My Sunshine

Chapter 9: Winter

It had been five days. Five days since the luncheon with the Phillips. Five days since I'd seen Zach. Five days since he'd rejected me.

I'll admit that I cried a lot that night after lunch, but after five days, I kind of felt embarrassed. Confessing my feelings to a boy that didn't feel the same way, not to mention that he was completely out of my league. Zach was hot, handsome, funny, kind, charming, and just about every positive adjective you can think up. Me? I was just...Winter. I wasn't particularly ugly, but I wasn't beautiful like Lily. I wasn't nice or sensitive like my mother. I didn't have the charm that my brother and father seemed to possess. I guess you could say I was funny, if being laughed at for being stupidly awkward counts. Just the thought of someone like Zach falling for someone like me was unbelievable.

I'd been avoiding all the places I could possibly see Zach because of my embarrassment. I didn't want to see him and feel the humiliation all over again. Well, at least that's how I felt at first.

After the second day, I started to miss Zach. Pitiful, I know. He had been calling me a lot since I left his house that day. Heck, he'd practically been blowing up my phone. I never picked up, though. Maybe I was stupid for not giving him a chance to explain himself, but I didn't really need him telling me all the reasons I was undesirable. Yeah...no, thanks. He had been calling me about every two hours the first two days, but after that he started calling less and less. Five days later, he only called once a day, if he called at all. I knew that it was my fault for not answering, but I couldn't help but feel disappointed when he stopped calling. I didn't even bother to listen to his voicemails. I knew that if I heard his voice that I would probably start crying again, and I'm pretty sure the room service lady had gotten tired of bringing up tissue boxes after my sixth one. I knew full well how dramatic I was being, and even though I hated it, I couldn't help it. There was something about Zach that just made being apart from him so miserable. I couldn't find any word to describe it.

I decided that after these five days that today would be the day that I stopped trying to avoid Zach. I missed the beach and if he was going to be there, then so be it.

So, there I was, laying on my beach towel just tanning while listening to music. It had been about forty five minutes and I hadn't seen Zach, so I was feeling pretty relaxed. Until someone ripped one of my earbuds out.

"Sunny!"

I sat up, startled. "Cason, you scared me." I said, clutching my chest.

He chuckled. "Sorry, Sunny. Didn't mean to."

"It's Winter." I mumbled. Hearing my nickname only made me wish that Zach was here.

"No...it's summer." He replied, giving me a puzzled expression.

I smiled, standing up and brushing sand off of my legs. "It's my name. My name is Winter."

He thought about it for a second. "Ohhhh. Cool!" He smiled. Oh gosh, this boy was too dense for his own good. "Why do you hate the name so much? I think it's beautiful, just like you."

I blushed. "You're sweet, Cason. Winter just holds bad memories for me." I pushed my sunglasses up and looked into his electric green eyes. "What do you say you actually finish teaching me to surf today?"
                                 ~
Water had never been my friend. After falling off the tube and getting left behind by my family while tubing when I was 12, water activities hadn't exactly been my favorite.

"I don't think I'm doing it right." I told Cason as I moved my arms. I was attempting to paddle through the water with my arms but I wasn't getting nearly as far as Cason was.

"Try to push more into it. Imagine that you're trying to scoop the water out with your arms. You'll get it, trust me." He replied, glancing back and smiling at me for a second. His eyes locked on a small wave in front of us. "Here one comes! Get ready!"

I started to paddle faster as Cason began getting increasingly farther away from me and closer to the wave. Once I neared the wave, I tried to match my speed and motion with it. I knew I only had a few seconds before I'd lose it, so I quickly tried to stand up. To my surprise, I actually managed to do it.

"I'm doing it!" I shouted looking down at my feet on the board. "Cason! I'm doing it!"

I looked to my left and saw Cason next to me, standing on his board as well. "Nice! See, I told you you could do it, Winter." He began swerving his board and doing tricks.

Being the idiot I was, I decided that since I could stand up on the board I was suddenly a pro. So, I tried to copy him. I only got to swerve slightly to the right before my board and my feet went out from under me.

I tumbled around in the water, the wave pushing me under every time I tried to come up for air. It felt like I was drowning, and for a second, I thought I actually was. Fortunately, I was able to get out of the wave just in time and wash up on the shore. I crawled out of the water, collapsing on the sand, coughing uncontrollably. I had accidentally swallowed some water.

"Sunshine?!" Someone shouted, worriedly, before I felt strong arms wrap around me, rubbing my back. "Baby, are you alright?"

I looked up to meet the ocean blue eyes that I had been missing so much for the past five days. If I hadn't been in the middle of choking to death, I might've been able to enjoy the moment more. But, sadly, nothing in my life ever goes well for me.

Zach continued to hold me and rub my back, I think he even kissed my forehead at one point, but it could have just been my imagination.

"Woah! Winter, you okay?" Cason shouted, coming up to me and Zach. His green eyes were flooded with concern.

Clearing my throat once more, I replied. "I'm fine, Cason. Just got stuck under a wave." I got up and reluctantly out of Zach's arms. I wanted to stay there, but I had to remember that he didn't see me the way I wanted him to.

"Oh! For a second I thought you were drowning! I was worried. I'm glad you're okay, though." Cason said rubbing my arms.

Zach frowned and grabbed my hand, pulling me out of Cason's grasp and into his. "Yeah, me too." He said, looking down at me, his blue eyes holding so much emotion. "Sunshine, can I talk to you alone for a second?"

I pushed his arms away and stepped off to the side and next to Cason. "Sorry, but Cason and I were in the middle of surfing."

Zach looked shocked, but he quickly covered it up and gave me a pointed look. "Please, Sunshine. It will only take a minute."

"I think you heard her, Zach. I'm teaching her to surf right now. I'm sure you can talk to Winter later." Cason piped up, grabbing my arm and pulling me away.

I managed to catch Zach's expression before Cason turned us around. He shot Cason a menacing glare that I had never seen him give anyone before. He turned to me and gave me a look of hurt. That look broke my heart. It made me want to pull my arm out of Cason's grasp and just run into Zach's arms. But, I didn't. Zach had no right to feel jealous over Cason hanging out with me. Of course I didn't have any feelings for Cason, but it was nice to hang out with him. Zach didn't care about me, and if he did he would have told me when I asked him. But, he didn't and I was just going to have to accept that.