Dolphin Tale 4

Chapter [15]

Lacie was lying in bed, staring aimlessly up at the blank canvas of a roof, when her phone rang. It was a sweet tune, her ringtone, and one that she loved. She reached over to her bedside table and picked her phone up. She glanced at the caller ID and smiled.

Sawyer Nelson.

"Hello, Sawyer. How can I be of service?"

***

The sun rose the next morning, bright and early, as did Lacie. After spending ten minutes in the shower, she went through her closet, looking for something that was reasonably presentable.

After throwing dresses upon dresses, jeans upon jeans, shirts upon shirts, and various other pieces of clothing out of her wardrobe and onto the floor, her eyes finally caught sight of something that made her smile.

It was the blue dress that Lacie had worn on their first evening together outside of Clearwater Marine Aquarium. It was the dress that brought out her eyes.

Lacie took it out of her wardrobe and slipped it on. She walked over to her mirror, admiring herself, before going over to the window and flinging it open. A light, calming breeze entered and twirled her hair around. She hoisted herself onto the window ledge and sat there, gazing out at the world. Over the tops of all the surrounding houses, she could see a beach, the waters sparkling like sapphires and diamonds. She turned her head to look to her left, and in the distance, she could make out the outline of Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Her gaze moved down to the ground and she smiled when she saw a figure approach her house.

"Sawyer!"

Startled, Sawyer glanced upwards and caught sight of Lacie sitting precariously on a window ledge. "Lacie."

Lacie waved, laughing happily, before disappearing into her room. She took one last look in the mirror at herself before opening the door and dashing down the stairs. She opened the front door and smiled when she saw Sawyer.

"Hey, Lacie," Sawyer said nervously. "You look nice."

Lacie blushed and hugged Sawyer. "Hey, Sawyer. Thanks." She stood back, smiling.

"Should we go?"

"Where are we going?"

Sawyer shrugged, smiling. "I'm not sure. We'll go wherever our feet decide to take us."

Lacie smiled. "Okay." She grabbed hold of Sawyer's hand.

Sawyer flinched, slightly, but began leading her down the pathway and onto the main street. Together, they walked quietly for a while, drinking in the sounds of nature. At last, they reached the beach that Lacie had seen from her window. The waters were still sparkling like sapphires and diamonds under the strong glare of the sun. They kicked off their shoes, their feet sinking into the soft sand.

Lacie walked down into the water and relished the feeling of water lapping against her ankles. Sawyer followed her in, gazing into the distance.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Lacie nodded, smiling. "It is." She turned to face Sawyer. "So, what shall we do?"

Sawyer shrugged. "What do you want to do?"

Lacie kicked up some water, splashing Sawyer. She laughed. Sawyer frowned before splashing Lacie. The two laughed until a stitch embedded itself into their stomachs. They ran back into the sand and collapsed, laughing.

"I'm all wet now, Sawyer. Thanks."

Sawyer smiled, rolling his eyes. "You started it, Lacie. Don't put all the blame on me. You splashed me first."

"I'm cold."

Sawyer sighed. "I'd lend you a jacket, but I don't have one on me."

"Lend me your shirt, then."

Sawyer raised and eyebrow. "That's wet, too. How about we go home and shower?"

"To my house?"

Sawyer shook his head. "No, mine. My house is closer, and my mother's not home, so we would have some time to ourselves, anyway."

Lacie nodded. "Okay." She stood up and brushed the sand off of herself. She reached out to Sawyer.

Sawyer glanced at her outstretched hand before taking it and hoisting himself up. They slipped their shoes back on before walking back away.

Five minutes later, they arrived at Sawyer's house. Sawyer unlocked the door and stepped in, closing the door after Lacie had entered. 

"You go and shower," Sawyer said, pointing to the bathroom. "I'm just going to dry myself and put on a change of clothes."

"What am I going to wear when I come out?"

Sawyer shrugged. "I'll just have to find something in my wardrobe for you to wear, I guess."

Lacie nodded. "See you soon." She walked off to the bathroom and vanished into it, closing the door behing her.

Sawyer sighed heavily before making his way to his bedroom. He grabbed a towel and dried himself off. He spotted his Clearwater Marine Aquarium wetsuit and put it on, deciding to visit Winter later on. Sighing, he made his way to his wardrobe and flung it open. After choosing a blue shirt and red shorts for Lacie, he shut the doors and sat down on his bed.

"Sawyer?"

Sawyer stood up and walked over to his door, flinging it open. "Yes, Lacie?"

Lacie caught sight of him and smiled. "There you are. Do you have any clothes for me?"

Sawyer nodded and handed the shirt and shorts to her. "It's the best I have. I think it should fit you."

"Thanks, Sawyer." She turned and walked off, disappearing into the bathroom.

Sawyer sighed and made his way into the kitchen. He made himself some cereal and waited for Lacie to reappear.

"I'm hungry, Sawyer. Do you have something we could eat?"

Sawyer nodded and pointed to his own bowl of cereal. "There's this. Sorry, it's not much, but it's what I usually have in the mornings."

Lacie frowned. "Cereal is boring." She walked over to the fridge and opened it, looking around. She straightened and turned to face Sawyer. "Let's make pancakes, instead."

Sawyer shrugged. "Okay... If you know to."

Lacie nodded. "I do."

Sawyer went back to eating his cereal as Lacie began pulling ingredients out of the fridge. A few minutes later, just when Lacie had finished mixing the pancake batter, there was a knock on the door.

Sawyer frowned. "That's strange."

Lacie turned to face him. "What's strange?"

"My mother is still at work, and nobody else usually comes around to our house. Who could it be?"

Lacie shrugged. "Why don't you go and find out?"

Sawyer stood and made his way over to the door. He saw the silhouette of a man and guessed that it may have been Dr. Clay who was standing on his doorstep, though he wasn't sure why. He opened the door and looked up at the figure. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

After all these years, he had never expected to see him again...