She's Part of Me

Chapter One

Come on, Lay. Get in the water!" I hear my best friend, Toby, yell as I sit down on the beach.

 "You know I don't like water," I tell him. I have only been gone for the summer. You'd think he would have remembered that I can't swim. Of course, it seems like I have changed a lot in those four short months I have been gone and so has everyone else. My brother seems to be among the most changed.

 "Layla, I did not come all the way to down here to watch you tan," he says slowly, walking my way. An evil grin pulls across his face. I know that smile all too well. It is the smile that means something bad is about to happen to me.

I quickly get up from where I am tanning and take off running in the other direction. I know I can’t outrun him, but I would rather try than give in to his evil plan.

"Hey! Get your happy butt back here, Layla Nicole Callaway!" He uses my full name as if it were a weapon.

He takes off after me. I quicken my pace when I see him closing in on me. I hate that he is faster than me. I never win when I am running away from him because he always catches me. I scream when Toby catches me, throwing me over his shoulder and heads back to the water. He is strong for someone who has never worked out a day in his life.

"Please put me down, Toby!" I yell as I start kicking my feet and hitting his back with my fists. It has no effect on him and he keeps carrying me towards the water's edge.

"Toby!" I yell again. I carry on my protest although it doesn’t seem to be helping me in the slightest.

"I'll put you down," he says just moments before I hit the cold, salty water. The cold water overtaking me sends me flying to my feet as I gasp from the shock of it.

Toby just stands there, laughing at me. "Oh man," he sputters through his laughter, "you should have seen your face."

"Toby,  if I were you, I would run," I tell him. He just gives me an I'm-not-scared look.

"What are you going to do about it? You know I can take you." He says and gives me one of his famous half smiles.

"I can't believe you!" I tell him, exasperated. "Now your truck is going to get all wet." We, both, lost track of the time.

"We still have an hour. You don't have to be back till ten." He says but we both start to gather our stuff so we can leave.

"Toby, it's four something and it takes five and half hours to get home." I tell him as I pack our things up. I don't even know why I try to go by Ray's rules. After all, Ray is only my brother so it's not like he's going to do anything to me.

"Man, Lay, the time is flying by," he says. "Can you believe tomorrow we're going to be seniors in high school?"

I find myself falling silent as a feeling of guilt washes over me. I haven’t told Toby, or any of my friends for that matter, that I failed my junior year and, therefore, have to retake it this year. For most of them, it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but Toby and I had plans after graduation. We were going to go to college together.