43 RYAN
RYAN
Oh, fuck no.
Firelight snaps in the wind, sparks lifting into the dark like tiny shooting stars. Music blasts from someone’s speaker. Groups of students crowd the sand, laughing, shouting.
It feels loud. And somehow I still feel completely outside of it. Liam says something beside me that I don’t even catch—because across the fire, Maddy laughs. That laugh that used to live right next to my ear.
She seriously needs to get a different laugh.
The night moves the way bonfire nights always do. We play dumb beach games. Talk to random people from school. Pass around drinks. At some point the sky turns deep blue, stars pushing through above the water. The air gets colder, and everyone shifts closer to the fire.
Kiara suddenly jumps to her feet, brushing sand off her jeans. “Alright,” she announces, pointing toward the ocean. “Time to take a quick dip, losers. Come on.”
Liam grins, pulling off his shirt as he stands. “Great idea.”
“Let’s go,” Noah says, already jogging backward toward the shoreline and Mel pops up immediately. “I’m in.”
Maddy just hugs her arms tighter. “You guys go. I’ll stay here.”
“You sure?” I ask before I even register it.
She looks surprised I even spoke, but then nods. “Yeah. I’ll hold the snacks.”
Liam tosses her a bag of chips. “Guard these with your life.”
A second later, Noah claps his hands and we all start moving at once—Kiara grabbing Mel’s hand, Liam already halfway jogging, Noah shoving me forward.
“Come on!”
I laugh and go with them, pulling my hoodie off as we run. The water hits hard when we jump in—shouts, splashing, Kiara screaming, Noah immediately dunking Liam under. It’s loud and messy.
But I still look back at her. She’s sitting alone on the log, shoulders slightly hunched, her face turned toward the fire. And then I see movement at the edge of the beach. There is a tall figure walking straight toward her with cocky posture.
My stomach drops before my brain even catches up. He reaches her and drops down beside her. She turns and her whole body goes still. Even from here. Even through the dark, the noise, the water between us—I know exactly who it is.
Oh, fuck no.