Chapter 1 – Ash

“So, tell me everything, Ash.” Tatiana stretched out on her blanket in rapt attention. Her toes—complete with ruby-red polish—were out of her flip-flops and curled into the sand as if it was summer, though the chill of March lingered in the air and patches of snow dotted the coastline.

“Nothing exciting happened today.” I shivered in my jacket, sitting on a nearby boulder with my arms looped around my folded legs to keep warm. “I swear.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her bask in a little bit of sunlight and wait in anticipation while the icy water lapped the beach just beyond us. Daily we did this—the drama report from South Tahoe High. Her home-schooled existence left little to no excitement, which meant I couldn’t start talking about anything else until I’d dished out every dirty detail from my craptastic day.

“Fine.” I rolled my eyes.

After I filled her in on the drama, I studied and secretly envied our differences. Tatchi, with her long, tan legs could have any guy at South Tahoe High School she wanted. Her iridescent blonde hair flowed like cascading water down her shoulders; a perfect match to her azure eyes. I, on the other hand, the Irish redhead that freckled in the sun, walked around school unnoticed by guys. Constantly smelling like sunscreen and chlorine didn’t help either.

She lapped up my account like a lonely dog whose master had just come home. She never cared how similar the stories were. To Tatchi, my words were her lifeline to society, to a real life she craved—her live reality show with me as the narrator.

“Oh, wow. What did he do?” Tatchi rolled over onto her stomach and kneaded her hands together, hungry for more.

“Nothing. He acted like nothing happened. The whole thing kinda backfired.”

Tatchi laughed and laid her chin on her folded hands. “Serves her right. Then what happened?”

The longing on her face tugged at my heart. I turned away to watch the endless span of sparkling water across the lake—only the snow-covered mountains gave away its end—and shook my head. “Nothing. I came home. Just another totally boring day.”

“Not in the slightest,” Tatchi giggled. “I can’t wait ’til this is our life.”

I smiled, knowing we’d be breaking out of this tourist trap soon enough and she’d be free. Then she’d finally see that living the drama was vastly different than hearing about it—especially when the heartache happened personally.

We sat in silence for a moment as the past drifted in like the tide in my mind. Tatchi would love nothing more than to finish her senior year in public school, but her parents were super strict—similar to mine. Only, their concern didn’t lay with what kind of education she’d get at STHS or the influence from her peers. No, they hid a big secret. One I’d discovered a long time ago and was the reason I avoided her house.

“Do you have swim practice tonight?” Tatchi asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“No.” I jumped back into reality. “There’s some banquet for the teachers so it was cancelled.”

“Nice to have a break, huh?”

“Meh. I like practice and it’s not like you can do anything anyway. You’ve got a curfew—”

“Not for much longer. How many days again?” Tatchi sat up and copied my pose by curling her arms around her legs too.

“Like I have to tell you.” I scrambled over and pulled the tattered brochure from my book bag. Every word on that thing had been read at least a hundred times.

Last summer, I’d gotten the hair-brained idea to get a post-office box so Tatchi could apply to colleges in secret. She wasn’t thrilled about the idea, afraid how her family would react, but after we sent out applications and were accepted to Florida Atlantic University, we both became excited about the possibilities.

“Only five months and six days ‘til we‘re free,” she said with a coy smile, though nervously fidgeting with her charm bracelet, the vial of blue liquid sparkling in the sun just right.

I grabbed her hand. “Your family will be thrilled, I know they’ll be. You’re the first to go to college and on a scholarship. They’ll be happy for your accomplishment.”

Tatchi and her twin brother Fin helped run the family sailing business, Captain Jack’s Charters. My Gran’s curio shop, Tahoe Tessie’s Treasures happened to be on the same pier. Without college, both of us would be slated to stay and eventually take over the family business, putting down roots like our parents.

“Well…,” she said with a sigh, a glint of worry reflected in her eyes, “you just don’t know them.”

The childhood flashback of her dad’s angry face shimmered across my vision. I gulped down my hesitation. She needed me to be strong for her when she finally told them.

With a deep breath and as much compassion as I could muster, I looked her in the eye. “How could they not be proud of you? Sure, they’ll have to find someone to take your place in the office, but that’s nothing. And you can’t pass up a scholarship—”

“It’s not that. It’s other things.”

My stomach clenched. Now seemed like an opportune time to finally discuss what I saw so many years ago. Her dad had a serious problem. In fact, keeping the family secret to herself wasn’t healthy, constantly living vicariously through my warped interpretations of other teens.

I’d just about broached the subject when Tatchi suddenly gasped.

“What’s wrong?” I asked and glanced over to where she looked, afraid her father might be storming down the beach towards us. Instead, a red Jeep rolled over the ridge and down the rocky path that separated our neighborhoods.

She tsked. “What does he want?”

My mouth parched as I caught a glimpse of Tatchi’s twin brother through his windshield. He wore his usual black baseball hat, and looked nothing short of adorable.

“He’s coming here?” My voice cracked.

“Apparently.” She pressed her brows together and looked toward her house. “Let me find out what he wants.”

Fin parked and got out before she could intercept him.

“Hey, Ash,” he called out with a wave.

My stomach flipped into a knot as I smiled and waved back.

They argued for a minute, but I didn’t catch what about. I stood, trying not to gawk, as I shamelessly adored his broad shoulders and beautiful blonde hair. Under the bill would be his piercing blue eyes fringed with paintbrush lashes—the ones that always melted my knees.

My crush started years ago, right after we’d met when we were ten—right on this beach. With a deep breath, I tried to relax and not dream of a relationship that probably wouldn’t be. As far as I knew, he didn’t think much of me beyond meaningless flirting.

Tatchi threw her hands in the air and stormed back in my direction.

“Drama on the home front. I have to go,” she mumbled as she snagged her blanket off the sand. “Sorry.”

“Is everything okay?”

Fin watched us, which made me even more nervous.

“Yeah, it should be fine. I’ll try to call later.” She smiled and gave me a hug. But more of an, “I’m leaving for a trip and saying goodbye,” tighter kind of hug. I grimaced, unsure what to say.

She left with a sigh and headed toward their house, brushing past Fin without even a look. Once she was out of view, Fin turned and instead of going back to his Jeep, he walked towards me. My pulse quickened.

Date: 2015-02-03; view: 680