Beautiful Things - Evan Buckley

Nineteen

The summer months dragged on. Riley moved to a new apartment, she started an internship as a statistical recorder for the UCLA football team (she was very surprised when she got the offer), she kept working for the LA service center, and she's been spending more time with Josh and Maddie. The trio have agreed to meet up at Cafe Taffy every Tuesday morning for breakfast.

On the rare days where Riley didn't have to go to either work, she decided to take up roller skating. She would skate around the beach for hours, sometimes making a trip to the pier to buy a funnel cake. With her earphones in, she could block everything out, not have to think. It was freeing. She only wished she had gotten in to the hobby sooner. It would've saved her the trouble that came with telling those boys it was just a one night thing.

That's what she finds herself doing today. No work, no worries, just her roller skates in her backpack, Kane Brown blaring through her earphones, and a funnel cake in her hands.

She leans against the railing, gazing at the vast ocean before her. There's something beautifully horrific about the ocean. It holds life to so many amazing things, but it's so unknown.

Riley thinks of her younger brother Robby, how he wanted to transform into a shark and explore the deep waters. He had never been to a beach before. They didn't travel much growing up, staying home for vacations. Her friends would look at her weirdly once returning to school after breaks. They would talk about their grand adventures to other states - and sometimes even countries - and Riley would talk about her family camping in the backyard with a large grin.

Finished with her funnel cake, Riley looks around for a trash can, finding one near a bench across the pier. A man sits on it with a young boy standing beside him. She smiles at the young boy when she gets closer, him grinning excitedly at her.

"Look at this bear I won!" He motions to the stuffed animal resting by his feet.

"Uh, I think you mean I won it."

The body on the other side of the boy turns to face them. Buck. It feels like so long ago since she last saw him. They haven't talked since her graduation night, returning to no contact. Riley hates it. She wants him back in her life, but she can never get the words out.

"Riley."

Her smile remains on her lips, though smaller than before. This was not how she was expecting her day off to go. "You're Riley? Buck was right, you're really pretty."

Riley chuckles, Buck narrowing his eyes with red cheeks at the boy. "Hey, Chris. I think you should stare at the water again." He shoves Chris' face back in that direction. When he turns to Riley again, the red on his face seems to have spread, flustered. "He's not wrong. You're really pretty."

It's Riley's turn to become flustered. After all this time he's still flirting with her. She's missed the banter. She's missed him. "He's Eddie's son, right? I remember you complaining how he beat you at that video game you always play."

"He totally cheated!"

"Did not! You just suck." Buck pushes Chris away again.

Glancing down, Riley is reminded of his accident when she sees his leg. She's been kept up to date with everything from Maddie. He had passed the recertification test but was once again back on the bench. "I'm sorry they didn't clear you. I know how much you love being on the field." She's sure her words don't help much, they never do in situations like this. She's never been great at comforting others.

Still, Buck smiles appreciatively.

Riley's missed his smile.

She's missed everything about him. She wishes she could tell him this, she wants to tell him this. She's never had an actual relationship - not since Dallin in high school. She never wanted to build a connection with anyone, she didn't think she deserved to. But with Buck, everything was different. She found herself growing more and more attached the more time they spent together. They had a connection, or the start of one at least. And these last seven months without him have been awful.

She scolds herself in her head. Why does she do this to herself? Taking a deep breath, Riley opens her mouth to speak before she can talk herself out of it...again.

"Where did all the water go?"