[COMPLETE]
When Hanna Haddad embarks on what's supposed to be another uneventful summer as a lifeguard on Cape Cod, a trip to the past comes as an unnerving surprise. The discovery of her estranged mother's journal opens up the world of tragedy and...
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I slept in until noon the next day.
I couldn't remember turning off my alarm or if I'd even set one at all. After sleeping nearly twelve hours, I was still somewhat tired, but I could never go back to my bed once I'd already left it.
I made myself an oversized bowl of cereal and curled up on the couch to catch up on the last three episodes of my favorite drama. Halfway through the second commercial break I forgot I could fast-forward, my eyelids drooped, and I succumbed to another bout of sleep.
I woke up to the blare of my doorbell. In a daze, I forced myself off the couch and peeked out the small window by the front door. I groaned when I saw the UPS truck pulling away, my sleep disturbed over nothing. Wide awake now, I picked up the light box perched on the front steps and peered closer at the packaging, finding the logo of a female clothing store in the top left corner.
Either this was a very late birthday gift from my dad, or this wasn't for me at all.
This was for Cassandra.
I set it on the bottom step of the staircase and had a hand on the door handle when I spotted Colin walking down his driveway. From a distance, I could make out the dead expression on his face, eerily resembling Alex's from yesterday. Worried he wasn't in the mood, I ducked my head down and pretended like I didn't notice him, but he surprised me with a huge smile and wave.
"Hey, Hanna!" he called out, pulling out a few letters from his mailbox. "How's it going?"
"Hey! It's going good." I locked the door behind me and headed down the grass, tired of him always coming to my house—well, lawn. "Are you okay?"
He planted his hands on his hips and sighed. "Eh, I've had better days. At least I got off work early."
"How'd you get so lucky?"
"Well, my company's treating the interns to a baseball game that starts at six, but I called in sick for it."
He didn't seem sick, more so tired...and disappointed. "Are you actually sick, or are you just not a fan of the Red Sox?"
He smirked. "A little bit of both. More so the Red Sox part."
"See, I'm more of a football person, so I'll forgive you for this one." I noticed neither of us showed signs of heading back inside, sparking an idea in my mind. "Did you make any plans for the rest of your day, or are you gonna nap all afternoon like me?"
His eyes landed on my tousled hair fanning out in the breeze. "I planned on eating first, but a nap doesn't seem so bad right now." He glanced between his garage door and my drained face. "You know, I did order a whole pizza, and I don't think I can get through all eight slices myself."
My stomach growled quietly at the mere mention of food. "Is that an offer? Because I'll take you up on it."
