Currents

Thirty ~ Goodbye

Thirty ~ Goodbye

Mia erupted with laughter.

"Is this where you tell me you hate avocados?" I asked, pleased with her reaction.

She shook her head, still smiling as she cradled the present I'd bought her. "Rose, even if I did hate avocados, it wouldn't matter. You couldn't have got me a better gift."

Since that moment in my kitchen before Cape Hatteras, I'd known I had to buy Mia an avocado slicer as a goodbye present. Whether or not she used it was irrelevant; it was a joke, something to remind her of me and my extravagant ways.

After sliding it into her bag, she ushered me out of the door to join the party. It was strange knowing this would be the last time the two of us made our way along the garden path and down the stone steps to meet everyone else at the beach. Despite finding it intimidating initially, I'd grown to love the casual atmosphere and banter between the group.

"Rose, it's emotional," Tariq said in greeting, holding out his arms for a hug.

"Let's not make it emotional," I told him with a smile, stepping into his embrace. "Let's just enjoy the evening."

James mixed me a drink, and I glanced around to see where Mia had disappeared. I spotted her next to Austin, who was turning the avocado slicer in his hands with a confused expression.

Glass in hand, I strolled down to the shore and stood with my back to the beach, my feet caressed by the occasional wave that rolled far enough up the bank to reach me.

"Taking a final look at the ocean?" Brent joined me at the shore.

"Three months down the line and you still don't trust me to stand this close to the water," I said, shooting him a small smile.

He chuckled, and my smile widened. Lifting his beer to his lips, Brent took a long sip before letting his arm fall back down by his side, bottle dangling from between his fingers.

"It's going to be strange not sharing the beach with you anymore," he said.

"At least you won't have to worry about me going into the water."

"Well, aside from that, you've made me realise that watching the ocean all day long doesn't make a difference."

"Perhaps rescuing me was nature's way of resetting the balance? You may have lost your brother in an awful tragedy, but you saved my life."

He sighed, his eyes studying the water. I had no doubt that losing his brother still haunted him. Saving my life probably didn't even come close to righting the mistake he was convinced he'd made.

"Sometimes you just have to move on, right?"

I shrugged. "Whatever helps you the most."

"I've seen the way you've changed this summer. You thought your life was set out for you, and you've proved it's not. I don't want to be a lifeguard forever, staring at the thing that took my brother away from me. I want to move on."

I twisted to face him and linked my hand with his in a spontaneous move that would have made me freak out a month ago. Now it felt more natural—still strange due to how unfamiliar this kind of intimacy remained with Brent—but safe in the knowledge that he wouldn't push me away.

"I refuse to get soppy with you," I said, "because neither of us would appreciate that. But I will say that as much as you pissed me off at the beginning of summer, there was something about you that I found inspirational and endearing. Sometimes we have to let go of our normal lives and try something different, though. I was dragged kicking and screaming to this place, but it turned out okay."