If Summer Never Ends

Chapter 27

Chapter 27:

The darkness from the world had slowly faded as the sun began to rise, the light seeping through the clouds wafting past it, adding a rosy hue to everything around me. The world was beginning to wake up; a couple of seagulls flew around in the multicolored sky and a few people were on the beach watching the sunrise, just like I was. The sun reflected off of the water, drawing an electric line down the middle of the ocean. It was all very breathtaking.

So there I sat, surrounded by a beautiful and picturesque scenery filled with sand and Marram Grass, but I still wasn't happy. Something still felt wrong, a weight not lifted off of my chest. The pain was killing me on the inside, and I couldn't leave without fixing it.

But could I fix it? My plane to return to Chicago left in 10 hours. Could I really fix six years worth of messes in just ten hours? It was worth trying because there was no way that I was leaving without cleaning up after myself. Again.

I closed my eyes and thought about how Luke had said that everything I was feeling now could possibly be the last time, that it would all eventually end. My senses did all of the work. I felt a shiver crawl up my legs as my feet were tickled by the cool, white sand. I tasted the salt from the ocean's water lingering on my taste buds. I smelt the faint scent of sunscreen combining with the salty sea breeze. I heard waves crashing against the shore, a loud and abrupt sound but yet, a soothing and tranquil sound at the same time. And as for sight, the memories of a blissful summer replayed over and over again in my head like a vintage movie. Believe it or not, it pained me to leave all of those memories behind.

It occurred to me that like the waves needing sand crash on, I needed Luke. I needed him to forgive me. And that was exactly why I was on the beach at 5:30 in morning. To apologize. I owed him that.

Being without Luke for the past couple of weeks sucked. A lot. It was like a part of me was gone and it felt like I could never get it back. An endless misery. A blissful pain.

After thinking about it, I realized that I missed him not only because he was my best friend, but because our relationship had blossomed into something else, something deeper over the summer. He may have not felt the same way, but I knew that in the end, I  felt it and it didn't matter if his feelings complied or not.

A few minutes later, I spotted a familiar figure jogging along shore of the beach. I figured what better time to catch him than on his morning run? Besides, his jogging route went right past my house, so it was completely fine for me to sit in front of my home on the beach waiting for him without looking like a soliciting creep.

As he approached closer, I could make out the features of his face: his blue eyes seemed disturbed, troubled. His brows furrowed together like he was concentrating, lost in deep thoughts.

The fear in me began to swirl around. I wanted to run away. I wanted him to forgive me. I didn't want to face him. I just wanted my friend back. But it wasn't about what I wanted anymore. It was about what I needed to do. And with all of the courage left that I could gather inside of me, I got up and began walking towards him.

He noticed me approaching him out of the corner of his eye and began to pick up the pace in his jog.

"Luke!" I shouted, beginning to run with him as he flew right past me. "Can we talk?"

He ran faster. "There's nothing to talk about," he shouted back to me not even bothering to slow down.

Man, I was out of shape. But then again, it wasn't like I was ever in shape. I sluggishly forced my body to run after him.