowing with pure anger. Tristan stays quiet.

"What happened to staying away from me?" I question quietly. Zach snaps his head towards me, pain and frustration evident on his face.

"Do you know how badly it hurt me to stay away from you?! I didn't want to, but I thought that space meant that I could have you back! No girl has told me that so I just had to guess, but I guess I ended up guessing wrong..." Zach's words trail off. He's shaking. The light of the bonfire nearby reveals a tear streaming down his cheek. Everyone around us is quiet.

"Whatever you saw or heard was fake or happened way too long ago," he mutters, clenching and unclenching his fists. Shit. Zach gives Tristan a glare before frustratedly wiping his tears away. He gives me one last hurt stare before sulking off to wherever he's going.

Tristan gives me a concerned look.

"I don't want to talk about it..." I whisper. Tristan wraps his arms around me as I silently sob into his shirt. He holds me tight, stroking my hair and kissing the top of my head.

"That's okay..." he mutters into my hair. I nod, tightening my grip on him. He folds his shirt around me and holds me like he's never gonna let go.

Fuck.