Rain pounded steadily against the narrow window that overlooked the harbor district of Charleston. I starred out of it with puffy, tear-induced eyes, trying to avoid eye contact with the psychiatrist that sat at the opposite end of the room. I sat in the middle of a black leather couch, my knees pulled up to my chest.
"Olivia? Did you hear me?" Dr. Gerson said in a tone that was almost inaudible from the rain storm.
"Yes." I said, still trying to make the least amount of eye contact as possible.
"Would you like to answer? Let me repeat the question." She paused to write down something. Most likely it was my lack of participation. "Do you remember what you were doing when you got the phone call?" Of course I do, like it was yesterday, I thought to myself.
"Yes." I repeated, sounding like a broken record.
"Would you like to tell me?"
"Why not?" I said, finding the courage to sit up and swipe a piece of hair from out of my face.
"Go ahead, I'm all ears." Dr. Gerson took off her glasses and looked at me with mother-like eyes.
How could I not forget that warm September day a week ago? I was sitting on my bed looking over my senior year class schedule for about the tenth time that day alone. I still couldn't believe school was starting in over a week. The family of Warblers that lived in the giant Oak tree outside of my bedroom window sang their harmonic melodies, mixing with the faint sound of some Taylor Swift song I've heard over ten times coming out from my radio. My phone created an ripple of vibrations against my nightstand. Audrey's face popped up as the caller I.D.
"Hey." I said, putting aside the sheet of white paper.
"I need a coffee fix. Beans in ten?" By the sound of her voice, she was climbing in the driver seat of her white Mercedes Benz like she already knew my answer.
"Of course." I said, grabbing my tan hobo bag off of my dresser and headed out of the door.
Downtown Ledgewood Falls had steady streams of patrons coming in and out of restaurants and shops the lined the two-way street. I saw a group of girls whom I recognized from school carrying Steve Madden and Forever 21 bags walking down the sidewalk. The moment they saw my Honda CRV and my face, they waved to me. I waved back and smiled before turning into the Beans, a tiny coffee shop, parking lot. It wasn't hard to spot Audrey's perfectly self-curled auburn hair that complimented tan shorts and a bedazzled pink crop top.
"Why do you have to dress up for everything! Its just coffee!" I said, coming to her side as I looked over an all too familiar menu.
"You know my motto: 'Dress to impress!'" Audrey said after she gave me a hug. We sat at a table under a green umbrella after my iced chai tea was finished being blended.
"So, ready to go back to school?" Audrey said after taking a sip of her caramel macchiato.
"I guess so, this summer felt endless though."
"I know right? We did a lot." As Audrey told me her favorite trip to the beach over the dozens we've had to have taken, I went back to my favorite memory: going to the local amusement park for the entire day and spending the night looking at the stars. "Liv, did you hear me?"
"Huh?"
" I said, has Michael texted you back about dinner tonight? Victor hasn't responded to any of mine." Audrey skimmed through her Blackberry. looking for messages, having a confused look on her flawless face. I pulled out my iPhone from my purse and shook my head.
"Nada." I said, a worried tone in my voice. "He probably doesn't have service in the woods."
"Probably." Audrey said, throwing her phone on the table. "How long have y'all been going out for? I lost count." She giggled her classic Audrey May Payson giggle.
"Almost two years. Crazy right?" I said, taking another sip of my tea.
"And I thought Victor and I were going out of a while."
I love how Audrey and I dated two amazing guys who happened to be best friends. Double dates always worked out, carpooling was easy as pie, and talking to each other was even easier. Victor was like an older brother I never had and Michael was like Audrey's older brother she wish she had instead of David.
After a good forty-five minutes of girl talk, an unfamiliar number showed up on my screen.
"Have you ever seen this number?" I said. I turned the screen to Audrey and a look of panic came across her face.
"That's my mom's." Audrey brought a French-manicured nail to her mouth and began to bite it.
"That's weird. I have her as a contact?" I half asked, half said.
"Liv, that isn't her regular cell number, that's her work number. It must be important."
"Hello." I said in a nervous tone after sliding the touch-screen to open the call.
The smile on my freshly tanned face turned into a frown as I heard the words come unsteadily out Mrs. Payson's mouth.
"Okay." I mumbled softly out of my mouth. I turned the phone off and looked at Audrey from across the table, tears forming in my eyes but refusing to come out. I pushed away from the table and basically sprinted to my car, Audrey chasing after me.
"What happened? What did my mom say?" Audrey said through my half-opened window.
"We need to get to the campgrounds. Now." My hand was shaking so much that I could barely get the key into the ignition.
"Why?" Audrey yelled over the roaring engine.
"Victor and Justin came back from the campsite...without Michael. They don't know where he is." I said before pulling out of the parking lot, leaving a pale-faced Audrey rushing to her car.
Even though Sparkling Stone Campgrounds were an hour away, driving madly with tears forming in your eyes made the ride feel like it was four hours away. When I had gotten to the campsite, shortly followed by Audrey, news vans from a dozen local and sate-wide stations, even some national ones, had already beat us there. I shut my car door loudly, sounding that the worried girlfriend of the missing boy had come to figure out what the hell was going on. I saw Victor and Justin being interview separately by police officers with stern looks on both of their faces. Justin saw me first and excused himself from the officer.
Justin Kane, the typical boy-down-the-street. The first real guy friend I had when I had moved to Ledgewood Falls over two years ago. He introduced me to everyone at school, was a shoulder to cry on when Michael wasn't available and was basically one of my best friends. With him puppy-dog icy blue eyes and his tussled dirty blonde hair, it was hard to say no to him. He and Michael had been close ever since kindergarten.
"Liv!" Justin said, slightly jogging to my side. Before he could even say another word, I was already talking;
"Where's Michael!" I demanded instead of asking politely.
"Liv, wait a minute." Justin said in a calming tone, attempting to calm me down. His two muscular hands came onto my shoulders, trying to stop me from going forward.
"I don't have a minute, Justin." The words trickled out of my mouth, falling and breaking into a million pieces onto the dirt covered road.
"Listen to me! You need to!" Justin's large hands went on my shoulders and turned me towards him. For the first time in our friendship, Justin wasn't just caring about me, he was worried about how my feelings were going to be affected.
Just before Justin could tell me his side of the story, I heard an unfamiliar voice yell "We found him!" A jolt of happiness ran through my body. I took off in the direction where the voice came from but came to an unpleasant stop. My face went pale. My hands felt like all of the blood had been drained from them. All went silent, except the crunching of the dirt and leaves under Justin's shoes as he came up behind me and his two words that will forever be stuck in my memory;
"Oh, shit."
I saw the body bag being rolled out from the woods. The opaque plastic bag covered his beautiful face. Michael D'Ivanni was gone. Ledgewood Falls' star basketball player, gone. Victor and Justin's best friend, gone. My Michael D'Ivanni was gone. Forever. In that instant, my knees turned to Jell-O. I fell to the ground, not caring what I landed on or how many scrapes and cuts I would have on my bare legs. The tears started to flow like a river after a flood. Never ending saltiness landed on my cheeks, bringing my Maybelline mascara with them, leaving dry streaks in ugly patterns. I felt Justin come behind me, trying to pick me up from the ground, but my body refused.
I felt Audrey sit down next to me and hold me. I could see the prominent tears on her cheeks. We sobbed. Cameras of all types began flashing from all directions. The last thing I wanted was my tear soaked, uber red face to be on the front page on a newspaper the next morning. I saw Victor's massive body block Audrey and I from the front and Justin from the other main side. I felt the skin around my eyes puff up from the countless tears. My throat became tight, like a giant meatball was stuck in the middle. I laid my head on Audrey's shoulder as she stroked my hair. The last thing I saw, or remember seeing were the paramedics closing the door to the ambulance that held the lifeless, unmoving body of the only boy I truly loved.
Dr. Gerson stayed silent even after I had finished the story I was sick of telling everyone. I saw a single tear drip out of her left eye, indicating it was a tear of pain.
"That's it." I said, breaking the silence that seemed to last forever. I glanced at the clock and grabbed my purse. "May I leave now?" Dr. Gerson fumbled to find the right words before nodding her head yes. I left the office as quickly as I could, trying to dodge the rain that soaked the roads and the sidewalk. I pulled up the hood of my yellow pea coat and headed towards my car.
"Afternoon, sweetheart." My father's voice startled me when I walked into the kitchen. He sat at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the sports section of the New York Times. The exact place where I left him when I left two hours ago. "How was your visit with Dr. Gerson?" His voice was calm, like he was trying his hardest not to bring back the horrible memories.
"Depressing, but I powered through it." I was always honest when I talked to my dad. I took off my coat and hung it up on the coat rack that hung over the door that led to the garage.
"Good. Are you going to go back for another session?" He took a long swig of his coffee. The aroma from grounds swirled around the kitchen and up into my nose, warming it from the cold outside.
"I don't think so. I don't think I can handle it." The words chocked my throat like a boa constrictor.
"If that's what you think, then I think you should go with whatever sounds best to you." My dad stood up and placed his coffee cup in the sink "Are you ready to go back to school tomorrow?" He refused to let our little conversations stop.
"I guess so. It will be hard without Michael at my side, but I have Audrey and Justin to lean on. I have all of my supplies and I finished all of the work my teachers had sent that I missed." I counted out the things I had done on my fingers.
"Sounds like you're on top of everything. I have to go the drugstore, do you need anything?" My dad grabbed the keys to his Audi off of the key ring and made his way out of the door.
"I'm good. Thanks, dad. Thanks for everything you've done the past week." I smiled but kept my eyes on the kitchen table where I sat.
"That's what parents are for. Your mother and I are always here for you." There was a moment of silence then the door slammed shut, leaving me alone in an empty house. The wind howled like a lone wolf when I made my way up to my bedroom. The light coming in from my curtains created eerie patterns on the ceiling and carpet. It felt as if a thousand ghosts were watching the seventeen year old, heartbroken girl make her way to collapse on her bed. Or was it just one beautiful angel sitting next to me on my bed. The angel I had yet to see. Ever since the accident, I had felt as if there was another person, or people, watching me do whatever I was doing. The only thing I was one-hundred percent positive on, was that Michael might have been gone on the earth, but he would never be gone from my memory.
The next morning, I woke up by myself and had a fresh, clean feeling to my face that is the opposite to the usual sticky-faced Liv that woke up on Mondays. I had a good hour and ten minutes before school started, so I could take my time to eat breakfast and look as presentable as I could. I walked downstairs to the kitchen to find an amazing surprise: my mom had already cooked me French toast and it was sitting on the table, adjacent to a bouquet of carnations that most likely my dad had gotten me.
"Mom, you're the best." I said while I gave her a hug. She was sitting down at the table eating a piece of French toast hungrily.
"You're welcome, Liv. I just thought it would be something to start off your day in a good way." My mom's dark brown, short layers bobbed up and down as she went to fill up her cup of orange juice. I smiled as I dug into the soft, buttery goodness that was my slice of French toast, but on the inside my smile had yet to come out since Michael's death. "There's one more thing." My mother's voice broke through my thoughts.
"Huh?" I said through a mouthful of strawberries. My mom place a white bag with a bright blue bow. "Oh, mom." I tried to make my voice as lively as possible. I opened up the bag to find a Tiffany and Company signature blue box. I gave my mom a look, she knew what it meant. I took off the lid of the box to find a shiny, brand new Tiffany and Co. signature chain bracelet. The silver heart had my initials engraved into it. "It's gorgeous." I said without taking my eyes off of the bracelet.
"Let me help you put it on." My mother wrapped the bracelet around my left wrist and clasped it shut. She gave me another hug and told me if I didn't get ready I would be late. I followed her orders and cleared my plate and headed upstairs.
"You ready for today?" Audrey said when I picked up her call and after putting it on speaker.
"I guess so. Better now than never." I said as I slipped a green chiffon shirt over my camisole. I shimmied into patterned shorts following cork wedges. Audrey kept repeating that she was always there for me if I needed anything.
"Are you wearing heels today? I don't want to be the only person who is." I could hear Audrey's voice change, most likely because she was puckering her lips so she could put lipstick on.
"Our school is preppy, most girls wear heels. And yes, I'm wearing wedges." I could hear Audrey sigh.
"Okay, girly. See you at school!" I heard the monotone of beeps after she hung up the phone, a noise I was hauntingly too familiar too. As I applied the last brush of powder to my face, I heard a crashing sound. My cat, Snickers had knocked over a picture frame off of my desk that sat adjacent to my vanity where I was sitting.
"Snicks! What are you doing?" I said in my baby-voice, the only way I talked to my beloved white kitty. I picked up the frame that held a picture I refused to get rid of: my beloved picture of my mother, father, and I on my first day of school at Ledgewood Falls High.
The picture was taken in front of our house in the Ledgewood Estates neighborhood. It was the first day of my sophomore year. I was wearing a pink chambray button down dress, my smile was bigger than it had ever been. I was excited to be going to a normal a normal high school for the rest of my high school years, instead of moving from state to state, country to country. My mom had dropped me off at the front of the school. I sighed as I looked at the entrance of the Ledgewood Falls High School, a enormous brick arch with the school's initials spelled out in a bright white paint. I saw my future peers dart around me and walking under the arch and walking into through the doors of the school's main building. I heard soft whispers like 'who's that new girl?' or 'where did she come from?'. I decided that it was time for me to grab some of my non-existent courage. I re-slung my Vera Bradley over my shoulder and walked into the front door, that was being held open by an older boy in a varsity jacket, of the school. The entrance of the school was a large, square, 3-walled room that held a small amount of the students. The walls were painted a tangerine orange and black, what I assumed were the school colors. Pictures of past classes and students lined the walls. I felt as if all of the eyes from people in the pictures were starring in my direction.
"I like your outfit!" A voice in front of me said in a perky tone. I couldn't find the voice where it came from, so I continued on with my descent to find my way to the office. Luckily, for my sake, there was a sign hanging on a wall that pointed to the office, or the way to it. A bell went off, probably sounding the start of homeroom, clearing the hallways. I finally found the office that was surrounded by glass walls. A woman well into her fifties in a blouse a size too tight stood behind the main desk shuffling papers.
"Newbie." She said.
"Um, excuse me." I said as walked over to the other side of the desk.
"New, right?" The woman said to me without looking up from the pile of paper.
"Yes. I was told to come to the office." The woman finally looked up from the papers and peered at me through her water-blue eyes.
"Then, you're in the right place. Olivia Perry?" She smiled slightly, making me do the same.
"That's my name." The woman, whose name still was a mystery to me, waved to me to come behind the counter and to her own desk. The nameplate on the edge of the desk read Connieso I assumed her name was Connie.
"Let's pull up your permanent record from your freshman year..." Connie was thinking out loud. For the next forty minutes, Connie told me my schedule, the school policies, and other miscellaneous school information. I heard second bell ring. "Let's get to your second class." Connie stood up from the desk and waved her hand to the main hallway.
"American Literature. Right?" I asked as we walked down another hallway to her side.
"You are correct." Connie stopped in a small office, collected a pile of papers, and continued leading me to literature class. I heard the already familiar bell go off, indicating I was late.
"Who is this? Do we have a new student on our hands?" A sweet voice said as Connie led me into the room. All nineteen heads in the room turned towards the doorway, the place I was standing. A gray-haired petite woman with glasses connected to a gold chain. I could tell by the sound of her voice, I was going to like American Literature.
"Yes we do. This is Olivia Perry." I took a step forward and smiled a quick smile.
"That must be why I have an empty seat." The older woman nodded toward a seat in between a girl with soft red hair who was smiling at me and a very cute boy with electric blue Nike shoes. He turned toward me, looked at my dress and smiled, revealing dark braces. "Go ahead and take your seat, darling. I've got it from here, Connie."
"Have a good day, Laura." Connie said before turning away. I walked down the aisle that lead to the empty desk and sat down.
"Tell us about yourself, Olivia."
"What would you like to know?" I said crossing my legs under my desk.
"That's the joy about this class! Say anything you feel like. I am Mrs. Walker by the way." She sat down on a stool in the front of the classroom and took a sip from a 'life's just a beach' mug.
"Well, I preferred to be called Liv and I turned fifteen two weeks ago. I moved here from Spain, an-."
"Spain! How fun! How long were you there for?" Mrs. Walker, along with the entire class stared at me with dilated pupils.
"A year. My dad's work was transferred there and now here."
"Well, you've had an exciting past year."
"Yeah." I laughed to myself.
"Now," Mrs. Walker said in a booming theatrical voice, "welcome to my class!" Mrs. Walker explained her class rules up until the bell rang.
"Hey! We're locker buddies this year!" The girl who sat next to me in English said. "I'm Audrey. Liv, right?"
"That's me! I like your name." I said back. She led me to our lockers, slim little metal cages whose only purpose is for hold books. "Do you know where Algebra is?" Audrey checked herself in the mirror that hung her locker and shut it with a slam.
"Up the stairs and it's the second door on the right. Let me see your schedule." I handed her the sheet which she skimmed over with her piercing green eyes hand roughly handed it back to me. "We have American Literature, lunch, and World History together." She smiled at me and turned in the opposite way and headed down the hall. I followed Audrey's detailed instructions and went to the math room where a stocky man with an army-style haircut was writing on a dry-erase board. Pieces of paper with my name scribbled on it was sitting on the second desk in the middle row. I sat in my seat and grabbed a pen out of my bag.
Other students in my class streamed into the classroom, chatted, and went to their assigned seats.
"You just moved into Ledgewood Estates, right?" the blonde boy in front of me said.
"Yeah." I said without looked up from assignment book. "Why?" I wasn't trying to be rude, but the way the words came out as if I snubbed him.
"I live down the street, I'm Justin Kane." His friendly voice made me look up. I could already tell he was a sweetie. He smiled and held out his hand. I took it and shook it firmly.
"This place definitely has Southern hospitality." I laughed. "I'm Liv. Liv Perry."
"It's nice to meet you. You'll like it here." His smile assured me that it will be. He turned around as the bell sounded. Mr. Army Haircut stood up in front of the class and started talking about the 'exciting' world of math. At the end of the period, he reminded everyone to come cheer on the football game, which he was the head coach of, and let us out of class a couple of minutes early. I went back to my locker and was surprised to find Justin standing against the locker on the left side of me. "What's your next class?"
"Spanish. I can find my way, though. Thank you." I shut my locker and slowly but surely found my way to the Spanish room. I had a fluent conversation with a very pretty dark-haired woman who's baby bump looked exactly like a basketball. I made it through Spanish and found myself looking for a lunch table.
"I usually sit outside." A semi-familiar voice said from behind me. Audrey grabbed me by the arm and gently dragged me outside. A small patio enclosed by a black iron gate. Nine tables that could sit eight each sat rearranged in a zigzagged pattern were dotted with students. Audrey found sat me down at a table closet to the gate. "So, you're from Spain? Tell me about it!"
"I'm not from Spain. I lived there for a year." I took a bite out of a peanut butter sandwich and looked at her. "I'm originally from Beaufort."
"I love Beaufort! I go there every year." Audrey's eyes got big saying 'tell me more'. Justin sat across from Audrey after giving her a hug.
"You're everywhere I go!" I laughed as I looked at him.
"Its not that big of a school." Justin shrugged. He bit into a carrot stick and talked to Audrey about what happened over the summer.
"Who's the new girl?" A deep voice from behind Audrey said.
"Liv." Audrey and Justin said at the same time. I smiled at the boy whose name I still didn't know.
"I'm Victor Leanings." He smiled at me and sat down on the bench next to me. I smiled at him after licking my teeth to make sure there was no reminisce of peanut butter stuck in them. "Do you like it here so far?" I was surprised Victor was trying to talk to me. I was silent for most of the day. I was surprised that I still had a voice left.
"Yeah. So far. The day is only half done though." I was being honest, something I hadn't done in awhile.
"That's good. Are you going to go to the football game Friday?"
"Victor! Don't over run her with things!" Audrey spat at him, pushing him playfully on the shoulder. "You don't have to go, Liv. We'll win anyways."
"I like football games! Its one of the things I missed in Spain." I said before Victor could say anything.
"I can take you. I have to go past your house to get to school." Justin chimed in.
"You drive?" I said in a curious voice.
"Yeah. I got my license in June."
"Yay! Friday night lights!" Audrey blurted in, but in and up beat tone. I smiled and continued eating my lunch, trying not to look like a pig. The bell that signaled the end of lunch rang and I found myself walking next to Audrey on our way to world history.
"Name." A man with salt and pepper hair and round glasses said.
"Audrey Payson."
"Third seat in the second row." He turned to me.
"Olivia Perry." He looked over his sheet once or twice, scanning for my name until finally finding it.
"First seat, last row." He huffed. The only friend I had so far was on the total opposite side of the room, and by the looks of it, she was talking to a large group of girls that were seated in the desks around her. I sighed and kept my eyes straight forward. Round Glasses Man, whose name I found out early that class was Mr. Lotus, like the flower, told us that every quarter we would have an oral presentation due that would be worth five percent of our final grade.
"Ugh. A presentation every quarter!" Audrey whined as I shut my locker after pulling out a binder I had marked for chemistry.
"Easy way to earn points." I said, trying to brighten up her mood. "Where's the chemistry room?"
"Chemistry is in the science wing across from the gym. The middle door." Audrey said as she walked in a different direction. The door outside of the chemistry room was covered in a color coded periodic table.
"This is going to be fun." I said sarcastically under my breath. I was never a fan of science. I opened the door, but found it heavier than I thought. A hand from behind my head helped me. I turned around to see a boy, at least five inches taller than me, helping me with it. "Thanks." I said with a soft smile.
"You're welcome." He said back, showing a beautiful pearly whites. I took a seat at one of the stools that sat around the lab bench and watched as other peers of mine, all male, streamed into the room. I looked over the room three times to look for a girl, but I was the only one.
"Welcome to the exciting world of chemistry!" said a very thin blonde woman in her early twenties. "I'm Miss. Evans." Miss. Evans' personality seemed sweet and kind, maybe chemistry wasn't going to be so bad. But, then I remembered I was the only girl in my class. I sat on the stool and scribbled meaningless doodles in my notebook as the teacher talked all the way until the bell rang.
"Where's study hall?" I asked Audrey.
"Library, upstairs. Two big glass doors, can't miss it." She waved good-bye to me as she made her way to Home Economics, I think is what she told me.
Books Are A Way To A New Life! Read a sign that hung over the glass doors that Audrey referred to. I took a seat by myself at a table that over looked the football field. I saw familiar faces of girls and boys from classes I had earlier that day fill up seats around me. The one boy who helped me open the door the period prior to study hall walked into the library with Victor. When he saw me, he waved; I waved back and smiled. They sat at a table with other boys that looked over in my direction. I ignored them and listened to the supervisor, Mr. Army Haircut from my geometry class, told us it was a silent study hall but on Fridays we were allowed to talk. Sounded right to me, considering he was a football fanatic.
I read The Hunger Games book for the remainder of the period, keeping to myself as other tables around me laughed and whispered around me, creating a cloud of words swirling above the library. The already- annoying bell rang, having everyone except myself and the group of boys, including Victor, taking no time to leave the room.
"How are you getting home?" Audrey asked as she saw me gather books out of my locker.
"My mom is picking me up in like five minutes. What about you?"
"I have volleyball practice." Audrey grabbed a Gatorade bottle from the side of her backpack and took a sip.
"Oh, I didn't know you played. I love volleyball." I played it in Spain every time I went to the beach, which happened to be every weekend.
"The games are always on Thursday nights. Gotta go! Have a good night!" Audrey turned around and started talking to a tall blonde who I presumed was on the volleyball team with her.
My mom's blue, basically black, Subaru was waiting for me when I walked out of the school.
"How was school?" She asked as she put the car in drive and rolled away from school. I leaned my head against the window and smiled.
"I think I'm going to like it here, a lot." I heard my mom say that she was happy for me but I got distracted when I saw Justin and the guy who helped me open the door before Chemistry. The mystery boy waved to me and grinned, showing those teeth that were glued into my mind, having Justin do a ripple affect. All I could do is smile.
The flashback brought a shiver over my body. I took a quick look in the mirror that hung in the kitchen before walking out of my front door and to my car. Justin honked his horn as he drove past. I waved to him without looking up from my car keys as I fumbled to find the right one. I got to school rather early, having left my house ten minutes earlier than I rather do. I parked next to Justin, who was still sitting in his car, texting someone on his phone.
"You look nice." He gave me a hug, just long enough for me to smell the cologne on his gray tee shirt.
"Thanks. I'm ready for this day to be over." I locked my car and walked alongside Justin.
"Coffee after school?" I could tell Justin was trying to comfort me in the smallest ways possible. How could he be so calm? His best friend died just over a week ago. And the worst part is that the police still have no idea how Michael died.
"Not today." I looked at my feet as we walked into the school.
"Just let me know when you're up for it. I'm here for you, Liv." Justin patted me on the head like I was a little lost puppy and dropped me off at my locker and continued on his way. I opened my locker to find all four of my textbooks sitting on the top shelf of my locker, organized by color; Audrey's doings. I took out my Anatomy book and walked towards the science wing. I made it just in time before the bell rang. The teacher rambled on about our first dissection and about how much it would impact our grade. She talked the entire forty-five minutes and dismissed us when the bell rang. I was surprised that I had made it through the day. Everyone whom I passed in the hall gave me warm smiles with their eyes, like they all knew I was the girlfriend of the boy who mysteriously died. Since Audrey wasn't in my lunch period, I sat with a group of girls I had become close with in my study hall sophomore year. I only talked when they asked me questions about my summer or when they complimented on 'how well' I was taking the whole death of my boyfriend, I mean ex-boyfriend.
I spent the rest of the night in my room working on the first essay of the year. Mrs. Walker, I was very grateful I had her again, told us we should write a four-to-five page fictional story on any vacation we could take. I decided to write about going to Bora-Bora, a place I've always wanted to go. I hadn't been on my computer since my fateful trip to the campgrounds, so a strange feeling swept over me when I had realized that the background of my Apple computer was a picture of Michael and I, from a trip to the beach we took in mid September of sophomore year, just a month after meeting. The picture was old but it was one of my favorites of us together. The afternoon, that turned into a long night, at the beach was special to me because it was the first of many kisses Michael and I shared together.
"Have you ever been to a South Carolina beach?" Audrey said when she called me on the very humid Saturday morning.
"Not since I was little."
"Justin came up with the idea. He said he could take you. And since Victor just got his license, he's picking Michael and I up." Audrey sounded like she was drinking something, most likely through a straw.
"Michael's coming?"
"I invited him. I know you two have chemistry together, and not just because ya'll are lab partners." Her southern-ess seemed to creep into every sentence she spoke.
"We text, I think he's a cutie. That's it." I laughed under my breath. I couldn't deny the fact that Michael was cute. His slick brown (basically black) hair was just a centimeter off of the Bieber-cut. His smile lit up any room he walked into. His espresso brown eyes were almost identical to mine. We hadn't stopped texting since he needed help with chemistry homework and got my number from Audrey. He always managed to find a way to talk to. I always smiled when we talked, over the phone or in person.
"Sounds great. I have to ask my mom, hold on." I put down my phone, went to see my mom, got her answer (a yes), and told Audrey I was in.
"Awesome! Justin said he'll pick you up around 2."
"That's in half an hour!" Knowing Audrey, she was already in her bathing suit and was applying foundation, or some kind of waterproof makeup. I never wore makeup to the beach. It was just going to melt off.
"Then move your butt!" I heard the dial tone as Audrey hung up. I walked to my room and pulled out a red and white stripped bikini and packed a bag full of a towel, a water bottle, a hairbrush, and other odds and ends I might need at the beach. I heard the beep of a car horn a short while later and found myself sitting in the front seat of Justin's Toyota.
"Mind if we stop at Piggly Wiggly? I need to get food for the cookout." Justin said, after stopping to let a fit woman and her dog to walk across the street.
"Not at all. I'll buy something for everyone. I got paid yesterday, anyways."
"Oh yeah! How's the job?" Justin was referring to my job I had gotten at a local boutique. I had applied with my mom after my first day of school, I had received a call the following night saying that I had gotten the job.
"Good. Its really nice and it pays well; twenty dollars a day."
"Nice! You know, the mom of a girl in our grade owns it." Justin said as he carefully parked in the parking lot of Piggly Wiggly.
"Who?"
"Chloe Clader . Her mom's last name is Hepburn, though."
"Like Audrey Hepburn!" I snickered to myself.
"She's Audrey's great-niece. Pretty cool huh?" Justin took a package of hotdogs out of the frozen food aisle and put it into the basket I was holding.
"I'm a huge Audrey Hepburn fan!"
"So is Chloe, she mooches off of her famous relatives, but that's a story for another day." I could tell Justin wasn't the biggest Chloe Clader fan. I bought the gang fixings for s'mores and bought Justin and myself a four pack of Redbull. We continued on the main paved road until Justin turned off to a small dirt road, the kind in horror movies where something terrifying lies at the end of the road, like an abandon cabin where everyone slowly gets killed off, leaving the shy girl alone to suffer in pain and eventually hang herself.
"W-where are we?" I stammered like the little lone girl that was going to see all of her friends die.
"It's path to a tiny part of a public beach. Its kind of...secluded." Justin chugged back the rest of his Redbull. "No worries. Its still beautiful. Michael suggested the idea. Speaking of Michael, what's going on between you two?" Ugh. Not Justin. Did everyone think Michael and I were dating?
"We're just friends."
"Just friends? Okay, what ever you say, Liv." I could hear the sarcasm in Justin's voice, slightly mocking me. We finally pulled into the non-existent parking lot made of sand and parked next to Victor's Ford truck. Michael was pulling a medium-sized barbeque out of the bed of the truck, smiling as he saw me get out. I took my bag out of the back of Justin's car and gave Michael a hug after he set down the barbeque.
"So, you thought of this place?" I said, walking next to him as we made our way to the makeshift camp that Victor and Audrey were at.
"Yeah. We've all come here before and its always a blast. No worries, Liv. You'll have fun." Michael said. Victor and Audrey were sitting in folding chairs that they had setup around a pit that was most likely for a bonfire later that night, and were drinking Cokes.
"Hey, Liv!" Audrey said once she saw me. She was dressed in jean shorts and a yellow tank top, almost an identical outfit to the one I was wearing. She gave me a hug and led me to sit down next to her. We, by we I mean everyone except me, talked about the beginning of school and what they were looking forward to. I sat on the ground and listened as they talked, creating designs in the sand with my toes and laughing whenever Victor or Michael said something amusing.
"What about you, Liv?" Michael said, as he sat down in the sand next to me. "What are you most excited for during sophomore year?"
"Um, I would say basketball season. They don't really have it in schools in Spain." I took a sip from another can of Red Bull.
"I'm on the basketball team, but I'm not very good." Michael said. I could pick out a tiny bit of sarcasm.
"Bullshit!" I heard Victor say. I heard Audrey's distinct giggle. "You're the only person in Ledgewood Falls history to make the varsity team as a Freshman!"
"Seriously?" I said sitting up right and turning to Michael.
"Yeah, I guess I'm pretty good." He winked at me and slipped his arm around my waist. I fidgeted for a second but resisted the urge to move because the way he held me sent a jolt through my body that felt so right, or was it so wrong?
"Then I guess I'll have to see a game or two." I said. The boys decided to cook up dinner after we splashed around in the water for half an hour. Audrey dragged me back into the water. The salty waves splashed around my body as I made my way to Audrey that was a good for or five feet in front of me.
"I see the connection between you and Michael, so do Victor and Justin. Victor thinks you two are going to hook-up tonight." Audrey said as she floated on the water.
"I'm not the type of girl that hooks-up, and I'll never be. I'll tell you that right now." I played with shell my foot stumbled upon on the bottom of the sand bed I was standing on.
"I'm not saying you were, all I was saying was just be careful tonight." I could tell Audrey was just being a protective friend.
"I will be."
"Girls! Come out of the water, dinner is ready!" I heard Michael yell through cupped hands from our camp on the shoreline. I waved back to him and turned to Audrey.
"Dinner time!" I looked out to the horizon and saw that the sun was slowly making its long descent to a place far away from a tiny beach, turning the sky into a mixture of a baby blue and a silky orange. It was magnificent.
"Hungry?" Michael asked, handing me a hotdog in a bun on a plate, along with a heaping pile of pasta salad.
"Starving. Thanks." I sat down on a torn-down tree log and dug into the pasta salad. "Damn! Who made the pasta salad? It's amazing." I said, savoring the taste of the mayonnaise and olives.
"My mom." Victor said, his voice bouncing over the small bonfire that Justin did and excellent job building. "She's a pretty good cook, huh?"
"Amazing. Tell her I want this recipe." I giggled, keeping my mouth closed as I chewed the pasta.
"Can't. It would ruin the family business." Victor said, squirting ketchup onto a hotdog.
"What business?" I felt stupid asking that question.
" 'Maria's kitchen'" Justin said, stepping in.
"The Italian joint downtown? I had no idea that was your mom's restaurant. Its so good!" The others nodded and mumbled through full mouths, agreeing with me. We sat around the campfire, sharing stories and laughing at each other's embarrassing moments and amusing conversations. The sun made an orange-y pink glow on the horizon, sending the rays of mellow light silhouetting the camp I was sitting at, creating long shadows. "Wanna go on a walk?" Michael asked me, when Justin went to use the bathroom, the nasty port-a-potty located at the beginning the dirt road we came down, and when Audrey went with Victor to get blankets out of his car. Michael held stood up from next to me and held out his hand. I looked out at the ocean and at the bare sand, it was getting dark, and cold.
"It's kind of dark." I said hesitantly.
"So? I know my way around here, you'll be safe with me." I looked at his hand finally took in a deep breath.
"Why the hell not?" I smiled, and took his hand. To my surprise, when I was steadily on my feet, Michael didn't let go of my hand. It was...perfect, like it was made to be. Our hands fit like lone puzzle pieces being joined together at last.
"Hold on." Michael said, letting go of my hand. He went behind the old log we were sitting at and pulled out a blanket.
"I thought the blankets were in Victor's car?" I asked, rubbing my arms after a cool breeze ran over them.
"I took this one out when he wasn't looking. It was an excuse to let us go on a walk." He came back to my hand, warm and igniting amazing goose-bumps.
"Good idea." I said, squeezing his hand in response. I could feel him smile. I kept eyes focused on the ground below me, watching my feet come off of the sand and then gently touch down. I listened to Michael chat on and on about living near the ocean and how awesome it was.
"In Spain," I butted in. "if you find sea glass on the beach, it means something good will happen to you."
"Oh yeah? Like what?" Michael said. I took my eyes off of the ground but kept them focused on something other than the boy whose hand I was holding.
"The colors represent different moods or scenarios. For example, if you find a blue piece, it means something unfortunate is going happen. Green means that someone close to you is envious of you or something you did."
"What does a clear piece mean?" Michael said, picking up one from the wet sand and cleaning it off on his green shirt.
"The person who picked it up, in this case you, is confused about something in their life." I informed him. He stopped for a minute and took time to look at the piece, turning it over in his hand. I looked up at him just in time to see him smirk then to toss the piece as far as he could into the ocean in front of us. I didn't bother on asking him why he threw the piece of glass away, but a part of me wanted to know the reason. We walked for a five or so yards until when Michael stopped and laid the blanket down on the sand and asked me to sit with him.
"Sure!" I said, a tone higher than my voice really was. We sat on the blanket facing the sparkling ocean in front of us. Michael talked about the past summer. While he talked about something involving a baseball bat and an apple, I drifted off into my own little world. The sounds around me became oblivious to me. Even Michael's voice seemed to just be jumbled words. The soft fabric of the blanket on my legs had no feeling. The warm, salty breeze that tickled my skin seemed to fade away. The only known feeling had to me was Michael's hand on my hip and my head resting on his shoulder. I felt it move slightly, like he was signaling for my attention. I looked up, only to find his gorgeous pair of eyes focused on me. "What?" I mumbled through my half-closed mouth.
"I asked if you like it here." Michael evidently repeated. I looked down at my legs. A million little goose bumps spread out over them. Before I could even chirp out a response, Michael got up from the spot he was sitting at. He pulled off his hoodie and handed it to me. I looked at him with wide eyes.
"W-." I started to say before I reluctantly took the shirt from him and pulled it over my head. Michael sat back down next to me, placing his arm back in its original spot around my waist.
"You looked cold." he said. I could feel his gaze on me. His eyes sent a shot of shock that tingled my body right down to my toes, making them quiver. It was a feeling I've never had before. I could feel his breath on my cheeks, warm and inviting, smelling of mint. This moment in time I was in, was absolutely perfect. Time stopped. I felt as if I was going to pass out. I couldn't feel my heart pound. In an instant, his plump, perfect lips were on mine. My eyes closed, my arms wrapping around his neck. I kissed him back, igniting a passionate flame inside of me. I could taste the salt from the sea on his lips. I felt Michael's hands go fully around my waist, pulling me onto his lap. I pulled away and looked at him, without removing my arms from around his neck.
"To answer your question, I really do like it here." I said, laughing. He laughed back and kissed me one final time.
A single tear streamed down my cheek as I looked at my screensaver, remembering that moment. I shook my head, attempting to get that thought out of my head and just tried to continue with writing my paper. But I realized at that moment that no matter how hard I tried and begged myself, I would never forget my one true love.
To be continued...
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