2. Chapter Two
Chapter Two
I knew we were getting close; the noise in the distance confirmed it. Not to mention the faint smell of beer that wafted through the air.
“Less than an hour until you’re officially an adult,” I said.
Liv latched her arm with mine and smirked as she said, “As much of an adult as a reckless teenager can be.”
We turned down Manatee Drive, spotting Caleb’s house immediately.
“Wow, he’s really going all out this year, huh?” I commented.
“Doses and Mimosas” blared from a bunch of massive speakers that lined the wraparound porch of the light blue cottage, perched perfectly between two pastel yellow houses.
Even though most of our streets looked the same, the view never got old.
All the soft-colored houses with their creaky wooden steps, porch swings, and coastal décor made sure this place would always feel like home.
We strutted closer and the beat began to echo through my chest. My body unconsciously started swaying with the rhythm.
“So it’s going to be one of those nights?” Liv asked, gesturing to my gyrating body.
I smirked. “I’m only having a few drinks. I have to get up early tomorrow to help Mom and Dad at the restaurant, but you know I can’t turn down a good bop.”
Her lips curled into a smile. “Come on. Just have a little fun.”
Liv knew how to encourage me, but I really couldn’t have too much fun. I’d promised to be at The Wharf by nine in the morning to help prepare for the Labor Day crowd. My parents bought The Wharf when I was in middle school, and it was second in line as their pride and joy.
Me being first, of course.
The Wharf was a tiny hole in the wall that was loved by locals and visitors all the same. The restaurant turned into more of a bar starting at nine each night. It was the epitome of the east coast, perched on a rickety wooden dock within the marina. The structured shack was quaint, full of both character and good memories. Not to mention it’d maintained the title of “the best damn bar in town” for years.
“Smells like a good time,” Liv said, opening the door as a gust of sweat, beer, and teenage hormones smacked us right in the face.
“The best.” I scrunched up my nose, laughing.
Grabbing my hand, she led us inside.
We weaved in and out of people talking loudly over the music, dodged a couple that was sucking face, and somehow ended up on the makeshift dance floor located in the living room. The furniture had been removed and one huge disco ball was placed strategically on the fireplace, allowing the light to ricochet off of it and cast the whole room in sparkles.
“Are you not going to go find Caleb?” I asked as Liv and I started dancing together.
“I already found him,” she responded as she effortlessly swayed her body, signaling behind her.
Without being too obvious, I looked over her shoulder. Sure as shit, there he was, standing confidently but casually against the bottom of the stairs. He was everything you imagined in a tall, dark, handsome lacrosse player. There was a reason Liv had been pining for him since freshman year. There wasn’t a part of him that you didn’t want to look at.
As I gave him a once-over, I noticed his eyes were glued to Liv.
She’d gotten exactly what she’d wanted. She’d made herself known without giving herself up too easily. That was her M.O.
“You’re good,” I said loudly, trying to drown out the music.
“I know.” She winked.
Shortly after that, Caleb approached us. “Can I get you girls a drink?” he asked, never taking his eyes off Liv.
“I’ll take a shot of whatever you’ve got.”
“Make that two,” I chimed in.
He turned, leaving the scent of Abercrombie and Fitch’s Fierce lingering.
“He’s going to make this too easy, isn’t he?” I giggled as we continued to dance.
“Just how I like it.”
Liv grabbed my hand and spun me around as loud music played through the speakers, filling the room and leaving me floating through the air. I threw my head back, basking in the moment.
Until the moment was abruptly interrupted with, “Cops! Cops! Run!”
The frantic voices ripped me from the moment I was having with myself, while Liv ripped me from the living room dance floor. We were out of the house and on the run before I could comprehend what was happening.
We took off in the direction of the beach while everyone else shot down the street. This wasn’t our first time running from the cops. When you lived in a town this small, it was almost a rite of passage for all of the best parties to get busted.
“Holy shit, I’m dying,” I breathed, trying to get all my words out.
“Yeah, this outfit was absolutely not made for running, especially in these shoes.”
Before too long, the sirens sounded closer, and I saw the lights reflecting off the street sign around the corner. Stealthily, we ducked behind the closest house.
“What the hell, they’re relentless tonight.”
“Well, yes, they are cops, Liv. That’s their job.”
“I know, I know. But they usually give up after they scare a few underclassmen and then leave the rest of us alone.”
“Hey! Who’s over there?” a cop’s voice bellowed from the other side of the street.
“Not tonight,” I said, grabbing her hand and making a dash for the beach.
Out of breath and out of sight of the police, we collapsed on the beach. The cold sand awakening the tiny hairs on my arms, sending chills across my entire body.
“MJ?”
“Yes?”
“Why were we running?”
Seeing the confusion written all over her face, I asked, “What do you mean?”
“We haven’t had anything to drink!”
We both started laughing uncontrollably. A minute of belly laughs passed before we finally composed ourselves.
I gazed at the stars twinkling here and there while the waves crashed against the shore, giving us our own personal soundtrack.
We basked in each other’s silence, taking it all in. Until you had a friend like Liv, you couldn’t understand what it was like to have someone you could simply sit in complete and utter quietness with and still feel like you were having a full-blown conversation.
“We’re always going to be best friends, right?”
“What? Of course we are. Where the hell did that come from?” I propped myself up on my elbows and looked in her direction, and her face explained it all. “Liv, I already told you. We’ll figure it out. I promise. We always do.”
“Are you sure?”
“Remember in eighth grade when your parents decided to move and we weren’t going to be next-door neighbors anymore?”
“Yeah, we were convinced our friendship wouldn’t last the move,” she responded.
“And did we stop being best friends?”
“Obviously not.”
“Exactly. Even though it felt like the most dire situation of our entire lives in that moment, it was fine in the end. Just like this is going to be.”
“That’s because we ended up only moving a few blocks away. But you’re right. It’s just that my anxiety creeps in and takes over without my consent,” she admitted.
“That, I get,” I said.
“Maybe that’s what your book should be about.”
“Our anxiety?” I joked.
“No,” she snickered. “I meant our friendship. The story of us and all the crazy shit we’ve done.”
“Intriguing. But no one needs to know that much about me—or us.” I laughed.
“Ha. You’re probably right.”
Words had always been my thing, and I dreamed of writing a book someday, but I wasn’t sure if a story about our friendship was what I had in mind.
We went back to admiring the perfect summer night around us. The breeze was warm as the cool waves barely grazed our toes. The sound of sirens no longer took up space around us, and we soaked up the sound of the splashing water mixed with the sea grass blowing in the wind.
“Happy Birthday, Liv.”
She pulled out her phone and tapped the screen, seeing it was 12:01 a.m.
“Shit, I guess it is my birthday.”
I giggled.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“I’m just glad you exist.”
“I’m glad you exist too.”
“We should probably head home,” Liv said as she stood.
Extending her hand in my direction, I used her to pull myself to my feet. “I’m right behind you.”
Staring off into the dark abyss, I found myself in awe. I couldn’t help but acknowledge the happiness that floated around me. Liv might have been the sentimental one tonight, but right here, in this moment, I knew that regardless of what happened in the next few months, we’d figure it out. Because we always did.
Walking up to the car, Liv looked up from her phone. “You good?”
“Just taking it all in, you know?”
She smiled.
Hopping into the car, I grabbed the aux cord again. It was an automatic response at this point. “Wake Me Up” by Avicii started playing.
“Damn, this song never gets old,” Liv muttered.
Her car rumbled awake and then we were off, taking another long way around as we headed home.
We were only a few moments into the drive when she synced her voice to the lyrics. I jumped in, playing the air drums and belting the words as loud as I could.
Liv took a curve in the road and gravity pulled my body closer to her side, clinging to the “oh shit” handle with my right hand. We glanced at each other and couldn’t help but laugh. We were ridiculous and so embarrassing, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
My song choice was good, but it was losing momentum, and I was ready for something different. That was a weakness of mine, never being able to listen to a song all the way through.
I looked down to peruse my phone for a split second before looking back up, but when I did, I wasn’t greeted by the darkness of the once abandoned beach roads.
“Liv!” I shouted as two blinding headlights pierced my eyes. They crossed over into our lane and were coming fast.
I saw her hands drastically turn the wheel in the opposite direction, doing her best to overcompensate for the other driver, and then I didn’t remember what happened next. I just registered the impact. Of what? I wasn’t sure. But it was loud, it was abrasive, and it was something out of my worst nightmare.
Everything went black.