Fluke

40: Rags to Riches (Or So They Say)

"Reagan, you really have to reconsider—" Darrell began as soon as I left the bathroom, but I interrupted.

"I don't reconsider anything. I make up my mind, and that's it."

There were times when I missed what I left behind, and occasionally I wished that I didn't have to make tough decisions, but at the end of the day, my decisions were my decisions, and I stood by them, even if Logan was suddenly acting a little weird.

"You're supposed to be much smarter than this, but I guess I was wrong about that. You can't think more than one step ahead," Darrell continued.

"Smarter than what? What have I done that's even remotely stupid? Fell in love?" I asked.

Logan peered out of the bathroom door behind me and surprised me with a whisper. "Tell him he's fucking stupid. Tell him his genes will die with him. You're doing great, but you need to go for the jugular now. Not sure if it's just me, but predator instincts are kicking in."

I turned around. "It's definitely just you, but thank you for the encouragement."

He smiled. "I love you. Kick his ass, Rea."

I smiled too. Even if something wasn't quite right between us, he still cared enough to feed me a few lines.

"Your genes are going to die with you," I said as I turned back to Darrell. "Especially with your pathetic, pissy way of going about life."

"Too much. You ruined it," Logan whispered.

I turned back around. "I just can't do anything right, can I?"

"No, you cannot," Darrell said.

"Just leave her alone, Darrell. Let her live, for fuck's sake," Logan said.

"This doesn't have anything to do with you, so I would strongly suggest that you take your nose back where it belongs and stay out of this," Darrell said.

"You're not fucking serious right now. I'm the other half of the guilty party here," Logan said.

I covered my ears with my hands. I wasn't any good at socializing, but I wasn't dumb when it came to cause and effect. I knew that this would happen, even when everyone else seemed to think that I was paranoid, and I just wanted to be left alone for once.

Darrell was stubborn, and for some reason, he needed to be included in everything that didn't concern him, but there was nothing I could do about his ridiculous personality. I could only control myself.

"I wanted to celebrate something with you guys, and I thought that we could have a fun night where we could pretend that everything was completely normal, but it's ruined now. And I'm pissed. I'm not even going to hide it." I headed for the front door. "Why can't anyone just let me be happy with myself for once? It's like we have to keep any sort of positivity locked up in a treasure chest on the ocean floor, and I hate it."

I was certain that there were other words exchanged, but I didn't listen to them as I shut the door behind me.

Instead of climbing up to the seal watchtower, I chose I different spot to collect my thoughts. If I had remembered correctly, right where the water reached the rocks during high tide was where Racecar the seal had washed up, lifeless. For some reason, though his body wasn't there anymore, it seemed like the most comforting option for me. A tad dark, yes, but I wasn't in a particularly happy mood.

The trace amounts of blood had also washed away, or I was in the wrong spot. Either way, the rocks were a little wet from the tide rolling back out to sea, and the rockweed cushioned the surface underneath me. I stretched my legs out across the slimy surface, but I didn't mind it at all. Nature wasn't always glamorous, and that was how I liked to live.