Page 4 of Under the Waves

I hated it, and I hated my parents for being the reason I had it.

Grabbing my coffee off the counter, I hurried out the doors.

“Hey, wait up,” I called out to Lia, patting her on the shoulder when I caught up, “Why did you do that? I can pay for my own drinks, I don’t need any charity.”

Her blue eyes met mine and I didn’t think I’d ever met someone who had eyes that looked like hers—it was as if they were kissed by the ocean.

“Oh, that? Aw lovely, don’t worry about it,” she said, a cheery expression covered her face, “we look after each other here and I noticed you looking for cash, so I thought I’d help.”

I pressed my lips shut.

We look after each other here.

Bullshit.

The only people this town looked after was themselves.

“Right…well let me pay you back tomorrow, where can I find you?” I asked. There was no way I was accepting free charity from that girl. If I wasn’t careful, she’d tell one person, and the next thing you knew, the entire town knew—and that wasnotan option, itcouldn’tbe.

They couldn’t know how bad it had gotten.

“Oh, honestly don’t worry about it,” she smiled.

“Please.”

She must have acknowledged that this wasn’t something I was going to brush off.

“The ice hockey team is throwing a first day of summer break party tomorrow, and like always they’re trying to out-do our team by throwing them on the exact same day as us but they never manage to. You’d think with two of the players being heirs of theSokolov Lotosovyythey’d put up a decent fight. It’s honestly embarrassing for them, and Jakson always goes all out for them too, so it’s not even a competition at this point…sorry, I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

“You don’t mind, do you?” Xander questioned, but the way his whiskey-colored eyes stared into mine made it more of a statement, almost like he was forcing the words down my throat.

I nodded, my lips pressing into a thin line.

“Good. Carry on, Lia.”

“I’ll be at Jakson’s,” she smiled shyly, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Great. Not only did I now have to figure out how to pay her back, but I also had to attend a party hosted by a guy I didn’t even know. Not to mention a party was the last place I wanted to be tomorrow, especially after what my mom had done this morning.

“Oh, and I’m Lia by the way. It was nice to see you again, Poppy!” she said before walking away, dragging Xander along with her. His eyes remained latched onto mine for a second too long before he nodded subtly and turned his attention back to Lia. Being under his observation felt like a specimen under a microscope—like he could see every dark, fractured secret of mine and couldn’t decide what to do with the information.

It was nice to see you again.

Lia knew me.

I shook my head; she couldn’t know me. Anyone in this town who had heard of me, or mymotherto be precise, stayed at least fifteen feet away from us—people talkedaboutme, nottome. Icouldn’t even remember the last time someone in this town actually talked to me about something other than what happened all those years ago, and even when they did, it was always hateful.

Always designed to make me want to leave and never come back.

I guess they succeeded in a way…but I was back now and I wouldn’t let anyone push me away again. Not until I’d secured a surfing scholarship for Hawthorne Hills Elite Academy this summer. Then, I’d claw my way through final year until I could escape this town once and for all.

Out of reach from them all.

Out of reach from my own mother.

4

Poppy Wells