The Boy Next Door

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

I awoke to the sound of dishes falling. I abruptly woke up and ran to the kitchen. I saw Mrs. Grant laughing at herself.

“Oh, sorry to wake you dear, I accidently dropped my plate.” She said while blushing.

“It’s ok. What time is it?” I asked while searching for a clock.

“It is 8 o’clock P.M.” She said while glancing at her watch on her wrist.

“Dang, I slept long didn’t I?” I asked while playing with my hair.

“Mhm. Will said you passed out at around three. He just went to bed himself an hour ago. The sun wears you out, huh?” she replied while cleaning the broken dish.

I knelt down to help. “So how was your day?” I asked her.

“Amazing. We had lunch at this really nice place, and then we went sightseeing.” She cooed.

I really liked Mrs. Grant. She was one of those cool moms. She was really skinny, and she looked a lot younger than her real age. We finished cleaning up the glass.

“Well I’m pooped myself, so I’m off to bed. G’night dear.” She said as she kissed my cheek.

“’Night.” I replied. Ok, so maybe when she talked she didn’t sound young, but at least she looked it.

I sat on the couch and flipped through the channels, so I ended up on some random soap opera. The plot lines were always so cheesy and fake. I couldn’t help but laugh during the “emotional” parts. When someone died, it had to be dramatic. I swear to God, every five seconds, someone was crying.

At two in the morning, I finally forced myself to go to sleep. If I stayed up late, then I would go to bed early. I saw Will stir in his sleep a little as I climbed into my bed. He was such a heavy sleeper.

The next morning, it was Will’s turn to wake me up. I felt him gently push the hair out of my eyes.

“Wake up Sky.” He whispered into my ear.

I couldn’t help but smile. The boy was just too sweet.

“Alright.” I mumbled and climbed out of bed. I got dressed and went into the kitchen for breakfast. I could smell the bacon from my room.

“So what’s on the agenda for today?” I asked as I scarfed my bacon.

“Well, I was thinking sailing, then surfing, maybe?” Mr. Grant asked.

I nodded rapidly. “Sounds awesome. I miss surfing.” I said enthusiastically.

“When did you learn how to surf?” Mrs. Grant asked.

“When I was younger, I had a beach house in Florida, and my brother taught me. He loved all kinds of sports. He just loved being active.” I gave a small smile at the thought of Michael.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Will told us what happened, and I’m sorry that I brought it up. I didn’t know.” Mrs. Grant babbled.

“It’s ok. It feels good to talk about him at times.” I said while giving her a reassuring smile.

“Ok then.” Mr. Grant said while changing the subject. “Let’s get going.”

I was jumping up and down waiting to rent a sailboat. This was going to be so much fun. Will laughed at my anticipation. I ignored him. We rented two boats. One for the parents and Vicky, and one for Will and me.

Will hopped on the boat, and he held his hand out for me. I gladly accepted it and descended onto the boat. It wobbled as I got on, and I grabbed onto Will for support. I felt my cheeks warm as I clutched his shirt.

We sat on the boat, and we sailed into the crystal blue waters. It was beautiful. I looked down into the water to see colorful fish swim out of our way. I was acting like a little kid. I was so memorized by the view that I forgot that Will was on the boat.

I turned to him and smiled. He was steering the small boat. I crawled over to him, and I put his arm around my shoulder. I snuggled into his chest and looked out at the ocean. This was the perfect moment, and I would never forget it.

After we returned the boats, it was time to surf. We all got into our wetsuits, and we received our boards. I immediately ran into the water. I paddled myself, waiting for a wave. I felt the vibrations in the water, and I got set. The wave came, and I turned my back to it.

As soon as I felt the wave rising under my board, I propped myself up with my hands, and I began to stand. I smiled at my accomplishment. It had been forever since I had been surfing, but it felt great to be back on the board.

I gently glided over the waves, and I could hear Will’s parents cheering me on. It wasn’t like I was doing any special tricks or anything, but it felt nice to have encouragement. I glided back to the sand.

“That was amazing!” I cooed as I wrung my hair out.

“Will, I wanna learn now!” Vicky whined.

“Come on Vick, Will and I will teach you.” I said as I pulled her into the water.

I lifted her onto her board and pulled her out. I didn’t go as far as I went because I wanted her to learn on small waves.

“Now when you feel the wave coming, turn your back to it. When you feel it under your stomach, push yourself up and stand. From there, just try to stay up.” I told her as we waited for the waves. She nodded and waited.

I backed away. The wave was coming. Vicky listened to everything I said, and she was doing great. She got to stand, but fell shortly after. I swam over to her.

“That was great!” I yelled at her. She was smiling.

“I wanna do it again.” She replied. I nodded and got her set again.

The wave came shortly after, and she did the same thing, except this time, she stood up longer. She was really good. I glanced at Will who was sitting on his board.

“Why don’t you try?” I asked him.

He shrugged.

“Are you ok?” I asked as I paddled towards him.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He said, but he looked distant.

“Ok?” I paddled away from him and over to Vicky.

“Your brother is acting weird.” I told her.

“Will is always weird.” She laughed.

I looked over at Will. He still had that vacant look in his eyes.