Page 5 of A Twist in Fate
“Oh my god. Yes!” Abby shoots up from the floor and right towards the door. “Pier or beach?” she asks.
“Both. We will go to the pier first for a bit and then maybe light a campfire by the beach,” Alec replies politely, with a smile.
“Sounds amazing,” the third voice says sweetly. “Can you guys leave so I can change quickly?” It’s Ivy. She gets up off of the floor and everyone leaves the room as she does. She shuts the door quickly and the other two girls run off into their rooms. Around five minutes later, we start running through the woods trying to beat the sun setting over the lake.
I am ahead of everyone else and reach the start of the pier first. The sky is a mix of pinks and oranges but the sun in the middle of the horizon is setting slowly. The lake is large and is reflecting the same orange hue from the sky. This is one of the reasons I love home.
I turn around when I hear footsteps from everyone else. Ivy stands still as soon as she stared at the sky. The sun sets a glow across her face and her eyes look more chestnut than the chocolate they were earlier today. Her freckles are more noticeable than ever. Her focus shifts slightly, moving towards me but then she quickly turns to Bailey.
“No wonder you spend so much of your time here. It is really beautiful,” she says staring at the water and skyagain. My sister smiles and I look towards the skyline and then back to Ivy.
“It really is,” I reply. I know I am fully telling the truth as the words leave my mouth, but I am not sure if I am speaking about the sunset or the stunning girl, lit by sun in front of me. My train of thought is interrupted by Bailey.
“Do you guys want to swim?” she asks.
“Wait. We are swimming? I didn’t change into a swimsuit.” As soon as Abby says this, Bailey runs up to James and pushes him right into the water.
“What the hell! I could have drowned!” he yells, trying to pull himself out of the water.
“You can swim. C’mon, get up so we can all jump in together.”
“No. I am actually going to stay right here.” James drops himself back into the water, crossing his arms for a moment and the turning towards the sun.
“Jesus.” I roll my eyes and hold out my hand to help him back up onto the pier, just to be pulled into the water in with him. “Hey, I was helping you!” The water is not too cold, but it definitely is not warm.
“Is it cold?” Ivy asks, moving closer to me and the water, her feet dangerously close to the edge.
“Hmm, I’m not sure.” I splash her legs with the water, and she makes a high pitch squeal while laughing.
“Stop it!” She laughs, her cheeks turning pinker. “It is so cold. There is no way I am going in.”
The next hour consists of all of us taking photos of the sunset, swimming, pushing each other in, as well as me and Alec attempting to do backflips, but they obviously fail. It feels like how it does to be with family but in a whole other way, as if there is never a dull moment. Despite Bailey being an extremely happy person, I have never seen her this happy. It was clear this has been one of Ivy’s best days too. Bailey keeps running and jumping off the pier and splashing other people while Ivy sits on the pier peacefully, as well as swimming around getting to know everyone. Well almost everyone. She seems to be avoiding me and she’s being far too obvious about it.
Now I am round a fire with them at each part of the lake while Ivy paces with her phone pressed to her ear, closer to the water. The beach is round in a different direction to the pier, but you can still see it from here. I always prefer sunsets at the beach, but the sun has now gone down, and the stars are starting to be visible in the sky.
Ivy puts the phone in her pocket before sitting on the pebbly sand in a huff. Before thinking it through, I walk over to her and say, “Any room for me here?”
She moves over, patting the sand, so I sit beside her.
“What was that call about?” I ask, after a few moments of silence. She looks tired which is expected after her long flight, but this seems different. She is playing with her hands and shaking ever so slightly.
“Nothing important.” She looks up a bit to give me a small smile, but I can see right through it. I have never been able to read anyone this easily. I give her a look, and she releases a sigh.
“Seriously, it is nothing. It’s just home stuff and even if it was something, I don’t think I would want to talk about it right now.”
“Okay,” I say, with a reassuring smile. “Let’s not talk about it. Tell me something so that I can get to know you. We are partners now after all.”
She laughs a little, probably knowing I am just trying to take her mind away from it. “Okay.” She thinks for a minute before saying, “I am not very good at all this.” She waves her hands at everyone behind us laughing and trying to throw food in each other’s mouths.
“What do you mean?” I ask, confused.
She moves a little closer to me, looking out at the water, “Making friends and knowing how to have fun or talk to them like that. They look as though they enjoy themselves so effortlessly. I just don’t know how to do it.” I know there’s something behind that. A story. I won’t push it.
“I get that,” I say, reassuringly, even though I am not sure I entirely understand it, I want to. “It’s hard to be ourselves sometimes, especially around new people.” I turn my head to her, and she has tears forming in her eyes but she’s quick to blink them away. “Do you want to stop talking about it?”
She nods her head quickly, looking back at the lake. We stay silent for a moment. Her hair is damp, the water making it more curly than wavy and it’s moving away from her face by the subtle breeze. The sun has set but there is still enough light in the sky to see her deep eyes and the freckles across her face. She turns around for a second and says, “Maybe we should go back to everyone else. Bailey does not look very happy.”
I turn around to see Bailey giving us a strange and confused look, as if she is trying to solve something. I stand up and then offer my hand up to help Ivy. The same sparks spread across my skin as they did earlier today. Shetakes her hand away from mine quickly. Obviously, I had held on to it for too long and as soon as I realise that I feel my face warm up.
