Love on the Beach

Chapter 12

"Holy shit!" Dad screamed. I knew this wasn't the right thing to do. Did I care? No. I pulled away from the kiss and ran as fast as I could. I kept running until I was long gone from the beach. I knew that when I came back, I was going to be dead.

A thousand words went through my mind. I felt bad for Noah, and I was nearly having a panic attack because of my dad, and most importantly, I didn't want to miss the firework show. You can call me crazy for that being my #1 worry, but it was my favorite family tradition. It was going to be even more special with Ti and Noah there, and missing it would ruin my summer. Well, fireworks show or not, my dad was already going to ruin my summer.

I stood in front of the Mcdonalds I always went to growing up. When life was simpler. When I didn't have a boy stuck in my mind. I missed going with Grandma. When my parents had rules, she'd always secretly let me break them. She passed away on October 17th, 2014. She was my everything. My literal best friend.

I looked around at where I was, completely out of breath. I couldn't imagine how badly my father was yelling at Noah. I remembered the gas station across the street from my childhood. It wasn't just any gas station. It was the gas station. My family and I would always go there for everything, and even became close friends with the owner, Joe Randolph. I missed the refreshing taste of the blue rasperry slushy on a hot July day.

I walked into the gas station. It went from being my favorite hidden spot, to a tourist attraction. Why a gas station is all the rage, I'll never know. The second I walked in I remembered the jingle that sounded once you opened the door. The sound was nostalgic and reminded me of being a kid.

"Joe? Is that you?" I asked, recognizing the gas station worker who practically watched me grow up. "Melia! You've gotten so big!" He happily said, knowing who I was right away. I chuckled, and made my way to the slushy station. "It's definitely been a while," I told him, grabbing the largest cup. "It has in fact! How's James and Laura?" he asked. I smiled. "They're doing fine," I said, turning on the blue raspberry machine. I slowly walked up to the register, and placed the slushy on the table.

"Your usual," Joe remembered. It made me smile that he'd remembered all of these small details about my family and I. I pulled out my pink wallet and handed him a 5 dollar bill. "Oh, please, it's on the house," he said, pushing away the money. I grinned brightly,  stuffed the money into my wallet, and took the large slushy off of the counter. I waved goodbye and went on my way.

At this point, I was stuck. If I didn't show up, I would miss my favorite memory. But if I did, my dad would kill me. I knew there was no avoiding my infuriated parents, so I decided to put up with it and face it.