Surface

Chapter 19 - To Waltz With A Killer

I had been lucky enough to witness the beauty alongside my grandmother when I was ten. She woke me up early when the stars were still out. There was a glimmer of a secret in her eyes. She said there was something marvelous happening on the beach, something my mother would have wanted me to see.

All though I didn't know it yet, the sea turtles played a big role in my life. They were special to me, connected to me. It was a feeling that I, as a ten year old, wouldn't understand. But I did now.

I stood there, amazed by the beauty of life as the sea turtles raced their way into the ocean. It was the image I always thought of when I needed comfort. My grandmother was the voice that eased all the troubles and pain. I was reborn in the moment, with a whole new mind and way of thinking.

The reptiles start their lives alone and tasked with one of the most important and difficult challenges in their lives: To make it to the ocean with only the light of the moon as their guide. I knew that my parents had left me alone like the sea turtles, whether they meant to or not. But I also knew that they didn't leave me completely defenseless. I knew the way just like the turtles did. All I had to do was complete the journey.

Now, normally getting lost in one's thoughts is a perfectly fine thing. However, allowing myself to completely drop my senses in the dead of night in a town that recently experienced a murder. . . was most definitely not wise.

As if to put an exclamation point on that notion, a stranger emerged from the darkness behind me and grasped my shoulder.

I yelped nearly slipping into the water and whipped around to see a chuckling figure.

"Woah now, Arielle," it said. "No need to swim away."

"Pete." I took a breath and slowly released it. "What are you doing out here?"

The teen was standing a few steps away as if he was still worried he might startle me. "I should ask you the same thing," he replied swiftly.

All I could muster was a pointed look that said I wasn't going to budge until he did. He chuckled and knelt down next to me.

"I was on a walk because I couldn't sleep and then I saw a mysterious figure sitting at the edge of a lagoon that turns out to be you."

"Oh." I laughed knowing that it was my turn to answer the question. The truth was the preferable answer but it was also the humiliating one.

I hesitated a bit too long and the air grew awkward.

"Did you get stood up?" His words cut through the tension and caught me off guard. "By Zac?"

My cheeks were flaming. "How did you . . .?"

"You're all dolled up and Zac is the guy your into, isn't he?" He watched me carefully as I fumbled for words. Was I really that transparent?

I opened my mouth to agree - Zac was the guy I liked. Yet for some reason the words tasted sour. Maybe it was because he stood me up, pulling that off can really change a girls mind.

"After tonight- I'm not completely sure."

"Eh - no worries. The guy's a little weird anyways. He bites his pencils." Pete made the gesture of digging his teeth into the writing utensil rather exaggeratedly, drawing a giggle out of me. "It's kind of gross. He probably gets lead in his teeth all the time-"

"Stop! I get it! I get it!" I doubled over in laughter and then elbowed him. "You're so mean!"

"Only because he hurt you."