Forever summer

Chapter 1: Savior

Part of me wanted to stay, but I wanted to feel safe again , so staying just wasn't an option anymore. A million thoughts ran through my mind at once and I felt myself panic. As if sensing this, my father began to speak.

"Cora, you know just as much as I do what's going on, but we have to leave no matter what, you understand? This will be good for us anyways, you'll love it. The weather is great and you can make plenty of new friends, I promise. And the most important thing is we won't have to worry about your safety." My dad's tone was serious, and yet he still attempted to smile warmly at me.

The closest I'd seen him come to a smile in a while, but it seemed to lack the happiness it once had. He made it seem like everything would be okay, but I knew that he was just as unsure about what would happen as I was. Nothing was ever going to be the same ever again for me, for us, but then again, everything was already different as it was.

"I know. I understand."

The look on his face was clearly filled with concern, but the disappointment was always visible to me, and I knew he had no idea how to respond. We didn't know what was going to happen next. My dad wasn't even the same man he once was, not with what had recently happened to my mom, and not with what I had done. We weren't moving because we wanted to, but because we knew it was best.

I refused to cry, as I leaned my head against the cool window of the car.

Be strong Cora, be strong. I tried to give myself a good mental pep talk, but it wasnt exactly working out so well. At least no tears were shed, I hated people seeing me cry. To me, it was weakness, and right now I just needed to be brave.

Moving was scary, but not as scary as what had recently happened to my family. We needed to not only get away from the tragic events, but be safe too . So we were moving all the way to southern Florida. Florida was nice and all, but things had already changed enough in my life, I didn't need this too. I couldn't bare the thought of leaving everything behind. All of my friends, or the place I'd always called home all my life. I was now forced to start over, forget everything and live a new life. Yet at the same time, I wanted to start over again. I didn't want anyone to know my name, or who I was. I wanted to be just another face in the crowd.

We took a plane, but I spent the whole ride gazing miserably out the window. I had nothing to say to my dad, there were just no words left to say anymore. I was an only child. No one else to go trough this pain with, I was on my own. At least I was 17, which meant only one year of hell going to a new school.

Every high school movie flashed through my mind at once where the new kid always gets picked on or is an outcast. For some reason, cafeteria scenes always freaked me out the most. All I could think about was getting a tray of food dumped all over my head, or just sitting at a table completely alone...great.

When we arrived, I was surprised at how beautiful my new home was. I was even filled with a brief moment of hope. It was amazing, right on the beach even. The dune grass growing on all sides, and pretty pink and white flowers with thorns as well made a border between the beach and the yard except for a small boardwalk leading down to the beach further. There was a nice porch facing the beach side, and a hammock. The inside was just as good as the outside. Everything was so modern, yet acquired the typical beach look. The kitchen was gorgeous with a long island in the middle, and the living room was open, giving a spacious feel to it. Taking one step onto the tile floor after standing in the heat for so long, my feet were immediately relieved with a cooling sensation. It was the middle of summer by now, which meant school would be starting in a little over a month.

My dad immediately picked right back up into working a lot again, this time more than ever, leaving me home alone most of the time. He never knew what to do with me. It didn't take long for me to discover that the beach was my favorite place to go. It didn't matter what I was doing, as long as I was there, everything seemed momentarily okay. Although, I usually spent my time sitting there in the sand staring out at the sea or walking around and collecting seashells. It let me think, and never had I thought so much in my life. I loved it, it was the only thing keeping me sane. My seashell collection began to grow more and more each day, each of them finding a spot to go in the house.

A week went by of me being lonely and I quickly grew tired of all the silence at home. It was now Tuesday , and I decided to spend another day at the beach as usual as it became a routine for me. It went as it usually did until I noticed some dark clouds beginning to roll in.

 "Ughh of course this would happen to me." I muttered to myself just as it had instantly started to downpour. Thunder sounded in the distance and shortly after that followed lighting. This was just my luck. Everyone quickly hurried off the beach, but I stood there frozen for a minute. I didn't want to go home, not to that empty place. This wasn't my home, I wanted my real home, back in Maine where it wasn't so hot all the time, and it wasnt so dangerous, or where it snowed a lot. I wanted my mom, or just anyone. I had no friends, no one to comfort me.

Snapping back into reality, I realized I was the only one left standing on the beach now. I quickly started to pick up my pace when a man yelled from the lifeguard building.

"Hey! Over here! it's not safe to be out right now!"

I ran onto the wooden steps and into the tiny building.

"Thanks" I muttered.

"Are you crazy?? What are you doing running along the beach like that in a thunder storm?" He demanded.

I finally looked up, aggravated by his tone of voice towards me, water dripping from my face. Who did he think he was anyways? He sounded like my father yelling at me. What I didn't expect however, was to see the most beautiful pair of blue eyes I'd ever seen. Not only were his eyes perfect, but so was the rest of him. His body was in obvious great shape, his dirty blonde hair just barely reaching the top of his eyes. His abs were well defined, and his arms were wrapped in various tattoos. My mouth watered at the sight. But remembering his rude questioning and tone of voice, I changed my gape to a scowl.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were the boss of me."

He gave me a funny look before saying,
"What the hell is your problem? I'm the one who saved your sorry ass. If you're trying to get yourself killed you're doing a great job at it."

"Well thanks, but no thanks. I don't need to be saved," I said stubbornly and began to walk back outside in the rain. Even though a part of me was screaming inside to just stay with him and admire his looks for just a little longer. But no, I turned and aggressively opened the door ready to walk out when he grabbed my arm.

"No don't. Please." He paused a moment sighing, raking his free hand through his hair pushing it back.

"Im sorry, my job is to save people, not let them get killed." He said, his voice completely changing its tone. I wasn't exactly sure what to say next, he caught me off guard, so I just stared up at him. He put his hand out gesturing for me to sit.

"Alright, lets start over then." I stuck out my hand for him to shake.

"My name is Cora."