Page 8 of Fated

She smiled, shaking her head. “It’s nothing …”

Who was she kidding? Mom was terrible at keeping secrets, especially when she was excited. So, I crossed my arms and sat there, staring her down, knowing she was about to let slip whatever she was hiding.

She tried to fight back a grin, finally caving. “I might have booked something for us to do the day after we get to Linden Beach,” she said, holding back her excitement. “But I’m not saying what.”

“That’s nice.” I deliberately appeared disinterested, picking up my fork, poking at my salad.

Mom let out a small huff. “Ok! Guess I’ll tell you.”

I’d cracked her, a grin spreading across my face. “Oh, go on then. If you insist.”

She leaned in a little, her voice bubbling with excitement. “So, I may have booked us a session to go swimming with dolphins.” Her eyes sparkled, waiting for my reaction.

“No way. Are you serious? Like in the water, with actual dolphins?”

She nodded excitedly, her curls bouncing all over the place.

“Ok, that is freaking cool, Mom!”

She wore a smug, satisfied smile, clearly pleased with herself as she dug into her lunch.

I definitely had the coolest mom. We spent the rest of the meal giddily chatting and making plans for our trip, mapping out all the things we wanted to do after our twelve-hour drive.

***

As we made our way to the parking lot, we passed by a photo booth.

“Oh, let’s get a photo, Mom!”

She gave me a look, wrinkling her nose the way she always did whenever the idea of being in front of a camera came up.Mom had never been a fan of taking photos.

“Please … for my birthday,” I added. “Do it for me.”

With an exaggerated sigh, she gave in, so we squeezed into the booth and what started as a quick photo session soon turned into nearly twenty minutes of chaos and laughter.

By the time we stepped out, we were both in tears from laughing so hard, our sides aching.

I grabbed the freshly printed photos, flipping through them as we caught our breath. One stood out as my favorite, our faces caught mid-laugh, completely unposed, real. I folded it and slid it in the case behind my phone next to the picture of Everleigh holding me.

Two snapshots of the two most important women in my life.

Chapter 2

Istood in front of my bathroom mirror, carefully applying just a touch of makeup before heading to Bernie’s. Excitement coursed through me at the thought of hanging out with Lucy and Tyson one last time before leaving town.

Swiping on some mascara, I was mentally sorting through my plans for the next few days.

Tonight, I would meet up with my friends, then come home and binge a few episodes of Romance Manor with Mom. Tomorrow would be all about packing, then we would be up bright and early to leave for Linden Beach the next morning.

I shifted on my feet, finishing the look with a shiny pink lip gloss, unable to stand still with everything swirling around in my head. Grabbing an oversized baby blue sweatshirt, I pulled it over my head; the nights had been chilly lately.

“Mom, I’m heading out!” I shouted, grabbing my purse and keys, and heading out the door.

The drive to Bernie’s was quick, just a five-minute trip through familiar streets.

Pulling into the parking lot, I looked at the old, run-down building holding so many memories. Bernie’s was definitely nothing fancy, but it was perfect in its own way. It was where I’d spent countless hours during high school, playing arcade games and hanging out with my friends. Being the total nerd that I was, I adored Bernie’s and its retro old-school vibe.

Inside, Lucy and Tyson were already waiting for me, nestled in our usual corner booth.

---