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Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven:

Hope

The rhythmic lull of the crashing waves soothed the shore beneath the red sunset and the campfire breathed clouds of smoke into the pink sky. Bodies coated the beach, every one of them dancing to the pulsing beat of the music. I didn’t know where the songs were coming from, but I knew that Theo was responsible, already standing on a chair and roaring along with the words.

            “I don’t do parties,” Harry shouted above the music into my ear, his clammy hand tucked inside of mine. He laughed a breathless, exhilarated laugh as he spun me and spun me in circles around the fire. My skin prickled with heat and the flickering embers of the golden flames cast an orange glow on Harry’s bronzed skin. The rain was pattering, but the warm drops and the humid air made it bearable.

            “Why don’t you do parties?” I giggled, staggering into his arms as the world rotated around me. He pulled me against his chest to stop me from tripping into the fire, and his laugh vibrated against my ear. It was fun, flirting with death.

            “Not my thing,” he replied. “I’m usually the one stopping Theo from jumping off that bridge just to see if he could carry on swimming,” he flicked his thumb towards it in the distance, lit up by the headlights of a parade of cars. I laughed, shrugging.

            “Good job, too. If by some miraculous reason he survived that, he wouldn’t let you forget it.”

            Harry chortled, steadying my shoulders as I stepped back from his hold. “You good?” He smirked, the corner of his lips rising slightly. I felt my stomach roll nauseously and slipped my hands around his hips.

            “I’m good.” I smiled, swaying with him to the music, which was much slower now. Theo warbled in the distance, and a scampering sound suggested that he’d fallen from his chair. Harry looked over my shoulder and winced, chuckling. His arms tightened around my waist.

            “I didn’t mean to upset you about your top secret tattoo,” he whispered through my hair, his muscles flexing in his arms beneath his rain-peppered white shirt as I stumbled again - aftershock.

            “I know. Look, can we not talk about that tonight?” Harry nodded, looking over my shoulder again and shaking his head with a smile. “I’d better go get Romeo off the floor otherwise he’ll still be there in the morning. Will you be okay here? I’ll be two minutes.”

            I winked, releasing him from my hold. “I’m sure I will survive somehow.” Harry slipped through the crowd, letting go of my hand at the very last minute. I felt its absence immediately. I decided to look for a drink, shuddering as the warm raindrops spilled down my shirt and travelled down my spine. The crowd jostled around me, parting when I pushed through in the direction of the drinks. The sand rolled beneath my bare feet like liquid, become harder by the minute as the rain kissed its surface. I turned to look for Harry, but he was out of sight, blocked by a wall of bodies. When I turned back, I felt the presence of somebody beside me. I shuddered in his shadow and looked up. Haven smiled, and in the light of the red sun, his smile looked wicked, like it was cut into his face with a knife. I felt the breath knock out of my chest.

            “Don’t look so excited to see me,” He smirked, ash falling from his cigarette as he spoke. My features hardened defensively.

            “What are you doing here? I’m not ready to go home yet.”

            “Are you sure about that?” He glanced in the direction of where Harry had gone, and I prayed that he wouldn’t return until Haven was a safe distance away. “You looked pretty cosy with Steel to me. But then, you know all about sleeping with the enemy, don’t you?” His smirk grew, and I clenched my jaw. Three scars swept across the centre his face, like they had been put there by the swipe of a bear’s paw. They weren’t there the last time I saw him at Frosty John’s; I could tell they were fresh, still enflamed and raised on the skin like they had been branded by a hot tool. I wondered who did it to him, but I had a good guess. I shuddered and pushed the thought aside.