2. Griffin
TWO
The drivethrough Saltwater Springs brings back bittersweet nostalgia. I’ve done my fair share of traveling in my twenty-nine years of life, prior to my accident, and nothing compares to the winding coastline roads and the salty sea air that flows through the open windows of my jeep in this town. The waves can be heard in the distance, and I daydream about being back on my surfboard. It’s been six months since I tore my MCL and I haven’t seen, let alone touched, a surfboard in that time.
I rub at my chest, trying to loosen the tightness that’s forming there, while I try to push away the dark memories of that day, refusing to give them any space in my mind today as my knee begins to throb. This time I’m coming back different, stronger, focused. And unlike last time, failure isn’t an option.
The Saltwater Shredders, the professional surf team I’m with, has been struggling since I left. I’ve watched every surf competition from the TV in my hospital room and seeing them continuously being beat by our biggest rival team, The Rip Raiders, fills me with an unbearable amount of guilt. If I had been there, we would’ve come in first place each time. Being short one person in competitions like these, where wins are based on overall points, makes all the difference.
I’m determined to make it up to them by getting us to first place at the Regional Surf Team Finals. It’s the only thing standing between us and the opportunity to join the World Championship Tour. The winning team of the Regional Surf Team Finals is entered into the solo Qualifiers where other solo surfers from around the world compete to catch the best waves and highest points to earn a spot on the Championship Tour with the World Surf Association.
The Shredder House comes into view at the end of the road, and I find myself admiring it as if it’s the first time I’m seeing the house. It stands out in this town, where every house looks like a colorful cottage taken straight out of a children’s storybook. The Shredder House was renovated with Gabriel’s modern touch. Its pale concrete walls are softened by wooden accents and large floor to ceiling windows. Beautiful, colorful flowers and carefully trimmed bushes line the property as I drive up the long driveway.
After parking my car, I hop out, careful not to put too much weight on my injured leg. Despite my physiotherapist’s advice against my return due to lingering pain, six months feels long enough for me. I’m willing to endure the discomfort if it means not letting my team down again.
Grabbing my black duffel bag from the backseat of the car, I make my way toward the entrance. My eyes fixate on the wooden front door, as well as the Saltwater Shredders sign that hangs above it. I used to feel a sense of pride walking through these doors, but this time fear takes hold of me, and I find myself frozen in place with my fist hanging in the air between myself and the door.
You can do this.
I force myself to mentally repeat those words as a sheen of sweat forms along my forehead. I stare at my floating fist, now trembling, as bile makes its way up my throat. I guess this is the PTSD the doctor said I might experience. I never thought knocking on a door would trigger it, but here we are.
I went from being at the top of my game, to being too scared to open a damn door.
As if reading my mind, the door swings open, revealing Gabriel’s grinning face. I watch as the smile fades from his face when he studies me and my hand. I force my shaking hand down to my side, stuffing them both into my pants pockets.
He eyes me suspiciously before pulling me in for a bear hug. “Are you feeling alright?”
“Fine.” My voice is brusque.
He lets go of me; his expression perplexed. “Fin!” Someone shrieks from behind him.
I look over Gabriel’s shoulder and see the rest of my team sitting together on the couch with wide grins, except for Koa – the grumpy bastard never smiles anymore, and coming from me, that’s saying something.
Maliah and Kairi, the only two females on the team and in the house, jump from the couch and charge toward me like toddlers seeing their favorite parent. I quickly drop my bag to the floor and open my arms to them as they crash into my chest, pushing me back a step or two, as the familiar feeling of my knee throbbing resurfaces.
“We’ve missed you so much,” Kairi says, her voice muffled as she hugs me tightly, her brown curls tickling my nose as she buries her face in my sweater.
“Yeah,” Maliah agrees before punching my shoulder gently as she pulls away to look up at me with sad eyes. “I can’t believe you wouldn’t let us visit you for the whole six months.”
“I’m sorry.” I say, barely audible as my voice cracks.
I didn’t want to see anyone during my recovery. I felt like a complete failure for letting my team down and as much as I craved their presence, especially on the low days, I couldn’t bring myself to face them. And now, although I don’t feel any less guilty, I’m prepared to push the feeling aside and focus on what needs to be done.
If I’m being honest with myself, I probably shouldn’t be back so soon, and not because my leg hasn’t fully healed but because I’m still holding on to so much anger about the accident. As much as I want to be the old Fin and joke around with my teammates, a bigger part of me wants to shut myself away and simmer until I’ve dealt with the suffocating feelings.
“As long as you’re back, that’s all that matters,” Kairi says, giving Maliah a look of warning.
“Yeah, man,” Zale says, standing up from the couch and walking over to us. “We missed you like crazy, but nothing beats seeing you back here.”
We hug, smacking each other on the back before letting go. He still looks the same, ivory skin, dirty blond hair, blue eyes. Nothing about him has changed in the slightest and the familiarity gives me some comfort.
When I glance over at Koa who stands in the living room area on his own, he nods once in my direction, and I do the same. His dark hair is a bit longer since I saw him last, waterfalling over his forehead and his wardrobe still consists of mostly black. We used to be as close as brothers but after Maliah broke up with Koa a year ago, he’s retreated into quiet solitude.
I look around and notice that one person is missing. Colton. The person that kept me away from this house a lot longer than I had initially planned to. A part of me is relieved he isn’t here because I couldn’t promise I wouldn’t have tried to kill him at first sight.
I’ve known Colton since we were kids but after his betrayal six months ago, I’ve started to feel like I never knew him at all.
“We missing someone?” I ask, trying to sound casual as I rub my nose and look around at the walls.
The team goes quiet, but I can sense the anger emanating from them.
“Ah yes, I must have forgotten to tell you,” Gabriel says, disappointment dripping from each word. “Colton left us about a week ago. Moved to the Rip Raiders instead.”
The Rip Raiders are dirty surfers one town over. They have a better beach than us, with waves so amazing that this year the World Surf Association has selected it as the beach for the Regional Surf Team Finals, giving them the upper hand. We have a natural rivalry with The Rip Raiders that carries over into real life, so to know that Colton has chosen to move there, of all teams to choose from, only fuels the rage inside of me.
I study Gabriel, watching as he looks around the house innocently. He would never forget to tell me something like that, and I wonder how much he knows about what really happened the day of my accident.
Nobody knows that Colton and I have fallen off, unless they spoke with him directly. I wouldn’t tell anyone the real reason I got hurt, and I don’t think Colton would voluntarily throw himself under hot water with the rest of the team either. But Gabriel has eyes everywhere so I wouldn’t be surprised if he did know what happened that day.
“Anyways,” Gabriel continues, “this is the perfect time to let you all know we’re having an impromptu team meeting in the conference room in five minutes.”
He walks down the hall towards the meeting room, Koa following not far behind him. I tell the others to go ahead without me while I bring my bag to my room. I wait until they all disappear down the hall before picking up my bag and looking around the room.
I’d forgotten how curated the decor is to the coastal vibe. Seashells used as decorations on table tops and shelves, Gabriel’s old surfboards hanging off the walls like artwork. Browns, beiges, and pops of color in every direction. It all feels so familiar, but more like a distant memory, almost like a past life.
I make my way upstairs and walk into my room, dumping my bag on the queen-sized bed. My room looks exactly how I left it, tidy. I make a mental note to take down any photos I have of Colton and of Meghan. I don’t stay in there long enough to spot any of those photos, rushing down the stairs on a limp and into the meeting room to join the others.
“Take a seat, everybody,” Gabriel says as he leans over his laptop, pairing it with the smart TV hanging on the wall.
I head to a seat at the edge of the long table, but as I reach for the chair, Maliah’s slender hand grabs the back of it first. I glance up at her frowning face.
“I’m not sitting beside him,” she hisses. I glance over her shoulder to see the only other free seat is next to Koa.
“You guys still haven’t fixed your shit?” I mumble, stepping back so she can take the seat.
“There’s nothing to fix.” Maliah flips her hair over her shoulder, but I don’t miss how her eyes slide toward Koa’s direction.
I follow her gaze and notice a vein on the side of Koa’s jaw begin to tick and I know he must have heard her. I don’t really know what happened between them. I was certain they were endgame until a year ago when they suddenly broke up, without any explanation. I tried asking Koa about it, but he never answered. He just stared off into space with a blank expression each time.
Although he seems to have improved in the months I’ve been away, he’s still nowhere near the person he used to be. Instead, he’s an empty hollow version of himself.
Maliah on the other hand turned into a fire breathing dragon after the split. She’s refused to get near him, speak to him, or even look at him. To her, he doesn’t exist, and she puts on a facade that that’s what she wants, but I see through it. She’s just as obsessed with him as he is with her.
I lower myself into the chair beside Koa and watch as the smart TV lights up with Gabriel’s computer desktop. It’s a picture of Zalea Evans, Zale’s older sister.
“I don’t know if I should be grossed out or pissed off,” Zale mumbles as he stares up at the picture of his sister in a bikini on the TV screen.
“Did they finally get together?” I ask.
“In his fucking dre—” Gabriel clears his throat, cutting off Zale’s raised voice, as he shoots him a warning look.
“Team,” he starts, pulling up a PowerPoint presentation. The first slide has a picture of my face on it with a confetti border. “I want to officially welcome Griffin back to the team; Fin, it’s been a long six months without you, and we’re pumped that you’re back.”
Zale reaches across Koa’s back and smacks mine, grinning from ear to ear. Kairi, on my other side, gives my forearm a comforting squeeze.
“Thanks, Coach, it’s good to be back,” I say, giving him a half smile.
“Now, as you all know, we lost Colton to the Rip Raiders?—”
“Good riddance!” Maliah barks out, crossing her arm as she looks up at Colton’s picture on the screen.
My heart starts to beat hard in my chest, anger building rapidly inside of me, and I’m almost certain Koa can hear it as he slides a sideways glance my way. I swallow past the lump in my throat as I stare at Colton’s face on the screen. I would have risked my life for him, but he betrayed me in the worst way.
“We have a team of amazing surfers, but without Colton we’re at a disadvantage.” Gabriel continues, as if he didn’t hear her. “It’s too late into the season for us to get another surfer on the team and learn his strengths and weaknesses, so we’ll have to make-do with you three for the remainder of the season.” He nods his head towards Zale, Koa and me.
“You got it, Coach,” Zale says, winking at him. It earns him another cold stare.
To a stranger, it might seem like Gabriel and Zale don’t get along. That wouldn’t be a bad assumption, in a way they don’t. Gabriel has been pining after Zalea since they were teenagers, from what I hear.
Zale, being the protective brother that he is, doesn’t want Zalea in a one-foot radius of Gabriel. Aside from that elephant in the room, they work well together when it comes to surfing. Which is probably the only reason they haven’t strangled each other yet. Gabriel needs Zale just as much as Zale needs Gabriel.
“Anyways,” Gabriel drags his eyes, with far too much effort, from Zale and toward Kairi and Mal instead. “You two ladies have been doing an amazing job of leading the women’s scores, but I’m going to be working hard to bring in one more lady for you guys to really help boost up our overall numbers.”
“That new addition wouldn’t happen to be my sister, would it?” Zale asks, grinding his teeth.
Gabriel studies him curiously. “No. Zalea wouldn’t rejoin us even if I got on my knees and begged her.”
Zale nods in response, but both of his hands remain tight fisted on the tabletop. Zalea used to surf with us when we were all in the youth team together but there was a lot of friction between her, Zale and Gabriel. She left two years ago to get away from the tense environment and pursue solo surfing; she hasn’t been back since.
Kairi claps excitedly and Mal nods with a competitive energy that scares even me. She’s the best female on the team, maybe even in the region, but to keep that title she must surf dirty sometimes and that’s birthed a fierce competitiveness in her.
“Speaking of new additions,” Gabriel continues, skipping to the next slide of words. “We’ll be hiring on four non-competing members.”
He skips to the next slide that has a middle-aged man with a mustache that twirls at the ends. “Meet Louis, he’s the team’s very own nutritionist and chef. He’ll be scheduling in appointments with each of you to go through your diet, numbers, and then working with you to create a new meal plan.”
“He’s cute,” Mal purrs.
Koa balls his hands into fists beside me and slowly drags his arms under the table away from view. The tips of his ears turn red as he stares ahead, his nostrils flaring.
“And a little old for you, Mal,” I mutter, side eyeing Koa.
“I said he was cute, not that I wanted to fucking marry him, Fin.” she responds with so much aggression that it sends a chill down my spine. She’s a scary woman.
“Will he be living in-house if he’s the chef?” Kairi asks, eyeing me and Mal as if she’s expecting us to lunge at each other’s throats any second.
“No, he’ll be stopping by every Monday with his delivery truck and delivering containers of everyone’s meals for the week.” Gabriel answers. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any available rooms for a live-in chef.”
“What about Colton’s old room?” she asks.
The sound of his name causes me to twitch as I feel the fading anger course through me again, the hairs on my arms raising in response.
“I’ll get to that,” he says, clicking a key on his laptop to skip to the next slide, of a guy around our age next to a rack of surfboards. “Meet Sterling. He’s the team’s very own board shaper and he’s located in the town square. Please pay him a visit in the next few weeks to have a new board shaped to your needs. Bring him as much feedback on your current boards as you can.”
Gabriel skips to the next screen, which is of an older woman, probably in her forties.
“This is Dr. Ivanova, she’s our team’s dedicated physiotherapist. I want each of you to book in a consultation with her to come up with a session plan. I think all of us can improve on our mobility and positioning out in the water.” Gabriel turns his eyes to mine. “Feel free to book in as many appointments as you need if any of you are feeling pain.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stand as I stare into his eyes, and I wonder to myself if he knows about my physiotherapist at the hospital not recommending that I return to the team just yet. I give him a small nod before he returns his eyes to the laptop and clicks that key again.
“Lastly, meet Eliana.” I glance up at the screen and my breath freezes in my airways.
As I stare at a picture of the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever laid my eyes on, my mouth goes dry. There’s something magnetizing about her, preventing me from looking away. Her big, innocent, green eyes pull me in as her hair reflects the sunlight around her freckled face. A girl like her could only spell out trouble for me and I’m grateful that our live-in occupancy is full. Living with her would completely ruin my plan to stay focused.
“She’ll be our live-in social media manager.”
As if a record scratches, I whip my eyes back to Gabriel, a sinking feeling forming in my stomach as my blood runs cold.
“Did you just say live-in?” I ask, praying I heard him wrong.
“I did,” he nods, one corner of his mouth lifting into a knowing grin. “She’s coming from a very long way, so I’ve offered her Colton’s old room.”
“But that’s right beside my room,” I say, as I look back at her gorgeous picture.
He nods his head slowly. “It is.”
“Why do we need a social media manager?” I ask, rubbing away the panic that’s building in my chest.
I swore to myself I wouldn’t allow any distractions to get in the way of surfing again. I need complete focus to get back to my intermediate surfing skill level, to get the team to Qualifiers. But, with a girl like her walking the halls of this house, sleeping in the room right next to mine, that’ll be impossible.
What if she’s one of those girls that sleeps in booty shorts and tight crop tops? Or worse, what if she wears ankle length nightgowns? The curiosity of what she’s hiding under such atrocious sleepwear would drive me fucking insane. No, she can’t live here.
“She’s going to help fix up the team’s image and help us reach a wider fan base. The more eyes we have on us, the more likely we are to attract the right sponsors. Your accident was one thing, but now with Colton leaving us, it’s not a good look.”
“Right,” I say, my voice trailing off.
Sponsors are what keep this team running. They pay for new equipment, our accommodation, and put food on the table. Without them, we’d be relying on Gabriel’s funding again or forced to work part time jobs to support ourselves.
“I’ll need you to give her a warm welcome, Fin.” Gabriel says, pulling me out of my thoughts. “I’m taking the rest of the team to Kitso beach for the evening surf while you unpack and settle in. She’ll be arriving while we’re gone.”
I bite back a groan at the thought of being alone with her in this house. I need to get rid of her tonight then, while the rest of the team is gone.
“You’ve got it, Coach,” I say, a forced smile plastered on my face as I sit back and cross my arms over my chest.
I’ll give her the warmest welcome she’s ever experienced.