The Seaside Retreat

Chapter 37

Remmy's POV

When I had finally made my way to my room, I had jumped on the bed in frustration. Dragging a pillow to my chest, I stared up at the fan. Violet said she didn't like Mason, but I didn't believe her. Something in her expression made me think otherwise, though I couldn't put my finger on it. Why did Mason have to fall for Violet in the first place? It just made things more complicated. 

Not able to lay down staring at the fan any longer, I swung my legs over the bed. After checking my reflection in the mirror, I comforted myself knowing that tomorrow all of this trouble would be over. Although it had been annoying fighting for Mason's attention, I hoped it would become easier once there was no more competition. Which meant no more Violet. I was completely confident in my ability to win him back when she was gone. Feeling comforted with this thought, I suddenly felt tired. Today had been a long day. Stretching my arms out and yawning, I pulled the sheets off the bed. I quickly lied in, feeling sleep gradually consuming me. My last coherent thought was "Things will be better after tomorrow."

Mason's POV

I was driving down the highway too fast, the bushes on the side of the road a green blur. I knew I should slow down, but I couldn't seem to be able to focus enough to ease my foot off the pedal. It wouldn't take much to slow the car down; Ferrari's responded to the slighest touch. Usually I loved the feel of the car's speed as I drove, but right now, I couldn't focus on anything. My mind kept flashing back to Violet.

Why couldn't I stop thinking about her? I knew I shouldn't; she was with Seth. But amazingly, her being with Seth wasn't what hurt so much. Over the years, I had gotten used to Seth always getting the girl. With his looks and money, he couldn't seem to get away from the ladies.The thing was, even though Seth always got the  girl, they usually only went out with him for the popularity. In fact, thinking back, I could only think of one girl who had actually liked him.

She was from London and concentrating, I could remember her name was Penelope. When Seth first introduced me to her, I was skeptical, but after a while I saw that she did really like him for him. She didn't try to draw attention to them all the time, which was a nice change. Penelope almost went out of her way to not be noticed. And although Seth never said anything, I knew he liked the change. They had been dating for six months, still going strong, when the news had arrived. One day, Seth and Penelope didn't show up.The next day Seth was at school but Penelope still wasn't. I instantly knew something was wrong when they weren't spending the few moments before first period together. I got more suspicious when I didn't see Penelope all day. The next day was the same. By the third day, I finally decided to ask Seth about it. The hurt that enveloped his face made me regret asking in the first place. He took a deep breath before telling me the truth: Penelope's father had gotten a job transfer back to London. She had thought that having a long distance relationship would be too hard, and had called it off the day neither of them had showed at school.

Over the next couple of weeks, Seth was always a little off, a little sad, never seeming to be able to really get into anything. Then he met Remmy, and he seemed so happy again. But then I'd been a terrible friend and gone out with her behind his back. 

The self hatred I felt for myself as I drove was almost unbearable. I clenched my teeth, trying to think about something else, anything else, other than what a bad person I'd been. When the pain became too much, I pulled into a small parking lot. It wasn't until the pain ebbed that I noticed the small diner. Studying it farther, I saw that it was an old fashioned diner straight from the fifties.  It was oval-shaped, with tin linging the bottom. The windows were clear, allowing me to see in. Tables with red cushions were surronding plastic tables. People were scattered around at tables, laughing and smiling. Everyone looked like they were having a good time, oblivious of all the bad things in the world. I suddenly felt jealous of these people. They could be with the person they liked. They didn't have to deal with the person that they liked having a girlfriend. 

I groaned, willing myself to turn the key to leave. Coming here had been a mistake, only making it even more obvious how pathetic I was. As I sent one last look at the diner, I saw a flash. I quickly turned my head back, wondering what it was. Squinting, I was able to see that the object was a coin.

A girl, only slightly older than me with light brown hair, was holding it. She was sitting with a guy around her age, and they were laughing. I saw the girl turn to her right, where I noticed the jukebox for the first time. Wow, this restaurant was 50's theme. 

The girl scrunched up her face in concentration and started to scroll through the small jukebox. I knew it was time for me to leave, but I found I couldn't. She soon found a song and smiled, before inserting the coin and pressing a button. A coin! Memories instantly flooded back to me, of Violet showing me the coin she and Seth had found earlier today. I remember being touched that Violet had shown it to me. I knew she only showed it to me in hopes of making me feel better, and surprisingly, the gesture worked. But it was just like Violet to try and make everyone happy. That was just the kind of person she was.

I found myself thinking of her, and instantly knew what I had to do. I had to tell her how I really felt. I knew she was with Seth and that after tomorrow I wouldn't see her again. I knew that she probably wouldn't feel the same way. And even though I knew this, I knew I still had to tell her how I felt. I knew I would always regret it if I didn't. With that thought, I turned the key in the ignition, and sped away, leaving the diner behind in seconds.

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Sorry it's so short, but the next chapter should be longer.