Page 78 of Playing with Fire

"Give you what?" I ask, but then I feel it.

You give everyone that stupid smile.

Shit. When the fuck did, I start smiling?

A whistling noise filled the air coming from something rather than a person right before I could speak. I knew exactly what it was—a firework.

I watched the smoke from the firework shoot up into the sky before blowing apart. The sky became illuminated while the clouds above us seemed to vanish during the fireworks' explosions.

More fireworks exploded one after another while I stood there watching.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I heard a voice ask.

Turning to identify the speaker leaves me feeling confused. What the fuck? "Uhm...yeah," I respond while trying to mask my confusion.

I realized the person standing there wasn't Emerson but some random girl. Where the fuck did she go? I searched for an explanation but failed to locate her.

"So, what's your name?" The girl who had an excessive bleached hair and too much of a spray tan asked me a question.

Oh my god. Not again.

~~~~~

The hour was growing late but this girl ignored my signals that I didn't want to chat. She kept talking despite my brief answers and my disinterest shown through shrugs.

When my phone started ringing it gave me the perfect opportunity to tell her to shut up. I answered the phone and heard Elijah's voice coming through my ear.

"Jaxon, where are you?" he asked.

"Still on the beach, why?" I answer.

"Is Emerson with you?"

I said "No" as I noticed my heart rate increased slightly. "Is she not with you?"

"No. We sent you a text about our departure, but she has not answered the phone call. His voice trembled as he talked about his sister's location.

I took control of the situation before I could fully process it. Remain in place while I search for her.

"OK, meet us back by the entrance. "We'll look around here," he announced before I hung up the phone.

I walked away without taking another look at the girl. Every passing second made me feel as though my chest was getting tighter.

She appeared beside me for one moment before vanishing. Now, no one knows where she is. Fuck.

As I walk down the beach, I call out her name. I turn back when I find myself completely alone. I leave the water and begin walking up the sand while I yell her name once more.

Although it's only been seven minutes since I started looking for her time seems stretched to infinity. When a sizable crowd of young men passes me by, I almost overlook them until I recognize their distinctive laugh.

I turn my head towards them while my feet move forward without a spoken word. "Emerson?" I ask with enough volume for them to hear me.

All eyes are turned towards me while she follows their gaze. When I see her, I frown. When she sees me, she smiles. "Jaxon." Her arms rise in the air as she begins walking towards me while drunk.

She managed only two steps before one of the men grabbed hold of her hand. The moment he touched her I wanted to punch him, but his words stopped me. "Do you know him?" he asked.

"Yes...I know him." She replies and pries his hand off.

I still felt like punching him, though. I wanted to punch all of them.

---