My First Summer Without You

Four.

Ace's POV

My cousin slapped my arm with such a great force that it managed to make me wince. "Ouch!" I told her, gripping my arm. "What was that for?"

"When I called you, I told you to wait for me at that restaurant," Her voice pierced through my ears. "But, no no no! You decided to turn off your phone and take a walk at the beach in the middle of the night," She glared at me. Okay, it was obvious that she was angry. I needed to find a way to calm her down.

"I didn't turn it off. It ran out of battery," There. She'd finally understand that I was totally innocent, right?

She pounded her fist on the table in front of me. I guess that last attempt didn't work that well. "Then, you'd wait like a normal person. You wouldn't be thinking about the beautiful night sky and the freaking ocean breeze by then, ok? You'd be thinking about your dear cousin who was very very worried about you." She let out a breath. I felt bad for her by then. She looked more sad than angry.

"Hey, I'm sorry," I told her, wiping the table she just smudged with her fist. "You know me. I can't help but wander at times like these. The weather was too amazing," It's true. I have this weird habit of walking wherever the breeze leads me. Literally. Especially when I run away.

Lilly's cold stance wavered. Her eyes were warm once again as she looked at me with a frown on her face. Now, she was feeling pity. "No, no Lilly. Don't look at me like that," I told her, moving on to another table.

Her eyes were teary now, and she was struggling to keep them from falling. She kept looking upward and fanning her eyes with her hand. "I just-" She stammered. "I just can't believe she did it to you again! How can I even be related to this..." She tried her best not to use curse words to describe them. Although we didn't have the healthiest of relationships, I didn't appreciate it when anyone insulted my birth giver other than me.

"Hey, I'm the one who left," Most of the tables were wiped clean by now. The shop was about to open in five minutes. I tied my apron around my back and neck then made my way to the counter where orders were to be taken.

I worked at the café that was owned by my aunt and uncle. It was the perfect way to distract myself while simultaneously earning money. I had plans of going to college, and I had to try to find a way to pay for it myself. My mother had more than enough money, but I wasn't going to let her have control over me after graduation. My uncle and aunt told me that they could pay for it, but I couldn't accept their offer. No matter what they said, I knew I wasn't their kid. I didn't want to put pressure on them more than I already had.

So, these past few summers, I've been working two jobs. The café job is my main one, but I also give swimming lessons to children twice every week. When I'm not working, I'm usually hanging out with Lilly or Kayden.

Lilly sighed for the hundredth time. She hated the first bout of customers to enter the store. In the morning, the only ones to come order are the runners.

"Ugh," She said as she flipped the closed sign so that open was revealed to the public. "They're probably coming any minute now."

"Lilly," I ruffled my hair. "They're not that bad," I tried to convince both of us this.

"Oh really?" She raised her eyebrows and put both her hands on her hip. "The temperature is incredibly high today. Just you wait."

I didn't have much time to wait, though, because about twenty men and women entered as soon as the time was 8 A.M.

I once asked Lilly why she hated runners so much. Over time, I learned why.

Firstly, they would smell like sweat. That was obviously a given. Lilly, who couldn't go a day without spraying her perfume a hundred times, especially couldn't stand the smell. I told her before that it wasn't their fault, but she just replied that "They could at least put on some deodorant before entering my shop!"

Second, they wouldn't be able to tell us their order correctly. Lilly asked the first man in line what his order was. He fumbled a bit, "Can I use this?" He gestured to the tissues on the counter.

Lilly forced a smile on her face. "Of course," She handed him several ones. "Can you please tell me your order?"

The man huffed and puffed several times while wiping off his sweat. Then, he looked at the digital menu above us. "Umm.." He took several deep breaths. "I- I want..."

That brings me to the third and final point. The most important one, in fact. No matter who the runner was, they always wanted to order one specific drink.

"I want a bottle of water," The man finally said. Oh, there it was. The phrase that was let out by all morning runners. It drove Lilly crazy to the point that she once considered placing a "DON'T ONLY ORDER WATER" sign next to the cashier before I advised her against it.

Lilly glared at him for a second before plastering on her fake smile once again and informing him of the price. The cycle continued until the last runner ordered his bottle of water. Lilly was exhausted, but I barely did any work.

I was usually the one making the iced coffees and smoothies, so the first hour or so in the morning was like a break to me. Lilly noticed that as she said, "You're so happy now, aren't you? Just you wait until the next group enters,"

I shook my head as I winced at the thought of it. "Don't remind me of the non- coffee- coffee addicts,"

"Can I please have an iced mocha frappe with two espresso shots and a dash of cinnamon with an extra spoonful of sugar and a hint of vanilla?" She imitated them. Those were the worst of customers. They'd enter and demand coffee that was filled to the brim with everything in our pantry.

I hadn't worked in a while because of schoolwork, but here I was, working once again for the summer. For me, summer was characterized by shouts and screams from a familiar woman. It was characterized by nightmares and long walks on the beach. It was working in the morning and not managing to sleep at night. It was finding excuses other than school to leave home. It was being with friends when the sun was up and feeling lonely when the sun went down. It was me doing nothing else but living.

I just go where the breeze takes me.