Chasing Forever Down

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The scent of charcoal fills the guest house as Reed fires up the grill out back. I’m ready for next summer for Reed’s cooking alone. Strick is quite the housewife, even though he’d kill me and Alston both if he knew we said that behind his back.

  Linzi makes more noise than necessary packing her things in the room next to me. I think she’s mad, partially at me for not telling her about Vin, and partially because she doesn’t want to leave. I just hope she gets it all out of her system before the cross-country drive home with her.

  My heart crumbles just a little as I take Zombie Asylum down from the shelf and pack them into my suitcase. I sniffle and blink my eyes a few times to keep from letting the tears fall. I’ll do enough of that later on.

  “Hey,” Linzi says from my doorway. “Do you have anything I can wrap Sofia in? I don’t want her to get broken on the drive back.”

  She holds Sofia up, and the bedroom light catches her just perfectly. Streaks of purple bounce off my walls, and now I can’t help letting the tears fall.

  “Damn it,” I say, sitting back on the bed. My bay window is lonely. “I left Solomon at Colby freaking Taylor’s house.”

  And I hate myself for it.

  “We’ll get him back,” Linzi says. She comes inside the room and sits down next to me. “Any of the guys can get him. Hell, I’ll go out there and get him right now. I’m not scared of Colby Taylor. We have leverage on him.”

  I laugh. Yes, we do. But we’re not sinking to his level. I wipe the tears away and find the plastic bags our suncatchers came in and give them to Linzi for Sofia.

  “You know what? I’ll be okay. Solomon was the one thing that was constant on the Spence Burks-Colby Taylor search, and I found all my answers. I found everything I needed. Surfer boy needs Solomon’s light more than I do now.”

  “So we’re leaving him?” Linzi asks.

  “Yeah,” I say nodding. I imagine him hanging there, sparkling blue, next to all those jars of paper stars and the drumsticks. He’s surrounded by Shark’s photography, surfboards, and Dexter.

  “He’s in good company,” I say more to reassure myself than Linzi.

  After dinner, Miles pops open a can of beer and chugs some of it, then raises it in the air.

  “Toast!” he yells out. “To my boy, Topher – for his win today and for being the badass surfer that he is.”

  Topher holds up his hand to stop him. Then he raises his bottle of Ocean Blast Energy. “No, this one is for Shark McAllister, who taught me how to surf. And to my brother Vin, who taught me everything else.”

  “Hell yeah!” Kale says. He stands up and raises his beer can. “To all of you – for making me a part of your jacked up Hooligan family.”

  I wait just a second to make sure no one else is going to interrupt before I clink my Dr. Pepper can against Linzi’s. Like Kale, I feel so insanely blessed to be here with this jacked up Hooligan family, to be surrounded by people who see the best in each other and don’t take a second of their time together for granted.

  The party moves outside, but I know the night’s winding down. All of my things are packed. There’ll be no sleeping in the guest house tonight. I won’t be able to sleep period knowing what I’m leaving behind here. I grab Reed’s Strickland’s Boating hoodie off the couch inside and walk down to the shoreline to watch the waves roll in one last time before the sun officially sets.

  “Are you gonna miss it?” Topher hollers out from behind me.

  I glance over my shoulder to see him coming toward the shoreline. Miles and Kale are a few feet behind him.

  “Miss what exactly?” I ask once he’s beside me.

  He nods toward the water. “The ocean. The cove. California.”

  “Not as much as I’ll miss the people here.”

  Kale snatches my cell phone from me, and Miles watches the ocean like he’s contemplating the meaning of life. He’s fascinating, like the ocean in a way. One moment he’s pulling thoughts from the deepest depths and the next he’s raising a beer can and screaming like a Hooligan.

  “In case things don’t work out with you and Brooks,” Kale says, “I saved my number in there. And you know, if it does work out, you can still text me and get the lowdown on the Island parties.”

  I tuck my phone back into my back pocket and hug him. Someday he’s going to make some crazy surfer girl really happy. He says that he’s going to send a special prayer up for a safe trip home…and back next summer. He ascends the hill back to the house and disappears behind the privacy fence.

  “I guess we’re going to go,” Miles says. “Topher, you riding back?”

  Topher shakes his head. “Nah, I think big brother needs me more tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow, though.”

  Tomorrow. The competition. I wish I could spare one more day to watch Miles kick Dominic’s ass.

  “You’re going to kill it tomorrow,” I say. “I wish I could see it, but I already know you will. Good luck…and an early congrats.”

  Miles laughs. “Don’t congratulate me yet. You never know what can happen out there.”

  But I do know. I know that Miles will dominate because his heart is in it. He gets it – real deal surfing. He knows what it’s about at the core. He’s not in it for the glory.

  “I’ll congratulate you again tomorrow then. I’ll be on the phone with A.J. getting play by play,” I say.

  “Well, in that case,” Miles says, “after they call out my name and I pry Topher off of me, I’ll find A.J. and holler at you.”

  He hugs me, waves a shaka at Topher, and moments later, his truck rumbles in the driveway and into the night. Two Hooligans down and I already want to cry.

  Topher crams my last bit of stuff into the trunk and, by some miracle, actually gets the thing to close. He lingers around my car in that awkward way that his brother does, like there’s a million things running through his mind, and he can’t decide which to say or if he should speak at all.

  “I don’t like goodbyes,” he finally says. “We don’t really make a lot of new friends around here.”

  “I’ll be back,” I remind him. “Just take care of your brother for me until I get here.”

  He tries to smile, but it’s obviously forced. “Haley, he doesn’t let people in. He never really did, but after Shark died, it was like no one else was allowed into his life because he might lose them. If you don’t come back, it really will kill him. And I’ll be right behind him because I’m not scattering another brother’s ashes into the ocean.”

  I throw my arms around Topher and hug him as tightly as I can. “You have my number. You can call me every single day, and I’ll remind you that I’m coming back,” I say. I pull away from him to see his face. “And closer to time, we’ll even count down the days.”

  He looks like a battered puppy, and for once, I see icebergs in his eyes too. He seems so fragile and scared. I know it’s not because I’m leaving but because he’s not sure how my leaving will affect his brother.

  We walk back to the guest house to grab my keys. Everyone else is outside now. I wish tonight could’ve been about just celebrating Topher’s win rather than saying goodbye. I wish there weren’t any goodbyes to be said. I wish I could stay here forever.

  Topher’s arm latches around me and pulls me into one more hug. “I’ll miss you,” he says. “And next summer, I’m not letting you leave us again.”

  “That works for me,” I say.

  He flashes me one more smile – a real one full of sugar cube happiness – then goes back inside to avoid the finale.

  Vin busies himself under the hood of my car…again. If he could’ve gotten away with it, he’d probably have ripped my car’s guts apart to keep me from being able to leave. A.J. paces behind him, probably debating ripping my car’s guts apart anyway.

  Alston and Reed walk my way with Linzi, and I’m swamped with a mosaic of memories. That first night here, we walked The Strip and met Reed and Alston. Th
en Reed stuck me on a jet ski with A.J. and apologized with dinner at Shipwrecked, where he brought Vin into the equation. Sitting between Vin and A.J., I swore I was on Team-I-Have-A-Death-Wish. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

  Linzi breaks away from Alston long enough to say goodbye to Reed. Alston makes his way over to me in the process.

  “That’s a long drive home,” he says. “Be careful, seriously.” He gives me a quick hug and glances back over at Linzi. “Hey, and thanks...for giving me a taste of reality. I know you can’t bring her back next summer, but you know, if you have any other friends, I’m game.”

  He laughs, even after I call him a perv, and grabs Linzi for a few last kisses. I hope she savors them because I don’t know if she’ll ever see Alston again. She’ll visit me, I know, but he may be brave enough to meet a girl and have a relationship now that he’s learned that the big Colby Taylor secret can be kept. Either way, Linzi has said she knows Alston can’t do long distance relationships like she’s sure Vin can. Deep down, I believe she’s right. At least she’s not in denial about Alston.

  Reed breathes one of those long, heavy sighs. “I saved a few numbers into your phone. Drenaline, my dad’s store, Joe’s. Just any number you might need in case of an emergency or something. I think Topher and Vin had everyone else covered for you.”

  “Thanks,” I say. I go to pull his hoodie off to return it, but he stops me.

  “It looks better on you anyway,” he says. “I’ll make you a list this semester of which professors not to take when you move here. I’ll repaint the guest house before then. And I’ll keep A.J. out of trouble til you get back, but then he’s all yours again.”

  I hug him and inhale that pineapple detergent smell one more time because I know it won’t stay on his hoodie forever. “I’ll miss you, Strick.”

  He laughs. “I wondered how long it’d take before Vin and A.J. wore off on you. They’re the only ones who call me that, so I knew you’d be next.”

  Vin slams the hood shut, but A.J. keeps pacing.

  “I’ll miss you too. Be careful,” Reed says. He pulls away and heads over to the front porch to join Topher, who apparently changed his mind about watching the finale.

  I lean against the back of the car and wait for A.J. to make his way over to me. He’s been avoiding this moment even more than I have. He doesn’t say anything when he walks over to me. He just wraps me up in a long, quiet hug until I break the silence.

  “I feel like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz,” I say.

  He glances behind us at Reed then over at Alston. “Does that make me your scarecrow?”

  “Yeah,” I say, “because I’m going to miss you the most.”

  I pull him back to me and hug him again. I can’t imagine the next year without having A.J. around to keep me sane…or to keep things interesting. It’s like he’s been engraved into my world with carvings more permanent than his dragon tattoo. He’s one of those people who I somehow survived nearly eighteen years without, but now I can’t imagine a day without him.

  “Stay out of jail,” I whisper. “You have to call me every day.”

  He pulls back. “If you don’t come back, I’m coming to North Carolina, kidnapping you, and smuggling you across the border. No one will ever see you again. Don’t think I won’t.”

  I don’t doubt anything he says. So far, he’s always been right. And I know he’s fearless.

  “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had,” he tells me. “I’m not letting you ditch out on me like the last one.” He nods toward Alston and Linzi.

  “You know better,” I say. “I’ll be back, even if you and Vin have to abduct me. Maybe you can fly out with him when he goes to see Logan sometime. Then you guys can make a detour.”

  A.J. glances over at Vin, who is leaning back against the hood of my car. “I’ll be there. Go easy on him,” he says. He squeezes me one more time and says he’ll call me as soon as Miles and Dominic are up tomorrow.

  I start around the car to reassure Vin of the million things I’ve already reassured everyone else, but A.J. stops me.

  “Wait,” he calls out. We meet halfway. “Look, I know how you feel about these things, but it’s not a tourist trap if it’s your best friend’s, right?”

  He unhooks his white shell necklace, the same one he’s worn every single day since I’ve met him and God only knows how long before then, and hooks it around my neck.

  I can’t even argue. The tears fall down my face, and I taste the salty ocean in them. “I freaking love you,” I whisper.

  “I love you too,” he says. “Now get the fuck out of here before I change my mind and rip the transmission out of your car.”

  Vin finally looks up from the driveway. “You know, you could call your parents and tell them your fuel pump is leaking. Or that your air conditioner is frozen,” he says. “You can buy another day or so. Tell them you’ve got a mechanic friend who is going to fix it as soon as he gets the part for it.” He pulls me against his chest, and I wrap my arms around him.

  I can’t look him in the eye. “It’d take forever for that part to come in, wouldn’t it?”

  Truthfully, I wouldn’t mind. I could graduate with Topher and Kale and just stay here for good. I could live between the guest house and Vin’s apartment. Maybe Colby could teach Linzi and me how to properly fake our deaths, and we could just follow in his footsteps. That was the original plan anyway.

  “You’ve got me all figured out,” Vin says.

  That’s so untrue. This guy is still a world of mystery. I’m just lucky enough that he’s slowly letting me in on all of his secrets. He gives me one of his overprotective lectures about how I have to call him every time we stop, even if it’s three in the morning. No texts because he wants to actually hear my voice and know I’m alive. I wonder if he does this to Topher as much as I think he probably does. But no matter how long he lectures me or fiddles around under the hood of my car, I still have to leave.

  “I’m flying down to Florida in September to meet with Logan again. Think I could drive up and see you while I’m there?” he asks.

  I pull back enough to see his face. “Definitely. I’ll tell my parents that you’re a businessman. That’ll impress them.”

  He laughs. “And it’s not a total lie. Just leave out the part where I dropped out of high school and did some scam artist work.”

  “But Honey Gold’s the best part of the story,” I say. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him before he can protest. It’s the truth. Honey Gold is how we met.

  I trace down his jaw line with my mouth until he finally eases out of my grasp. “You’re about two kisses away from a busted radiator,” he says. He reaches into his pocket, pulls out his wallet, and hands me a few twenties. “Take this.”

  “I’m not taking your money,” I say.

  “This is what I made from selling Taylor’s hair dye,” he tells me. “I figure if I do something good with it, it’ll justify ripping off the tourists.”

  He leans in and kisses me again, but I stop him shortly after his mouth meets mine.

  “I can’t afford a busted radiator,” I whisper.

  “Alright,” he surrenders. He walks me around to the driver’s side, prompting Alston to forfeit Linzi to the passenger seat.

  I reach inside and turn the key in the ignition. Secretly I’d hoped it’d choke like Miles’ truck, but this is probably the best shape my car has ever been in. I turn back to Vin’s iceberg eyes one last time.

  “One more for the road,” I say, pulling him closer. I want this kiss to last forever.

  But of course it doesn’t. Linzi’s door slams shut, yet I can’t bring myself to give in that quickly. Vin and Alston join the others on the front porch. I blow a kiss, which A.J. returns, and Topher waves the shaka at us. Tears streak Linzi’s face, and I know I’m seconds away from the very same thing. I close the door, put the car in drive, and don’t look back.

  Colby Taylor’s billboard glows
in the early darkness. The highway is ghostly quiet, which allows us time to slow down and look one more time. He’s still tan and shirtless and glorified next to that black and silver surfboard.

  “Crescent Cove,” I say.

  “Home of surf star, Colby Taylor,” Linzi reads.

  I laugh through my sniffles and tears. “It’s so much more than that.”

  “Definitely,” Linzi replies. “So tell me, Sunshine, just how exactly did you end up with Vin Number?”