Spring Breakers (Wattys 2018)

"Why do you insist on pushing me away, Dylan?" I questioned though his back remained toward me.

"Don't tell me you're that stupid," he spat, his words feeling like acid on the surface of my soul.

"What...do you mean?" I softly asked trying to hide the hurt in my voice. He didn't answer. "What do you mean?" I asked a bit more aggressive as I roughly grabbed his shoulder and turned him around, but before I knew it, he had me my hands pinned by my waist.

"Don't you get it?" He asked, the hardness that once occupies his voice gone and replaced by a trembling, brittle voice. I could see the conflict raging in his eyes as they bore into mine. "I'm a sinking ship and I...I can't drag you down with me," he whispered as his grip on my hands loosened.

"That's not your call to make," I softly, yet sternly stated. "I choose how far I walk across this tightrope and if I fall," I whispered taking his hands in mine and giving them a reassuring squeeze, "I know you'll be there to catch me. You always are."

***

After dealing with a crushing break up with his long time high school sweetheart, high school senior Matteo Hayes heads to a small town in the middle of What-Are-You-Doing-Here? North Carolina to help his grandmother over the duration of his spring break. To say he wasn't looking forward to it would be a massive understatement.

Dylan Strobes was the hot guy who sat in the back of the class and despite barely uttering a single word to anyone, every girl was drawn to him and wanted to be the one who "put his broken pieces together", yet every girl who's tried failed, not able to handle the sharp edges of his jagged pieces that couldn't quite fit together.

One fateful night, they bump into each other on the beach and when one of Dylan's sharp pieces falls into Matteo's hands, he refuses to let it be even when it does slice at his heart and soul. Follow them on their journey to find serenity, laughter, and maybe a dash of love.