Dawn by McKayla Box
Chapter 21
Iremind him that he needs to take me back to the beach to get my car. He laughs and tells me he just needs a minute to use the bathroom and make a quick phone call and then he’ll run me back. I watch him disappear inside and then I sit back down in the beach chair.
I’m staring at the water when I hear footsteps behind him and get up.
But it’s not him.
It’s Sunny.
She holds up a hand and smiles. “Hi again.”
“Hi,” I say.
“Hey, I hope I didn’t cause a problem or anything,” she says, a little timidly. “I shouldn’t have been down in his room and—”
It’s my turn to hold up a hand. “No, don’t apologize. Things have just been weird with us and I freaked out for no reason. I’m sorry if I scared you.”
“You totally did.” She smiles. “But I don’t blame you. If I saw some chick walking around in my boyfriend’s bedroom, I probably would’ve smashed the glass with a bat or something.”
We both laugh.
“Trevor and I are good,” I tell her. “So no apology needed.”
“Awesome.” She darts a quick glance toward the house. “I haven’t wanted to get into his business because he’s been…I don’t know. Just seems occupied.” She turns back to me. “Hopefully it’ll be better now that you’re home for awhile.”
I shrug. “Maybe. Seems like he has a lot going on.”
She bites her lip, her brow creasing. “Is he in trouble?”
I hesitate, then shake my head. “No, I don’t think so. I mean…shit.” She seems sincere in her concern and I feel all alone with what Trevor has told me. He might think he’s not in trouble, but it sure doesn’t seem that way to me. “I don’t know. I really don’t.”
“I’ve heard him on the phone with…some stuff,” she says haltingly. “And he keeps leaving at night. I don’t think he knows I know because I haven’t said anything, but I’ve seen him leave. But I didn’t know if maybe he’s just going out or what.”
“Do you know where he goes?” I ask, lowering my voice. “And to be clear, I know he’s not cheating me. There’s something else going on and I only know part of it.”
“I mean, I don’t know,” she says. “I heard parts of a couple of conversations, but I didn’t know what they meant. I know he’s been out on a boat.”
“A boat? At night?”
She nods. “Yeah.” She looks over her shoulder again. “This is weird. I feel like I’m tattling on him.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I’m just worried about him.”
“So something is wrong then?”
“I don’t know how to explain it because I don’t know much about it,” I tell her. “So I honestly have no idea.”
“I’m afraid he’s going to come out here,” she says. “Do you have your phone?”
I pull it out and hand it to her.
“I’m gonna put my number in here,” she says. “Just text me later and I’ll tell you what I know. It’s not much, but if he’s in trouble, maybe it’ll help.”
“Have you told your uncle?” I ask.
She hands my phone back. “No. He’s barely here. He works a ton. But I haven’t said anything because I didn’t think it was my place. And I just thought I might be overreacting or something. I already feel weird about being here and moving into their house, you know?”
I nod. “Yeah. I totally get it. I was the new girl not that long ago.”
She folds her arms across her chest. “Then you can guess how I feel about switching to a new school in the middle of my senior year.”
“Ugh. Yeah, I can,” she says. “Sunset’s cool, but it can suck, too. I was lucky. I found good friends right away. And I still had shit to deal with.”
She sighs. “Yeah. I mean, it’ll be fine. I can deal with it. Just not looking forward to it.”
I glance over her shoulder and see Trevor inside. “He’s coming. But I’ll text you later, okay?”
She nods. “Yeah.”
Trevor walks outside. “What’s up?”
“Just getting to know Sunny since I know she’s your cousin now,” I say.
He laughs.
“She promised to actually knock now,” Sunny says. “Instead of smacking the glass outside your room.”
He laughs again. “Good deal.” He looks at me. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah,” I tell him. I turn my attention back to Sunny. “It was good officially meeting you. I’ll talk to you later.”
She smiles. “Same here. And definitely.”