I wandered down the streets of Snow Beach for a long time, I'm not sure how long. I weaved in and out between all the vacation goers on the sidewalks. I had figured I was headed towards the Double L, but I didn't actually realize it until I was at the front door. I guess I really was starting to find my niche here in Snow Beach.
I climbed up the ladder, not really knowing if anyone would be there or not, but once again, I just knew. As I opened the trap door, I was surprised however, that it was just the girl's in the loft. Well, the girls plus Josh. He spent 99% of his time staring at Avery anyways.
"Rae, where have you been! I've been texting you all day!" Avery said as I popped my head in. I climbed in to the loft and took a seat on the couch next to Meg and Raven. Avery sat in a chair across from us and Josh sat at her feet.
"Sorry, I got a new phone. Here put your numbers in," I said, as I passed around my phone. "Where is everyone else?"
"They're out doing damage control," Meg replied. I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Josie is back in town." The three girls, plus Josh all looked at me as though I'm supposed to act shocked, but I'm not.
"She doesn't know Jo's shit enough to be frustrated like us," Raven laughed. "Anyways, Jo showed up at Patrick's house last night and... what happened again, Meg?"
"Well, I don't have a clue. All I heard was some high pitched yelling, some low pitched yelling, one slamming house door, two slamming car doors, and a car driving off in to the distance," Meg explained.
"Did they leave together?" I asked, almost too quickly, but I was filled with jealousy.
"I have no idea. By the time I looked out the window everyone was gone. I don't know Josie drove to our house and drove home alone or if she walked and they left together, I have no idea," Meg shrugged.
"After the B-SAC closed the guys all took Patrick to the Cove to get drunk and get the story out of him," Josh continued.
"One thing to know about Patrick is when he's drunk, you can get anything out of him," Raven states.
"Yeah, " Meg agreed. "It's like that wall he puts up disintigrates with alcohol." The group turned back to the TV and I sat and began to think out the timeline of these events.
Patrick had called Lance to help him out with his car in the middle of our date. He had said that he was in Grafton, Granton, something that was an hour and a half away. If Jo and Patrick were really in some sort of heated arguement, it would seem believable that they ended up an hour and a half away. That upset me. I didn't want to believe Patrick would give her the time of day.
I remembered though that Jo had come to my house literally 30 seconds after I arrived home from Lance's date. So there is no way that Patrick could be stuck an hour and a half away with Josie ten minutes before she shows up at my house! Plus, Lance would have been there to see Jo, but he didn't! Instant relief washed over me, because I knew Patrick didn't run off with Jo! I didn't understand why I was so relieved. I kept trying to get the idea of Patrick out of my mind.
After sluething to the truth, I pondered the idea to tell them about Jo coming to my house. As much as I wanted to, I decided it would be best to talk to Patrick first. As upset I was about Patrick storming away from me the day before, I needed to talk to him. Pronto.
"Alright, well I gotta go!" I said quickly.
"But you just got here!" Raven said.
"I know, but I just realized I left the oven on!" I ran out of the the loft and started walking quickly back towards my house and then beyond to the Cove. As I walked past my house I couldn't help but shudder and think why all the lights were off, but I headed towards the distant light of a flickering campfire.
As I approached the sand dune, my feet started stepping a little lighter and I almost started skipping. I was excited to see Patrick and tell him how I had stood up to Jo. I knew he would be thoroughly entertained. As I climbed the dune, though, I realized how quiet it was. You'd think four raging drunk seventeen year old's would be screaming their lungs out.
It was quiet. Too quiet. (Ask me how long I've been waiting to use that one!)
As I reached the top of the dune, I looked down below. What I saw first was Chip laying in the sand and making out with some girl, who I didn't recognize. My eyes moved across the fire where I saw Lyle and Lance doing much of the same. I watched them uneasily as I tried searching for Patrick in the almost orgy below me. I continued looking around until I saw the edge of the cove and decided to investigate there.
I walked down the sand dune and carefully through the mass of couple until I rounded the corner that lead to the small cove. As I turned the corner my eyes struggled to adjust to the lack of light. The bright light of the fire failed to illuminate anything over here and the sky was covered with clouds.
However, almost as if God himself had heard me the clouds separated and the moon shone down over the cove. I squinted my eyes and across the sand and I saw yet another mass of body laid out in the ground. I saw two bodies and simple deduction told me that one was Patrick and the other was a girl.
"Patrick?" I choked out. The two bodies that were moving so smoothly on the beach jerked up and turned to me. I could see them both clearly, and one was indeed Patrick and the other some random girl I've never seen. (I do admit though, I was relieved at least that it wasn't Josie.)
"Rae," Patrick said in almost a whisper. I quickly turned around and started sprinting away from the cove. "Rae! Come back! Wait, Rae!" As I sprinted through the cove all the other couples had heard the disturbance and looked at me.
"Rae, what's going on?" Lance shouted as I ran past him as well. I didn't stop to turn around, but just kept running.
"What the hell is going on, Patrick?" I heard Lyle ask before I ran out of earshot. I kept running until I reached my house and I stepped on the porch. I slid against the door and crouched down and started crying, sobbing, whatever. I was a mess.
I had begun to hate myself for crying earlier that day. I knew if that hadn't happened I wouldn't be crying now, instead kicking some Patrick ass. But, I cried, upset over a boy who wasn't ever mine. Two technically. It didn't take Patrick OR Lance a day to move on from me.
I was so confident that I had found a place where I belong, people I belonged with. Yet in the course of five minutes I wasn't sure of anything anymore. I wanted to tell someone, but I couldn't. Everyone was so connected with one another, I couldn't tell anyone anything.
I could tell my mother, but she was behind these doors probably banging her new boyfriend. Gross. I hated my dad, I had already cut off my old friends.... I was alone, again. I should have known it was all too good to be true. No one can be this happy with new friends in a week . Impossible.
"Come on guys, she's gotta be around here somewhere," I heard quietly from the distance I glanced down the beach and I saw the four figures walking towards my house. I quickly sucked up my tears and crouched behind a chair. I was definitely not in the mood for what I knew was to come.
"Patrick, what the hell is going on?" I heard Chip question. "We had four hot babes dying to get with us back there! And we're chasing Rae for what reason again?"
"Because Rae is more attractive than all four of those girls combined," Patrick stated. "And this is partially your fault too."
"Me?" Chip asked.
"No, all of you. Each and every one of you, You're going to help me apologize," Patrick explained. They're voices we're growing close, but I didn't dare to look. From where I was, I was perfectly hidden in the shawdow of my house, but one movement and the moon would expose me.
"Wy is Rae mad at you? What do you have to apologize for?" Lyle asked next.
"You like her, don't you?" Lance asked, but there was no silence. "You son of a bitch, that's why you called me to pick you up yesterday! So I couldn't go out with her! You're such a little shit, Patrick!" Again, there was no response from Patrick, but I desperately wanted to here one.
"Well if you liked her so much, what were you doing with another girl tonight?" Patrick snapped.
"I could ask you the same fucking question, Patrick. Except Rae actually likes you. Or liked you. After that stunt you pulled tonight. Go fuck yourself, Patrick, because you're the one who screwed that girl over. You can fix this without me."
"And what does this have to do with us, Patrick?" Chip asked.
"This is you're fault because you dragged me out here to get drunk and brought those girls!" Patrick shouted.
"Uh, no Patrick. No one forced you to do anything. Don't drag us down with your fucking problems," Lyle argued. "Rae is a nice girl. You're better fix this, or Avery will never forgive you."
I couldn't hear footsteps, but I figured that Patrick was left alone, and right behind my porch. I thought for a moment about revealing myself, but I didn't. I had nothing to say to him. Patrick did no wrong, just like I did no wrong by going on a date with Lance.
It would seem, however, that Patrick and I were doomed to remain in a state of disdain and like forever.