Aknock at the door has me pausing the movie in the theatre room and hopping over to the door. I open it to find Smithy smiling at me on the other side.
“Miss Octavia, I have a surprise for you!” He’s so excited that I can’t even bring myself to remind him how much I dislike surprises. He turns and heads down the hall, so I turn off the projector, pull down the sleeves of my hoodie, and follow him. This might be interrupting my Sunday chill, but it’s Smithy, so I don’t mind. The man is a freaking saint.
He heads outside, and I follow, beyond curious at this point. He’s like a kid in a candy store. I step outside to see what has him so excited.
“They just delivered it.” His grin matches mine as I take in the sight before me. My beautiful Impala, in better condition than she was in when I bought her. Not one spec of that hideous yellow paint is on her.
I clap my hands together as joy swells in my chest, and I practically squeal as Smithy holds out the keys for me. I grab the keys and hug him tight. “Thank you, Smithy!”
He pats me on the back, finally getting used to my random hugging. “Anything for you, Miss Octavia.”
I pull away and slide my phone from my pocket, snapping a picture and sending it over to Indi.
Indi: Holy shit, she looks good as new!
Me: Right, want to go out?
I’m suddenly over my Sunday chill, imagine that.
Indi: Sure thing! Give me 10 so I don’t look half dead. **Skull emoji**
Me: I look half dead, but I don’t care. I’ll be there soon, send me your address **heart emoji**
Indi: **middle finger emoji** #attachment
I can’t help but laugh at her as I slide into the car, joy pulsing through my veins. I bring up the pin drop she sent me, feeling a little bad that I’ve never been to her house before. “Thank you, Smithy! I’ll be back soon.”
He waves as I start the car, and I head down the drive and out of the gates. I use the clicker to make sure they’re shut behind me before driving toward Indi’s. It thankfully doesn’t take me long to find her house. I pull up out front, and she’s already sitting on the steps waiting for me. She jumps up when I pull to a stop and skips down the path toward me.
I unlock the door, and she climbs in, grinning at me like a crazy person. “You look happy.”
“I spent yesterday with Jackson again,andyou have your beautiful baby back. What’s not to be happy about? Oh, and I forgot to ask yesterday ‘cause I was so wrapped up in myself, but how did Friday go?” I groan and bang my forehead on the steering wheel, which makes her laugh. “That bad?”
“Don’t even get me started,” I say before restarting the car and heading out to the Pacific Coast Highway to coast around in my pretty, not so little, car. I tell her everything about Friday night as we drive around, and she pulls as many faces as I wanted to on the night in question. By the time we end up back in Echoes Cove, she’s as confused about his behavior as I was.
“It doesn’t make any sense. Maybe it was because they lost the game?” She shrugs, trying to offer an explanation.
It doesn’t really make a difference to my decision though, and I tell her as much.
“Makes sense, if it’s not right, then it’s not right. I’m sure it’ll be fine. He’s pretty chill,” she says as I pull the car to a stop in the lot by the pier.
“Here’s hoping. You want to fuck around on the pier? It’s been ages since I rode the rides and did all the fun shit.” I unbuckle and turn to her, finding her eagerly nodding.
“Hell fucking yes I do. I love that shit.”
We climb from the car, and I strip off my hoodie, leaving it in the car. The sun’s beaming down, so I grab my cardholder and phone, stashing them in my pockets before I slide my aviators on. It’s such a beautiful day and spending it on the pier sounds like the best idea.
“To the games,” Indi yells, pointing toward the pier before linking her arm with mine, and I can’t help but laugh at her.
“To the games!”
* * *
Indi left the pier after a call from her mom, who picked her up, so I sit at the edge of the pier looking out over the water. It’s so beautiful, so vast, and so fucking terrifying. I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with the water.
When we were younger, one of the girls in our class was swept out to sea and was never found. Ever since, I’ve had an issue with the ocean. It took years for me to even dip my toes in again. Swimming pools are fine, but natural bodies of water? No thanks.
All that being said, I do still love the sound of waves crashing in the surf. It’s possibly the most soothing noise of nature there is.