Before any of them can protest or question me, I’m out of my seat and striding down to the beach. Simon calls my name, but it only hurries my steps. I need to be alone.
The sand kicks up behind my heels until I get out of sight of the mansion and slow down. Why am I so upset? I don’t want Anderson. I haven’t for a long time.
Flopping down on the sand, I watch the low waves brush the shore. A small cramp tightens my lower abdomen. Great, my period is coming soon. That explains one part of why I feel like a shaken carbonated bottle of emotions all of a sudden.
Part of it is being back here, staying at the Harper place when I never fit in with them. Monica has been nice this time at least, but I feel like the old me, the one I’ve been trying to escape. I’m ready to get back home to my new life.
That will now have Anderson in it to some degree if Sicily’s going to date him. I suppose things could be worse. I could be Sicily. Walking into a situation guaranteed to rip her heart out.
My phone rumbles in my pocket. It’s probably Simon, who I left nursing a broken dick at a table of my friends with no explanation. I’m not sure what to say now either.
Turns out it’s not a problem. It’s not a text, but an email.
Holy shit. It’s an invitation for an interview. One of the swanky fitness centers I applied to that I didn’t expect to hear back from was impressed with my resume and work record. They want to talk to me about a position opening in a few weeks.
This one would be a dream. The pay is easily three times what I’m making at Hawthorne Elementary, plus amazing benefits, and far fewer hours. I could get my own place. One where Anderson won’t be a fixture.
It’s perfect.
I’m getting too excited. Don’t count your chickens before they’re dead or whatever that saying is. I don’t have the job yet.
The sun starts to burn my skin, and I walk away from the lapping water to a line of palm trees to sit in the shade before answering the email accepting an interview.
Leaning against the tree, I stuff my toes under the sand and close my eyes. It’s peaceful and quiet. I’m always so busy overthinking everything. Even now, I’m trying to make plans of what to do if I get the job. Trying to figure out what will make me happy.
Simon’s grinning face pops into my head at the word happy. Yeah, he makes me happy. No matter what else I change, I’m ready to stick with him, to take another chance. I’ll just sit here for a few minutes to feel the breeze and smell the saltwater. Then head back and find him.
“Oh my god, do you think she’s dead?”
An unfamiliar child’s voice slips past the layers of sleep and into my brain, rousing me from an unintended nap. Before I can open my eyes, something pokes me in the thigh.
“Ow!”
“Ahhh! Zombie!” a kid yells. He drops the stick he just jabbed me with and runs away. A younger boy is right on his heels, calling out for him to wait.
Apparently, falling asleep under a tree around here means you’re dead. It’s tempting to stick my arms out and shuffle after them with a moan, but a glance at my phone kills that idea. I slept almost an hour. Which means it’s been well over two hours since I left. I need to get back.
Simon hasn’t called or texted me, which is kind of weird. I know I embarrassed myself running like a scalded cat. I need to apologize to him for leaving like that.
When I return, Henley sits on the steps leading up from the beach to the mansion, and I don’t like the expression on her face. What’s happened now?
“Did Simon call you?”
“No, why? Is he okay?”
“Yeah, he’s fine. I was just getting ready to call to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“He left. Roger and Bobby Jo wanted to go back early. Simon offered to take them. Well, to let them drive his car with him as passenger since he’s not up to driving. Did he tell you he was leaving?”
The sigh I let out answers her question, and I sit beside her. It’s silent for a long minute. “Did he tell you why, or say anything to you?”
“He asked if we had room for you to ride back with us, that’s all.” She gives me a sideways glance. “Your reaction to Anderson and Sicily wasn’t subtle.”
I bury my face in my hands. “I’m aware.”
“After you left, he said, ‘I guess she isn’t over him,’ then went inside. Seeing you get jealous right after you agreed to go out with him had to be hard to take.”