Imagination || L.H.

Chapter 33

"You guys wanna go swim?" Calum asks, stumbling slightly as he gets to his feet. He's not drunk yet, but he's definitely a little off balance. A glazed over look in his eyes betrays the fact that he could be a little more sober though.

Everyone shrugs and gets to their feet, shucking off their outer layer of clothes. April drapes her shorts over the top of her chair, racing after Calum and Michael as they streak towards the ocean. I strip off my shirt and slide out of my shorts, blushing slightly when I feel Luke's eyes on me. He sets his shirt down on his chair, extending a hand out to me. I take it and we rush after our friends.

I shriek in delight as the water splashes up around us. Liv and Cassie run past us, crazily jumping over waves. April shouts something that sounds a lot like "fuckballs" as a wave crashes down on her head. I have to tighten my grip on Luke's hand to avoid getting torn off my feet by the ocean, sticking close to his side as we slowly make our way towards where our friends are sailing over waves.

April hops on Calum's shoulders and they face Ashton who props Cassidy up above the water. Grinning, they charge each other, starting a chicken fight.

"Livvy, here, get on my back!" Michael stretches out a hand to Liv, pulling her the rest of the water through the ocean to his side. She looks like she's about to die of happiness as he ducks to allow her to climb onto his shoulders.

Luke turns to me, grinning mischievously. "Wanna join?"

"Hell yes," I say.

He bends swiftly and I clamber onto his back, using one of his hands to steady myself. April goes to push Cass down, but Ashton balances her before she can tumble into the water. Liv and Michael sneak up behind April and Calum and knock them down, shouting their victory. With Luke easily being the tallest person here, we have a bit of an advantage that I use to push Cassie down.

April and Calum resurface. "Oh, you're gonna get it now," Cal warns in an ominous tone, but he was smiling too much for it to really have the intended effect.

"Bring it on," Michael grins, curling a finger to beckon them forward. "You're going down, Hood."

A full on chicken war ensues, every pair choosing another to ally with to get rid of the others. Luke and I partnered with Liv and Michael to take on the combined efforts of April, Calum, Cassidy and Ashton. April manages to push me off once, but I make sure to get her back.

The fight dissolves as we all become soaked and laughing too much. Cassidy and April strike stupid poses as they jump over incoming waves, laughing as Ashton and Calum try even dumber ones. Liv treads water carefully, blushing as Michael chooses to swim close to her. They talk quietly and I hear her soft laughter ring over the roar of the water. Maybe no one needed to play cupid with them after all.

I can barely touch the sand beneath us so I stick close to Luke, clinging on to his arm so I don't go flying through the water and accidentally eat a crab.

When we make our way back onto the sand, I notice everyone pairing off. Liv turns beet red as Michael throws a casual arm around her shoulders, saying something to Calum, who's walking close to April. Cassidy picks up a crab she finds scuttling across the sand, shyly offering it to Ashton. Liv, Michael, Cassidy and Ashton all sit down on the chairs, picking up the remaining alcohol and passing it around the circle.

April turns to Calum, a devious glint in her eyes. "C'mon, asshat, why don't you teach me all about biology over there behind that sand dune?" Cal shrugs lets her drag him over there, giggling as they disappear from view.

I turn to Luke, letting out a surprised laugh. "I can't believe that just happened," I wheeze as we join the circle of chairs. He sits down next to Ash, pulling me onto his lap. I reach over to grab the bottle of tequila from Ashton's hands, tipping it back before handing it to Luke. It burns on the way down, but I savor the taste.

I lean back against Luke and listen to my friends talk as they continue to pass the bottles around, their words slurring more and more with every full circle the alcohol makes. Luke politely refuses the drinks until they stop offering, content to just watch and chill. For a moment, everything's perfect. There's no worries, no stress. Only the beach, my friends and the sharp tang of tequila. But nothing lasts forever.

Luke's phone vibrates from where he balled it up in his shirt. Reaching over to grab it, he answers the call. "Hello?" he says hesitantly. A muffled voice responds but I can't make out any of the words. I watch in concern as he blanches, going pale as if all the blood was being drained from his face. As he hangs up, he looks like he's about to throw up.

"What is it?" I ask softly.

His blue eyes are glazed over and unfocused. My heart beats unevenly as my brain runs through all the possible situations. "I-I have to go," he mutters, blinking as he slides me off of his lap. Throwing back on his shirt, he takes off down the beach in the direction of where we parked.

Cursing, I grab my clothes and slide on my flip flops, racing after him. His long legs carry him quickly over the sand, but I'm a fast runner and catch up to him as he makes it to the parking lot. "Luke!" I call, skidding to a stop in front of him to force him to slow down. "What's wrong?"

A look of torn, twisted agony crosses his face as he looks down at me. "It's my mom. She... She tried to..." He can't finish, breaking down into ugly, contorted sobs. He's been through so much pain, pain I wish with everything I have that I could take away. But I can't so I do the only thing I can. I wrap my arms around him and hold him as he cries in the darkness of a mostly empty parking lot.