𝐂𝐚𝐭, 𝐌𝐲 𝓥𝓪𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓮

XIII

Beck's POV

When we arrived at the beach, Andre and I dragged the cooler out into the sand while Jade set up hers and Cat's bags and Robbie ran right into the waves, tripping over a rock and faceplanting into the sand. "Oh no, I fell!" Robbie exclaimed, staring right at Cat. "I'll probably need some help getting up..." he didn't take his eyes off of Cat, but she didn't notice and instead just slipped off her swimsuit coverup. 

She was wearing a white high-waisted bikini with pink flamingo outlines all over it. Shocker, I thought, smiling. Jade, on the other hand, wore the same black bikini she had worn since we got together. 

I shook my head, setting down the cooler and watching Cat spin in a circle on the hot sand. She looked so happy all the time; I had no idea how she did it. It was magnetic, though. You just couldn't dislike her. 

Cat looked over at me and smiled, skipping up to where I was standing. "Hi Beck!" she giggled. 

I smiled. "Hey, Cat." Suddenly a thought crossed my mind and I looked over at her again. "Actually, can we talk? Privately?" I nodded toward Andre and Jade, who were both snacking and throwing food at each other. 

Cat shrugged, still smiling. "Sure!" She gripped my wrist and skipped away from the waves, plopping down in the sand and giggling. "So, whatcha wanna talk about?" 

I drew in a long breath, sitting down next to Cat and watching her small hands dig themselves into the sand. This was a conversation that I honestly dreaded having, but I also knew that it needed to be done. "So, yesterday..." 

Cat frowned, but then it dawned on her and her beautiful brown eyes widened. "Oh, yeah! The alphabet game!" 

I nodded. "Yeah, and..."

"Our kiss!" Cat exclaimed, loud enough that a passing couple tossed her a few odd glances. "That was fun," she giggled. 

Huh? I frowned, looking at her. "Oh, so you liked that?" 

Cat nodded, smiling. "Yes! Is that what you wanted to talk about?" 

I thought for a moment. "Yes and no. I want to talk about-" I paused, really thinking about this. Did I want to do this? And the answer was yes. "Well, I-" 

"Beck!" I looked up and groaned when I saw Tori running toward me, grinning. "I didn't know you were gonna be here!" 

I glared at her, remembering all of the awful things she had said to Cat and what a mess Cat was afterward. "Get away from us, Tori," I snapped. 

Tori sat down right next to me, sticking out her lower lip. "You don't really want me to go, though, do you?" she whispered in my ear. 

I shoved her off of me, standing up and helping Cat do the same. She looked genuinely frightened as she watched Tori, and it broke my heart. "Cat, why don't you go back, okay? I'll be there in a minute," I looked over at her. I pressed a kiss to her forehead and she left as quickly as she could. 

Then I turned to Tori. "Good call," she whispered, gripping my arm. 

I rolled my eyes, but I didn't push her away. "We're going to take a walk, Tori." She looked very confused, but I didn't care to explain and instead dragged her to the edge of the water. 

"So," Tori started, trailing a finger up and down my arm. 

"You don't get to talk right now," I snapped, shaking her arm off of me. "Listen, Tori. You and I were best friends just a couple weeks ago, right?" She nodded. "But now I hate you with everything in me. Do you know why that is?" 

Tori looked shocked, but I have no clue why. "You hate me?" 

I scoffed. "Of course I do! Do you know why?" 

She frowned, thinking back on the last few weeks, most likely. "Um... I don't know." 

I chuckled, but it wasn't because what she said was funny. "It's because you destroyed Cat with your awful insults, and you didn't. Even. Care." I stared at her. "You know I love Cat. And I think I've loved her for a lot longer than I've realized. And you hurt her, more than you realize. So yes, I absolutely hate you." Tori looked shocked at my outburst, struggling for words. "And you need to stay away from me and Cat, okay? I don't want to talk to you again." I turned on my heel and walked toward the group, leaving Tori standing in the sand with her mouth hanging open. 

"Beck!" she shouted. I turned around, rolling my eyes. "All of those things I said about Cat," Tori began. I nodded, hoping she would apologize. "They were true. And you're just a selfish, bitter, pitiful boy. You deserve each other." Tori smirked, turning around and running away from the water to set her stuff down. I did my best to restrain myself from strangling her and turned around, making my way over to the group. 

Cat immediately ran up to me, looking worried. "What happened?" she asked, staring at Tori. 

I shrugged. "Let's just say we won't be seeing Tori again anytime soon," I smiled at her and she giggled; I noticed a small blush on her cheeks as she ran over to Jade. 

Andre came up to me, frowning. "Hey man, where've you been?" 

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "I was dealing with Tori. She wouldn't leave Cat and I alone. Long story short, she will be now," I added with a smirk. 

Andre nodded, grinning. "Nice, bro." I walked over to the cooler, pulling out a soda, and sitting down in the sand. I watched Cat and Jade splash each other in the waves and chuckled, seeing them so happy. I rarely saw Jade smile in the two years that we'd dated, but when she was with Cat, she did it as if it were second nature. 

I guess Cat has that effect on everyone, I thought with a smile.