resurface

12

Their panic and adrenaline was contagious, and it propelled me forward, and we ran blindly through the sawgrass at the edge of Jamie's backyard, down the beach to the water line and then straight north.

Had I stopped to think I would have laughed it off. The three of us running from Sheriff Platt and whoever he'd hired as part time summer deputies was ridiculous. We were as bad as tourists. Someone had no doubt gotten tired of trying to ignore the music and called to complain about the noise. Jamie would get a slap on the wrist, everyone hanging around would be encouraged to go home. I might have gotten a disapproving look, and the Sheriff probably would have escorted Ivy home herself.

When I saw the lighthouse and realized that was the only thing in front of us, I slowed to a stop. Grady and Ivy followed suit.

No one was following us. Up here, there was nothing but darkness except the beacon in front of us that signified we were almost at the Hook, the northern most tip of Seaside, where the rocks jutted out too far and had wrecked a fair share of ships back in the day.

A few steps in front of me, Grady bent at the waist, with his hands on knees, as he tried to catch his breath.

Ivy slapped his back. "A little out of shape?" She laughed, but I could hear she was winded as well.

"I know you'll find this hard to believe, but it's been a while since I ran from the cops," he said.

"Then clearly it was time," she laughed.

"My feet are killing me," he said, reminding us that he was still just in his socks.

I smiled. The familiar burn in my legs felt good, like I could keep going for as long as I needed. Even though I had just crashed Jamie Young's back to summer party, almost kissed a summer boy, run from the cops and discovered that Macon and his stupid friends were planning to mug tourists this summer, standing here, surrounded by darkness with two people that I had known my whole life, even if I just barely knew they really were, it was the best I'd felt all night.

"So you don't want to race to the lighthouse?" I said.

"No way," Grady groaned, but Ivy just smiled.

I knew what she would do. I could tell—she hadn't changed that much. When she took off, I was only a step behind her.

We ran toward the light, leaving Grady behind us. I suspected he wouldn't be too far behind us, but even if he decided to leave and go home, that was okay. This moment was about so much more than whether he would follow. This was me and Ivy again, just like we had been when we were kids.

I slowed when I reached the rocks. Ivy was only a few seconds behind and we climbed them together, laughing and smiling at nothing and everything at the same time.

Then we stood under the lighthouse, at the northern most point of Seaside and stared out into the great wide open. The salt sprayed our faces as the waves crashed against the rocks, and when Ivy closed her eyes and leaned into it, I didn't need to ask how she felt.

This was what it felt like to be home.

"I'm glad you're back," I said. Even though it was a gross understatement, it still seemed to encompass everything I felt.

"I saw the age progression photo," she said. Her voice was different. It was quiet and even, like she was speaking straight from her soul. "I was in a group home at the time, and I saw the photo and it was just like looking in a mirror."

"Is that how you knew?" I asked.

"Not just that," she added. "I mean, the whole time I was in foster care, I felt like my parents were out there, and I had snippets of memories that seemed like maybe they had been a dream, but I didn't remember what had happened to me. Most of my childhood is just blank. Then I saw this article and I realized it was me. It was like everything fit. So I went to the cops and told them."

It seemed so unbelievable, so crazy that she had been abducted and then somehow lost and for so many years. Now here she was again, and we still didn't know what had happened that day. I shivered, as I considered for the first time since she'd gotten back that whoever had taken her and her parents' ransom money was still out there. Maybe they were even still here.

"Hey!" Grady shouted, and I shook those thoughts away. "I'm not climbing these rocks."

"Don't be a wimp," Ivy shouted. "Just take off your socks."

He stood still for a second, and then I saw him lean over and peel off his socks.

"He is so freaking cute," she whispered to me.

I shook my head. "That's why he's off limits. He'll be all smiles and sweet words right up until the point when he's gone."

She didn't argue, even though I could see in her face that she wanted to. It's not like I needed promises and forever. It's that I didn't want to be temporary. I didn't want to be a cliche.

Ivy waited for him to come up behind us, and then she said. "Let's stay here until the sun rises. I bet it's beautiful from here."

I knew I should say no. I had to be at work to open up at seven am again. It was late enough and my bike was still locked up back at the boardwalk, but I thought about what Grady had said this morning about sunrise. Despite the fact that I'd lived here my whole life, or maybe because of it, I'd never seen the sunrise. I'd heard it was beautiful, and we were at the most northern and most eastern points of town. Here would be the best vantage point.

"I'm in," I said, knowing that it would mean another run, from hear to work in the morning.

"I wish I could," Grady said. "But my parents are coming in tomorrow morning and if I'm not there, they'll call in the national guard. I already have to tell them about earlier."

Ivy laughed, but I thought of Macon, and the twinge of guilt in my chest blossomed to something more. I would get Grady's things back. I wanted to tell him that, but I couldn't. Not without explaining how I knew and who was responsible. I wouldn't let Macon do this, whatever this was, but I wasn't ready to turn him over to the summer families yet. Not if I didn't have to.

"Your loss," Ivy said.

"I'll remind you both that tomorrow when you're exhausted." He was saying it to both of us, but I knew it was directed at me.

"We're only young once, right Emma?" Ivy swung an arm around me and I knew I'd made the right choice. It would take me at least an hour to get home anyway. Might as well just stay up.

"Be careful, ladies" Grady said, and he sounded so serious that I turned to look at him. His face was shadowed, but I could still make out the line of his jaw. Which meant I saw him break into a smile. "Keep an eye on your shoes. It's hard to run without them."

Just before he turned to leave, the light washed over Grady, and I caught his eyes. His smile widened into something different than the typical way he looked at everyone. It felt like more.

Or maybe I wished it was.

Then he was gone.

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