Spellbound

Part 12

Lera

I need to avoid him. That's the best solution to the mess I led myself into. Anyway, it'll be easier this way. No awkward moments or conversations, no weird tension between us, that way everyone can enjoy vacation, without our awkwardness. Simple solution.

But keeping away from Christian is harder than you think. Everywhere I seem to go, he's there. I really, really don't want to hurt him, but I feel like this is the only way through this storm. And it doesn't help that I've started feeling... something towards him. Bad, dangerous, life-altering, vacation-altering, altogether strange something. I can't tell if it's just because we kissed, or if I've always, deep-down felt it. I've had a lot of time in the last 3 days to think about him and how I feel about him, and I still can't understand a thing. 

"Lera? You there?" 

I'm snapped out of my thoughts by Kat. She's waving her arms infront of my face, trying to grab my attention. 

"Yeah, sorry, just thinking." I reply, burying my head in my beach towel.

It's been 3 days since me and Christian kissed, and I'm having  a beach day with Kat and Fern. Mostly so I can get out of the house and not have any accidental run-ins with Christian. I guess you could say I've been avoiding him, but I honestly don't know what to do. Like what if I bring it up, and he regrets it, or did it as a joke, that would be humiliating. So, I've come to the conclusion that it's easier to just ignore my entire crush or whatever we're calling it and go back to pretending he doesn't exist.

"You've been doing some pretty hard thinking lately," Kat says, squinting at me from her own beach towel. 

"Yeah, I guess so," I say, shrugging lightly.

"Well, what about, maybe we can help." says Fern from my other side.

"Oh, nothing really, just, random stuff I guess."

We go back to tanning, the sun soaking into my skin. Kat and Fern continue to chat, but I feel deflated, like I have no energy left.

A few minutes later, we hear a loud noise behind us. Oh no. 

It's Noah. With Christian. 

Shit. Shit. Shit. 

I turn my head back to my towel, pretending to be deeply enthused with the fibers of my towel.

"Good afternoon ladies, how are we doing on this fine day?" Christian yells, throwing an inflatable beachball at my back as he passes by. I throw him a scowl, to which he only shoots back a smirk. 

"Go away Christian!" Fern yells, kicking sand at her brother. That's my girl. 

"Ok, ok, if my presence is that unwanted I'll leave you be." he says, throwing me one more smirk as he collects his ball, throwing it at Noah instead. 

Peace is restored as the boys move a little further away from us, but still in yelling distance. 

"Hey guys, I'm going to get a drink, do you want anything?" Kat asks, hoisting herself up from her towel. 

"Ooh, I want an ice-cream from the freezer, I'll come with you!" Fern says, springing up from the ground. How I wish to have young bones again. 

"I'll just grab an iced tea, seeing that you're up," I say, winking in their direction before laying my head back down on my towel. Oh, to sink into this sun.

"Boys, do you want anything to drink, or ice-cream?" Kat yells, yep I said yelling distance.

"We'll grab some lemonade, don't worry, I'll come and help you," my brothers voice yells back.