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When I got home, my grandma was gone. I found a note on the counter that said: Bumblebee, I’m going to a spaghetti dinner at the elementary school with Maureen. It starts at 7. Feel free to join us if you get home in time. Love, Gram.
I felt bad about not spending time with her lately, but I had already made plans with Tyler. I couldn’t just cancel on him at the last second.
Glancing at the clock above the stove, I realized that I had better get ready if I was going to meet him in time. I quickly jumped into the shower to wash off. Even though I’d been really hot today, I hadn’t sweat at all. Still, I hated going out—especially with a cute guy—without showering after a hot day on the beach.
As I watched the water stream over me, my breath caught in my throat. Not a drop touched my body. Glancing down at the shower drain, I found that the sand was coming off, but I was completely dry. It didn’t make sense, but I wasn’t going to question it. Whatever was going on with me lately, it saved time getting ready.
When I got out of the shower, I didn’t bother grabbing my towel. I immediately changed into a pink floral sundress and slid on a pair of flip flops. I ran a brush through my hair, more out of habit instead of necessity, since it was already straight, and applied some gray shadow to my eyelids. I puckered my lips as I applied a pink gloss. Looking in the mirror, I decided that I looked better than usual—but I wasn’t sure why.
Once I was on the boardwalk, I sat down on a bench in front of Scoops. Glancing into the ice cream parlor, I didn’t see Carrie anywhere, but that was probably because the shop was so crowded. I tapped my flip flop on the wooden boardwalk as I waited nervously for Tyler to show up.
After twenty minutes of waiting, I pulled my phone out of my bag and texted Tyler. Where r u?
As I waited for him to text me back, I watched the blinking lights of the boardwalk Ferris wheel flashing against the darkening night sky. I thought about how romantic it would be to ride the Ferris Wheel with Tyler once he finally got here.
But he didn’t text me back.
I sent him a second text. Are u mad at me?
When I didn’t receive a response to that text message either, I sighed. Sitting here waiting for him to show up was obviously hopeless—and desperate.
Standing up, I began walking down the boardwalk looking for Tyler. I passed by happy couples, popping cotton candy into their mouths and laughing. The bleeping sounds of arcade games filled my ears.
At a snow cone stand, I noticed a guy with short brown hair.
I tapped him on the shoulder, but when he turned to look at me, I was greeted with his cold brown eyes. “Sorry,” I said. “You just looked like someone I knew.”
And that’s when I heard her laughing; her laugh was sweet and melodic, but for some reason, it also made my ears ring. I looked around until I spotted the girl with the coppery auburn hair as she spun around on the Tilt-A-Whirl.
I stood there, frozen in place, just watching her until the screeching sound indicated that the ride was about to come to a halt. She got off the ride, but she didn’t notice me. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, and I knew it was Scarlett. I was sure of it.
I couldn’t just let her get away from me this time, so I followed her.
This time, I kept myself at a distance. Any time I suspected that she might look over her shoulder, I ducked behind someone. I got strange looks from people, but it didn’t matter. The only thing that I cared about right now was reuniting with my sister—and getting her to admit that it was, in fact, her.
I followed Scarlett until she led me off the boardwalk and a few blocks away, until we reached the sandy path that I knew would bring us to the cliff the lighthouse was located on. I only hoped that Tyler wasn’t there tonight, like he seemed to be every night I had wandered there in my sleep. But it didn’t even matter right now. I just wanted my sister back.
Once we were closer to the lighthouse, I crept along the large rocks that surrounded the sandy path that led up to it. I didn’t want Scarlett to see me. That was just too risky. I needed to catch her off guard.
“I’m back,” Scarlett called.
Two girls stepped out from behind one of the rocks, but they were so far away that I couldn’t really make out what they looked like. One of them was taller and the other one was short, but I couldn’t tell much more.
“Did she see you again?” one of the girls asked I froze. Somehow, I was certain that they were talking about me.
“I don’t think so,” Scarlett replied, a sweet tone in her voice. “At least, I didn’t see her.” She sat down on the rock and added, “I don’t really know what to do.”
“I think you need to talk to her,” a third voice replied. “She’s going to need you soon. You can’t just leave her in the dark about this.”
“I know you’re right, I just . . . I want to put it off,” Scarlett said. From a distance, I could see her shaking her head the way she always had when we were children when she was feeling indecisive about something. “The longer I can avoid talking about it, the better.”
“Not talking about it isn’t going to make things any safer for her, though,” the second voice spoke quietly. “You could help her by telling her the truth.”
“Just let me handle this my way,” Scarlett snapped at them. “As of right now, I’m not telling her. Not until I absolutely have to. The same goes for both of you. If I find out that either of you open your big mouths, I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” the third voice asked. “I’d like to see you try to hurt me.” The girl laughed sarcastically.
“If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be in this mess!” Scarlett shot back. I watched from my place on the rock as she stormed away from the two girls. Holding my breath, I ducked down, feeling a gust of wind blow against me as she breezed past me.
Once she was gone, I allowed myself to breathe normally again. Scarlett hadn’t seen me.
I debated whether or not it was a good idea to follow her again right now. Glancing in the direction she had gone in, I knew my answer; my sister had already disappeared.
*
As I walked back to Gram’s house, all I could think about was what Scarlett and the girls had said. What was my sister keeping from me that was putting me in some sort of danger? Did those girls help her fake her death? Maybe they thought that I could get her in trouble for her still being alive—although that didn’t make much sense either.
When I reached to twist the doorknob, the door was pulled open for me. I stared back into Gram’s angry-looking hazel eyes.
“Ahem,” Gram said pointedly as I stepped inside the house and closed the door.
I glanced at the clock. It was only eleven. My curfew during the summer was eleven thirty. I was home in time, so I wasn’t sure why she seemed mad.
Before I had the chance to ask what was wrong, Gram said, “Beatrice called me today.”
“Oh,” I replied quietly. Beatrice was a Senior Lifeguard and one of Gram’s closest friends.
“She told me what happened today. That you were fired?”
I nodded. “Yes, but . . . it wasn’t my fault.” I hated lying to my grandmother, but I also couldn’t tell her the real reason I had left my lifeguard chair unattended. “I wasn’t feeling good.”
Gram wrinkled her nose. “I was under the impression that you were just busy goofing off with some boy.”
I shook my head. “No, I wasn’t feeling good, so I walked away to get some fresh air, I guess. And Jackson came to see if I was okay. That’s when Nora—our supervisor—came and fired us.”
Gram’s face softened. “What was wrong? Why weren’t you feeling well?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just haven’t been feeling well lately.”
My grandmother let out a loud sigh. “Well, I can’t blame you for being sick. The good news is that you’re not out of a job. Beatrice spoke on your behalf. She told your supervisor that you’re a really good kid most of the time, and she decided not to fire you.”
“What about Jackson?” I asked hopefully. It would be a huge blow to my self-esteem if I was fired from my first real job (and on top of that, I needed the money for college), but it would be even worse if Jackson was let go because of me. I’d feel forever indebted to him.
Gram shrugged. “I wasn’t concerned about that Davis boy. He’s not my grandchild.”
“I don’t really know him that well,” I said honestly. “But he seems sort of nice.”
“Where were you just now, anyway?” Gram asked. “I know you weren’t with Carrie because I called her.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Why didn’t you just call me to find out where I was?”
“I wanted to see if you would lie to me about it.”
I laughed. “Gram, you didn’t even wait to see if I would lie to you about it! You told me you called her without waiting to see what I would say.”
“Oh,” Gram replied, waving her hand at me. “I can’t help it. I felt bad about trying to trick you. I know my Bumblebee wouldn’t lie to me, anyway.”
I looked down at the floor. Knowing that I could only tell her half of the truth about where I’d been that night, I said, “I was supposed to meet Tyler, but he stood me up.”
“Did you give him a reason to?” Gram asked.
“Gram! What makes you think it was my fault?”
“Sometimes, you can be pushy, Felicia,” Gram said with a shrug. “Not all guys like a girl who comes on so strong like that.”
“I am not pushy! And I didn’t do anything to make him stand me up.” I shook my head, deciding to leave out the part about my sleepwalking. “I know I’ve only known Tyler for a short time, but it seems really out of character for him.”
“Then don’t get too mad at him, Bumblebee. Not until you know the reason. Maybe he has a good excuse.” She stood up and, leaning in for a hug, she whispered, “And if he did just stand you up, you can do better than him, anyway.” She gave me a kiss on the cheek before going to her bedroom.
I knew Gram was right, but that didn’t make the fact that he ditched me hurt any less.