The Seaside Retreat

Chapter 27

After a couple of hours of football, Seth and I made our way back to the Seaside Retreat. We raced back part of the way. We both cheated; I pulled on his arm, tugging him back, while I rushed ahead of him. When he got behind, he grabbed me around my waist and lifted me up into his arms.

"Cheater!” I yelled, pointing at him. He laughed, kissing me. I became distracted and Seth used this to his advantage. Right when I was really getting into the kiss, he put me down and started to sprint down the walkway. “Hey, no fair!” I complained, sprinting to catch up to him. Our sprinting continued until we finally ran onto the back porch at the same time.

“I won!” I declared. “No I did!” He countered, smirking. “Um, I’m pretty sure I did.” “No.” Our play arguing went on for a couple of minutes until I finally declared it a tie. “Will that work with you?” I asked him skeptically. “If it works with you it works with me.” He said. We both put our hands out and shook, making the tie official.

We made our way into the house. I took off my flip-flops, trading them for a pair of sneakers. “I’m going to go pack.” I told him, getting on my tip toes to kiss him goodbye. He leaned down, kissing me, and then we parted. I made my way up the back staircase, while Seth headed towards the front of the building. I took the steps two at a time, lost in my excitement.

Once in my room, I pulled my suitcase out of my closet. It was a cream colored leather; it had been a present from my parents last year. Dropping it onto my bed, I began to raid through my closet for clothes to pack. Since California weather was comparable to North Carolina weather, where I now lived, I decided to pack summery clothes.

I packed jean shorts, v neck shirts, t shirts, and some jeans. I also included some tank tops and blouses. My swimsuits and shoes were the last packed things. Even though it was still four days until I left, I didn’t want to wait until the night before to pack. I wanted to be able to spend that last night with my parents. 

Letting out a deep breath, I dropped onto my bed. Staring up at my fan, I thought back to how my life had changed so dramatically in the last couple of days. I remembered many past nights I had laid in my bed and thought about everything going on in my life. 

After a while, I glanced over at my alarm clock. It was already time for dinner. "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" I gasped, getting up from my bed. I'm lucky I didn't get whiplash, I got up so fast. Scrambeling around my room, I quickly located my shoes and tied my long dark brown hair into a ponytail. Checking my relfection in my bathroom mirror, I made my way down to the eating area.

I went down the stairs as fast as possible, almost tripping in the process. Luckily, I caught myself on the rails. Once in the eating area, I found my apron and pad. Giving my parents a quick "hello", I went out into the eating area. 

It looked busier than usual, and after a while, I saw why. At a large table in the front of the eating area, was Mason. He was surronded by a bunch of people that looked around our age. And working here, I was pretty sure, besides Mason, that none of them were guests. I groaned in frustration, not looking foward to having to telll them all to leave. After brushing a loose strand of hair from my face, I walked over to his overcrowded table. 

Before I had the chance to speak, Mason looked over and saw me. A goofy smirk instantly lit up his face, which only made me more annoyed. I mean, really, wasn't he even capable of showing any other expressions?

"Hey Violet! How are you today on this beautiful evening? He spread his arms wide, leaning back in his chair. "I'm fine." I told him icily. I noticed that most of his friends were boys, although a couple of girls were present. Most of the boys were staring at me, small grins playing on the corners of their lips. The girls were looking at me with curiosity, but one girl, a tall blonde with striking green eyes, was glaring daggers at me. I quickly looked away from her, returning my attention back to Mason.

"Uh, Mason, I hate to tell you this, but your friends aren't allowed-" I wasn't even able to finish my sentence, for at that moment, Mason interrupted me, saying, "It's okay, they're all going to pay for their meals." Guest's meals were complimentary.

Before I was able to decide what to do, my mother came up from behind me. "Well, what a big group we have here! And what would you all like to drink?" My mother asked, hostess style. She retrieved her notepad from her pocket and prepared to write down their drink orders. Before she could I spoke up.

"Mom, Mason-" I nodded my head toward Mason, who smiled, "-is the only actual guest here. All of these other people were invited by Mason." "They're all going to pay for their meals!" Mason piped in, defending his friends. Mom thought about it for a moment before a large grin spread on her face. "I don't see the harm in that. What would you like to drink?" She asked them.

She collected half of their drink orders, while I jotted down the other half. After this was completed, my mom headed back into the kitchen to prepare the drinks. Instead of following her, I looked at Mason. Once I was sure I had his attention, I said in a low voice, "Mason, can I talk to you for a second?" Mason gave me a questioning look, but got up, following me to the corner of the room. I wanted to be out of earshot of the guests. I glanced back, and then I wished I hadn't. Blondie was again glaring at me, this time with such malice in her eyes that a shiver ran up and down my spine. I quickly turned away from her.

Once in the corner, I began talking to Mason. "Mason, what are all of these people doing here?" He looked relaxed, the perfect picture of ease, with his arms crossed on his chest, leaning up against the wall. "We all decided to go on a trip along the coast. It was our last chance to travel before school started. We all split up, and when I found this place-"he exteneded his arms wide, "I had to bring them here." He smiled at me, and my heart started to beat a little louder.

"And you're sure they're all paying?" I asked skeptically. I didn't want Mason ripping us off, and I could totally see him doing that. "I promise" He said. "Cross my heart." I rolled my eyes. "Okay, well I guess that's it then." I concluded. He smiled, putting his arm over my shoulders. I tried to squirm out of his grasp without success.

Looking over at the table, I saw that all of Mason's friends, except one, were all talking to each other. They looked like they were having a good time, which was good. Blondie was the only person who looked like she wasn't having a good time. When she saw that I was looking her way, she shot daggers at me for the second time. What was wrong with this girl? I shot her a questioning look and in response she rolled her eyes, reluctantly looking away. She started whispering to a girl who was sitting by her, while constantly looking over at Mason and me.

"Who's she?" I asked. Without even having to point her out, Mason knew who I was talking about. "Remmy." He replied, shrugging his shoulders indifferently, like he didn't really care. But without him even having to say it, I knew something had gone on between them. "Remmy" hadn't been shooting me those death glares for nothing. "Okay, what's the story?" I asked him, turning to look at him. Luckily, he had removed his arm from me so I could completely turn around to judge his response. 

"No story." He wouldn't look at me, suddenly becoming greatly interested in the floor. "Come on, Mason. I want to know why she keeps staring at me like I'm a rotten piece of meat." I waited, putting my hands on my hips. 

He ran his fingers through his hair, taking a deep breath. He finally made eye contact with me. "Look, we went out for a couple of months. We broke up at the end of the school year." He shrugged his shoulders, trying to judge my expression. "Let me guess, she has a hard time accepting that you two are no longer going out. Am I right? And anytime you're around another girl, even if you're not flirting with her, she gets jealous." Mason looked at me, almost with a shocked expression. 

"How'd you know? That's exactly how it is!" He looked at me with... admiration? Suddenly feeling embarassed, I quickly looked away, picking at a loose strand on my shirt. Feeling awkward, I said, "Well, I won't keep you any longer. I shouldn't be keeping you from your friends." He smiled at me. "It's no big deal. I see them all the time anyway." He shrugged his shoulders. 

He started to make his way back to the table. Suddenly, he turned back towards me. "Hey, I know we just met recently, but if you ever want to talk to somebody, just give me a call. If you ever need a friend, I'm here." His face was so sincere, I couldn't help a smile from spreading across my face. His sincerety and thoughtfulness touched me. "Thanks, Mason. That means a lot." He nodded, smiling, before quickly looking back to his table.

He looked back at me, with an unusual look on his face. "Oh, and Violet? If I were you, I would try to stay as far away from Remmy as I could."