Page 30 of Trusting You

I rushed outside, and climbed into my Jeep, ignoring the beautiful sunrise that was coming up over the ocean. Normally I would sit and enjoy it. Nighttime and sunrise were the most beautiful times to be near the water. The breeze was chilly as it wrapped around me, causing me to shiver. I cursed and grumbled as I climbed in the Jeep and began heading toward my uncle Nick’s house. If I was lucky, I’d catch her before she got away, and we’d be alone.

When I pulled into the driveway, I saw Emma’s car was missing. I never knew my cousin to get up this early, so it surprised me that she had. I didn’t know if it was Em’s or Mel’s idea to leave early. My stomach dropped when I realized that she never planned to say goodbye. What was last night even about?

“You’re up early,” Ryan’s voice startled me when he stepped out of the storage shed from under the house. He was dressed in a wetsuit with his board under his arm. “Wanna come with?” his head jerked in the direction of the water.

“Not today. Where’s your sister?” I snapped. I knew I sounded annoyed, but he’d pissed me off enough lately that I didn’t need a reason to be mad at him.

“Left about an hour ago. You sure? The waves are killer this morning,” he strapped the cuff around his ankle before he began to jog away.

“Maybe next time,” I muttered before stomping up the steps. I came to a halt when I got to the back deck. Uncle Nick and Aunt Leah were sitting on a lounger sipping coffee. I glanced around thinking I might find my dad, but no such luck.

“What are you doing up so early?” Nick rocked forward and set the coffee cup he was holding on the small table beside him.

“Looking for your daughter,” I searched the area knowing I wouldn’t find her. Ryan had already said she left, but somewhere in the back of my mind I was hoping he was lying.

“They left a while ago,” he shifted in his chair before putting his arm around Aunt Leah’s shoulders. She leaned into his side, and rested her head on his chest.

“Sounded like you screwed up,” she murmured with a slight lilt in her voice.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I tapped my foot in annoyance.

“Em never leaves this early. I heard her talking to Mel real early this morning. She was trying to calm her down, but finally gave up and agreed to leave. What did you do?” the side of her mouth curved up on one side as she watched me. It was like she knew a secret that I was supposed to know too, but I didn’t.

“I didn’t do anything,” I muttered.

“Maybe that’s the problem,” Uncle Nick rolled his eyes.

“You two are worse than Dad. Just tell me what it is I’m supposed to know,” I waved my arms out to the side.

“You used the ‘L’ word. Ring any bells?” Uncle Nick chuckled. “Took your dad months to tell your mom that.”

“I did not,” I frowned. “Did I?”

“From what we heard, that’s exactly what you did,” Aunt Leah laughed.

“Fuck!” I hissed. “That wasn’t a dream.”

“Aaron,” Uncle Nick glared at me.

“Sorry,” I grimaced. I usually worked really hard not curse in front of them, but today I wasn’t really thinking straight. Had I really told her I loved her? In my dream, I said I loved her, and she didn’t say it back. Was that real? If it was, why didn’t she say it back? Had she been lying to me all this time about her feelings? I needed to call Brock. He would know what was going on. There was no way Em would leave town without telling him bye. “I gotta go,” I huffed as I turned and rushed down the stairs.

“Where ya going?” Uncle Nick teased.

“To fix this,” I shouted as my feet hit the pavement below the house. Brock could tell me what was going on, and then I was going to find her and straighten this out.

Melinda

“So you want to tell me why you’re so desperate to get back to school?” Emma nudged me as we cruised down the highway. The sun was barely above the trees, but I was wide awake.

“Not really,” I muttered as I shifted in my seat, and pulled the hood up on my hoodie.

“I just rushed out of my house like it was on fire. Lied to my parents so we could leave, and barely got a goodbye kiss from my fiancé. I need more than a ‘not really’, Mel,” Emma sighed.

“He said he loved me,” I mumbled as I stared out the window. I didn’t want to see her reaction. She was right, I was acting crazy.

“Excuse me?” the car swerved before she shoved me in the shoulder. “Did I hear you right?”

“Depends on what you heard?” I curled into a tighter ball before checking my phone to see if my mom had called me back.

---