Seafoam //Completed//

Chapter 40

A week later, Lulu sat on a Southwest Airlines 747 next to Zac. The past seven days had gone by in a whirlwind combination of fast forward and slow motion, and she wasn't sure how many times she'd asked Zac if he was absolutely positive it was she who he wanted on that trip. He'd insisted though, and so it was that Liam was now staying at a friend's house to hide the fact that it was Lulu and not he, who was on that plane, as they'd told their grandparents and Zac's parents. As for Lulu, she'd be staying at Ava's as far as they were concerned. Her father hadn't reached out to her since the last time they met, but she'd sent emails to his doctors at the rehab clinic, and they reassured her he was fine, and that if he hadn't reached out, it was because he was still under a lot of strain while he sobered up.

The plane ride was nearly five hours long, but they'd booked an early flight, so they slept for most of the way. Lulu hadn't ridden a plane in years. As they walked on through the narrow tunnel up, the small door at the end was the mouth of a monster ready to swallow them whole. Her hand instinctively reached for Zac's and he gave her a quick squeeze of reassurance before they found their seats. Lulu sat by a window to her right, and he sat in the middle, as "only she could appreciate the view" according to him. She much preferred the view to her left: Zac in sweat pants and a hoodie, with his long hair picked up in a little bun at the back of his head, sunglasses securely on, though she wished he'd take them off. If anyone had a problem with how he looked they could go straight to hell for all she cared. It made her sad that he felt the need to wear them, but it was ultimately his choice and she wouldn't try to convince him otherwise.

When they finally touched down in San Francisco, there was a car waiting to take them to their hotel. A stout man with white gloves and a driver's uniform held a sign with Zac's name on it and smiled when he saw them, immediately recognizing Zac. He was kind enough to carry both their bags while Zac carefully carried his paintings, and together they made their way outside. A large black limo sat idling on the curb where another man, dressed exactly like the first one, jumped out and opened the door for them. Lulu felt embarrassed by so much attention but it was nice to be taken care of. They drove them to a lovely hotel on the beach where they'd have a seaside view. The manager of the hotel personally congratulated Zac on his accomplishment and showed them the news article where he'd been featured, Zac having answered questions through the phone in which he revealed very little to Lulu's disappointment, but still managing to sound eloquent and smart. 

Their rooms were on the fifth floor, adjacent to each other with a door through which they could travel through each other's rooms. Zac disappeared into his room for a few hours, no doubt to sleep, and Lulu kept to hers. The suite was beautiful, with hues of gold and blue throughout. There was a small kitchen with a fully stocked fridge, in case they didn't want to go out to eat, and a living room with a huge television which had every channel Lulu could ever need during her two-day stay. It was great, but it was a little much. Having an ocean right down the road made any cable television show obsolete for her and she quickly went and changed into her swimsuit. As she was lathering herself up with sunscreen, she heard a knock on the door between her room and Zac's. When she opened it, Zac stood there, bare-chested in his swimming trunks and she blushed a little. It was dreadfully unfair that boys had such a natural disposition to develop muscles where girl's bodies hated them and never let them lose an ounce of tummy fat unless they worked out eight times a week and never ate. At least in her case. She'd never seen Zac work out once, and yet here he stood muscles and all.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out to the beach." He held up a blue beach towel.

"I was about to text you and ask you the same."

They walked down together, hand in hand, his grasp feeling like home beneath the warm sun. The ocean was full of happy people in its green depths but despite the beauty, Lulu felt a strange void in her chest. It was as if here, the voice which called out to her daily, was muted. The waves breaking on the shore didn't whisper her name and she missed the view of the lighthouse. Despite all that, she had a nice time laying on the sand and walking along the shore with Zac. They talked about everything and nothing. He told her a little more about how he started to paint and about his brother who had been sixteen when he'd died. They'd lived in that town before she and her family had moved there and it surprised her to know that Zac already knew most of their classmates.