Sandcastles

Chapter Nine

Madeline snuck out of the house every day until Wednesday night this week so she could say her goodbyes to Marc. The only one that knows about her sneaking out is me, and that's only because we share a room. Ben is grounded as well and goes to school and back with the exception of attending doctor's appointments with Helen. So far, I've followed the rules of being grounded, which is that I can only go to school and stay after for rehearsals before returning home. All week I was trying to figure out a way to sneak out so I can still go to the beach with Alexander. But when Mom got the call that she would have to work on Saturday, my plans diminished. She left for work early this morning and Alexander is picking me up in thirty minutes.

It's November and quite chilly outside, but that doesn't mean it won't be warmer near the beach. I dress appropriately and wait outside on the doorstep for Alexander's truck to pull up.

When the familiar shiny black truck arrives, I get up and get in the passenger's seat. Alexander has two long surfboards strapped on the top of the truck. When I get in the truck, he smiles at me and pulls away from my house.

"Look at Hollywood breaking the rules." He snickers from the driver's seat. I roll my eyes. He probably knows that we're all grounded since Madeline had been going over to see Marc really late at night. Speaking of them, I guess they already called things off. Since Marc had to return to the university, it'll be a while before he's back in Collins Creek. Madeline has been upset since he left, but I think she's starting to do a little better.

"You know, I don't think you've ever actually called me by my name." I tell him. He chuckles and puts sunglasses on to shield from the blaring sun.

"I just like Hollywood a lot better." He tells me with a grin. I shrug and try to find a song on the radio, only to see that it doesn't work.

"Hey, can you grab my hat out of the backseat?" he asks me. I undo the seatbelt and reach back, taking the red snapback. His backseat is full of junk, excluding the acoustic guitar laying across the seat.

I hand him the hat and he thanks me before adjusting it on his head. He starts drumming his hands on the wheel to a best that isn't even playing. We just sit in silence besides the hand drumming.

"So what's with the hat?" I ask him, trying to strike up conversation. He knits his eyebrows together as if confused. "Well, that one day you almost killed Troy for taking it."

"Oh yeah." He says with a laugh. "Um, I don't know, I like it I guess."

"Oh come on. Any normal person wouldn't freak out over a hat like that just because they like it." I tell him. He lightly chuckles at me.

"Actually my ex gave it to me. It's not much but we were 15 so it meant a lot then." He says.

"Why do you like it so much if your ex gave it to you?" I ask with a frown. He shrugs his shoulders.

"I really loved her I guess and she moved. Her dad was in the Air Force and they had to move somewhere. People never get stationed at the same place twice, so it was just best that we broke up." He tells me. I slowly nod my head and pay attention to the road.

"How sweet." I mock him. He scoffs at me before grinning.

"You've never been in love, have you Hollywood?" he asks me. My cheeks immediately turn red.

"No." I admit. "And I probably wouldn't know I was if I was. If that makes sense."

"It does." He says. "But you would know."

We then start talking about random things, ranging from the play to why a beanie is called a beanie. It's about an hour drive but we finally arrive at the coastline. Alexander parks by the sandy beach and I notice that nobody else is here. The beach is completely empty. Alexander steps out and so do I, and I realize why no one is at the beach. It's freezing out here.