Dating the Dead • lrh

23. the sunset

"Where have you been? We tried calling you." Jack said once I plopped next to them on our couch. It was a few minutes after five when I decided to go home from Michael's house. I really wouldn't want to upset my mother more.

Jack rested his legs over my thighs. "We were out with Kendall at the beach. If you answered, you would have seen Shelby."

"Yeah?" My hearing suddenly sharpened.

Ben swung his legs over Jack's. And if it hadn't been for their story, I already shoved their legs away. "Yep. We were kinda surprised you weren't with her. Did she not invite you?"

"Ohhh, you guys had a lover's fight?" Jack cooed just to tease.

"Shut up," I muttered, "what else happened?"

"Well," Ben thought for a moment, "we asked her to come surf with us but she refused. Said she's reading until sunset."

I pushed their legs and stood abruptly. My head darted to our window where I saw faint rays of sunlight through the glass. "Where is she exactly?"

-

Can this old piece of junk get any faster?

I made the mistake of taking my bicycle instead of the car. It seemed like it only has a few pedals left before it breaks and I forgot to ditch it's rusty bike chain. But there I was, making my way to the beach and praying that I'd find her before the sun had set. The wheels finally hit sand and I quickly dismounted.

Pushing the bike, I craned my neck to look for a mop of brown hair. I started to panic when the sun was slowly sinking down into the horizon. And as I was losing hope, a flash just in my peripheral caught my attention.

My lips curled upwards when I saw her a couple of yards away from me. She was sitting on a bench, frowning at the camera. Probably cursing it for having a flash.

When she took another photo, I was getting closer to her. I heard a shutter sound and she lowered the device. She smiled at me and took a photo of the sunset as I leaned the bike against the back of the bench.

She spoke once I sat down next to her. "Beautiful."

I looked at her staring at the orange tinted sky. "Thank you," I suddenly said when I meant to say 'yes'.

Shelby faced me with a wide smile. "You're very funny, Lukey," she laughed. "Be that as it may, I wonder what you're doing here."

"Is that a question I hear?" My lips mirrored hers. "Imma tell you my 'what' if you tell me yours."

She made a funny face, like she was processing what I just said, and then looked at me intently. In the soft glow of the setting sun, her features sharpened and accentuated her chiseled nose and plump lips.

"I came to be alone," she was saying, "I have been for the past nine hours or so?"

My face fell, realizing that she didn't want any company. And yet here I am. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't be here."

Before I could even stand up, she placed a hand on top of mine. My breath hitched and all I could feel was my chest feeling like it could burst open.

I stared at her and at that moment, her eyes looked deeper than the ocean before us. And her voice as soft as the breeze as she spoke,

"Stay, I've been alone long enough."

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