"There's plenty of time left tonight, I promised I'd have you home before daylight..." -- Copeland 'Coffee'
23
The sound of the ocean was like tv static that could lull you to sleep in just a matter of minutes if you weren't careful. Combined with the sway of the hammock from the strong breeze, Tessa found herself fighting sleep like it was the next world war. In an attempt to keep herself awake so that she wouldn't bake in the hot sun, she pulled out her camera and began taking pictures of her friends as they splashed each other in the water.
"So why aren't you getting in?" He asked as he sat in front of her in the sand.
"Because," she pointed to the scar on her right leg. "I'm not risking it."
He smirked at her as he grabbed her hand. "Come on."
"No, Jason, stop!" She squealed as he threw her over his shoulder and carried her to the edge of the water and then sat her down.
"You could at least get a little closer," he giggled as he whispered.
She had wanted so bad to prove Lauren wrong and not invite him along, but the next day, she found herself caving in. He just looked so cute sitting there with his hair all messy as he tapped his flip flops on the hard floor to music only he could hear.
**
"I'll go with you, but you have to go somewhere with me over Thanksgiving," he had agreed. "My mom keeps nagging at me to bring a girl home one holiday."
"Home?" She asked curiously.
"I'm actually from Oklahoma." He laughed. "I sort of ran away."
"Doesn't sound like running away if you still talk to your family." She laughed. "Isn't the point to cut off all ties with everyone you once knew?"
He smirked at her as he stuck his tongue out playfully just as the teacher walked in.**
"Tessa!" Hailey squealed excitedly. "She's coming in with us!"
"She won't get any closer," Cooper called out, with a hint of annoyance in his voice. He had been on edge the whole flight, and landing hadn't made it any better. Everyone had been wondering what his deal was. Just to spite him, she took one long step forward and he flipped her off playfully as he and Lauren resumed their frolicking.
"Always the vulgar one," she said sarcastically as she sat in the sand next to Jason and watched Teddy and Calli toss a beach ball in waist deep water.
They are adorable together..."So you won't go in the water because of a scar?" He asked curiously.
She rolled her eyes. "Because of how I got it," she laughed. "I was stung by a sting ray and a jellyfish at the same time."
"In the same spot?"
She rolled her eyes again and laughed. "No silly, the jellyfish was on my shoulder. After the sting ray got me I jumped and kind of went under in pain and the jellyfish swam over me and then when I raised up..."
"Oh I see," he laughed. "Sounds like a rockin' awesome time."
She snorted as she laughed him. "Yeah. So what about you? Got any scars you want to tell about?"
"I was bit by a horse once," he laughed.
"How do you get bit by a horse?"
"He thought my arm was an apple apparently," they both laughed as they watched the sun start to fade slightly. "No but seriously, I've got a load of emotional scars."
"Oh yeah? Me too."
He eyed her curiously before continuing. "My dad left my family when I was ten... Or eleven... But anyway, and then my mom got all depressed and my sister basically looked out for the family. Then one day he came back and said everything was going to be OK and he would never do anything like that again. Two weeks later, he stole everything of value in our house and left without a word."
"Wow," she whispered as she stared out at the beautiful water that was beginning to take on a dark blue hue. "Sounds kind of like my story."
"Oh yeah?" He asked curiously.
She nodded, debating on whether she should tell him, but before her heart could stop her, her mind took over, "My sister was kidnapped when I was about eleven... Or ten, I don't want to remember anymore. But anyway, we were the only two home. My older sisters were on dates and it was my parents' anniversary. They told me not to invite anyone over, but I did. I invited Marshall's cousin, Jake over, and we were down in the basement making out with the music turned up so loud it could make your ears bleed.
"And then after he left, around midnight, I went upstairs to my bedroom and I noticed that it was totally silent in my sisters room, except that the window was open and the rain was pouring in. I yelled and yelled and yelled for her, but she didn't answer. I thought she was just playing a sick game of hide-and-seek, but no... She was gone."
"Geez," he whispered.
"But thats not all," she laughed sarcastically. "It turned out it was this contractor we had hired to remodel the attic into a bedroom for me because I wanted my own room. He had taken her and when they took him in for questioning, he played dumb. Yes, he'd heard about it. No, he hadn't seen her. Then my mom got depressed, naturally, and about four of five years later when we all thought she was better, she started having panic attacks and my dad just couldn't take it anymore, so he ran."
"I'm sorry," he told her but she shook her head.
"Don't be. No one can change the past, and what happened to both of us was out of our control." She was surprised at how talking about it didn't even affect her. She was always afraid she would break down and cry so hard she'd pass out, but that didn't happen. And she didn't get that sick feeling in the pit of her stomach like she had when everything was still so fresh. She felt silly now, for not wanting to tell Teddy sooner.
"Is that why you're such a control freak?" He tried to lighten the mood. She punched him in the arm.
"I'm not a control freak."
"Oh please," he laughed and mimicked her voice. "Don't put that paper there, it goes with our notes on cellular respiration."
"OK, thats fine," she laughed. "Just remember, payback is a total b*tch."
- - - -
"Hey Ted," she smiled and waved as she left the room she was sharing with the girls to buy a soda. He didn't speak, didn't stop to wait with her, he only gave her a blank stare as he continued walking. She watched him walk away, and wondered what his problem was.
"Hey Tessa," Cooper whispered as he came up behind her, causing her to jump with fright.
"You scared me," she said as she noticed the dark circles around his eyes and his sickly complexion. "Are you OK?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Hey do you have a couple bucks I can borrow? I um, forgot my underwear so uh, me and um, Lauren are going to go buy some in a little bit."
"All I have on me is a dollar," she said skeptically as she handed it to him.
"Thanks, I'll pay you back when we get home." She nodded and shook her head as she finally paid for her soda a retreated to her room.
"Hey Lauren, are you going to buy underwear with Coop later?"
"What? Why would I go buy underwear with him when he's got more than he needs in his suitcase?" Lauren laughed at her friend's question.
"Oh, um, no reason, I just thought I heard one of the guys saying they forgot their underwear and... Nevermind, I think I'm just going crazy," she laughed as she sat on the bed next to Calli, who was sitting quietly with her legs crossed as she silently watched whatever Lauren or Hailey decided to watch.
"Hey Calli," she smiled. "I guess we'll be sharing a bed, huh?"
Calli nodded quietly, and she wondered if someone had said something to her to make her mad. "Did you and Ted get into a fight? Because I saw him when I went to get a drink and he wouldn't even talk to me."
She shook her head quietly. "He's mad at you."
"At me? For what?" Calli shrugged as Tessa nodded. "Thanks for telling me."
- - - -
The next night, after everyone had fallen asleep, she crept down to the beach and sat on the steps of a lifeguard station. The past two days, and being around all her friends constantly and begun to make her feel a little overwhelmed. She just needed some air, some alone time. She barely noticed when Teddy joined her on the steps.
"It almost makes you wonder what the sharks are doing," he stated as they both kept their eyes on the water as it hit the beach.
A small smile crept over her face, but then she remembered he was upset with her and it quickly faded. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner." She apologized.
"Its OK," his voice was almost a whisper.
"No its not. It was stupid of me to think that after all these years I was going to break down and cry over it," she told him. "I feel like a bad friend."
He gave her a look. "Why would you be a bad friend?"
"Because you tell me things about your life, but I didn't tell you anything about mine," she said.
"Its OK. I know it all now, so how about we just forget about it all?"
She smirked at him. "OK."
"So you come here often?" They both laughed at the cheesiness of his statement as they continued to listen to the waves. "Its the perfect time in the perfect place."
She nodded in agreement as she placed her head on his shoulder. "I wouldn't want anyone else out here with me," he told her, and on the inside she was doing cartwheels of joy. She felt like a silly little kid that got excited over a birthday present as she sat there with him.
"Me too," she said a few minutes later and he turned, facing her and reached for her hands. She wondered what a picture of the two of them would look like as they sat there, watching and listening to the waves pound the shoreline and holding hands in secret.
A little while later, she spoke, "We should probably get back inside."
He nodded. "Yeah, we probably should."
They followed the footprint they had made earlier, giggling as they tried to step in the tracks they had already made without making any more prints.
- - - -
"I'll see you in the morning." She said as she stepped off the elevator and began to walk away, but he pulled her back in and gave her a quick kiss.
"See you later," he whispered before returning to his room.
She couldn't help but smile as she walked to her room and climbed into bed as quietly as she could. She was smiling so much that she briefly felt like she was making the loudest noise she could possibly make, and she wondered if her friends could hear it too.
