Page 52 of Reckless Roses
“I do see it, Augustus. I’ve always fucking seen it,” he seethes. “And that fucking sucks. Because Elena was theone thingthat was supposed to be mine. Just mine.”
“The only person Elena is supposed to belong to is herself.”
Zach huffs, nodding tersely. He’s quiet for a moment, like he’s trying to quell his roaring anger. He paces a bit before finally walking over to my board and throwing his down beside it, along with his bag.
“You’re my brother, and I’ll get over this eventually, but it’s going to take me a while before I can apologize to Elena for the things I said this morning. I can’t say I regret them quite yet.”
“This morning?” My tone suggests surprise, but more than that, it suggests betrayal. I haven’t spoken to Elena yet today, but I assumed she was sleeping in after a late-night writing session.
Zach catches onto that slip, smirking as he squats to wax his board. “Oh? She didn’t tell you? I slept over there last night.”
Desolation ravages me, twisting my stomach and shoving it up my throat, cutting off my air.
“What? Don’t you trust her?” Zach knows the question is loaded. In every situation, I trust Elena implicitly. I trust her more than anyone I’ve ever known. The only thing that can shake our solid foundation is the person standing in front of me, the person who slept beneath her roof last night.
“It’s a bad day for surfing. We should go another time.” My words are flat and broken as I pick up my board and take off through the sand, knowing I’m not going to calm the storm rumbling beneath my skin until I get her explanation and have her in my arms.
“August!” my brother calls. “That was a joke. C’mon. Where are you going?”
“I’ve got to make sure she’s okay.” I turn around, facing my brother as he stands and begins walking after me. “I have no doubt you left damage in your wake.” I don’t say another word, climbing the stairs that ascend the cliffside this beach rests beneath. I refuse to look back, rage rushing through my veins. For a moment, I almost wish he’d just disappear. It’s a fleeting thought, but I can’t stop it from whispering the desire to have him absent from our lives again. I can’t ignore how much destruction he’s caused Elena and me in the short time he has been back.
The thought fades. I don’t know how we’ll get our happy ending in my brother’s presence, but I can’t see any of us finding a happily ever after without it either. He’s my brother, my family, part of all of us, and as fucked-up as this whole dynamic has become, I know deep down, none of us would ever truly be better off without him.
I reach the top, fastening my board to the roof of my Bronco. As if a breath skates across my neck, some sensation has me spinning, facing the horizon. The sky is dark, swirling, black clouds circling like some kind of omen. The water is choppy, waves hurling against the shore.
It’s a bad day for surfing. We never should’ve come out today.
I scan the sand for my brother, about to shout that warning once again, except I don’t see him on the shore. His bag is still there, dog walkers and beachgoers stroll the coastline.
I scan the water, heart stalling as I become desperate for any sight of him. His dark hair, his red surfboard—any proof at all that he’s still where I left him. I come up empty.
The ocean is a raging abyss of blue. No end. No mercy. It’s a bad day for surfing, yet I know with bone-deep conviction that my brother went out into those waves anyway, and now, he’s nowhere to be found.
20
ELENA
“INDIGO (FEATURING AVERY ANNA)” – SAM BARBER
OCTOBER SECOND - EVENING
4 missedcalls
Everett
Answer the phone.
2 missed calls
Leo
Where are you?
2 missed calls
Everett
Can you meet at the emergency room? ASAP. Something happened.
