𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙛𝙞𝙖'𝙨 𝙃𝙚𝙞𝙧

Chapter Four

"Meet me where the sky touches the sea."

-Jennifer Donnelly

Ryker

~♣~

"I thought you were here with Tate?" I question Valeria when I arrive at the beach around 12:30 pm. She looks up surprised and I laugh "what you didn't think I would come?" She smiles and stands up hugging me.

"I had a feeling you would, and they're swimming in the ocean I'm going to join them pretty soon, but the sun is just blazing right now I don't want to burn myself. I sit down beside her as Jordan comes around looking for his girlfriend.

"Hey, Valeria do you know where Tate is?" She points to a group of people play fighting in the ocean and he takes off his shirt. We stopped at our houses before we got here to change and bring stuff. But I didn't bring a towel because I felt like Valeria would bring two more just in case.

"Do you want to go now, the sun isn't as hot?" She looks over at me and then takes off her hat and sunglasses. "Fine but if you get me wet before I reach the shore then I'll drown you." She says in a playful tone but I know she isn't joking.

"Ok, Ry you go first and I'll follow" Valeria walks at a slow pace behind me and once I reached the water I let myself touch it and the sun must have warmed it up because it's really warm. "Valeria it's really warm!" I shout back, She walks up and places her foot into the water.

And just because I feel like messing with her I push her in and start sprinting through the water before she can get up. It is really hard to run in water.

I look behind me and Val is getting seaweed out of her hair and once she looks up Valeria starts walking towards me and I start walking faster to our group of friends.

When I get there I see a lot of people I know Jordan, Tate and even Sabrina. Valeria is behind me and before I can hold my breath she takes me down under the water for a good 5 seconds and once she's done she says "I just need you alive that's all."

"So why is Sabrina here?" I ask after a little while "because Tate invited her" I know they have bad blood but them together in the same place it will get ugly.

"What is Vince doing here by the way he kept on asking me to forgive him and he wouldn't leave me alone?" Valeria tells me.

"Honestly, I have no idea I only told Jordan I was coming and he tagged along, must have heard our conversation" she shakes her head.

"No, I know why he's here he already told me I mean in the ocean with our friends." She's not wrong Vince has his own group of friends hanging out with us is like a blow in his pride. Maybe he's trying to make Valeria jealous because he is getting very friendly with Sabrina.

"Of course, Sabrina." Val starts swimming away deeper into the ocean and I'll let her be. I will keep an eye on her just in case she drowns or something like that but sometimes Valeria needs time to cool off and be herself. No pressure from anyone around her.

"Hey, Ryker! Where's Nyla she told me she was coming with you?" Sabrina calls me over and they open the circle so I can join their talk. "Yeah well, she said she would be here soon haven't seen her though." I hoped she wasn't on her way.

"Oh well just letting you know Nyla has a pretty big crush on you... don't let her down buddy" Sabrina whispers from beside me. I already knew this from the way she looks at me and follows me around I'm just not interested.

I look behind me and Nyla is swimming towards us.

Valeria

~♣~

I swim away to get lost a little in the ocean because I need to think things through. Vince and Sabrina? Vince and Mia? I just don't get what he's doing. He tells me he wants me back and once I say no. He goes back to finding a new play toy.

When I first met Vince 2 years ago in grade 9 I thought he was such a sweet boy and a couple of months later he asked me out. Ever since then we've been together until the end of grade 11. I planned everything out we were both going to go to NYU. And then we would graduate and live our life after that but none of it's happened and looking back it's really a foolish thought.

How would I know we would both get in? What if I don't even want to go there anymore?

I don't even know what I want to do and when I look at Ryker he has everything planned out. He's graduating in December then taking the rest of the year off until August where he will go to Berkly. And I don't even know what school to choose. I got into ones all over the world. Oxford in Europe. The University of British Columbia in Canada. Penn State University here in the US. Duke University and Berkley in California. I want to leave my home state really bad but my mom keeps telling me to stay and go to Berkley or send an application to UCLA but I don't want to.

Mom gets nervous every time I talk about leaving. Maybe it's overprotective stuff. God, sometimes I really wish she could tell me what happened when I was younger so I could find the source to all her worrying.

Right now high on my list is Penn State.

I turn around and see a girl with hair so fiery in a pink bathing suit swimming towards Ryker I wonder who she is? Maybe Ry finally got a girlfriend honestly I've been waiting for this.

But that means Ryker isn't single and won't have time for you anymore. What if his new girlfriend won't like that you're close so she'll ask him to stop talking to you?

No, no I can't think that Ry would never do that to me right?

The girl wraps her arms around him and he gives her a small but sincere smile. Feelings arise and I try to push them down. Ryker is my friend. Nothing more.