Yay!! Chapter 15!! Wow we never thought that we'd actually get this far!! Thank you so so much for reading!! :) xx
I try to stop my knees from shaking as we bounce down the potholed road. Ty seems to notice and reaches over to pat my kindly shoulder.
"Don't worry." He whispers, smiling reassuringly. "It's going to be fine."
I nod. "I know."
Papa shoots me a glance through the rear view mirror. He seems a little bit anxious, but I'm pretty sure that Tyler coming along might be helping his nerves. Well, I hope.
He whips his cell phone out, and begins to text. It doesn't bother me at first, I just spend my time looking at the trees flying by, outside of the window. After a while, though, loneliness sets in. Before I met Ty, and became closer to the rest of the people I know, this situation wasn't a problem.
"Ty?" I manage to croak out, quiet enough not to have Papa notice behind the italian opera that has been playing.
"Yeah?"
"I'm scared." I confide, adjusting the constriction of my seat belt. He smiles, and reassures me once again. Ty's hand drifts to mine, and I tighten my grip, not wanting the warmth of his weathered hand to leave.
The vehicle squeals to a stop after the long trip, Papa gesturing to a woman with wavy red hair. She throws open the door, sliding into the passenger seat and giving my father a quick peck on the cheek.
In my peripherals, I spot Tyler quickly sneak a look in my direction. I swallow hard, focusing on the little children waving from the front yard of a cute cottage.
Pa rolls down the window so that Janet can tell them goodbye, the two little girls nodding at her instructions and obediently following the babysitter back into the house.
I quickly lock eyes with Ty, alarmed.
"I didn't know she had kids." I hiss, his hand rubbing soft circles on my shoulder.
"It's okay..." He murmurs, the lady turning around to smile at us.
"Hello." She speaks quietly, her freckled cheeks blushing slightly. "I'm Janet."
"Birdie." I state, watching her nervously bite her bottom lip.
"I am really glad to meet you. Rich told me so much about you." She grins, her tone of voice gentle and motherly. "Your dad sure is proud of you."
"He's my Papa." I don't understand the words spilling from my mouth. Why am I being so rude.
Thankfully, Ty cuts into our conversation.
"I'm Tyler Koppinger." He reaches out a hand that the timid woman warmly accepts and gives it a friendly shake. "I'm Birdie's best friend."
It takes a second to register, but by the time Papa's girlfriend has turned back around to face the front and Ty is tapping away on his phone, I'm practically hyperventilating.
Ty called me his best friend.
It's one thing considering someone your best friend, but when they say they're your best friend, especially in front of people, it's a whole different thing.
We arrive at a nearly deserted restaurant that I have never been before.
"Hey, Rich. Hello, Janet. How're you?" The waitress gathers the menus and leads us to a table. Ty leans over and pulls me a little closer to him, my head spinning.
"How often do you come here?" I stare at my father who is guiltily playing with the napkin holder set on the round table.
"We've been here once or twice." He avoids making eye contact. "Maybe more."
"Oh." I can't help but feel betrayed. Those nights that we would usually spend together, he had been sneaking off to Yarmouth to see his secret girlfriend. The stress that had been relived from swimming and spending the day with Tyler returns suddenly as an unsettling silence falls over the table.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" The waitress shouts from the kitchen. I cringe. Great service.
"I'll have a coke, please, Jill." My father hollers, raising his eyebrows questioningly at the rest of us.
We all place our orders, then sit awkwardly again. We're the only guests in the establishment with the exception of the two gossipy seniors hooting at the table behind us. Other than that, the place is completely dead.
"So, Birdie. Tell me about yourself." Janet says just above a whisper. I can tell she's trying really hard to gain my trust.
"Um, I like to draw and swim." I smile a little, then quickly return to scowling. "I help out at the marina sometimes."
The red-haired woman nods. "Rich tells me about how helpful you are."
I glare at Papa, who happens to be staring up at the ceiling.
"Papa seems to tell you a lot about me." I remark grudgingly. "I only found out you existed this morning."
"Oh." Janet looks to Papa for help, but he doesn't say a word. "Um, so, Birdie... Do you have a boyfriend?"
"No!" Both Ty and I exclaim in unison. Confused, I turn to look at my friend, his ears bright red.
"Sorry." He mumbles hastily.
"Okay." Janet taps the salt shaker distractedly against the table. "Uh, what about your father? Is there anything that I need to know about this stinky guy?"
Papa slips an arm around her shoulder, and I think I throw up a little in my mouth.
"Well," I spit, scrambling to my feet. "You seem to know him better than I do." I march towards the bathrooms, shoving open the door and collapsing onto the grimy sink. In the cracked mirror, I see the beginning of the tears start to pour down my cheeks. I tear a wad of paper towels from the dispenser, shoving them onto my face in an attempt to stop myself from crying before my eyes turn bright red.
"Birdie?" There's a knock on the door, a definite hint of irritation in Papa's voice. "Birdie, can you come out here, please?"
"No." I bark stubbornly, throwing my ball of serviettes into the overflowing trash can.
"Birdie..." Pa's tone is full of warning. "Birdie, don't make me come in there."
"Just go back to being with your girlfriend." I scream through the door, leaning against the rusty toilet stall. "Go away. I'll be out in a little while."
"No, you're going to come out of there right now." My father almost never sounds this upset with me. "You have ten seconds. Ten, nine, eight..."
"Shut up!" I wail, my fists clenched. "Stop counting! You're treating me like a kindergartener! I'm not a little kid."
"Seven..."
"I can't believe you could do this to me!" I slam my head against the paint-chipped wall. "You can't just expect me to be alright with finding out you've had a secret girlfriend for months! I hate this, I hate her, I hate you."
Papa's counting trails off and he's silent for so long, I'm not sure whether he left.
"Kestrel." He growls. "You're going to come and join us for a nice meal this instant. You're being ridiculous."
"Papa-"
"Kestrel." I hear his footsteps disappear down the creaky hallway leading back to the dining room. After five minutes, I've cleaned myself up and am busy convincing myself to walk through the door. It takes me a little longer than I wanted it to, but I eventually slip into the hallway leading to our table.
Halfway down my trek, though, I absentmindedly walk into someone, which sends me flying back onto my butt.
"Ow." I look up to reveal Ty, who is holding his hand out for me. "Oh, sorry-"
"It's fine." He chuckles. I'm pulled up, and begin to walk to the table again, but am pulled back by his firm hand.
"Huh?" I question, cocking my head over.
"It-" He stammers, "Let's go for a walk. It'll be much too awkward at the table. Maybe let's look at the shops, I've never been to Yarmouth before." Tyler asks, and I nod my head. We walk out the back door, making sure to sneak past where Papa and Janet sit.
"Wait-" I stop him before we pass through the door. "Do they know that we're doing this?"
"No," Tyler admits. "But, I gave your dad my cell phone number. It's all good." He bumps into me slightly before shoving the door open, and we both tumble out into the fine evening mist of the town.
"Hey, I have an idea!" I grin, taking another bite of my chocolate bar. "What if we pretend that we're different people? Like, we're siblings, or cancer patients who have fallen in tragic love, or-" I pause before continuing, only now realizing what I've said.
"What?" Ty says, a chunk of peanut escaping from his mouth.
"N-nothing." I stutter, and stuff the rest of my 'dinner' in my mouth. The park bench that we're sitting on is a little damp from the afternoon rain, so it's a little bit uncomfortable for me.
"I don't want to go back yet. Would you like to get some coffee?" I nod, flustered, at his question and we walk towards a small shop on the adjacent street.
A bell rings when we enter, and the cozy smells of a coffee beans and freshly baked pastries his our noses. Tyler sits down in a corner booth and I pop in beside him, propping up a menu to shield the two of us from the rest of the shop.
"Okay." He looks at me seriously. "My name is Jason... Thumb."
"And mine will be Lena?" I suggest, putting down the laminated menu shortly afterwards.
"Alright." He grins and calls over a waiter. We both order a sweet cappuccino-like drink, and decide to share a dessert. After she leaves, Ty reverts his stare back to me, a mischievous look on his face.
"So, Lena, what do you do for a living?" He grins, winking subtly in my direction.
"I'm a... schoolteacher."
"What kind?" Tyler asks.
"I'm the school's..." I pause to think. "Guidance counselor."
"Cool, maybe you could give me some advice?"
"Anytime." I giggle.
"Well... There's this girl I like, but I don't think she realizes my feelings for her."
"What is she like?" I press on, but our conversation is cut off by the waitress, who hands us our coffees and dessert. We say our thank-yous, and continue our banter.
"She's kind, a good friend, and can be a cry-baby... but for some reason I find even her flaws attractive." I blush even though he's not talking about me, but I'm still affected by what Ty is saying. The two of us take a sip from our overly-sugared cappuccinos.
"Y-you should just suck up and tell her." I stutter, covering my cheeks with my hands.
"Oh, should I?" His words are answered with a flustered nod. "Birdie, I think you're great. You may not reciprocate my feelings, but... I really, really like you."
I'm speechless. Before I know what I'm doing, my arms have moved on their own accord and are wrapping themselves around Tyler's torso.
"I really, really like you too."
"Where on Earth have you two been?" Papa fumes, pacing in front of the mediocre restaurant. Janet is off to the side where she can watch my father explode from a safe distance.
"We just went for a walk and got some coffee." Ty explains, defensively stepping between the two of us.
"Well, it would be very much appreciated if you could tell me where you're going next time." Papa's face is bright red. It's been a very long time since I've seen him this upset.
"We're alright, Papa, please just let it go." I urge, squeezing his had consolingly. "You have Ty's phone number anyway, right? My father looks at me like I've grown a second head. "Right?"
"Uh, no..." He answers. I immediately turn to the source of the crime, but the tall, blonde boy just shrugs and mouths an apology.
"Whatever's done is done, I guess." Papa sighs and steps into the car. "Are you getting in or what?"
I wipe the sweat from my brow that has been accumulating there for an hour. The marina is pretty much abandoned in the morning, especially on a Sunday, but Papa still insists that we set up early. In my opinion, it's silly. I like my sleep. Today seems unusually hot compared to the past
"Birdie, what would you like for dinner today?" My father calls from the beach shack, holding a phone receiver in his hand. "Leon is inviting us over, and he wants your say in the meal."
"I don't really care, but if I had to choose..." I take a moment, contemplating my choices. "Mashed potatoes and corn, maybe. That seems like a nice meal." He smiles back at me, and reattaches the telephone to his ear, keeping it there with his shoulder, and seconds later I can hear Papa talking in the background, replying to Mr. Koppinger's request.
Sitting on a wooden bench alone gets boring after a while, so I decide to take a dip in the water, not caring what Pa thinks. Luckily, I always keep my bathing suit on nowadays when I'm at the work, so it takes seconds for me to strip down and hop into the chilly bay.
It's refreshing, the cool water on my skin. I grab my goggles off of the dock, strap them on, and let myself sink to the bottom. Fish don't show up around the dock as much in the morning, but there is still a few floating around me. I slowly breast stroke farther out from shore, but make sure that I'm still close enough that Papa can still find me if he realizes that I'm gone. The sea is an almost fluorescent shade of turquoise, and at the bottom I can make out shells and rocks that have adopted the same tint. Before thinking it through, I dive to the bottom, and search around for the nicest shell. In the corner of my peripheral vision, there's a glint and I scramble over to check it out.
A shiny- something or other- lays on top of a large rock, and it begins to intrigue me. Right as I snatch it up in my hand, though, my last few bubbles of air float through my nose and up to the surface of the water.
My reaction to the tightening in my chest is frantic, and I sputter to the top, getting a nose full of water in the process.
It seems serendipitous, though, the time I pop up, because once I regain my breath and stop coughing like a maniac, I can see Papa waving me back to shore. With the shiny thing safe in my hand, I start back to the dock.
"Birdie, There's customers! Stop goofing about, and go home quickly to change!" He chuckles half-heartedly. "Please, I need your help." Pa has been a little too cold since yesterday's event, which worries me because I've pretty much forgiven him.
"Alright." I sigh, grab my clothes before they flip into the water, and run back to the house. On my way down the winding path, I bump into Ty for the umpteenth time.
"Hey, where're you going?" He wears his bathing suit, a brightly coloured towel slung over his shoulder.
"I'm going home to change." I frown. "Papa needs my help."
"Right now?" Tyler sighs, rolling his clear blue eyes. "I thought that we could go swimming."
"Can we go later? I'm already in trouble as it is, I don't need my father to be any more mad at me."
"I was going to go to the cliffs, though..."
"Oh, fine." I roll my eyes and turn in the direction he's facing. A few strides later, we're piling into Leon's car, Ty at the wheel.
He starts down a rocky path, lumps and bumps of wild tree roots creeping through the gravel We're struggling across. When the two of us arrive at the top of the hill safely, I let out a sigh of relief that neither of us is hurt.
"Are you sure about this?" He shivers, rubbing the goosepimples freckled on his arms.
"Ty, I've been jumping off here since I was a wee kid, I'm pretty sure that it's safe to jump." Tyler shakes his head stubbornly.
"This must be a health risk!"
"Admit it, you're just arguing 'cause you're scared." I tease, patting him on the back. "Make sure to stay straight as a pencil, and plug your nose."
"Will you hold my hand?" He asks, and I promptly agree. Ty grabs my hand, and the two of us step forward, or toes curling over the edge of the mossy rock.
"One," I start, swinging the arm that connects us.
"Two." He shivers.
"Three." The two of us float together for a brief moment, before crashing into the water. Luckily, Ty remembered to plug his nose. We both surface, the blonde boy sputtering in between laughter.
"That was actually so fun." He cheers on his way back to shore, struggling less with his swimming than before.
"Birdie!" someone screams and i cry and go home and paint and ty coems and omg ilysm birdie.
A/N whoooo a cliffie
sorry this is a psychological experiment go along little kiddies (sorry haha)
sooo happy holly days here's a picture for you you should print it off 'n stuff :)
I try to stop my knees from shaking as we bounce down the potholed road. Ty seems to notice and reaches over to pat my kindly shoulder.
"Don't worry." He whispers, smiling reassuringly. "It's going to be fine."
I nod. "I know."
Papa shoots me a glance through the rear view mirror. He seems a little bit anxious, but I'm pretty sure that Tyler coming along might be helping his nerves. Well, I hope.
He whips his cell phone out, and begins to text. It doesn't bother me at first, I just spend my time looking at the trees flying by, outside of the window. After a while, though, loneliness sets in. Before I met Ty, and became closer to the rest of the people I know, this situation wasn't a problem.
"Ty?" I manage to croak out, quiet enough not to have Papa notice behind the italian opera that has been playing.
"Yeah?"
"I'm scared." I confide, adjusting the constriction of my seat belt. He smiles, and reassures me once again. Ty's hand drifts to mine, and I tighten my grip, not wanting the warmth of his weathered hand to leave.
The vehicle squeals to a stop after the long trip, Papa gesturing to a woman with wavy red hair. She throws open the door, sliding into the passenger seat and giving my father a quick peck on the cheek.
In my peripherals, I spot Tyler quickly sneak a look in my direction. I swallow hard, focusing on the little children waving from the front yard of a cute cottage.
Pa rolls down the window so that Janet can tell them goodbye, the two little girls nodding at her instructions and obediently following the babysitter back into the house.
I quickly lock eyes with Ty, alarmed.
"I didn't know she had kids." I hiss, his hand rubbing soft circles on my shoulder.
"It's okay..." He murmurs, the lady turning around to smile at us.
"Hello." She speaks quietly, her freckled cheeks blushing slightly. "I'm Janet."
"Birdie." I state, watching her nervously bite her bottom lip.
"I am really glad to meet you. Rich told me so much about you." She grins, her tone of voice gentle and motherly. "Your dad sure is proud of you."
"He's my Papa." I don't understand the words spilling from my mouth. Why am I being so rude.
Thankfully, Ty cuts into our conversation.
"I'm Tyler Koppinger." He reaches out a hand that the timid woman warmly accepts and gives it a friendly shake. "I'm Birdie's best friend."
It takes a second to register, but by the time Papa's girlfriend has turned back around to face the front and Ty is tapping away on his phone, I'm practically hyperventilating.
Ty called me his best friend.
It's one thing considering someone your best friend, but when they say they're your best friend, especially in front of people, it's a whole different thing.
We arrive at a nearly deserted restaurant that I have never been before.
"Hey, Rich. Hello, Janet. How're you?" The waitress gathers the menus and leads us to a table. Ty leans over and pulls me a little closer to him, my head spinning.
"How often do you come here?" I stare at my father who is guiltily playing with the napkin holder set on the round table.
"We've been here once or twice." He avoids making eye contact. "Maybe more."
"Oh." I can't help but feel betrayed. Those nights that we would usually spend together, he had been sneaking off to Yarmouth to see his secret girlfriend. The stress that had been relived from swimming and spending the day with Tyler returns suddenly as an unsettling silence falls over the table.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" The waitress shouts from the kitchen. I cringe. Great service.
"I'll have a coke, please, Jill." My father hollers, raising his eyebrows questioningly at the rest of us.
We all place our orders, then sit awkwardly again. We're the only guests in the establishment with the exception of the two gossipy seniors hooting at the table behind us. Other than that, the place is completely dead.
"So, Birdie. Tell me about yourself." Janet says just above a whisper. I can tell she's trying really hard to gain my trust.
"Um, I like to draw and swim." I smile a little, then quickly return to scowling. "I help out at the marina sometimes."
The red-haired woman nods. "Rich tells me about how helpful you are."
I glare at Papa, who happens to be staring up at the ceiling.
"Papa seems to tell you a lot about me." I remark grudgingly. "I only found out you existed this morning."
"Oh." Janet looks to Papa for help, but he doesn't say a word. "Um, so, Birdie... Do you have a boyfriend?"
"No!" Both Ty and I exclaim in unison. Confused, I turn to look at my friend, his ears bright red.
"Sorry." He mumbles hastily.
"Okay." Janet taps the salt shaker distractedly against the table. "Uh, what about your father? Is there anything that I need to know about this stinky guy?"
Papa slips an arm around her shoulder, and I think I throw up a little in my mouth.
"Well," I spit, scrambling to my feet. "You seem to know him better than I do." I march towards the bathrooms, shoving open the door and collapsing onto the grimy sink. In the cracked mirror, I see the beginning of the tears start to pour down my cheeks. I tear a wad of paper towels from the dispenser, shoving them onto my face in an attempt to stop myself from crying before my eyes turn bright red.
"Birdie?" There's a knock on the door, a definite hint of irritation in Papa's voice. "Birdie, can you come out here, please?"
"No." I bark stubbornly, throwing my ball of serviettes into the overflowing trash can.
"Birdie..." Pa's tone is full of warning. "Birdie, don't make me come in there."
"Just go back to being with your girlfriend." I scream through the door, leaning against the rusty toilet stall. "Go away. I'll be out in a little while."
"No, you're going to come out of there right now." My father almost never sounds this upset with me. "You have ten seconds. Ten, nine, eight..."
"Shut up!" I wail, my fists clenched. "Stop counting! You're treating me like a kindergartener! I'm not a little kid."
"Seven..."
"I can't believe you could do this to me!" I slam my head against the paint-chipped wall. "You can't just expect me to be alright with finding out you've had a secret girlfriend for months! I hate this, I hate her, I hate you."
Papa's counting trails off and he's silent for so long, I'm not sure whether he left.
"Kestrel." He growls. "You're going to come and join us for a nice meal this instant. You're being ridiculous."
"Papa-"
"Kestrel." I hear his footsteps disappear down the creaky hallway leading back to the dining room. After five minutes, I've cleaned myself up and am busy convincing myself to walk through the door. It takes me a little longer than I wanted it to, but I eventually slip into the hallway leading to our table.
Halfway down my trek, though, I absentmindedly walk into someone, which sends me flying back onto my butt.
"Ow." I look up to reveal Ty, who is holding his hand out for me. "Oh, sorry-"
"It's fine." He chuckles. I'm pulled up, and begin to walk to the table again, but am pulled back by his firm hand.
"Huh?" I question, cocking my head over.
"It-" He stammers, "Let's go for a walk. It'll be much too awkward at the table. Maybe let's look at the shops, I've never been to Yarmouth before." Tyler asks, and I nod my head. We walk out the back door, making sure to sneak past where Papa and Janet sit.
"Wait-" I stop him before we pass through the door. "Do they know that we're doing this?"
"No," Tyler admits. "But, I gave your dad my cell phone number. It's all good." He bumps into me slightly before shoving the door open, and we both tumble out into the fine evening mist of the town.
"Hey, I have an idea!" I grin, taking another bite of my chocolate bar. "What if we pretend that we're different people? Like, we're siblings, or cancer patients who have fallen in tragic love, or-" I pause before continuing, only now realizing what I've said.
"What?" Ty says, a chunk of peanut escaping from his mouth.
"N-nothing." I stutter, and stuff the rest of my 'dinner' in my mouth. The park bench that we're sitting on is a little damp from the afternoon rain, so it's a little bit uncomfortable for me.
"I don't want to go back yet. Would you like to get some coffee?" I nod, flustered, at his question and we walk towards a small shop on the adjacent street.
A bell rings when we enter, and the cozy smells of a coffee beans and freshly baked pastries his our noses. Tyler sits down in a corner booth and I pop in beside him, propping up a menu to shield the two of us from the rest of the shop.
"Okay." He looks at me seriously. "My name is Jason... Thumb."
"And mine will be Lena?" I suggest, putting down the laminated menu shortly afterwards.
"Alright." He grins and calls over a waiter. We both order a sweet cappuccino-like drink, and decide to share a dessert. After she leaves, Ty reverts his stare back to me, a mischievous look on his face.
"So, Lena, what do you do for a living?" He grins, winking subtly in my direction.
"I'm a... schoolteacher."
"What kind?" Tyler asks.
"I'm the school's..." I pause to think. "Guidance counselor."
"Cool, maybe you could give me some advice?"
"Anytime." I giggle.
"Well... There's this girl I like, but I don't think she realizes my feelings for her."
"What is she like?" I press on, but our conversation is cut off by the waitress, who hands us our coffees and dessert. We say our thank-yous, and continue our banter.
"She's kind, a good friend, and can be a cry-baby... but for some reason I find even her flaws attractive." I blush even though he's not talking about me, but I'm still affected by what Ty is saying. The two of us take a sip from our overly-sugared cappuccinos.
"Y-you should just suck up and tell her." I stutter, covering my cheeks with my hands.
"Oh, should I?" His words are answered with a flustered nod. "Birdie, I think you're great. You may not reciprocate my feelings, but... I really, really like you."
I'm speechless. Before I know what I'm doing, my arms have moved on their own accord and are wrapping themselves around Tyler's torso.
"I really, really like you too."
"Where on Earth have you two been?" Papa fumes, pacing in front of the mediocre restaurant. Janet is off to the side where she can watch my father explode from a safe distance.
"We just went for a walk and got some coffee." Ty explains, defensively stepping between the two of us.
"Well, it would be very much appreciated if you could tell me where you're going next time." Papa's face is bright red. It's been a very long time since I've seen him this upset.
"We're alright, Papa, please just let it go." I urge, squeezing his had consolingly. "You have Ty's phone number anyway, right? My father looks at me like I've grown a second head. "Right?"
"Uh, no..." He answers. I immediately turn to the source of the crime, but the tall, blonde boy just shrugs and mouths an apology.
"Whatever's done is done, I guess." Papa sighs and steps into the car. "Are you getting in or what?"
I wipe the sweat from my brow that has been accumulating there for an hour. The marina is pretty much abandoned in the morning, especially on a Sunday, but Papa still insists that we set up early. In my opinion, it's silly. I like my sleep. Today seems unusually hot compared to the past
"Birdie, what would you like for dinner today?" My father calls from the beach shack, holding a phone receiver in his hand. "Leon is inviting us over, and he wants your say in the meal."
"I don't really care, but if I had to choose..." I take a moment, contemplating my choices. "Mashed potatoes and corn, maybe. That seems like a nice meal." He smiles back at me, and reattaches the telephone to his ear, keeping it there with his shoulder, and seconds later I can hear Papa talking in the background, replying to Mr. Koppinger's request.
Sitting on a wooden bench alone gets boring after a while, so I decide to take a dip in the water, not caring what Pa thinks. Luckily, I always keep my bathing suit on nowadays when I'm at the work, so it takes seconds for me to strip down and hop into the chilly bay.
It's refreshing, the cool water on my skin. I grab my goggles off of the dock, strap them on, and let myself sink to the bottom. Fish don't show up around the dock as much in the morning, but there is still a few floating around me. I slowly breast stroke farther out from shore, but make sure that I'm still close enough that Papa can still find me if he realizes that I'm gone. The sea is an almost fluorescent shade of turquoise, and at the bottom I can make out shells and rocks that have adopted the same tint. Before thinking it through, I dive to the bottom, and search around for the nicest shell. In the corner of my peripheral vision, there's a glint and I scramble over to check it out.
A shiny- something or other- lays on top of a large rock, and it begins to intrigue me. Right as I snatch it up in my hand, though, my last few bubbles of air float through my nose and up to the surface of the water.
My reaction to the tightening in my chest is frantic, and I sputter to the top, getting a nose full of water in the process.
It seems serendipitous, though, the time I pop up, because once I regain my breath and stop coughing like a maniac, I can see Papa waving me back to shore. With the shiny thing safe in my hand, I start back to the dock.
"Birdie, There's customers! Stop goofing about, and go home quickly to change!" He chuckles half-heartedly. "Please, I need your help." Pa has been a little too cold since yesterday's event, which worries me because I've pretty much forgiven him.
"Alright." I sigh, grab my clothes before they flip into the water, and run back to the house. On my way down the winding path, I bump into Ty for the umpteenth time.
"Hey, where're you going?" He wears his bathing suit, a brightly coloured towel slung over his shoulder.
"I'm going home to change." I frown. "Papa needs my help."
"Right now?" Tyler sighs, rolling his clear blue eyes. "I thought that we could go swimming."
"Can we go later? I'm already in trouble as it is, I don't need my father to be any more mad at me."
"I was going to go to the cliffs, though..."
"Oh, fine." I roll my eyes and turn in the direction he's facing. A few strides later, we're piling into Leon's car, Ty at the wheel.
He starts down a rocky path, lumps and bumps of wild tree roots creeping through the gravel We're struggling across. When the two of us arrive at the top of the hill safely, I let out a sigh of relief that neither of us is hurt.
"Are you sure about this?" He shivers, rubbing the goosepimples freckled on his arms.
"Ty, I've been jumping off here since I was a wee kid, I'm pretty sure that it's safe to jump." Tyler shakes his head stubbornly.
"This must be a health risk!"
"Admit it, you're just arguing 'cause you're scared." I tease, patting him on the back. "Make sure to stay straight as a pencil, and plug your nose."
"Will you hold my hand?" He asks, and I promptly agree. Ty grabs my hand, and the two of us step forward, or toes curling over the edge of the mossy rock.
"One," I start, swinging the arm that connects us.
"Two." He shivers.
"Three." The two of us float together for a brief moment, before crashing into the water. Luckily, Ty remembered to plug his nose. We both surface, the blonde boy sputtering in between laughter.
"That was actually so fun." He cheers on his way back to shore, struggling less with his swimming than before.
"Birdie!" someone screams and i cry and go home and paint and ty coems and omg ilysm birdie.
A/N whoooo a cliffie
sorry this is a psychological experiment go along little kiddies (sorry haha)
sooo happy holly days here's a picture for you you should print it off 'n stuff :)
~Fedora & What
