Isla

27.

2 7 | k i a m a  s u r f

I TAPPED MY PEN against the counter table, the phone silent beside me. Since summer was coming to an end, most tourists had gone home, leaving the Shack unbearably quiet. Even the beach had turned silent, the waves and screech of seagulls louder than any children giggling or drunk European men shouting.

On the bright side, it meant I had time to study and prepare for the upcoming school term.

Now that River had offered me to move in at the end of the year, I'd been getting ahead of myself. I couldn't help it. It was actually possible now. If I studied hard enough, I could get into the course I wanted, and I could actually study. I could escape this dead end town and get a degree.

I could do what my dad never managed.

Just the thought of it set butterflies loose in my stomach and spiked my heart rate until I was grinning wildly to myself. I smiled, flipping my biology textbook to the next page to practice my Punnet squares.

"And why, exactly, are you studying in the middle of summer, Monroe?"

I blinked, craning my neck to see Everett watching me curiously, his lips pulled into a smirk. He leaned over onto the counter, glancing between me and my textbook. I rolled my eyes, beginning to write out a Punnet square.

"I need to do good if I'm going to get into my top preference," I stated matter-of-factly. "Especially in biology."

"Top preference?"

"For university."

I could practically hear the gears turning in his head at that. A moment passed before he asked, "So, you're going, then? You're going to do it?"

I put my pen down, meeting his stare with a quirked brow. "Aren't you the one who told me I could?"

"Well, yeah, and I still think you can." He blushed, scratching the back of his head. "But what changed since then? Just a few days ago you were saying you don't have enough saved up."

I shrugged, a smile beginning to grow on my lips. River's words echoed in my mind, his offer to move in with him at the end of the year.

"I found a place to stay."

"Already?" He raised his brows at me. "Don't you still have a year of school left?"

"Yes," I said pointedly, gesturing to the biology textbook in front of me. "Hence the studying."

He blinked, confused for a moment, before leaning forward to rest his elbow on the counter beside my book. I furrowed my brow, meeting his amused eyes.

"Isla," he said slowly. "I am extremely confused."

I laughed, shoving him lightly. "River asked me to move in with him."

"What?" He sputtered, reeling back in surprise. "River?"

"Yeah," I said, grinning at the idea. At the thought of moving to Sydney. Living in a big city. Studying at a university. I released a dreamy breath. "After I graduate, I'll move into his apartment in Sydney with him and go to uni."

"I mean," I laughed, shaking my head. "Assuming I get in."

I paused, watching him carefully for a reaction, a smile splitting across my face.

I hadn't told anyone yet. Not even my mother – not until I was sure I had the money and the grades. I didn't want any help. I could do this on my own.

But I couldn't hold it in anymore, and Everett deserved to know. He was the one who pushed me – who believed in me, even when I doubted myself. And I wouldn't admit it out loud, but I wanted to tell him first, before the others.