"Just leave her be, Leighton." It was Dan's voice that woke me, muffled by my closed door but still loud enough for me to discern, having spent years growing up spying through closed doors on the rest of my family. I opened my eyes slowly, finding it dark in my room, the only light coming in from the hallway as a small stream underneath my door and from the faint glow of the moon in the windows behind me. I searched for my phone in the dim lighting, finding it resting on the comforter by my legs, and checked the time, surprised to see that it was after nine o-clock.
"It's been hours, Dan," I heard my sister protest, her voice stern and conclusive. "She said she was going to take a shower, but never came back downstairs. I didn't even realize how late it got until you came home, I was so preoccupied by the boys when they woke up from their nap. I upset her, and I need to make sure she didn't run off already." The door started to move in its frame and I snapped my eyes shut, controlling my breathing and staying as still as possible while the light from the hallway flooded the room and brightened my closed eyes, praying neither of them would notice the half-empty bottle of gin laying by the opposite side of my stomach, which I had fished from my suitcase, wrapped in articles of clothing with a few others that I had swiped from my mother's collection on my way out this morning. M
"See, Leigh, she's still here. She's just sleeping," I heard Dan whisper, and the light in the room started to decrease as I heard him ask, "Why would you think that she would run off?" I kept my eyes closed even though I heard the door click back into place, hoping that somehow shutting my eyes would also shut out their words.
"She told me she met Isaac in town," Leighton sighed, and I could imagine her running her hand back through her cropped hair, the way my sisters and I all did when we were feeling remorseful or defeated.. "I told her she needed to be careful."
"That doesn't sound bad."
I wondered why they were still standing outside my door, why Leighton chose to have this conversation here. She had caught be eavesdropping and fake sleeping enough times to know better.
"That's not all of it," Leighton interrupted him, and I could picture her holding up her hand the way she always did to speak over someone if they had interjected. It was a habit she had picked up from her mother, and one that I hated on both of them. "I told her to be careful, not because I'm worried her getting hurt, but because I'm worried about what she might do to Isaac. Loren's going through a lot right now, more so than usual, and I'm concerned about the repercussions of her getting involved with someone like Isaac. Especially because of the impact it might have on you... God, I sounded just like our mother." Her voice raised marginally to an exasperated tone, and I could picture the look on her face as she came to the same conclusion about the way she reprimanded me that I had.
I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, finally connecting some of the pieces of Leighton's concern together, wondering if that was her intention for having this conversation right outside my bedroom door.
I had forgotten that Dan was a police officer, and that just last week Leighton had texted us that Dan had been promoted to a ranking officer, the specific title of which I had forgotten shortly after she told us. It made more sense to me then why Leighton would be concerned about me getting involved with their chief of police's son, but that didn't make what she was saying hurt any less. It was worse coming from her than anybody else, because she understood what I was going through more than anyone else, and that's part of the reason I had come to her this summer, because as much as I would never admit it to her, I needed her help, not her judgement.
I rolled onto my back, waiting as their voices diminished and the footsteps in the hallway told me that they had retreated to their own bedroom, then I sat up. I changed out of the cotton shorts I had put on after my shower into a fresh pair of jean shorts and pulled the first sweatshirt I could find over my head before slipping into a pair of beat up white sneakers, hiding the bottle back in my duffle bag and creeping out of my bedroom, phone in hand. The light in my sister's bedroom was still on, and as I quietly shut my own door behind me, I could hear their muffled voices still, my name reaching my ears again as I descended the stairs.
Once outside on the front porch, I paused only briefly to ensure Leighton and Dan hadn't heard and followed me downstairs, before I started heading down the street towards Rayston Point. I had no destination in mind, only knowing that the nearly five-hour nap I had just succumbed to would make it hard for me to fall back asleep for a while, and I desperately needed to clear my head, and this town was a much more promising place to do so. With the late hour, most residents seem to have already retreated inside, save for the occasional car that passed me on the main road as I headed back in the direction of the baseball field, the only landmark that I knew. A few businesses, mostly small diners or bars, still had their lights on down the strip, some people crowded inside, but otherwise the presence of humans was limited, and the sounds that filled the night were that of crickets, frogs down by the river, and the wind blowing through the small trees that lined the sidewalks.
It was so unlike the sounds of the city that I was used to hearing, so much so that I found myself more focused on every new sound I heard, each passing car pulling my attention away from my thoughts of Leighton, the last argument I had with my mother before she all but kicked me out of the house, the slew of texts I had received from my so-called friends after Nolan's story swept through every person in my contact list, and the email I had received from my absentee father barely a week ago.
The four figures fought for attention in the forefront of my mind, colliding and intertwining with each other in a way that made it impossible for me to try to accomplish what I had wanted by coming out here in the first place, to clear my head. I pushed them all as a door chimed behind me and a small group of people, around my age, spilled out of a diner and into a black pickup truck parked outside. I watched them for a moment, as most of the group climbed into the bed of the truck, before continuing my walk, flipping my hood over my head. I listened as the truck roared to life, and watched as my path was illuminated by warm headlights from the incoming truck. I paid attention as it appeared in the corner of my eye, started to speed past me, and then abruptly stopped when one of the boys in the backseat stood and slammed on the cab of the truck, yelling at them to stop. I watched as the truck screeched to a halt, the other boys and girls in the back squealing and protesting as they jostled from the sudden movement, the driver sticking his head out and looking towards the boy still standing at the center of the bed of the truck, looking directly at me.
"Hey, Harvard!" I glanced down at my sweatshirt, realizing the one I had pulled on was one of Bailee's that I had swiped the last time I had stayed at her house. I briefly wondered if she realized it was gone, or if she realized I was gone yet, before my attention returned to the boy hoping off the bed of the truck and strolling towards me.
Isaac Verano.
"Twice in one evening. It must be my lucky day," he grinned, flashing me the smile that I knew he believed would win me over, and in another life, another situation, it would have- maybe if we had been back home in the city, or if my sister hadn't just warned me to stay away from him, and for once I desperately wanted to prove to her that I was changing, but tonight, tonight was different.
"Something like that," I mumbled, looking past his shoulder as his friends in the truck called for him to come back.
"You looking for something to do? Come with us. We're heading down to the pier for a-" He paused, laughing and shaking his head as one of his friends called him something obscene. "Well, you'll see."
"Why would I come with you? I barely know you." I crossed my arms over my chest, partially due to the cold air sweeping through the town from the ocean. Isaac pushed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, shrugging sheepishly, something else that I suspected he did to try to win people over.
"You've got some serious frown lines going on," he said, pointing to his own forehead, "You look like you could use some fun." His comment only made me frown more, shifting on my feet. "Look, to be honest, my dad knew Leighton's kid sister was coming to town for the summer, and when my grandmother found out, she insisted I try to talk to you. She's naturally big on southern hospitality, but as the mayor she's even worse." He shuffled on his feet as he spoke, making me wonder if the sheepish expression on his face and the hands pushing deeper into his pocket was genuine, and not just a charm tactic. My expression softened slightly, choosing to believe the story he was feeding me.
"I won't force you to come with us, if you really don't want to, but at least this way I can tell Mayor Verano that I tried." The grin was back on his face as he re-squared his shoulder slightly, taking my calmer expression as a good sign.
I chewed on my bottom as I looked back at the distance I had walked, back towards Leighton's house, considering my options. I could either go home and waste the night failing at falling asleep, keep wandering on my own until my thoughts drove me crazy, or accept Isaac's offer to join him and his friends at the pier, and whatever else was waiting, and possibly enjoy myself for one night.
"There's plenty of booze." Isaac added, his words coming out as more of a question, as if he was judging whether or not that would be something that would win me over. I released my lower lip from my teeth as I huffed out a short laugh, turning back to him.
"Sold," I shrugged, raising my hands in the air as I did so. While the few mouthfuls of gin I had swallowed before I passed out had served their purpose of leaving me buzzed, the five hours of sleep had begun to counteract the effects, and I was aching for more.
The grin reappeared on Isaac's face as he turned, motioning for me to follow, and heading back towards the truck. I trailed behind him, watching the curious faces of the seven other people in the back turn to me as we neared.
"What the fuck, Verano," the driver yelled, sticking his head back out the side window as Isaac easily placed one foot on the bed of the truck and propelled himself up. "We picking up strays now?" I glared at the boy the comment came from, watching as his expression changed when his eyes met mine, looking as if he instantly regretted what he had just said, while a cocky smile pulled at his lips. I wasn't surprised. The beauty-queen genes I had inherited from my mother tended to have that effect on people. It was as tired and expected as it was annoying.
"Shut the hell up, Mac," Isaac growled over his shoulder, mirroring my glare at the driver before he turned back to me, reaching down his hand. I reconsidered for a moment, before reaching forward and taking his hand, lifting my foot to the bed of the truck as he had, although it was exceptionally harder for my five-foot-two frame to accomplish. It hadn't mattered anyways, though, because the moment Isaac's hand wrapped around mine he was effortlessly lifting me into the air to stand beside him on the bed of the truck. The seven sets of eyes in the bed of the truck, as well as three more from the boys in the cab, who had either stuck their hands out the windows or turned around to stare, were all trained at me.
As much as I was used to being the center of attention, a result of the combination of who my parents were and my appearance, this somehow felt different, and I released Isaac's hand to adjust my sweatshirt, pulling the sleeves over my hands to cover them before crossing my arms over my chest again, feeling uncomfortable.
Isaac nudged me slightly with his elbow, smiling softly when I looked up at him. I wondered if he could sense how awkward I felt. "This is Alex," he started, pointing at the boy sitting by my left leg, "Jack, Izzy, Vi, Mariana," he went up the row seated closest to me. "Connor and Andie," the two seated by Isaac's leg, "And up there is Mac," the driver winked at me with his head out the window, earning an eye roll from me and another glare from Isaac, "Diego, and Lee." I tried to keep their names straight, but knew that, especially if Isaac's promise of booze was true, I would forget them all by morning.
"Everyone, this is-" Isaac's voice trailed off, and I looked up at him, wondering for a moment why he had stopped, when I remembered that when we met earlier, I had refused to give him my name.
"Loren," I finished for him, not missing the way Isaac's smile spread enough to create the dimple in his cheek.
"Come sit, Loren," the blonde, Andie, said from beside Isaac's leg, patting the empty space beside her that I assumed Isaac had just occupied. "Where are you from?" Isaac stepped back to let me pass, and I didn't miss the way his hand skimmed across my back as I passed in front of him to settle next to Andie on the blankets they had fanned out over the bed. I looked at her as I responded, taking in her blonde hair, blue eyes, the freckles that splashed across her nose and cheeks, and the hand of the Connor, the boy sitting next to her resting protectively on her thigh.
I tried to ignore the way one of the boys across from us asked Isaac if I was the chick whose car he hit with his homerun at practice, the way Isaac reached over to punched him in the leg as he lowered himself beside me, leaving a few inches of space between us. I tried to focus on Andie asking me what I was doing in Rayston for the summer as the truck lurched forward, causing the three girls seated across from me to squeal again as they all fell into each other, and the way Isaac spread his arms out across the side of the truck, his hand coming to rest just beside my head, but it was all but impossible, especially with the pit growing in my stomach, the radar I had going off telling me that I was making a bad decision, an internal warning that could only be quelled with one thing.
******
A/N:
Hi! Welcome to my new story! I started writing this just to fulfill my own desire for some good, old-fashioned, summer romance, so if that's your cup of tea, I think you'll like this story! Don't forget to vote or comment if you find yourself enjoying it! I look forward to hearing your thoughts!