That Magical Summer

Chapter 4

“Can you stay in your half please?” you said for the hundredth time. You set up a line in the middle of the wall that separated your designated areas to paint. For the past 10 minutes you’ve been bickering about who can paint the neatest, so you decided to put it to a test. You looked over at Niall, whose tongue was sticking straight out in concentration. He was squinting his eyes so hard, to make sure he didn’t cross the faint vertical pencil mark that you had drawn just seconds ago. His strokes were uneven and choppy, which made yours look even straighter and smoother.

“…And time!” he yelled stepping back to admire his work. You did the same. You almost burst out laughing, seeing the result. Half of the wall was completely sold with no speckles of the white wall beneath it. The other half on the other hand had blotches of white, peaking out from under the ugly paint. You could see where his brush had exactly touched and released from the wall with every stroke. He painted over the half-way border, making it a sloppy transition. You were the apparent winner.

“Hmmm,” he said bringing a finger to his chin, “This is gonna be a close call.”

“You’re such a dork,” you said putting your paintbrush down on the wrinkled newspaper, “And I’m taking a break.”

“Giving up so quickly eh?” he teased. You rolled your eyes, before walking off into the kitchen. He followed right behind you.

“Can I have something to drink?” he asked.

“Sure,” you said opening the fridge. You bought out the pitcher of lemonade that you made yesterday and two plastic cups from the cupboard. You poured each cup, about 2/3 of the way full. You took a big gulp from yours as you handed him his. He tried some hesitantly.

“Wow. This is really good Y/N,” he said nodding his head. You smiled to yourself. “You gotta give me the recipe,” he added. You looked at the ocean from outside of your house. It was so calm, so inviting.

“Could we finish up painting another time?” you asked switching the topic.

“Oh um yeah sure. I guess,” he said cleaning his glass full of lemonade.

“Okay great,” you said walking off into your room. You took the second bikini from your drawers, quickly changing into the lime green bandeau top and matching bottom. You walked out with a pair of sunglasses and a towel to find Niall sitting on your couch. A soon as you walked out, his eyes glued to you, “Um. I’m gonna go to the beach.”

“I can see that,” he said looking at your figure. You found it a little creepy actually. “Are you just gonna sit there staring at me? Or are you gonna get out of my house?” He looked a little taken back at your sudden harshness.

“I guess I’ll go then?” he said picking up his things and walking towards the door. Your eyes were starting to get tired from rolling them so often, but you did it again. You sighed and walked out onto your porch, that connecting your house and the beach. You dawdled through the rough sand, squinting at the immense sun. You dropped your towel, eyes fixated on the gaping ocean before you. You waded in until you were about waist-deep in ocean water. You dipped your head under as you released your hair from its tight ponytail. You emerged your head, rubbing your eyes of salt. You saw something fidget on land, right outside your house. It was Niall. He was standing there, watching you. You saw as his eyes traced your every move, as you swam up and down. You quickly turned away from his disturbing stare, and flipped onto your back. You floated lightly on your back, looking up at the clear skies. The sun was blinding your vision, but you didn’t care. You thought of everything. Everything that’s happening to you right now. With leaving Rosemount to Niall. You didn’t want to be mean, but you really just wanted to be alone. Not that he’s not an amazing guy but you just really didn’t want to be around a guy right now, especially not this one. You knew that once he came into your life, he wasn’t going to leave.

After showering, you changed back into your yoga shorts and your v-neck and plopped down onto your couch. You pulled off your book from the night stand, flipping to the 46th page where you left off. You slid your bookmark from the page and rested it by your thigh. You began reading when you heard something ding. It was your phone. Your eyes searched for the thing, as it dinged again. It was on the kitchen table. You groaned as you placed your bookmark back onto the page and getting up. You snatched your phone from the counter, unlocking it painlessly. You saw you had two new messages. They made you want to scream, they made you want to throw your phone right into the ocean. But most of all they made you want to curl up in a ball and cry. So you put on a pair of slippers, and went for a walk. It was the only logical thing to do, to clear your mind. You walked along the rusty trail, that led you down to the beach. You walked the thick, damp sand slowly thinking. Your slippers were getting sandier by the minute. You soon got fed up with them and kicked them off of your feet, letting them fly yards behind you. You started to run, you don’t know why but you did, and in turn the tears started to run down your own face. You ran to the point of the beach where you could go no further, not without venturing into someone else’s property. There was a gate, blocking you from running, running away from the world. You banged on the gate hard, as you felt your hand numb with pain. You winced, turning back. Your house, along with the other two houses, were painted in the distance. You had run far. You leaned against the musty planked fence, slowly sliding down to your knees. You pulled your phone out of your pocket briskly, thumbing to the two messages. The first made you flinch, grimacing in anger. The second made you sob, sob your last living tear out of you. That’s exactly what you did as you read them over and over to yourself.

The first saying: I asked her to marry me, just thought you should know…

The second said: …and she said yes