salt air and serendipity [lrh]

one

It was the familiar smell of smoke mixed in with the usual salty scent in the air that woke me up this morning. I knew it was time to get out of bed when I smelt it. That meant Calum was waiting outside my window for an invite. Our morning routine since we became friends in the fifth grade has never wavered. Anytime between 10:00 and 11:00 AM He jumps over the fence railing on the wooden path that leads to my front door, stands below my bedroom window, and waits for me to open in and thrown down the rope ladder I had for some unknown reason. Occasionally he yells for me or throws something at the window if I take too long or he brings along the other guys, but it's always the same. The only change in it is now I smell the smoke coming from Calum's regretable choice of beginning to smoke cigarettes. 

I rolled out of bed, throwing my comforter forcefully off of me, and went to open the window. "Morning, Cal Pal." I greet him as I throw the ladder out of the window. 

"Girl Scout! Morning to you too." He squints up at me, shading his eyes from the sun and holding his cigarette between his fingers. 

He puts his foot on the ladder but I tug on it a bit. "You better put that thing out before you even think about coming in here." I scold. I hated that he smoked, it was bad for him and the environment, but he was good about not doing it so much around me. He climbs off, putting his hands up in defense. throwing the cigarette onto the wood, Calum crushes it with his foot and throws it into the outdoor garbage can. "Smoking kills, you know?" I tell him after he hurls himself onto my floor, rolling up the ladder again. 

"Yeah, yeah." He brushes me off, kicking off his flip-flops and rolling onto his stomach. "You wanna go to Hattie's for breakfast? She said next time we go she'll give us half off just because we're such good customers." He asks, smiling at the end of his sentence. 

"Did she say that, or did Enya say that?" I ask, giggling. Hattie's Diner is our favorite local 24-hour restaurant in town owned by Hattie Ruiz. She's one of the sweetest ladies in this small town and she has the sweetest daughter, Enya, who Calum so happens to have the sweetest crush on. I try my hardest to be a good wing-woman and sometimes it works and sometimes I say something that makes me realize why I can't even get a partner of my own.

"Haha, very funny. It was Hattie." He barely laughs at my attempt to get him to talk about his feelings so early in the morning. "Yes or no?"

I walk to my closet and sift through my outfit options. "It's a yes. I do have to go to the shop to buy a new canoe oar. We lost one and Dad's pissed, so I offered." I give him my answer, pulling out a black bikini, a pair of off-white linen pants, and a large t-shirt that was lying on the floor of my closet. Who knew what the day would bring, so I wore a swimsuit under my clothes almost every morning, just in case. 

Calum kept his head down at his phone. "I'll come with. Got nothing else to do today." He offers as I start changing in the middle of the room. He doesn't even notice, or frankly, care. He's seen me at my absolute worst and absolute best, there was nothing special about seeing me naked. He finally looks up to see me as I slip the shirt over my body, it hitting at mid-thigh. "That mine?" He asks, pointing to the shirt.

"Nope. Uh, it used to be Ricky's." I correct him. Though, he was usually right when he asked if something was his or Michael or Ashton's. They tend to forget many of their things at my house and I tend to steal them after a few days. But this shirt used to be Ricky's, my brother. He isn't around though, so all of his belongings were free to take. I've been taking his things and clothes since I came to be. He was only two years older than me and living in such a small town, I didn't have the chance to make very many friends before the boys, so Ricky was my best friend. And he always will be.