Queen of Diamonds

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

As the sun was finishing its fall from the sky and our skin burned from a day of adolescent rebellion, we hopped off the Black Wave back onto the beach.

"I guess it's time to go home and face your mom," Kara softly said, as she wiggled her toes in the cooling sand.

I took a deep steadying breath looking around at the less crowded beach covered in a deep orange, pink, purple haze and exhaled, "I guess so."

"Come on," Sarah said, throwing her SparkleUp bag over her shoulder. "I can take you guys home."

I reluctantly followed Sarah, Talan, and Kara to the SparkleUp Rover to the lot above the beach while Greyson and Justin docked the boat and went their separate way.

"Shotgun!" Talan called as he jogged to the passenger side door of the Rover.

"I don't think anyone is going to fight you for it Tal," Sarah rolled her eyes at Talan's inability to read the room as the rest of us hoisted ourselves into the car.

"You never know," he shrugged as he fastened his seatbelt next to her. "So, I guess I get to see where you live now Avs," he smirked over his shoulder to the backseat.

"Well, that doesn't sound creepy," Sarah retorted pulling out of the lot and onto the route home that has now become all too familiar.

"Sorry Avs," he replied when he saw my emotionless expression in the shadows of the car. "I'm sure you and your mom will make up," he said stretching to place a reassuring hand on my knee.

"Thanks," I said with a small smile back and threw my long dark hair up into a salty dry ponytail.

"While you're facing your mom, I'll be handling Nicki," Kara groaned next to me, resting her head on the window.

"When's the last time you talked to him?" I asked. The last few days have been a black diamond whirlwind.

"Just a little bit scattered here and there," she said. "But I haven't seen him since before the bonfire at Grey's," she grimaced feeling all the guilt of a negligent girlfriend.

"Oh, wow," I breathed. Nicki and Kara hangout pretty much every day. These past two days must have felt like a week for him. "Does he know where you've been?"

"Not really," she shook her head. "The little that we've spoken I just told him I was with you or Ruby."

"Well, that's not a total lie," I tried to comfort her.

"Yeah because "not a total lie" is exactly the standard I strive to be as a girlfriend," she pouted, wrapping her arms around her chest.

"You could just tell him you made some new friends spur of the moment," Talan suggested. "I mean that was kind of the scenario anyway."

"Oh yeah, that'll go over well," she retorted. "Hey Nicki, sorry I've been MIA. I met some hot Black Diamond guys that I've been hanging out with the past few days while I've been ignoring you."

"Did you hear that Sarah," Talan leaned over to our chauffer. "Kara thinks I'm hot."

"Give it a rest Tal," Sarah replied, feeling her exhaustion of Talan for the day and actually feeling bad for Kara. "Nicki doesn't even know the Black Diamond kids though?" Sarah said unsure if Nicki would really be as mad as Kara thinks.

"No," Kara confirmed. "But he knows of them from Derek and he isn't exactly their biggest fan," she added.

"That's an understatement," I said under my breath. Derek definitely wasn't thrilled when he waited on my porch for me to get back from the bonfire the other night.