Message In A Bottle - Noah Centineo [English]

Chapter 1

It was another Sunday afternoon I spent at El Matador Beach. The sun warmed the sand underneath my feet and the waves calmed me down. I came there often, whenever I missed my Mom or when I just wanted to be alone. There were hardly ever any people, usually only a few surfers that recklessly gave themselves to the waves. The beach was perfect if you wanted to clear your mind. I had rolled the letter to my mother and had put it in a bottle. It took me a long time to figure out whether it was actually a good idea to send it off into the water, but what could possibly go wrong? My message in a bottle would sink to the bottom of the ocean sooner or later and nobody would ever find it. My Mom and I would be the only ones to know about the letter. I got up and walked to the water. I lifted my dress a little, so I could stand in the water up to my knees. The water cooled me down refreshingly. I nervously played with the bottle in my hands. With all my powers, I threw it into the water as far as I could. The bottle kept floating further and further. I know, I might be crazy, but sending that message in a bottle made me feel closer to my mother. It wasn't my time to let go yet. I wanted to let her know what was going on in my life, I wanted her to be a part of it and I hoped that she would keep an eye on me. At the clinic, they had told me to talk about my feelings. They told me it was important to find a way to deal with my mother's death. Writing my thoughts down in letters was the method that worked best for me. Dad and I never really talked about it since then. I just didn't think it was the right time, considering how painful the entire thing had been for Dad.
I walked out of the water and made my way to Kayla, my best and only friend. On the weekends, we would study together, since I had to catch up on everything. Staying at the hospital and the clinic had been necessary for my overall health, but I had missed a lot of stuff that I needed for my last year in high school.
"Hey there," Kayla greeted me and pulled me into a tight hug. She only lived a few streets away, so I could easily walk to her or take my bike. We sat on her bed and started studying. I was sat at the head of the bed, she was sat at the foot end. I tried concentrating on the numbers in my notebook, but ended up scribbling random circles that I kept continuing.
"You okay?" Kayla asked, catching my attention.
"I guess so."
"Is it your head again? Are you in pain?" She dug deeper. "Does anything hurt? Your legs? Your stomach? Or if you just want to talk, we could-"
"Kayla, stop!" I interrupted. "I'm doing totally fine," I added and put my notebook aside in a frustrated manner.
"Okay, Davina, it's all good. I'm just worried about you, you need to understand that. I'm just happy that you're alive, you struggled for such a long time and I was scared for your life. So forgive me for wanting to make sure that you are okay." She was slowly tearing up.

"I'm sorry," I told her, crawling over to her side of the bed. I wrapped my arms around her tightly. "I'm happy to be alive." I tightened my grip on her. It was true. I was true that I had survived the accident. I always enjoyed life, just like my mother did. Even after the accident, I never once thought of wanting to die. I wanted to live on for my mother and especially my father. It wasn't always easy. There was many times I was in pain, but I tried to hide it. Kayla really tried not to baby me, although I knew she wanted to which was really sweet. 
"You didn't want me to pity you," she said. "That's why we'll be doing math."
"Or we could watch that new super romantic Netflix film," I said, begging with puppy eyes.
"As much as I would love to say yes, but no," she told me, trying to act strict, but holding back a smile.
"You're right. Work comes first."

After finishing algebra, we had watched that new Netflix film that everybody was talking about. 
"Let's be honest, Kayla." I let myself fall onto her bed. "Boys like him don't exist in real life." She lay down next to me with a laugh on her face. "And if he does, it's about time we find one of those." I nodded.
"I guess I'll make my way home now," I told her, getting up from the bed with a groan.
"I'll join you." Kayla shot up from her bed and was right next to me.
"You know I can do that alone," I reassured. 
"What if your leg starts hurting again. I mean, did you look at it?" She asked, pointing at my right leg, which was covered in bruises. I had to admit that it looked weird, especially that big blue bruise on my thigh that had stayed from the crushing. The doctors had told me it would take some time for it to heal. And as long as it would take to heal, I had to deal with disgusted or pitiful looks from other students at school.
"I still have a phone for emergencies, Kayla."
"And I could use a walk," she told me. I couldn't tell her no, so we made our way to my house.
"You wanna come on in?" I asked her, as we stood in front of the door. She nodded and walked into the house with me.
"Davina?" I heard my dad call from the living room. "Somebody came to see you." 
I gave Kayla looks of confusion. Who would possibly visit me? Nobody ever came to see me, except for Kayla. 
"Go ahead," Kayla told me, practically shoving me to the living room. And there he was, sitting there peacefully talking to my father. I looked at him speechlessly. Never in a million years would I have expected him there. As soon as they saw me, he gave me an empathetic look. 
"Your classmate Noah is here, because of a school project you have to do."
"What school project? Oh my Gosh, what subject?" Kayla asked. 
I didn't have the slightest idea. We didn't have any project, or did we? Confusion seemed to be written on my face, which is why Noah got up from the sofa and pulled a bottle from behind his back. My bottle! My bottle with the message in it. How could it possibly land in his hands? If he knew that it was me who wrote it, he probably read the entire letter. Fuck! There went my life...