Hell and High Water

Chapter One: Sea and Surprise

“Flynn! Please!”

“Lee. You know how I feel about the-”

“You know Abellia’s busy, and Mom and Dad aren’t here! Please! You’re the only one who can take me! Besides, that’s why we come here every summer, isn’t it?!”

I let out a breath of frustration, brushing strands of hair out of my eyes. “Yeah, fine, I’ll take you, alright? Just… go put your swimming costume on and get out of my hair for a second.”

Lee grinned at me, teeth shining and white. He was a kid. It showed in his size; 3 foot 9 inches is awful small for a nine-year-old. 

In a flash, he bolted up the stairs, so skinny that the aging wood steps hardly even creaked under him.

Twenty-three minutes later, the two of us were hiding behind our tall garden gate. I was on lookout, peering through the dark green leaves, which were still dripping from that morning’s mist. We had to wait for some geezer and his dog to turn left and empty the back alley before we could head out.

Lee leaned against the old, vine-covered fence posts beside me. “Hey, Flynn,"--thank God the kid had the sense to whisper--"why do we gotta make sure no one sees us, again?”

My response was the same lie I’d been spewing to him for years upon years. “Because mom’s famous, and famous people aren’t allowed to have kids. It’s a felony; she’d get in a lotta trouble.”

Well, it was a half-lie.

“Oh… Right… Flynn?”

My gaze switched to my half-brother, knee bouncing. “What?”

He hesitated a moment, lips twisting with uncertainty. “If it’s illegal, then why’d mom have us?”

That was a new one on me, so I paused a minute, going back to watching a snail overtake the old man on the road.

“Because no one tells mom what to do. Never.”

Now that one was a whole truth.

Finally, the alleyway was completely devoid of people. Lifting the gate up a bit, I pushed it out and gestured with my head for Lee to go through. He did, I followed, and the gate slipped back into place, its worn bottom digging into the dirt, smashing against the posts so hard that I winced.

We left that alley at 2:16; by 2:25, we were crossing the boardwalk. At the dunes, we both paused. Ahead, beyond the dry sand, waves hit the shoreline, rough enough to knock over a dog that had been snapping at the foam. A thin line of grey haze coated the horizon, though the sun was still shining over it, much higher in the sky than such a far-out storm.

“Lee, you have a half-hour at most. Alright?” He nodded, hopping with excitement. Slightly frowning, I added, “You be careful in there, you hear me?”

“I know, I know!” He looked up at me with an annoyed glint in his eyes, blue eyes, same as Mom. “Jeez!” Just seconds later, his shirt, suspenders, and shorts were off, followed hastily by his shoes and socks, revealing his blue-and-white striped swimsuit. To me, they just looked like uncomfortable, full-bodied pajamas.

He ran in, water sloshing around his twiggy legs, and dove. For such a small kid, Lee was a great swimmer, a born swimmer, sure as hell the best I’d ever seen.

 Not that I watched the waters that often.

With a shake of the head, I planted myself on the sand as far away as I could be from the ocean without losing sight of Lee.

 Weren’t many people on the beach that afternoon; most folks strolled the boardwalk, ladies resting their dainty, frilled parasols on their shoulders and men wearing their most ridiculous waistcoats, pocket watches tucked into their vests’ breast pockets. Wasn’t hot either, not for June anyway. Probably because of that storm coming. It was turning the whole sky grey.