0 9 | a v a l o n
I WAS STILL FUMING. I yawned, pedalling on my squeaking bike down the hill from Clemente House. I'd barely slept last night. Too much had happened.
My head was still full of images of Austin and Mia. And worse than that, images of girls laughing at me while Everett sat smirking in the middle. I barely got any sleep, and by the time my alarm went off, I was even angrier than before.
I'd decided then and there – I was going to avoid Everett at all costs.
And so here I was, pedalling directly to work, ten minutes earlier than usual, sailing straight past Clemente House.
I hopped off my bike as I reached the beach, locking it up in its usual spot before slowly making my way to the Shack. I was earlier than usual since I'd skipped Clemente House, so I took my time, staring out at the waves lapping the shore.
When I reached the Shack, I saw two people leaning over the counter, their heads resting against the metal shutter. I blinked, narrowing my eyes.
"Connor?" I called out. "River?"
Their heads popped up and they met my eyes.
"Isla!" Connor shouted back, grinning widely. He winced, like his own voice hurt his head.
"What the hell, you two?" I reached them and they stood up straight, their expressions even more exhausted than me. I scanned them, noticing they still wore the same clothes as yesterday.
"What the hell?" I sputtered again. I stepped closer, running my fingers through Connor's tangled locks of hair, pulling them off his sweating forehead. He looked down at me, too tired to even smile properly. I clicked my tongue at him, moving to River next. I ran my hand over his shaved head, and he leaned into my touch.
"I think I'm still drunk," he half-muttered, half-groaned.
"You guys are idiots," I spat, shaking my head.
I turned quickly, unlocking the Shack and pulling out the bar stools.
"Sit," I directed, placing them on the sand.
I didn't look to see if they listened. Instead, I went back inside the Shack, opening the shutters and grabbing two Gatorades from the fridge. I slammed them on the counter in front of them and they winced.
"Drink," I said, crossing my arms.
"Thanks, Mum," River teased, flashing me a smirk. I rolled my eyes, watching as they drank quickly and greedily. I narrowed my eyes.
"How much did you guys drink last night?"
"Too much," Connor groaned. "Too, too much."
"And did you eat?"
Connor shook his head before pausing, pressing a hand to his forehead.
"We're idiots, Isla," River said pointedly. "You should know this by now."
I rolled my eyes, looking around the beach and tapping anxiously on the bench. It looked like most of the other people had already left, thankfully taking their trash with them.
One specific person was missing.
"Where's Austin?" I asked finally, my voice sounding choked.
Connor shrugged, resting his head on River's shoulder. River's eyes widened in panic at the gesture.
"Oh." I turned, chewing my bottom lip as I tried not to think about the places Austin probably was – or the person he was with. "You guys better get home and sleep."
"Yeah, yeah," Connor said, his voice muffled.
"Where's the American?" River asked suddenly. He narrowed his eyes, looking around, and I felt my face heat.
"Don't know."
"How do you not –"
"I just don't, alright?" I snapped suddenly. I sighed, shaking my head. "You guys should seriously get home. Tom's going to be here any minute now and you're going to scare away the customers."
Connor pouted at me, but River grabbed his neck, tugging him off the stools. They grabbed their Gatorades and with a lazy, lop-sided grin, both the boys turned to walk down the beach – probably to take a fat nap at Connor's place.
I sighed, glancing at the clock. Just four hours to go.
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"Where the hell have you been?"
I spun, furrowing my brow to see a familiar head of dark hair marching down the beach toward me.
"Everett," I greeted bluntly, turning back to the booking's directory. "I've been at work."
"Yeah, no shit," he snarled, slamming a hand down on the counter.
My eyes snapped up to meet his and I sent him a glare. "What's your problem?"
"My problem?" he shot back. "You didn't show up this morning!"
I rolled my eyes, slamming my pen down and leaning over the counter to give him a sharp look. "Well, maybe you shouldn't have been such a dick yesterday."
His eyes widened in realisation and he let out a scoff. "Oh, come on. Don't tell me you're still pissed about last night."
"You said some really shitty things, Everett."
"I was drunk."
"And?" I asked, raising a brow and glaring at him. "So was Connor, and he never called me a second choice."
He wavered, his lips twitching into a frown before he hardened his expression and shot me an equally sharp glare. "He was probably thinking it."
"You little –" I growled, leaping forward and throwing a fist at his face. My hips hit the counter and he stumbled back, out of my reach.
"You're seriously going to hold a grudge for that?" he asked, incredulous.
I shook my head in disbelief. "What do you mean, for that? It was rude! And besides, you let all those bitchy girls laugh at me! You made me look like an idiot!"
"You do that all on your own," he shot back. I growled at him and he rolled his eyes, running a hand through his hair. I hadn't realised how messy it was. His expression softened a fraction, though he mostly looked annoyed. "And I'm sorry, alright? They were bitches. All they wanted me to do was say random words in my accent all night."
"It seemed like you were enjoying the attention."
He snorted. "Yeah, well, it got old real quick."
I rolled my eyes, turning away from him and grabbing my pen again. I glared down at the booking directory, too angry to be able to read what was on the page.
Was I supposed to feel sorry for him? So, some girls liked his accent – big deal. He humiliated me in front of everyone. My grip on the pen tightened.
"Look, I'm sorry, alright?"
I ignored him, continuing to glare down at my desk.
"Isla," he sighed, my name barely a breath on his tongue.
I kept my stare stubborn. I wasn't talking to him. This was the last straw – he'd been a dick to me too many times. A minute passed, and I wondered how long it would take before he gave up and left.
"I waited an hour for you this morning," Everett said suddenly. I paused, fighting the urge to look up. "I thought something happened to you. My grandma gave me your address and I walked forty minutes to get there."
Now I couldn't resist it. I looked up, meeting his eyes. He sent me a small smile and I furrowed my brow.
"You went to my house?"
"Yeah," he said, shaking his head and chuckling at himself. "Met your mum too."
"Oh, God," I groaned, holding my hand to my forehead. Of course, my mum had to have a day off from the café today of all days. "What did she say?"
"She said you seemed... What was it? 'Right pissed,' this morning. Slammed all the doors shut and woke her up."
"Ah, right," I frowned, feeling my face warm in embarrassment.
There was a pause and I found myself imagining Everett walking the entire forty-minute trek to my place, worried about me. I realised that was why his hair had been all messed up – why he'd been so angry. A smile tugged at my lips.
"I forgive you," I said suddenly, smiling at him with a condescending smirk.
He quirked a brow at me. "For?"
"For being a huge arse hole yesterday," I shrugged.
He rolled his eyes, but I caught his grin pulling up the corner of his mouth. "Gee, thanks, Monroe."
I laughed, twirling my pen and leaning onto the counter, going back to my work. I felt lighter now that my anger had faded. I started scribbling out the cancelled appointments and moving the rescheduled ones to their right time slots.
One of our kayaks had broken so I needed to make sure we had enough for the week. I chewed on my lip, trying to work it out in my head.
"When do you finish?"
I blinked, looking up to realise Everett was still there. He'd taken a seat now, watching me carefully.
"Oh," I blushed, glancing at the clock. "An hour."
"Cool," he said nonchalantly. He glanced around the beach and arched a brow. "And you're not hanging out with the others today?"
I laughed, shaking my head. "They're too hungover for that."
I paused – well, Connor and River were. I still had no idea where Austin was. We spoke everyday yet he hadn't even shot me a text today. Instantly, my mood soured.
"You should've seen them last night," Everett said, like he was reading my mind. He was good at that – though he normally used it to rile me up and tease me. I met his eyes and he grinned at me. "Connor went skinny dipping."
"No!"
"Yep," he nodded solemnly. "And River nearly fell into the bonfire."
"Oh, God," I shook my head in disbelief, ignoring how he purposely left Austin out. "I can never leave those two alone."
His laughter faded and we turned silent. He leaned against the counter, watching the waves. I raised a brow at the fact that he still hadn't left – or gone on his phone.
A second passed and he turned back to face me, smirking.
"Are you going to work, or do you want to keep staring at me all day?"
Immediately, I felt my face heat. I shot him a glare, turning back to my directory and trying my best to concentrate. Yet, I couldn't help but glance up every now and then, only to find him smirking back at me or staring out at the ocean, a distant look in his eyes.
He looked kind of sad.
By the time I finished, Everett was still waiting for me. I signed off and grabbed my duffel bag, exiting the shack through the side door as my replacement took over the counter. At least today's shift was shorter than usual.
"Great," Everett perked up, standing from his seat. "I was getting bored."
I raised a brow at him. "You were bored? I'm the one who was answering phones and getting screamed at by middle-aged women."
"Hey, at least it's entertainment."
I laughed and we began walking along the beach.
"So," I started slowly. "Now what?"
He grinned at me like he'd been waiting for me to ask. "Now, we get ice cream."
"Ice cream?"
He smirked and sped up. My brows pulled together as I trailed after him, my mind racing – since when did Everett just want to get ice cream together? Since when did we hang out without trying to kill each other?
Shaking my head, I caught up to him in a few minutes. He was already at a small ice cream truck, holding two cones in his hands.
"Soft serve?" I asked, arching a brow.
"Before you start complaining," he said just as I opened my mouth to protest. He cut me off with a smirk. "It's supposed to be really good."
I hesitated, glancing at the ice cream truck he'd bought it from. It was a pop-up shop for some famous ice cream franchise. There was a short line, which was pretty busy considering it was barely ten in the morning.
"Come on," he said. "It's going to melt."
I rolled my eyes, taking the cone from his hand. He'd gotten himself a regular vanilla soft serve with sprinkles whereas mine was a choc top with a flake – my favourite. I narrowed my eyes at it suspiciously.
"How did you –"
"Your mum said if I made you angry, this was the only way to fix it," he shrugged, answering before I could even finish the question. I felt my face heat with embarrassment.
"Exactly how long did you talk with my mum?"
"Well, she invited me in for tea," he shrugged, like it was the most normal thing in the world. He paused, sending me a smirk. "Nice bedroom, by the way."
"You didn't."
"I guess you'll never know."
"Oh, my God," I groaned. He laughed and I sent him a glare, taking a bite off the hardened chocolate. "I'm only forgiving you because you got me a chocolate flake."
"Yeah, I don't know what the hell that is," Everett chuckled, shaking his head.
I paused, furrowing my brow. "What? You've never had a soft serve?"
"No, you idiot. I've never had that chocolate candy bar before."
"Candy bar?" I laughed, imitating his accent and his ears turned red. "It's a Flake. Don't tell me, you don't have Flakes in America?"
"Well, if we do, I've never seen it."
"No way." My jaw fell slack in disbelief. "What about Crunchie?"
"Crunchie?"
"Violet Crumble? Picnic? Freddo frogs?"
"This is all gibberish to me." He paused. "Wait, aren't Freddo Frogs the things from Harry Potter?"
"Oh, my God," I said, my eyes wide. "You guys are missing out. That's it, you're trying every Australian chocolate and lolly before you go back. Starting with a Flake."
I plucked the chocolate out of my ice-cream, holding it out for him to take. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the chocolate before giving me a tentative look.
"Trust me," I said, grinning. "It'll change your life."
He raised a brow, his lips twitching up in a smirk. Suddenly, he dipped his head and ate the chocolate straight from my hand. He paused for a moment, his lips brushing my fingers and his eyes meeting mine as he bit the bar in half.
I blinked, blushing. I wasn't expecting to feed him.
Suddenly, I could feel my whole body turning warm, my throat turning dry. He swallowed the chocolate, licking his lips and smirking at me – clearly pleased with my reaction.
"Delicious."
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A U T H O R ' S N O T E
What did you think of this chapter? Of Everett and Isla? Let me know!
So, I've decided to try finish the rest of this story in the span of a month and enter it into the watty's hahaha which means more updates (daily???) but also unedited chapters!
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