At First Hate (Coastal Chronicles)

“It’s Marley, right?” she asked, all bubbly. Today, she was in black cigarette pants, a frilly white blouse, and nude high heels. Her hair and makeup were as immaculate as ever.

“Yes. So nice to see you.”

“Ah! I thought it was you. You’re Derek’s little girlfriend.”

I laughed and shook my head. “We’re not really dating.”

She buttoned up her lips. “I know how things go these days in school.” Which was hilarious because she couldn’t be that much older than us. “He’s been talking about his date at the marina all weekend.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”

“Yes. I’m glad to see that he’s interested in a sensible girl.”

I kept my comment to myself as my brain started working. “Mrs. Ballentine…”

“Kathy, please, dear.”

“Kathy, do you have the address for the marina? He never sent it over.”

“You know, I think I do.” She pulled out her phone and scrolled through. Then, she wrote the address down on a piece of paper. “Have a good time! Sunset sailing in Savannah is to die for.” She clicked her tongue. “Ah, to be young and in love.”

I grinned as I waved good-bye to her and pocketed the address.

“What was that about?” Gran asked.

“Just saw someone I knew.”

“Stop taking so long. A banana split is calling my name,” Maddox complained.

“Shut it, Maddox,” I said with a laugh as we headed to the car and I plotted my revenge.

Leopold’s had an hour-long line, but it was always worth it. Anyway, it was better than waiting that time in the summer heat and humidity. At least November was sort of manageable here. But more importantly, neither me nor Maddox were grounded anymore as a treat for me passing the driver’s test. Which meant I had real freedom for the first time. So as soon as we got home, I planned to use it.

“I’m going out, Gran,” I said, grabbing the keys to the minivan with a little too much enthusiasm. They dropped off of the hook and fell to the ground. I picked them back up in a hurry. Maybe I was more nervous than I’d thought.

Gramps looked up from the biography he was reading. “Have a good time, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Gramps.”

“Wait one minute,” Gran said. “Where are you going? Who are you going to be with? What time will you be home? Do you have your phone with you?”

“I’m not going anywhere. I was going to drive around by myself. I can be home by eleven.”

“Ten,” she corrected.

“Sure. Ten, and yes, I always have my phone.”

“How are you going to pay for the gas of just driving around?”

I opened my mouth and then closed it. Gas. Maddox had gotten a part-time job to pay for the truck. “I’ll ask Miss Alicia if she needs help at the studio.”

Gran nodded approvingly. “That’s my girl.”

I’d been dancing at Miss Alicia’s studio since I was four. Lila had gone to another studio until we met in the second grade over our mutual love for Lisa Frank. She’d transferred studios so that we could dance together. We’d done everything together until she moved to St. Catherine’s. It sucked, not having her in school. But at the same time, I was glad that she hadn’t heard any of the rumors about me. Leigh and Danielle had spent all week tiptoeing around me, and I didn’t want that from Lila too. So, I was going to do this on my own.

The sun wouldn’t set for a half hour, but it was at least a twenty-minute drive out to the marina. Miss Alicia would have to wait. I’d ask her tomorrow during studio time if she needed help for competition season this spring.

Gran would bring Maddox and me out to Tybee Island every weekend all summer to get beach time in. Water was my happy place. I’d always been that way. The water calmed me down. But I’d never been on a boat out. That was reserved for people with money, which we never really had.

I pulled the minivan behind the Publix and down a back alley. I craned my neck, hoping that this was the right place to be on Whitemarsh Island. The directions weren’t the best. I’d scribbled them down at home, but I hadn’t wanted to study the map too long, or Gran might have noticed.

The parking lot was empty, save for a shiny black Range Rover. A smile crossed my face. That had to be Derek’s car. The fact that he had a brand-new eighty-something-thousand dollar car while I was driving Gran’s old minivan said everything about where we’d come from.

Still, I hopped out of the minivan, rolled my shoulders back, and headed for the dock. I had no idea which one of the boats belonged to Derek, but my gut said it was the biggest one at the end of the dock. I was heading determinedly in that direction when I heard a voice clear behind me.