resurface

11

If Dan was here it meant one thing. Ivy and I weren't the only locals were crashing this party, and it was going to all go downhill from here.

Probably the crowd who's usually getting drunk at Luke's—someone had the great idea to come over here and bust up a summer kid party. That was how it always happened.

I was about to reach Dan, close enough to grab his arm and swing him around, when Macon stepped in front of me. His body stopped my forward momentum. His hands gripped my shoulders to keep me on my feet.

It was like being doused with ice water. Whatever words I had wanted to say to tell off Dan were frozen out. Suddenly my throat was tight and I was breathless in Macon's arms. Just not in the right way.

"Emma," he said.

There was nothing else. No other words, no context. His tone was flat. This was just my name.

"What was that?" I said softly, not completely sure what I was talking about.

"You're asking me?" he said, beer wafting off his breath.

I knew from his tone. He must have seen me with Grady when we were dancing or more accurately once we'd stopped. But Macon had no claim on me anymore.

"We were just dancing," I said, even though we both knew that wasn't true.

He looked away, probably searching the crowd for Dan or his brother Miles or Ryan Wilks. Those three shadowed his every move when he let them.

"It shouldn't matter to you anyway," I added tilting my chin.

He'd left me. He'd taken everything I had, every memory of Ivy and of him, of all the good times. He'd taken my lips and my body and those long nights we'd spent together. And he'd taken my love. I offered all of them up freely and he took them. Then when it wasn't enough, he thought he'd just disappear, stop calling and not show up. He had the nerve to be annoyed when I sought him out, when I found him on the boardwalk, walking in the rain. I'd followed him almost to Luke's, trying to find out what was wrong, concerned that something had happened, wanting to help. I'd followed him until he'd turned around and said the one thing that could me stop. "I don't want you anymore."

I had wasted too much on him. Too much time, too many tears and sleepless nights, too much everything.

"Why are you even here with these assholes?" he said, turning back to me.

"I came here with Ivy." My explanation was automatic. "She just wanted to get out of the house..."

That's when I stopped myself. I didn't owe him. I was at a party. It's not like I'd been doing anything wrong.

Macon, on the other hand, he owed me a lot. More than just one explanation. He was wearing a baseball hat, and the rim shadowed his eyes, but not quite enough. One was clearly red, like someone had punched him in the face. His clothes were all black.

Despite the fact that it was what suspected, I felt something in my chest drop. I hadn't wanted it to be true.

I was suddenly hollow inside and a little cold with disappointment. Then the anger rolled in, and there were too many people here in too small of a space.

"Emma," he said, reaching for me, but I took a step back, just outside of his grasp. "Don't make a scene."

"A scene?" I laughed and even to me it sounded like I was about to lose it. "How could you? You don't need the money. What could you possibly have been thinking?"

"It's not what you think," he said, taking a step towards me.

I slapped his hand away. That he knew what I was talking about was confirmation enough. He had done it. The three of them—Macon, Miles and Ryan, most likely—laid in wait for Grady, knowing he'd come out of the taffy shop alone close to midnight and cut through the alley in order to get home.

"Where's his stuff?" I said, and I couldn't keep my voice from rising.

"Emma—"

"The watch, the wallet, his phone? Where are his shoes?" I yelled.

"It's not—"

I didn't want to hear anymore excuses. I reached for his pockets in case he still had something of Grady's on him. He fought me just enough to keep me from getting too close, but that just made me try harder. It meant he had something to hide.

I had kissed this boy. I had laid in my arms and lost myself in him. I had loved him. For a moment, even if it was fleeting, I had imagined that he might actually love me. That was all gone now, but he was still Macon. At least part of him, was still supposed to be the kid who gave out more taffy in free samples than he sold. He was damaged and messed up, but he was still supposed to be good on the inside. The thought welled deep in my chest and seemed to expand as I thought about all the times he'd smiled at me, said I looked like someone who deserved more than this town.

I stopped fighting him and looked straight into his blue-gray eyes. "I thought you were better."

He reached for me and this time, I let him. "Emma, I'm not," he whispered. "I wanted to be, for you, but... You shouldn't be here, and don't just go back to doing whatever Ivy says. You don't know her."

I reached into his pocket and grabbed something metal. He realized it too late, and I pushed away with everything I had and broke free.

There was a watch in my hand. It was chunky and gold, obviously expensive. It felt heavy in my hand, not just because I could tell it wasn't the kind of thing Macon would wear, but because it wasn't Grady's either. His had been silver and more understated.

I sucked down a deep breath.

It hadn't been just Grady.

"What is wrong with you?" I said.

He reached for me. "You don't understand."

"Oh I think I do." I wound up and threw the watch at him.

Behind me, lights flared, glass broke, and people screamed. I turned to see what had happened, but all I saw was herds of people running from the house into the backyard and towards the beach. Vaguely over it all, I heard the muffled sounds of someone speaking into a megaphone, and then someone screamed my name.

Ivy came running towards me with Grady close behind.

"Cops!" she said as she grabbed my arm and pulled me with her. We ran for the beach. 

------------------

Thank you for reading! I'm so excited to share more. I'd love to hear what you think so far!