She hasn’t even looked in my direction in years. I can’t imagine why she’s gracing me with them now.
“Oh, is that Amara?” Owen asks, waving.
Her eyes leave mine, and a smile immediately illuminates her face.
I wish with more than everything I have that she were smiling like that at me.
She used to.
CHAPTER 4
AMARA
Late Spring, 2007
Ilied to my parents for the first time tonight, and by evidence of the hammering in my chest, it didn’t feel good.
But something was pulling me to that beach, and I knew that if I told them the truth, I’d get the usual runaround.
Bring your pepper spray. Don’t stay out too long. Text us every ten minutes, or your father is going to send your uncle after you, and you know you don’t want that. If you’re not back by eleven sharp, in your bed, you’re grounded for the next month.
The truth is, I don’t know what tonight is going to bring.
But what I do know is that Cooper Henry will be a part of it, and that at the end of the day, I’m going to be okay.
I turn the radio to my favorite station on my alarm clock, grab my favorite hoodie, and yank it over my head. The air is still chilly tonight, and I’m so excited for it to warm up, even if it means the beach will be littered with tourists here for the boardwalk and Kohr's ice cream, licking their sticky fingers like they’ve never tasted anything better in their whole lives.
But summer here in Rehoboth is actually my favoriteseason. While most locals hate the traffic and noise that comes with the hot weather, there’s something about city people in my beach town that makes me smile. New people.
New friends.
Not that I’ve remained in touch with a lot of them. There’s a handful of girls I’ve kept in contact with over the years, but over time, their letters become far more infrequent. Since last summer, I’ve gotten a few people’s emails.
A girl named Mila, specifically. Her dad works for the same company my dad works for, which helps. They’ve been talking, and I think they’re coming back here this summer for a week.
It’ll be nice to have a few more friends.
Grabbing my drawstring bag with a few necessities—cherry ChapStick, hairbands, and my iPod—I throw it over my back before creeping down the hall.
My heart beats out of my chest as I carefully maneuver my way through the kitchen and out the front door, praying with all my might that my parents haven’t decided to listen to their TV show quietly tonight.
The cool spring air hits me like a ton of bricks, the salty wind immediately twisting my curly hair into a mess.
Grabbing my bike, I walk about a quarter mile down the road before hopping on and riding the rest of the way to the spot my friends are meeting. When I get there, I spot the glow of the bonfire down the beach.
There’s a soft roar of laughter. A slight smell of burning wood. The crash of the waves.
The start of the summer season is coming.
“Hey!” Natalia waves from the sand, a wide grin spread across her face. She’s standing with Rebecca and Sam, their arms crossed as they look around, as if a little annoyed that they had to wait for me, despite my informing them I’d definitely be late.
Rebecca and Sam come from large, old-money familieswho let their kids go wherever they want. There are no rules in their house, and although I love my parents more than anything, a part of me can’t help but be a little jealous sometimes.
“You ready?” Natalia asks, grabbing the handle of my bike as I come to a stop in front of her.
“Yeah, sorry guys,” I say with a grimace, “my parents took a little too long to head upstairs to bed.”
The two others smile, looking toward the fire, and like usual, I’m forgiven in an instant as Natalia lays my bike with hers and we head off to the party.
