Page 41 of Under the Waves
My brows scrunched as I forced myself to keep walking. “Oh, did she?”
“Hmm. She told me to go and check everyone had sunblockon and Juni didn’t, so I put some on her shoulders and back like you do for me and she did the rest of her body. I told everyone not to look at her because I didn’t want her to feel embarrassed.”
I smiled. “Sounds like you did an amazing job, Bells.”
“Yes sir!”
As we neared Jakson’s house, my thoughts couldn’t help but wonder back to Poppy. I didn’t know she talked to Belle yesterday, or any of the other kids in my class for that matter.
Guilt pooled in my stomach as I remembered how I snapped at her. She didn’t deserve that. On the waves, we were anything but friendly, but I guessed on land we could at least be civil. Or as close to that as we could get. I had yet to see her on the waves, though—either she had a secret sweet spot that I had no idea about, or she hadn’t surfed since she came back to town.
Bile rose in my throat at the thought, but I swallowed it down.No, there was no way in hell she stopped surfing. That wasn’t her—she wasn’t a quitter.
When we reached Jakson’s driveway and walked through the gates, Belle climbed off my shoulders and sprinted up the road. Sonny appeared at the door, his arms wide open to receive the fast brunette girl charging his way. She jumped up into his arms and he whisked her around, laughing along with her.
“There she is!” he grinned, setting her down on the floor. I walked through the door and shut it behind me. Jakson shot me a pained look and I shrugged, a matching expression hidden on my own face. I assured him the first time when it was just Lia and Belle who we’d snuck over that it wasn’t exactly kidnapping because they came willingly, but he wasn’t completely convinced.
Even now, I still thought he was scared of what their parents would do—not to him, of course. Jakson didn’t care what happened to himself so long as Lia was okay. She was the one he was scared for.
Belle tugged at Jakson’s fingers, and he smiled and let her lead him into the playroom. It started as one of many spare rooms but after the first incident, he had it renovated so that he had a place that would make Belle feel more comfortable.
If I had to guess, that’s where Logan and Lucas would be. Probably playing with the cool pretend kitchen and shopkeeper stall dressed up as knights or Captain America. Jakson hadcountlessly tried to convince them that Star Wars was much cooler than Marvel, but they were having none of it. Apparently, Captain America was much cooler than Darth Vader and Kenobi. My smugness was unmatched whenever they dressed up as Marvel characters for Halloween.
As Jakson disappeared, I walked over to where Lia was standing in the kitchen. Hudson was sat on the island in front of her and her arms rested either side of his body, caging him in. She was making funny faces at him, and he was giggling along with her. Her eyes found mine and her shoulders relaxed, dropping down.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You sure you’re okay?”
She gave me a small, weak nod. “I’m fine.”
Lia was anythingbutfine.
Right now wasn’t the time to dive into that riptide, so I just grabbed some of the plastic cups from the cupboard above her head. I instinctively placed my fingers over the sharp corner in case she stood up too fast and caught her head on it.
Taking out three cups and a beaker, I set them down on the counter. Two I filled with warm chocolate milk and one with strawberry, and then the beaker with plain milk. I handed Lia the beaker and picked the other cups up in my hand. I nudged her shoulder as I walked by and she smiled back at me, a grateful expression in her eyes. I returned the smile as I walked down the hall.
As I pushed open the playroom door with my foot, I dodged the attack of the Davis twins. They were playfully hitting my legs with foam swords and Thor’s foam hammer Jakson won at a fair a few years ago.
“I surrender! I surrender!” I cried out raising my hands in surrender, careful to not let any of the drinks spill.
The twins cheered and high-fived each other, laughing at my expense but I didn’t care. They were laughing—I didn’t care who it was at, it was just so fucking nice to hear them happy after what they had to witness.
“Okay, that’s enough hitting Uncle Jas.” I said, narrowing my gaze at them. Lucas stepped half a step backwards instinctively and I quickly softened my gaze.Wow Jasper. “Now who have I been captured by?”
“CAPTAIN AMERICA!” Logan yelled at me, whacking mylegs softly with Thor’s hammer. I placed the cups down on the small table and looked down at him suspiciously.
“Are you sure?” I said as I picked him up and spun him in my arms. “Because I think that’s Thor’s hammer.”
He laughed and the sound was the greatest reward.
“Okay, okay, okay!” he giggled. I set him down on the floor and he didn’t stop laughing.
“Well for great ambush techniques, I think amazing soldiers deserve a reward, don’t you?”
Logan’s eyes lit up as I said the words, but Lucas still eyed me with suspicion. I took the drinks off the table and handed Logan the chocolate one.
“One chocolate milk for you,” I smiled, handing him the drink. I turned to Lucas and gave him the strawberry one. “And one strawberry for you.”
“I don’t like strawberries,” he said, thrusting it back into my hands and crossing his arms across his chest. “It sucks just like you. Just like all of you.”