Underage

[36] Calm Before the Storm

Underage [36] Calm Before the Storm

The beach has never been my favorite place. The sand gets everywhere, the salt water knots my hair, and it doesn't matter how hard I try, I always get salt water in my eyes and mouth. It never fails that the sun burns every inch of my skin and everyone parades around in their skimpy bikinis, thankful there's someone like me to make them look skinnier.   

The one piece I was forced into, although covers my chest, has cut outs on either side of my stomach. It showcases my love handles and stretchmarks. My thighs are on display and with each passing moment I get a step closer to chaffed skin.

I can't deny it's pretty here. The sky bleeds into the clear water. The sand is white and it smells of only salt water.

"How did you get Miss Kannle to let you guys miss a meeting?" I ask Pyro.

She digs through her bag, throwing everything inside onto the sandy beach. There are clothes and shoes and an extra bikini. She looks up at me, with a smirk on her lips, when she finally finds her sun-screen. Christian laughs but doesn't stop to answer my question as he follows the rest of the boys out to the water.

"We told her that you had an emergency and you needed our help."

"So, if you get a call from her, make up some story." Dela says.

I roll my eyes and watch as the duo grab their chairs and walk down closer to the water. I sit in my own chair beneath the tent and Grace takes the spot beside me. I stare at the beach in front of me as the air quiets between us.

My friends were skeptical when I told them we were going to the beach with my new friends. The same friends I met at what they thought was an anger management class. They said no, again and again, until I used the 'you lied to me' card. Then, they didn't have a choice.

"I'm sorry," I say.

"For what?"

"For lying to you and keeping something from you." I confess. It's time I tell her. It's time I tell somebody besides Trevor. "I got so mad at you for keeping Ethan's secret from me and I told you that we're always honest with each other. So, I have something to show you."

I reach into my bag beside me and pull out my sketchbook. It isn't the one I used to draw them in when I was younger. That one is tucked deep inside my closet, hiding from reality. I take the familiar book in my hands and hand it to her. Her eyebrows bunch together as her lips purse and she takes it from me. She flips through the pages, her eyes never leaving them. My eyes flicker between her face and the drawing she's looking at. Although, she keeps her face neutral.

I've come to love watercolor. The water based paint works in a different way than regular paint does. It flows in its own way, giving slight control to the paint itself. The best feeling is when I place the brush on the paper and expect one thing, only to have a completely different painting when I'm done.

"You did these?" she asks.

I nod. "It started when Magnus went missing. I went out looking for him and found him with Trevor. I wasn't ready to go home, so I went to his house. His mom, Raelynn, is an artist and I found her studio. He let me paint and now everything's changed."

"How?"

"She says I have natural talent, that I'm good. I told you that you couldn't stay the night last night not because Magnus chewed everything up, but because I turned that room into my own studio. I love it."

"What about law school?"

I shrug my shoulders, taking the sketchbook back. I flip through the thick pages. There's a drawing of Magnus as he lounges on my couch in the living room. It took me many times to draw the energetic pup that wouldn't sit still. I have a few of the sunset over a lake. Another is of the front of Annie's coffee shop. One is of the park in the middle of the night. I had gone to get ice cream and I saw the way the swings blew in the wind, begging to be captured. Once it was all colored, it became one of my favorite drawings.