The Shore

Chapter 1

Every morning before school, Lina and I would walk down to the pier and smoke a bowl. I've always envied everything Lina did, she even loaded better bowls than me. She was honestly perfect, and she had always been. I met Lina when we were 12 in middle school. She was a bitch to everyone in class, and I was too, so naturally we bonded over our hate for the whole school. We'd been inseparable since then.

It was a cold foggy morning in South Carolina. She inhaled the smoke deeply as her golden brown eyes scanned the rocky horizon. She had a slight frown, and she had a hint of dark under her eyes.

"You gonna pass that?" I said with a laugh. She continued to scan the horizon. I instantly knew something was off. She passed me the bowl and sighed.

"I can't live there anymore," she said, twisting her frail fingers through her thick black hair. She was so beautiful, and the feelings I had recently developed for my best friend were extremely confusing.

"Whats going on?" I choked out, passing her the bowl.

"Fucking Jared man, he won't quit trying to fuck me, like seriously, you're my mom's boyfriend. Dude's got some serious issues, and he creeps me out now. But of course mom doesn't give a flying fuck, fuck my feelings right?" I stared at her frowning. Jared was Lina's scum step-dad. He had molested her back when she was 15, but we don't speak about it at all anymore since her own mother didn't believe her. Lina had finally got some balls and would fight the guy every time he got touchy, but it has to still suck.

"Why don't you come stay with me? You know my dad won't care," I said, with a shrug, trying not to show how hurt I was.

"Yeah I might take you up on that, we should probably go before we both flunk out of school," she said with a slight smile. Lina had the most feminine, perfect face. Her full lips wrapped around the most perfect white smile (thanks to insurance and braces) Her high cheek bones complimented her slightly slanted eyes, and her dainty nose. The way the sun beamed against her olive skin made her almost look like she was glowing.

I had to shake my head before I got completely lost in her appearance. I followed Lina to her old beat up Honda, and we made our way to school.

Not much had changed since middle school, Lina and I pretty much kept to ourselves. Of course, besides the group of senior boys who would practically stalk her, in hopes of maybe some day getting her drunk enough to get naked for them. Douche bags. I had boys who stalked me as well, but me next to Lina was just pathetic. I wasn't horrible looking I suppose. But I was only noticed for my back side. Gotta love high school right? Unlike Lina though, I didn't bathe in the attention. She LOVED to tease the senior boys and wear skimpy stuff to school and toss her hair all over. They might as well have been drooling with their pants off. It was so easy to read their thoughts.

School was always a blur, especially when you're stoned out of your mind. Lina dropped me off at my suburb home that afternoon. I walked inside with my head in the clouds. I still couldn't wrap my head around my newly developed feelings. Lina was my best friend, but I swear I could have been in love with her. I ignored my family as I walked up to my bedroom, my sanctuary, my cave. I tossed my bag in the corner and plopped down on my bed. I've never been one to like women. I was very much into men. But Lina was different. She was literally the only person in the world who got me.

Lina wasn't much of a talker. She wasn't easy to read. I knew Lina didn't have a very luxurious life. She had always kind of had it hard. And she never handled it too well. She went through a stage sophomore year where she might as well have chose drugs over me. I had to dig her out of that hole, like I did every time she got herself into sketchy shit. She's always been a self harmer. Her wrist had plenty of zebra stripes and her legs as well. I've begged her a couple times to get help, but she would always convince me that she had a hold on herself. But she never did. She slipped deeper and deeper into her hole with every razor she would drag across her skin. Sometimes I wondered if she would just go deeper until she felt her self slip away. I always prayed that she would never do that, I hoped she would see my face before taking a one way ticket to paradise. I hoped she would remember she had so much to live for. But I would never know. And I could never be sure, because Lina was always "fine." But she never really was, she was never whole. And I knew that, deep in my heart, I knew Lina would never be whole, even with my unconditional love for her.