Child of the Void

|{(CHAPTER 1)}|

Waves lapped across the sand, leaving trails of broken coral and forgotten shells in its wake. A myriad of birds frolic in the sky, their wings reaching for the heavens as they fly towards the slowly sinking horizon.

Rich white sand fall past my fingers in small wet clumps, the grand sandcastle that had stood before me a few seconds ago had been washed away and carried back into the sea, where it belonged. My eyes look past the waves rolling against land, staring into the misty purple sky as the night snuffed out the sun's remaining iridescent beams. A cold wind rubbed at my shoulders as laughter from nearby died down. White light poured past me, my name echoing off into the night as my brother's fumbling footsteps approach me.

A sigh leaves my lips at another day not well spent. I rub my hands together, grainy sand clinging to my fingers no matter how hard I tried to scrub them away. Sand was awful and it gets everywhere, even in places you wouldn't want it to be in. Despite the amount of sand on my hands, it couldn't conceal the small litter of scars that ran down my knuckles, their white lines stinging with a pain that had long since passed.

"Major's looking for you." My brother's voice breaks through my thinking, his deep steady voice followed after by a small fitful of coughs. I look up at him, his cocoa bronze skin covered with the same scars as my hands. He pressed the back of his hand against his mouth, refusing to even look at me. His curly blonde hair (which was the color of rich honey, at least that's what my classmates always gushed about) was dripping rivulets of water, leaving small patches of wet sand at his feet.

"What is it with you and your nightly showers?"

"What is it with you and your sandcastles?" Page didn't miss a beat, his cerulean eyes sparkling with mirth even as he picked away small fluffs of white stuck to his black shirt. "Major's waiting for you at one of the tables. Why don't you two talk up a bit? Might do you some good considering you hate everyone else in this boring, small town."

"I don't hate everyone." I draw my knees closer to myself, biting my lip as a surge of nausea overcomes me. "I like you, don't I?" He stares down at me before running a hand through my hair.

"I'm your brother. It's kind of our obligation to like one another." He scoffs, the corners of his eyes wrinkling as he flashes me a smile (a smile some of the girls here in this town would kill for, honestly).

"You know, I find it odd that you don't have a girlfriend, or at the very least a boyfriend." Sand falls past my jeans in slow waterfalls as I stand up, my legs protesting at the sudden movement.

"I don't need one. It'll only slow me down." He chuckled.

"You know, there's more to life than me and this bar slash restaurant, right?" I look past him, my eyes skimming over the newly set up chairs and tables covered with white cloth. Crystalline lights hang from above, illuminating the area with a warm golden glow. On one of the tables sat Major, his spiky platinum hair was tinged with a golden hue. He looked up and flashed me a nervous smile. "Do his parents know he's staying with us for the summer?"

"I'm sure Major spoke about his arrangements to his parents." I stop, pressing my lips together as I try my best to look at anywhere else but Major. It's been years since I've seen him (Like he looks taller than me, for crying out loud). "He's your best friend. I thought you'd be glad to see him."

"I am." My eyes turn to look up at my brother's face, his soft stare breaking down my resolve. A sigh escapes me as I pout. Major was back in town and that was great! (No, I am not being sarcastic). It's just... It's been like three years since I've seen him and... "I don't know what to say. He's changed. I've changed. The last I saw him, he was basically a head shorter than me and now look. He's wearing a leather jacket, like seriously?"