She was convinced that the beach at 4:48 in the morning was the loudest place on earth.
No, there weren't yet any couples laughing as they walked along the shore on their morning walk. Even the birds hadn't even woken up yet. But still, where Lara Anderson stood was filled with noise; a pulsing rhythm of heavy waves and hearts breaking simultaneously, over and over again. But then, although she was a solitary figure, wrapped in her school's wool cardigan that was too thin to protect her from the morning chill, searching for solace beyond the dark waves, she didn't feel alone.
She turned her head to rest her chin on her shoulder as she peered back at Zachary. He sat quietly in the driver's seat of his old Holden with the motor turned off. The boy had a respect for peace, and she fell in love with his patience all over again in the moment his coffee-coloured eyes locked with hers.
But time was not on their side, the sun would soon rise and the birds would awaken, and this moment would be lost forever. So Lara turned back to face the ocean once more, feeling the cold air freeze her cheeks and pick up her short, blonde hair, sending it spinning around her. She focused her senses to the smell of soft, soaked sand beneath her, and away from the salty blur growing in her eyes and moved with the wind.
Its current was like easy hands. It encouraged a breath in, one she hoped would somehow stay inside her, and then aided her turn as she slowly spun to walk back up the sand bank, her bare feet sinking with every step.
She heard the engine roar back to life and she tried to swallow the anxiety that returned in the moment she stepped off the sand and onto the rough asphalt of the car park. But Zac's face was kind through the glass, and the air in the car was warm when she sat next to him and pulled the seatbelt over herself. Then, after her slow nod of permission, Zac pulled the car out of the park and peeled out onto the empty coastal highway.
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After All These Years | ✔
Teen FictionZachary Marshall is in love with Lara Anderson, but when he is separated from her when they need each other most, what price would he pay to be with her again? Carlie is also faced with difficult choices. She reluctantly has to move to the middl...
