"Brinley, wake up," Clarin whispers in my ear.
My eyes open, and for a moment I'm confused where I am. The ceiling is a salmon color, and the walls match. Who paints their ceilings? That's weird. Oh, right, I'm at Owen's family's house. Ah, and he has a secret twin brother that I didn't know about until yesterday. Everyone lied to me. Sounds about right.
"Clarin?" I ask, stretching my arms over my head. "Why'd you wake me up?"
"You were crying," she says. Then she settles down on the bed instead of hovering over my face. "What were you dreaming about?"
I look back up at the ugly ceiling. What was I dreaming about? I don't really remember- An image of Jonathan holding a knife pops into my mind and I know immediately that it was him. He was cutting into my arm again. I look down at my stitches and frown.
"Jonathan," I reply. "Ugh, I'm never going to stop having nightmares, am I?"
Clarin looks sad to hear me say this. Her eyebrows furrow, and she looks like she wants to cry just hearing me say that. "I wish I could do something to help."
"I wish you could too," I sigh. "But hey, thanks for worrying. That's pretty comforting."
"Is that sarcastic?" Clarin asks me.
"No," I reply, my eyebrows raised.
"Oh," she says. "Good. I never really know with you."
"Hm," I hum. "I guess I should work on that."
"No, I like it," Clarin replies with a small smile.
I sigh, looking her over. She's dressed already, wearing a sundress and a little cardigan over it. She looks like she's ready to go out and have some fun. That might be nice for me too. But first, I need to know something. "If I ask you something will you answer honesty?"
Clarin looks confused and a little nervous. "Sure."
"Why didn't you tell me either?" I ask slowly. "You knew all this time, yet you said nothing either."
"I wanted to, I swear," Clarin bites her lip. "I actually confronted mom about it many times, but she forced me not to say a word. You know, because of what Owen's family knows about her. You heard about the whole issue, right?"
The image of my mom copying down Mrs. Michaels' credit card number comes into my mind, making me feel sick to my stomach. I nod.
"Yeah, well, apparently having you know anything would get both Ian and mom put in jail so... But hey! You know now and neither has happened. Luckily," Clarin sighs. "I'm so sorry, though. I know this is probably very hard for you. You probably feel so betrayed right now. And I'm part of the reason. But listen, I swear to you, I will never keep anything from you again. I already know how crappy that feels."
I smile a little. I don't know what it is about her tone that makes me believe her and feel empathy. "I forgive you, Clarin. I know you were forced to keep it a secret."
"Thank you for understanding," Clarin seems very relieved. "But hey, give Owen a break, okay? He's in the same boat I just got out of."
I frown again. "I know... But it's just different, you know? He's the one that gave me the entire fake story. He's the one that walked into my room knowing he was about to lie to my face and made it so convincing."
"I get it," Clarin assures me. "Just... Please remember that he's always been in it for you. He has always done what's best for you."
"Best for me?" I quirk am eyebrow.
"Don't throw the idea so quickly. I spoke to him about it once. We both wanted to tell you this particular day. The day we found out your memory wouldn't ever return. And he was telling me that his only set back to not tell you was because that could mean mom going to jail. He didn't want to see you without a mother to take care of you. And then you and I would need to go out and get jobs and live on our own," Clarin explains to me.
My eyes widen. I've never thought of it that way. My mom could go to jail if his family decided to press any charges. That would drastically change my life.
"We're going to the beach. Put a swimsuit on, okay?" Clarin breaks the silence.
"Who do you mean by 'we'?" I ask skeptically.
"Me, you, Ian and Owen," Clarin replies. "Oh! And Joey arrived this morning. Forgot to mention that."
"Oh, good," I smile. "I'm glad Joey came."
The thought of going to the beach with Owen and Ian makes me feel quite nervous, but somehow with Joey being there, it feels like it'll be alright.
"'Kay, hurry and get dressed, would you?"
<•>•<•>
"Get in the water!" Joey yells at me.
I stand on the sand, shivering in the cloudy weather. My arms are wrapped around myself, and my lips are turning purple, I think. "No! It's freezing!"
"Nah, you'll get used to it," Joey yells back, splashing around to make his point clear.
"Get used to it? More like numb my entire body," I mutter.
"What was that? I couldn't hear over the sound of these amazing waves you could catch if you decided to stop crapping on the party!" Joey yells at me.
I hear a snicker beside me. I turn my head and find either an Owen or an Ian. I cannot tell with his sunglasses on. The not difference is the shade of eyes. I frown, trying to decipher who it is, but give up. Whoever he is, he looks very good without his shirt on. Of course, I would never admit that out loud. I am very mad at both.
"Stop checking out your boyfriend and get in the ocean! It's calling for you! Listen, 'whoosh, whoosh, Brinley come in, whoosh, whoosh.'"
"Shut up, Joey," I roll my eyes, my hair blowing across my face and into my mouth while I say those words.
"Fine. You asked for it," Joey says with a huff. He comes trudging out of the water, looking determined.
My eyes widen when I realize what he's coming out to do. And I start to sprint. I have to find something heavy to hold on to. The site we set with umbrellas, chairs, and a cooler sits about ten yards from the shore. I head in that direction. Clarin and Ian sit there, talking. They both stop when they see me running. I jump onto the blanket and cling to Ian's chair leg.
"You can't hide from me, Shane," Joey laughs, coming up behind me. I feel drops of ocean water on my legs and I know he's right there. His hands clamp around my middle and he tries to rip me away from my protection area.
"Help me! Please!" I shout, trying to save myself.
Clarin and Ian are too busy laughing to realize how afraid I am right now. How would they like to be dragged away into the freezing water? Probably not at all. Hmph.
Joey finally manages to shake my grasp off Ian's chair, and he begins dragging me away towards the ocean. Is this what awaiting your death feels like? Because I really think it is. I'm pretty terrified.
And then I make contact with the freezing cold, salty water. I stand up immediately, water running down my face and out of my hair. I let out a loud shriek, my entire body becoming an icicle all at once. Joey's so going to get it.
"I hate you!" I yell, running towards Joey as fast as I can. I want to tackle that face right into the wet sand. I jump onto his back, and he falls back in surprise, hitting the sand. I fall down next to him. We both sit up. Look at each other. And start laughing.
I can't believe I totally just tackled him. That was wonderful. I just accomplished my dream. I tackled Joey Harley. No way.
"Hey," I say quietly. "We've got to get Owen in."
Joey nods, narrowing his eyes. "Yes we do. I like your way of thinking, Brinley. I like it very much."
"He would think it too obvious if you came running towards him," I say, tapping my chin. "So I will confront him and trap him in my infinitely strong grasp. Then you run over and grab him and carry him away."
"I like it, I like it," Joey says. "Go. Now."
I stand up, trying to act as annoyed at Joey as I can. That'll be far more believable. I kick at the sand, scowling at nothing in particular.
"You alright there?" Ian asks. I can tell he and Owen apart now. Owen's got on swim trunks of a different shade of blue.
"I'm fine," I scowl again. For some reason I make myself want to burst out laughing.
I march right over to Owen, who looks highly amused right now. And I throw my arms around him. He seems startled by this, just as I thought. And I, on the other hand, am highly conscious of his hot body underneath my grip. I try to ignore the feeling in my stomach and get on with the plan.
"Go! Go!" I yell to Joey, who I now see sprinting over.
Owen seems to sense our plan and tries to break away from me. I try as hard as I possibly can to keep him in my grasp, my muscles aching. Or, rather, my lack thereof.
Joey gets there just as Owen fights his way away from me. He takes him away towards the water, not without a fight, of course. And then he's dunked. He doesn't scream like I did, he just lets out an annoyed grunt when he gets out. Joey and I both laugh and high five each other on our success.
Go us. Now for Clarin and Ian...