AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Waves washed against jagged stones in a constant whoosh I found soothing. I saw other surfers out in the water, but they were returning to the shore. I searched for Matthias’s figure but didn’t see him amongst the surfers. They were wearing full body black wetsuits, which now made sense once I stepped into the churning water.
It was definitely chilly but I didn’t let that deter me as I waded out into the surf. The water at my high school pool was cold year-round.
The cliffs rose up tall and steep. I couldn’t see the estates behind me, but further down the beach, mansions touched the sky. Low green vegetation sprang out of the cliffs and the rocky surface. I laid face down on the board once the surf got thigh level and paddled out toward the horizon.
The other surfers had left, so I had the area to myself, which was a good thing. I was freezing and felt like a fool. I didn’t want witnesses to my idiocy.
Still, a glutton for punishment, I went out.
13
CIARAN
Ithought the Pacific Ocean would be clear, but it was murky with a taste of grungy seaweed as I dived under a series of cresting waves. At the next cresting wave I attempted to hoist myself up onto the board, but immediately slipped.
I tried again and again, falling each time. After multiple attempts, my arms and shoulders stung and felt like jelly. In my final attempt, the wave crashed hard and the board smacked me in the face.
“Goddammit,” I shouted. I felt the welt swell on my forehead.
That was going to leave a mark.
The surfboard drifted away. I hoped it would eventually make it to the shore. Maybe Matthias would be none the wiser.
Instead, I swam out until I couldn’t feel my hands or toes. I wasn’t sure what was pushing me. I wanted to drown out the move, my mom’s remarriage, leaving all my friends, even the way I regretted leaving Drew. I wished I could do things differently. Maybe I should have insisted on living with Raj until the end of school, and negotiated with Mom that I’d come out to Malibu once the school year ended.
I felt like an idiot for not thinking of that until now.
Also, I wanted to remove Matthias’s image from my brain, the way he looked, his handsome cocky stance, the way he looked down at me, like I was beneath his notice. I wasn’t a violent person, but I wanted to punch him in the face. Something about him set me off almost immediately. Were we too alike or too different? Time would tell.
Without realizing it, I was far out from the shore. From a distance, the houses on the cliff appeared smaller and the waves much bigger than I’d anticipated. Exhausted, I found it easy to slip under the surface, the water bubbling in my mouth and nostrils.
Overhead, the sky was morphing with dark clouds.
My muscles were screaming at me, but my mind was blissfully numb to my predicament as I slowly registered the fact that I should turn around, that I should make it back to land before the sea took me.
All right, don’t be a dumbass, Ciaran. I turned around. Cliffside mansions and palm trees met my gaze. The amount of wealth perched a dozen feet from the edge was staggering to me. With one strong earthquake it would crash hundreds of feet below.
My movements weren’t frantic. I floated, letting the current take me as I swam in a lazy backstroke, the stormy sky filling my vision.
However, all of a sudden a solid object crashed into me and I slipped under the water.
I heard shouting. “Ciaran! You fucking idiot.”
That voice, I recognized it, even below the gurgling surface of the water. It could be but one person, but why was he yelling at me?
Seconds later, strong arms yanked me up and my head broke the surface.
“I’m fine, you prick.” I pushed against his chest, shoving away as I sank momentarily under the water. The shore wasn’t too far away now and we’d be able to stand up shortly. “I can swim, in case it wasn’t obvious.”
“It’s obvious you know nothing about the Pacific Ocean, you moron,” Matthias growled as we treaded in the water side by side, neither of us immediately moving toward land. His foot touched my mine five times, not that I was counting. “Floating like that, I thought you were fucking dead,” he hissed. “Storms can come on suddenly. I promised my dad I wouldn’t let you drown in the ocean. And what do you do? You frolic in a pair of boxers during a double red flag warning.”
“Swim trunks.”
Matthias scoffed. “I’m not surprised you chose to focus on the wrong part of my statement. Don’t you know what a double flag means? It means strong currents and rip currents.” Matthias was wearing a thick black wetsuit. His dark hair was wet and slicked back away from his forehead. I saw the storm in his eyes, the firm irritation in his perfect mouth. Hurricane Matthias. “You stay out here any longer and I’ll strangle you myself.”
Why was he so angry? He should want me to drown and be out of his life.
“Let me g-guess,” I spat, “no promises to Daddy Dearest about not m-murdering me in other ways?”
