Cerulean Found

Chapter 20 - Reading Material

Before heading out with my family to the resort, I make sure that I have plenty of things to do to keep myself occupied while everyone cools off in the water. I grab several magazines and one of my summer reading books for school. I walk to the bookshelf and scan the titles.

My eyes linger as I skim the titles of the various books. There are tons of classics from Jane Austen to Hemmingway. There are even several large very and very old looking books of fairy tales. There are a considerable amount of books on the ocean and oceanic life, which my eyes pass over rather quickly. A very tattered looking blue leather bound book with gold leafing, catches my attention. I pick it up and open the cover and read, A Complete History & Guide to the People of the Sea. Another fairy-tale book, I think to myself as I close the book. I'm sensing a theme here.

As I begin to put the book back, something red on the shelf catches my eye. I bend down to get a closer look and discover that it is a brownish-red leather book hiding behind the rest of the books. I pull some of the books out in order to reach the one that has caught my eye. The one that is hidden from plain sight.

Upon removing the book from the depths of the shelf, I know instantly that it did not fall there accidentally. It was placed there, hidden behind the fairy tales and literary classics, in order to remain unseen. No one is supposed to read this book because it is someone's diary. The word "PRIVATE" is written on the cover in large handwritten capital letters.

I don't know what to do. It feels wrong to read something that someone obviously tried very hard to keep secret. Yet I am so curious as to learn the secrets that this journal holds. I decide a quick glance can't hurt. I open the book and see that it belonged to a girl named Audrey Larson. I suspect that she was the little girl who occupied this very room before me. Audrey must be the girl who owned the ocean books and had the walls painted with the sea motif. I wonder why she didn't take the journal with her when she moved.

I am eager to read all about Miss Larson and am about to sit down to devour the journal when Cam walks in.

"Mila, are you ready? I think we're going to head out now," my brother says.

"Yeah. I'm ready," I say as I close the journal and put it back on the shelf with the rest of the books.

I am wearing the pink paisley suit mom got me. I pair it with a white dress made of gauze, jeweled flip-flops, my floppy straw hat and oversized sunglasses. I feel so much more comfortable in this suit than I did in the sparkly one.

When we arrive at the beach we find the Hernandez family right away. Lallie and Osmany are lounging on chairs towards the back of the beach. They tell us that they chose this spot because it is close to the pool, the beach, restaurant, and bathrooms. None of that stuff matters to me. I am just glad I am far away from the water.

I remove my dress and plop myself onto a chaise lounge beneath a tall palm tree as everyone scrambles to the ocean. I am enjoying my alone time. It is just me, my fashion magazines and the peace and quiet. It is bliss.

My happiness is short-lived, of course. Just as soon as I really truly began to enjoy myself, Adam-Miguel appears, running along the shore of the water. He spots me, and begins to jog up to where I lay. He is wearing trendy red trunks that are a bit shorter than the style my brothers wear. I know this particular length of shorts is very in right now because I've seen similar styles in all of the magazines that I read.

His immaculate abs glisten in the sun. I have to admit, he does look good. His chest is hairless, as are his arms and legs. He obviously is a waxer. He wears a silver chain around his neck that dangles on his perfectly sculpted chest. My gaze moves up to his face. His head doesn't seem to go with his body, it seems too small in comparison. But it really doesn't matter. He is undeniably attractive, in an exotic sort of way.