Walking on a Tightrope

Chapter 8

She is dancing beautifully on the cliff as we look at the ocean view below us. Before I know it she makes a wrong step and slips off the cliff. She manages to grab onto the edge for a brief period of time so I reach for her hand. She grabs my arm, but her grip slips. She falls off the cliff and into the water. I scream "No!!" But it doesn't do anything. She is gone. I lost her, the only person I ever connected with.
I wake up gasping for breath. It takes me a few minutes to realize it was just a nightmare. However, once I do realize, relief washes over me unlike anything I have ever experienced before. Before I can think straight, I immediately go to text Skye just to make sure it was only a nightmare. I send her a text saying "Good morning, are you awake?". It's 6 AM, not too early but I doubt she is awake yet. Even with knowing this, my anxiety is still through the roof about her response because of the dream I had. I go ahead and get up to get ready for another day at the beach. I put on my swimsuit before pulling on a plain white T-shirt and some jean shorts as cover until I get to the beach. While I finish getting ready I check my phone at least twenty times to see if she has responded yet. I know my nightmare was just that; a nightmare. And I know she is okay but it is still a hard experience. It felt so realistic, I could feel her hand slipping and there was nothing I could do to stop the imminent doom. She is just so special to me and after she had fallen I was going to jump in after her but I woke up before I could. Once I finish getting ready the clock reads 6:45.

My parents just left for work and Skye should be awake by now. I sit down on my bed and check my phone once again, except this time I see my phone says I have one new message. I finally manage to unlock my phone with shaky hands only to see my mom's name on the screen. "Have a great day honey! We'll see you when you get home." My heart drops at the hope Skye is still okay. Then my phone buzzes and I immediately perk up as I see her name across the screen. "I am now. Sorry, I'm running late I have to go get ready. I'll be there in 45 minutes (:" I smile at her use of emojis to convey that she is alright and just slept in. To pass some time I go to continue working on my spring break project for science. Yes, I have homework over spring break. Time goes by so slowly that when I hear a knock on the door I immediately jump up and grab it. I greet Skylar and say "Hold on let me clean up a bit first, I'll be ready in five minutes I started some work" I chuckle a bit before going and cleaning up the table filled with supplies and work. I quickly run into my room to grab my bag before going back out into the living room to see Skylar still standing in the doorway. I laugh and say "I'm ready now. You could've come inside." She chuckles a bit before leading me to the car and opening the passenger door for me and stepping into the driver's seat. "Thanks. For everything. I really enjoy hanging out with you and I hope we can be friends beyond the beach." She starts the car and awkwardly says "I don't know what to say. I feel the same way, I'm just not that good with words." She chuckles as she pulls out of the driveway. I Just smile and reach for her hand on the middle console and just revel in her voice as she sings along to the faint music in the background.

I fell for her so quickly that it scares me. I don't even understand the feelings or emotions going through my mind as we have progressed in the past three days. All I know is the idea of losing her sends a sharp chill down my spine and tells me to hold onto her for dear life. I am just following that instinct so blindly that I forget about the risks it poses for my reputation and my home life. But right here in this moment, hearing her voice and smelling the river with the windows down, none of it matters. The only thing that matters is I am here with her. Eventually she pulls up to the parking lot of the beach and I see an oddly familiar car and license plate. I'm not sure where it's from, but it looks like a car I've seen in the parking lot of our school. Despite the sense of Deja Vu I follow Skylar towards the beach. The waves are calmer today and makes the beach have a softer look to it. I see the instructor and start walking towards him. All the surfboards are lined up one after another and we naturally go to the ones we have used in the past few days. The instructor grabs his board before saying "The waves are a little calmer today which will make catching one a bit harder. The key is to have patience, Skylar and I will be out there to help you guys. Have fun!" As Skye and I head towards the water, I use my free hand to grab hers. We keep walking out into the water, but I hear a small but sharp gasp off in the distance. I instinctively look behind me and only see the sand dunes off in the distance. The beach is pretty empty today and I don't notice anyone in the vicinity that could have made the gasp. I ignore it and continue out into the ocean. We get to a calm area and just lay on our boards looking up at the cloudy sky. We talk like this for about an hour until the waves start to pick up. Skylar yells out "Hey! There is one coming, let's try to grab this one together!" I look out towards the horizon and see what she is talking about. Getting into the correct positions, we manage to catch the same wave, keeping our distance to avoid crashing into each other. While riding the wave we look into each other's eyes, and I feel my future being set in stone. I feel so light from the way she looks at me and how much I just love being with her. My happiness is short lived when we make it to the shore and a familiar face is waiting for me.