Page 4 of Fighting the Tide
“I’m here to help my mom clean your house.We’re not done yet.”I reach for the handle when she runs across the room, her fingers snagging into my shirt.I’m stunned with surprise as I stare down at her fingers.I feel like I’ve been in a constant state of shock since I found her.
“Wait,” she demands, her voice frantic.“You can’t leave me alone.”Her eyes begin to gather moisture again as her hair drips water at our feet.Her face is still streaked with makeup and her grip on me is fierce.“Please.”
“You can come to the beach with me later, how about that?”I don’t know why I say it, but I need an out and her grip on me is only growing tighter.
“The beach?”Her brows come together as she mulls it over.“Like for a party?”
“No, it's just me and—”
“I’ll call a few people!”she squeals as she bounds back to her bed and bounces on her mattress to pick up the cordless phone on her bedside table.I open my mouth to tell her not to invite people because it’s not a party, but she turns to look at me over her shoulder with an excited look on her face.“What are you still doing here?Go clean the toilets or something.”Her voice is haughty as she waves me off and goes back to dialing a number into the phone.
Great, Avery is going to kill me.
I rush down the stairs and toward the kitchen, hoping I can find my mother and get out of here in time to warn my best friend, but no such luck.Mom is elbows deep in the stove, scrubbing away the nonexistent grime.We clean the Easthams’ house frequently, so there’s no way it’s dirty enough for that.I don’t dare say anything though for fear she’ll throw the brush at me.
“I finished upstairs,” I lie to her as she eases her body out of the oven.Brooke’s closet and bathroom is exactly how I found it, but I’ll just do a more thorough job the next time we’re here.
“It needs to be vacuumed up there and I need to mop this floor, then we can leave.”Her cheeks are flushed from the exertion of scouring the stove and her chest moves rapidly as she tries to catch her breath.Her hair is coming out of the bun on top of her head and her hand is pressed to her chest as if to feel her pounding heart.
“Fine,” I reply with an exhale as I look out of the large patio doors to the pool outside.The water is rippling with the force of the filters and the bright blue looks so welcoming.I have never had a need for a pool since we live right on the beach, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want one at all.It’s a rite of passage for rich people though, so I’ll never have one.At least, not anytime soon.You know you’ve made it when you buy a house with a pool when the beach is just minutes away.
“Vacuum is in the upstairs linen closet to the right of the stairs.”She turns back to the stove and groans as she bends down once more to finish cleaning it.I can see her spine through the thin material of her sweater and the sight has me swallowing back a gasp.
I’ll make sure to do the mopping once I’m done upstairs because I don’t want my mother doing more than she can handle, which means we’re here for at least another hour, and the window I have to warn Avery is growing narrower and narrower.She’ll hate me for this.
Chapter Three
Thebottlesofbeerclink together as I rush from my house to Avery’s.The sun is just starting to set and my stomach is resting somewhere between my mouth and my heart.She’s going to lose her shit when she finds out about Brooke and her friends crashing our party, and then she’ll kill me when she realizes it’s because of me.
My hand tightens around the cardboard beer case as I groan under my breath.This won’t end well and I may very well lose my best friend tonight, regardless of the peace offering I swiped from my fridge.It’s not like my father will notice it missing, he won’t be able to figure out if he drank it or not.
When we got home, Mom crashed into bed beside my father, who somehow made it from the couch into their room without leaving a path of destruction in his wake.It’ll make my life easier when I get home later and not have to fight for my bed.
The mud is slick around my shoes as I hurry to Avery’s while glancing once again at the watch encircling my right wrist.8:40.“Shit,” I curse out loud and then pick up the pace.The mud gives way to gravel which soon turns into pavement and I let out a sigh of relief when I approach her house and don’t find her pacing the front porch.Maybe I won’t be castrated for being late, just inviting a person she’s warned me about and can’t stand.
The closer I get to her house, the louder the noises grow that are filtering out from the open windows.Her mother is screaming and even though I can’t make out what’s being said, I would bet my left testicle it’s about Darren.It’s always about Darren.The screaming is coming from the front of the house, so they’re in the kitchen or family room, and that means heading in through the front door would be like placing myself in the line of fire.
I bypass the front porch and follow the stone path to the side of the house, coming up to the small, rusted gate that closes off the backyard.The Sanderson’s backyard is small and, unlike my house which backs right onto the beach, theirs backs onto another house.The houses here are bigger than mine, but they’re all crammed together like sardines in a tin can.
The sound of the gate creaking carries on the breeze, and I pause to make sure I haven’t interrupted what’s happening inside of the house.I doubt I would be a welcomed sight with beer in my hands right now.When the screaming continues, I make my way to the back and come face-to-face with Avery, who’s taking a long drag on a cigarette.
“Shit,” I curse again, knowing it won’t be the last tonight.Avery only smokes when she’s stressed out.
“Yeah,” she breathes out as smoke cascades from her mouth in toxic plumes.“Mom is missing money from her purse and I can’t even tell you for sure that it was my brother.My father is a likely culprit as well because we both know Darren makes more money right now doing what he does.”She takes another drag and then drops the cigarette to the ground to crush it under the toe of her boot.“Let’s get out of here.”She motions to the case of beer in my hand and I open it to hand her one, opening my mouth to tell her about Brooke when she bites off the cap and gulps down the beer in one go.Then I watch as she swipes her arm across her lips while murmuring, “They’re going to get divorced.”
Every thought of Brooke leaves my mind as I see the pain lacing Avery’s features.“No way.”I shake my head with a scoff.“If my parents are still together then yours will surely survive.”
“Let’s go to the beach,” she says, cutting off the conversation and grabbing another beer from the case before brushing by me.I know this is when I should bring up my invite to Brooke, but Avery is already teetering on the edge of violence and I’m not ashamed to admit I’m a little scared.
Besides, Brooke probably won’t even show up.
I toss another piece of driftwood onto the fire, then tip the beer up to my mouth and miss, the liquid dribbling down my chin.Dragging the sleeve of my sweater across my chin, I gather the driblets while Avery snorts, her eye on me instead of the fire.“Are you drunk?”She giggles as I tip up the bottle to my mouth again only to discover that it’s empty.I toss it to the sand as Avery's giggle becomes a full-out cackle.
“I’m not drunk.”I shake my head with the lie and sway on the log we’re sitting on.“I’m… like… a little tipsy.”I’m more than a little tipsy, and I blame that on the fact that I don’t drink often.I’m afraid to become the man I share genes with.
“Do you hear that?”Avery turns on the log as I reach down to the case of beer and find it empty.
“Hear what?”I ask just as my name is called out in a high-pitched squeal.My heart stops in my chest, and I continue to stare straight ahead through the fire as I catch glimpses of the water between the flames.
