In Nightfall, page 14
“Uh…” I feel self-conscious as all the girls watch to see what I choose. “Surprise me,” I say.
Annemarie grins. “Great answer,” she replies. She grabs the ice cream scoop and starts making a sundae. Tentatively, I look at Erika and find her watching me.
“Sit down,” Minnow tells me, appearing at my side. “Annemarie will get us all set up.”
Minnow pulls out a chair at one of the tables and I join her, quickly followed by Beatrice. Sparrow joins Annemarie behind the counter, twisting a strand of her blue hair around her fingers as they talk quietly.
I take a moment to look around. Inside this pastel-colored shop, all the girls appear too…bold. It’s like seeing a supermodel in the grocery store instead of in a magazine. Or like a mirage in the desert. I have no idea why they would find me so interesting.
Beatrice looks mockingly at Erika. “What is your problem?” she asks impatiently. “You’ve been miserable all week.”
Erika’s lips part like she’s about to argue, when Annemarie appears at our table with a tray of sundaes, blocking Erika from view.
“She’s just been working too hard,” Annemarie answers for her. “She forgets to have a life outside of Scoops.” She passes out the sundaes. “But don’t worry,” she adds, dropping the empty tray to her side. “She’s going to help with the parade. She always does.”
“I said I would and I’m here,” Erika points out. “Don’t act like I’m the one being difficult.”
Minnow glances over at her and the room falls quiet. There is a sudden tension in the air.
“Anyway,” Annemarie says, waving away the silence. “Let’s figure out who’s doing what. The sheriff told me he expects more tourists than ever this week. Pretty sweet.”
“Yummy,” Beatrice replies, swirling her spoon through her strawberry sundae.
As the rest of them start discussing the logistics of the parade, I devour the chocolate and rainbow sherbet mash-up Annemarie created for me. It’s inexplicably delicious. The entire weekend honestly sounds like a blast. There will be the parade, live music, and food trucks. And then, of course, the Midnight Dive. Again, I’m tempted to bring up Nightfall’s history, but they’re all taking it so seriously. I don’t want to offend them.
“I nominate Theo to join us as the leads in the parade,” Minnow announces. She turns to me. “We’re the ones who bring the crowd to the water, sort of like…like the queens of the Dive. You’d be perfect. We dress up like mermaids. Everyone loves us.” She laughs.
“Yes, Theo!” Annemarie says. “I think that’s a great idea.”
“Oh…” I look around at them. “Um, sure. If that’s okay. I know I don’t live here or anything.”
“No problem,” Annemarie says. “We usually have a few tourists mixed in. But only our favorites.” She grins at the other girls.
Okay, I’m pretty flattered to be a favorite.
“What about Asa?” Erika asks, earning a sharp look from Annemarie. “Will he be joining us in the parade?”
“No,” Annemarie replies after a moment. “No, actually he headed back to Joshua Tree this morning. He didn’t really fit in here.”
“He was kind of mopey,” Sparrow says, sounding bored.
“I liked him,” Beatrice says, licking her spoon. “He was super cute. It could have worked. You were just impatient.”
Annemarie smiles kind of wistfully. “Probably right,” she says. “I do like pretty things.” The others laugh. “But like I said, he wasn’t the right fit. Oh well.” She turns to me with a shrug. “Now back to Theo,” she continues. “I think you’ll be awesome in the parade.”
“Perfect,” Minnow agrees. She stands up. “Well, now that it’s settled, let’s get to partying.” She looks around at the other girls. “Sparrow, why don’t you help Erika close up here and meet us at the beach?” She turns to Erika, her expression cooling slightly. “Will you be joining us tonight, Erika?” she asks.
The cashier holds her gaze. “No,” she says simply. Minnow swallows hard, her eyes narrowed.
“Suit yourself,” Beatrice says brightly, getting up from her chair. “You’re always such a buzzkill anyway, Erika. You’d think by now you’d learn to live a little.”
Erika smiles sweetly and flips her off. Everyone laughs, breaking the tension. The girls toss away their empty ice cream cups, still talking about the parade.
Despite Erika, everyone seems to be on the same page. To be honest, I feel better about how cold she’s been to me. She’s kind of that way with her friends, too.
And I’m actually excited. Being a queen of the Dive sounds like a blast. It definitely feels nice to be so accepted, so included. I’m grinning madly as I follow Minnow and the others out of the ice cream shop. On the way, Minnow hands me the flask again, and I take an eager sip.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Beatrice is back behind the wheel and as terrifying as ever. But when we get onto the Pacific Coast Highway, the world seems to open up. We can see the ocean below us, and the cars whipping past us lessen, until we seem to be all alone on the highway. Minnow and I pass the flask again.
With each turn, the convertible swerves a little, the tires slipping on the pavement. The road is winding, and I’m honestly afraid we’re going to go over the side. Crash into the oncoming waves.
I lean forward to hold on to the front seat, balancing myself as my hair lashes against my cheeks. Beatrice turns to look at me. Our faces close.
“You look scared, Theo,” she whispers playfully. “Where’s your sense of excitement?” She turns back to the road. “Don’t you know that danger gets the blood pumping?”
“And it’ll keep you young!” Annemarie adds, grinning at me.
I want to agree, but in all honesty, my gut is knotted up with fear. I wish I could be as carefree as they are. Some days, it feels like the weight of the world is on me, but what if I could…if I could just let go?
Just then, Annemarie grabs the edge of the windshield to pull herself up, standing in the wind as it blows her dark hair violently. She closes her eyes, lifts her arms in the air, and screams. The other girls cheer.
Startled, I put my hand protectively on Annemarie’s hip, hoping I’ll be able to hold her down if we take a sharp turn so she doesn’t go flying out of the car.
“Aw, come on,” Minnow says, pulling my hand away. “Try it!”
“Are you—?” I start to ask if she’s serious, but without missing a beat, Minnow stands up in the oncoming wind. She drags me to my feet next to her.
The wind knocks me back at first and the girls laugh. I can barely catch my breath, my lungs filling up with salty sea air. We have to be driving at least eighty miles per hour. Minnow grabs me again, this time holding me up as I keep a death grip on the back of Beatrice’s headrest.
“Be free, Theo,” Minnow calls, her hand on my back. She looks at me, looks into me. I get lost in her eyes and forget about the danger. “It’s okay to let go,” she says, echoing my earlier thoughts. “I’ve got you!”
I don’t want to, but my throat is still warm from the alcohol, her pressure on my back strong enough to reassure me. So I let go and lift my arms in the air, closing my eyes.
And for a moment, I’m weightless, like I’m a bird gliding on a breeze. The world dissolves around me, my troubles far away. Annemarie screams again, and when I open my eyes, I scream with her.
After I fall back into the seat, laughing and exhilarated, Minnow passes me the flask. I take another sip, this one going down easier, before passing it forward to Annemarie. My pulse is racing, and I don’t even mind the cold air anymore. I feel alive—truly alive. I’m so outside my comfort zone that I can’t even find it anymore.
I look to my right at the ocean and recognize the massive boulders of Sunrise Beach jutting out of the water.
Beatrice takes a sharp turn off the highway and we begin bumping down a sandy road. She drives straight onto the beach, and I’m surprised when there’s no bonfire already roaring, no crowds of tourists. I wonder where everyone is. Maybe we’re early.
After she parks, Beatrice opens the door and folds up the seat so I don’t have to jump over the side. The gesture catches me off guard, but I’m definitely grateful. The alcohol has left me a bit buzzy and I don’t want them to think all Maggiones are lightweights.
The sand is soft under my feet and I have the urge to take off my sneakers and walk barefoot. The air is misty this close to the water, almost otherworldly. Or maybe my head is just swimming away. When Minnow offers the flask, I take another sip.
We start toward the driftwood where the bonfire was the night before. Beatrice and Annemarie are on either side of me, Minnow just ahead.
“Do you love it here?” Beatrice asks me, her frilly pink dress blowing wildly around her legs. “Nightfall is just perfect, isn’t it?”
Minnow looks back over her shoulder, anticipating my answer.
“It’s really nice,” I agree. “Beautiful. But I like the sun way too much to live here,” I add. “I love Phoenix.”
“Yeah, but your dad’s from here,” Annemarie says. “Born and bred.” She grins at the others.
Minnow spins around to walk backward, facing us. “I bet your dad misses it,” she says. “And Marco told me that he’d live here in a second if he could. So maybe you should consider moving.”
“Who’s thinking of moving to Nightfall?” a voice says from behind us. I turn and am startled to see Parrish. I hadn’t heard him come up, although I guess the sand muted his footsteps. How did he even get here? There’s no other car on the beach.
“Parrish!” Beatrice calls out happily, beaming at him. “You’re late.”
He glances nervously at me before answering Beatrice. “Just got dropped off,” he tells her, not matching her enthusiasm. “The others have the supplies.”
I’m slightly disoriented, a bit confused that Beatrice was expecting him. I turn to Minnow. “I thought this was a girls’ night?” I ask quietly.
“It is,” she says. “Parrish just shows up sometimes.” She darts a pointed look at him, and then turns to walk forward again. “Even when he’s not invited.”
“Theo’s father is from Nightfall,” Beatrice explains, taking Parrish’s arm to drag him into step next to us. “And we think he should stay permanently. And that Theo and her brother should join him. What do you think?”
“You’re actually thinking of moving here?” he asks, sounding alarmed. Beatrice yanks him slightly closer to her.
“Yes! She’s going to lead the Dive with us,” she announces. “She’s going to be one of us.”
“No,” I say with a laugh. “I’m not planning on moving here,” I tell Parrish. “My life is in Arizona.”
“Maybe you’ll change your mind,” Minnow says. “This place can be pretty convincing.”
Before I can argue, Beatrice drops Parrish’s arm and goes running ahead in a fit of mad laughter. She does a cartwheel, the fabric of her dress floating in the air around her.
The other girls clap. I smile as she does a roundoff and then bows to us formally, one arm tucked against her waist. She beckons the other girls.
“Come on, Minnow!” she calls. “Annemarie!”
And then the three girls are racing ahead, taking turns flipping in the sand. Parrish stays next to me.
“I’m surprised to see you hanging out with them,” he says, motioning to the others. “How exactly did that happen?”
“Minnow called me,” I say. “And honestly, she seems really cool, so I said yes.”
I turn and smile at him, but he’s watching the girls. There’s a mix of admiration and contempt in his expression. I can’t really tell if he likes them.
“I have to ask,” I start, a bit nervous. “Are you dating Beatrice? Because—”
Parrish laughs. “Dating? God, no.” He shakes his head. “Nothing like that. And as for the others, I met them two summers ago. Sort of got pulled into their crowd. If you end up staying, you’ll be hanging around with them all the time, too. No other choice.”
“What do you mean by that?” I ask. Yeah, there is definitely some disapproval there.
“Let’s just say they run the social calendar around here,” Parrish replies. “Nothing happens without them planning or knowing about it.” He pauses a long moment before seeming to realize that I’m watching him. He smiles shyly. “Small-town life, I guess,” he adds.
“But you’re friends with them?” I ask, still wondering.
“Absolutely,” he says definitively. “Didn’t mean to make it seem…” He waves off the thought.
I let the topic drop, but I’m relieved to hear that he’s not with Beatrice. There’s real potential here. I can’t wait to tell Willa.
“Hope no one’s waiting up for you tonight,” Parrish says, bumping his shoulder into mine gently. “Not sure if the girls mentioned, but we stay out kind of late.”
I smile at him. “I think I can hang,” I say.
“I’m sure you can, Arizona,” he says, sliding his hands into his pockets. “I’m just not sure you’ll want to.”
“There they are!” Beatrice calls from up ahead, pointing to a group of people coming down a sand dune.
I recognize Sparrow’s blue hair immediately. She’s holding a beach bag and is with two guys who have a cooler. A guy carrying a huge pile of driftwood crests the hill, and I laugh when I see he’s wearing a Wombats T-shirt.
I gasp dramatically and look sideways at Parrish, motioning toward the guy. “I want that shirt,” I say. “It is, like, number one priority.”
Parrish laughs. “I’ll get you one,” he says. “But avoid Jerry,” he adds lightly. “He’s a real dickhead.”
“Noted,” I say. “Well, time for a bonfire?”
“Yep,” Parrish says, sighing as if he’d rather be anywhere else. “Looks like the party’s all here.”
He cuts away from me and heads toward the group setting up behind the driftwood. I come to a stop in the sand, watching him go. I don’t get it. He’s hot and cold, hard to read. I’m reminded of my brother’s description of him: the one with the sad eyes.
But then the buzz of alcohol continues to work though my veins, relaxing my muscles and dulling the social anxiety that would normally be there. I’m in a new place with new people, and yet, I feel like I could be…one of them.
“Theo,” Minnow sings out from up ahead. “Join us!”
And I jog to catch up with them.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
When I reach Minnow, she grabs my hands and then we’re spinning in the sand. The wind catches my hair, blowing it around my face, the scene blurred out behind dark curls. I’m laughing, feeling free and wild. I can’t remember the last time I’ve felt this untroubled and carefree, all my sadness and worry somewhere else.
We stop, and Minnow drops to the sand on her back. I do the same, trying to catch my breath. I gasp a few more times before I’m able to slow my breathing.
Minnow sits up. “Oh, good,” she says. “The fire’s almost ready. Let’s go get a spot.”
She pulls me to my feet and then we cross toward the driftwood. Beatrice and Annemarie are already there. Everyone is talking; they clearly know each other well. I’m glad Minnow is at my side as we approach, slipping me easily into their world.
When we get on the other side of the driftwood, the sand slopes downward and the air is less blustery. Parrish is adjusting some of the wood while the big guy in the Wombats shirt holds a bottle of lighter fluid and a pack of matches.
I settle in the sand in front of the bonfire and Minnow sits next to me. Beatrice and Annemarie quickly move to her other side. I kind of like that she chose to sit next to me; it makes me feel…special. Minnow passes me the flask and I take a sip.
“Sorry we put you on the spot there,” she says. “About moving here. It’s just that I like Marco. And I like you. I get tired of the others sometimes,” she admits quietly. “It would be fun if you stuck around for a while.”
Minnow meets my eyes and a splash of warmth flows over me. A vanilla-scented blanket wrapped around me, cozy and soft.
“If you just gave us a chance,” she says, her voice humming in my ear, a drum beating along with my heart. “You could forget about home,” she adds. “About your mother. About your loneliness. All you have to do is give us the opportunity to show you what it could be like to rule this place.”
“What?” I ask, my voice sounding far away. I can feel the flask in my hand, but it’s too heavy for me to lift. My body is weighted down, rooted and still. Minnow takes the flask from me and sips, her eyes smiling. “How did you know about my mother?” I ask, and then start laughing. It sounds so silly. She laughs, too.
A big gust of wind whips my hair around my face. I close my eyes against the blowing sand, raising my hands for protection. When the wind settles, I turn back to Minnow, but she’s gone. She’s on the other side of the bonfire pit now, talking to Parrish. The guy in the Wombats shirt is repeatedly striking a match, the scraping sound loud in my ears. The fire won’t catch; the wind keeps blowing it out.
I’m disoriented and my head is fuzzy. When did Minnow walk away? I can’t remember what we were talking about, but whatever it was it left me with a mixture of laughter and an overwhelming sense of loss. Did I lose something?
Suddenly, I want my phone. But when I check, it’s gone. Did I bring it? I can’t remember. It hits me that I never texted my father. No one knows where I am right now.
I stand up, swaying, but I catch myself before I fall. I’ve only had a few sips of alcohol; how could I be so unsteady already? Was it only a few sips?
The fire bursts to life in a wild explosion of orange heat. The small group cheers and I smile as the warmth radiates forward, drawing me close.
