Summer Girl

Summer Girl - Chapter 12

Chapter TWELVE 

I was so angry at my family, that I stole a bottle of champagne from Cora's wine rack, later that evening. I deserved it, after the day I'd had. Cay laughed and followed me down the sand, to the edge of the water. I kicked off my sandals, then popped the bottle open.

   "For the last eight months... I've just been existing, barely. Working, hanging out with you... that's been the best..." I told her, then took a big gulp right out of the bottle. "And for three years before that, I was just trying to get Clara to like me. How pathetic is that?"

   "You wasted a lot of time and energy on that," Cay agreed, "but that's in the past. We are here, now. Max and Harley are here."

  "They were."

  "They still are. They'll forgive you."

  I drank more of the champagne, then passed it to her. She gladly drank some, then we both sat down in the wet sand, the bottle between us.

   "I should have just bailed on the stupid picnic and gone with them," I said, feeling fuzzy again. "They came to the beach house. They wanted to see me."

  "And you got scared?" Cay asked.

  "I guess so. I was just so sure that if I let my family know about them, it would all be ruined."

  "It's okay to let them in. No one can fuck it up for you. They like you," Cay said, then took another swig from the bottle.

  "I guess I don't understand why. I'm just a weird, home schooled, anti social girl."

  "Izzie, look at me. You're not that girl anymore. Understand?" Cay was so serious.

  I nodded. "Okay."

  "So, call them," she insisted.

  "Now?"

  "Yes."

  "What if they-"

  "Just call. You won't know unless you try."

  She was right. I pulled out my phone and clicked on Max's name. It started to ring in my ear, so I drank more from the bottle. It was half empty already. I was drunk - the world around me was a blur.

  "Hello?" Max answered, but he sounded so far away.

  "Heeeey," I said, closing my eyes. "It's meeee."

  "Izzie? Are you drunk?" he asked right away.

  "I might be," I said, then laughed. "I am."

  "Are you okay? Who are you with?" he asked.

  I let out another laugh, then realized that even though I thought he was mad, he was still worried about me.

  "I'm with Cay. She's my friend," I said slowly.

  "Where?" he wanted to know. He didn't sound mad at all.

  "We are on the beach. By the old swing set," I told him. It was where I always ended up.

  He didn't say anything for a minute. Maybe he was trying to decide if I was worth it after all. I waited, looking at Cay. She was drinking out of the bottle again, and some of it spilled down her face. I laughed, loudly, then dropped my phone into the sand. When I put it back to my ear, Max was talking.

  "...he's just, he's harder to break."

  "What?" I asked, confused.

  "Harley. He's frustrated, that I keep wanting to make this work with you."