Chapter Fourteen
Sunlight shines directly into my eyes, bringing an end to my peaceful sleep.
“Of all the things he could have upgraded, he didn’t think to get black-out curtains?” I grumble before forcing one eye open to check the time. The alarm clock on the bedside table tells me it’s just past nine in the morning. Still squinting against the light, a picture frame sitting directly behind the alarm clock catches my attention. Seven-year-old me and nine-year-old Wyhtt and Jensen are playing on the beach, chasing seagulls.
I remember the day as clear as if it were yesterday, we had spent the entire day on the beach until Jensen’s grandparents dragged us all back inside just as high tide was rushing back in for the night. I can still hear Wyhtt’s protest to his parents and how he begged to spend the night. We had talked not only his parents into agreeing that day, but mine as well. That was the start of many sleepovers and many traditions in this house, it was the first time I claimed this room as my own.
I wonder if I can convince Wyhtt to chase seagulls again today, I chuckle to myself before realizing I still have nothing to wear. Curious to see which of my things Jensen held on to, I drag myself out of bed. A part of me hopes Wyhtt wasn’t messing with me—that he was telling the truth and Jensen truly did hold onto my things—and I’ll find exactly what he had said I would. It wasn’t just my stuff . . . but it was part of me that he chose to hold on to after all this time. It would be the smallest of signs, showing me even though he left . . . he still cared and that he didn’t just throw me away. I rummage through the closest, only to find a beach chair, a floppy hat, and some expired sunblock. Turning my sights on the dresser, I find the first two drawers are empty and the third is stuffed with beach towels. Slowly, I peak into the fourth and final drawer.
I find a pair of blue denim shorts that I will never fit in again, the size two taunts my now much fuller figure. I push the shorts aside to find a few oversized tees I snagged over the years from Jensen and a hoodie with Wyhtt’s high school baseball team logo on it. I dig through a few other odds and ends before eventually stumbling upon two bikinis and a white cover up. Choosing the less revealing of the two, I head to the bathroom to shower and get ready.
Fortunately, the swimsuit did fit . . . barely. Size two Serena definitely was seeking all Jensen’s attention in these bikinis, I chuckle at the thought. This may have been the less revealing of the two swimsuits, but that didn’t mean much. It was leaving very little to anyone’s imagination. Deciding to grab the cover up on my way out the door to breakfast, I toss it on in a poor attempt to be a bit more modest.