Amy grinned. “What do we need?”
A few hours later, Amy parked her Tahoe just off of Folly Beach. We’d called in Melanie since I knew that Michael’s family had a beach house. I might not like him, but I would use his resources for something this important.
“You are so like Mom right now,” Melanie said, popping open the back door.
“Yep,” I agreed easily.
I walked around to the trunk, and Amy appeared at my side. I hefted the shovel over my shoulder.
“Kick-ass if you ask me,” Amy said. She grabbed the two bags and passed one of them to Melanie. “Here you go.”
“Are you sure we should be doing this?” Melanie asked.
“Stay here if you want,” I said and then started walking toward the beach.
“Like I’m going to do that,” she muttered, chasing after us. “But, like…how is this going to help you get Penn back?”
I stopped just before the sand. My heart contracted painfully at her words. Get him back. Like he was already gone. Out of reach. Never to return. I closed my eyes. He couldn’t be. That wasn’t possible. He’d handed me my crown and said he’d never let me go. We could…we could fix this.
“It’s not about getting Penn back,” I said finally.
“Because he isn’t gone,” Amy interjected with a pointed look at Melanie.
“This is about me. It’s about coming back to myself. Being who I’m meant to be, not who I became. Releasing it all and starting over.”
“But you were so cool. Why would you want to change that?” Melanie asked.
My eyes caught hers. “Sometimes, it’s not worth it.”
Melanie dipped her head in understanding. “I’m on board. I just wanted to make sure you were doing it for the right reasons.” She smirked at me. “Plus, who am I to say no to a bonfire on the beach?”
Amy and I shook our heads at her. My little sister was so innocent and naive, and sometimes, she really surprised me.
“You know, Michael ended up telling me what happened with you guys at the party,” Melanie said as I kicked my sandals off and walked out onto the open beach.
I chewed on my lip. “Uh, he did?”
“Yeah, it explains why you were asking me those weird questions the next morning.”
“Mel, I’m sorry. It’s part of the reason I really need this cleansing.”
“Well, I just…wanted to say thanks,” she muttered, grabbing my hand. “I didn’t realize how bad it had been before. You know with him…after Kennedy. But it’s been so much better since the party. I think that has something to do with what you said.”
“Using my superpower for good,” I said. The memory of Penn saying that while we were sailing flashing through my mind.
“You might have done some bad in this new Natalie form,” Melanie said. “But you did some good too. I think we should find a balance.”
I reached out and took Amy’s hand in mine too. Balance. Yes, that was what we needed.
Then, we traipsed together out to the shoreline.
We’d waited until it was well past dark so that no one would be out on the beach. School wasn’t out yet, so it wasn’t as packed as it would be come June, but I didn’t want to take any chances. When I’d done this in the Hamptons, I’d known it would be an empty beach. Or I’d thought so until Penn Kensington walked out and changed my life.
I smiled at the memory. I’d hated him so much that day. For leaving me behind in Paris. For being the son of the owner of the home I planned to stay in. For not remembering me…and then for his memories when he did. So much had changed since then. And I couldn’t go back.
We walked until our feet hit the wet sand, and Amy dropped her bag. “All right. Let’s do this.”
I plunged the shovel into the sand, felt it give under my weight, and then moved it out of the way. My shoulders loosened with the first move. It was intoxicating, this movement. The physical exertion of actually doing something yourself. Something with a real end result. It steadied my mind. Kept me in the present. The burn in my back, the chafe of my hands, the weight of the sand. It was rhythmic and really did bring me full circle to that last time I’d done just this.
When the hole was deep enough, I dropped the shovel into the sand with a sigh and held my hand out to Melanie. “Let’s do this thing.”
“Are you really sure you want to burn this? It gave you so much.”
I nodded and took my book out of her hands. It had given me so much. It was the beginning, and this was the end. No more deception and manipulation. No more games. No more Olivia Davies or the fake person I’d let myself become out of her. Just me.