Riptide (4 page)

              “Yeah, sure, I'll be right down.”
              The cove was technically in my backyard, but I only ever spent time out there during these bonfires with my friends. Sarah didn't mind everyone hanging out here as long as nobody did anything illegal since she would technically be responsible. She was a cool aunt, but her tolerance only extended so far.
              With a sigh I realized I would have to change out of my comfy clothes. I slipped on my bathing suit even though I knew that I wouldn't be getting in the water. It was mostly just for show.
              I never got excited over these weekly summertime bonfires, but I had to make an appearance. It was expected of me since they were always held in my backyard. Sometimes I wished that Sarah would forbid them so we could move our little get-togethers somewhere else, but whenever I asked her to, she would just laugh. She liked that everybody wanted to hang out here. I think it made it easier for her to keep an eye on me, which made her feel like she was fulfilling her guardian duties.
              I closed the gate of the picket fence that enclosed our small square yard. The white paint was chipped and peeling in some places because we hadn't gotten around to re-painting it yet. Sarah wanted to focus on finishing up the renovation of the interior first, but now that it was mostly finished I was guessing she'd want to begin working on the exterior soon.
              I heard the music before I even made it to the path leading down to the cove. It was dark, but the light from the fire illuminated the path just enough for me to maneuver my way down the grassy hill to the beach. Lindsay and our other best friend, Bailey, weren't here yet, but I figured as much when they hadn't called or texted or banged down my door yet demanding that I make an appearance. Lindsay took forever to get ready so Asher never liked waiting on her. She was probably still straightening her hair. She and Bailey lived next door to each other in town so they always rode out here together anyway because Lindsay said it was lame to come to a party with her brother.
              I found Asher quickly. He was tall—really tall. The tallest guy in our class , standing over six feet so he was easy to spot in a crowd. He had sandy-blond hair and pretty blue eyes that were framed with thick dark lashes. He was on the football team, the basketball team and ran track, all-American boy all the way. I had been crushing on him since first grade when they moved to Brighton’s Cove, but I had never told anyone—not even Lindsay.
              He had asked me to be his date for the tenth grade formal in April and we had been kind of seeing each other ever since. He never actually asked me to be his girlfriend, but it was assumed we were together now. At least by all of our friends anyway. I kind of wished that he would at least make it more official, but I didn’t want to seem lame or needy by asking him to.
              “Finally,” he said before kissing me.
              “Sorry, I got distracted.”
              “Painting?” he asked, as he lifted up my hand to examine it. It was covered with spots and splatters of different shades of blue, black, and white. He kissed the back of my hand once before intertwining his fingers with mine.
              “Yeah,” I admitted, biting down on my bottom lip in embarrassment. I was always such a mess.
              “It's fine, you're here now.” He smiled easily. “C'mon.”
              He grabbed my hand and led me closer to the water. I could feel the tension building in my shoulders. He was aware of my fear of the water even though I had never came right out and told him. I had actually only confided in a few people, but it seemed like everyone in this small town knew of my weird aquaphobia.
              “Do you want to get in?” he asked hesitantly.
              I shook my head no. Of course he wanted to get in, but my fear was not going to let me join him.
              He seemed disappointed, but smiled and said, “Okay. How about we go stake out a rock?”
              I laughed appreciatively. “Okay.”
              He held my hand as we walked as close to the shore as the rocky terrain would allow.               It was a low tide so the foamy water barely reached Asher's feet. I was watching the water like a paranoid freak instead of paying attention to where I was walking. Luckily, Asher had my back and stopped me just in time to prevent me from barreling into a very intoxicated Colt.
              “Asher!” he slurred. He couldn’t have been here for long and his demeanor indicated that he had obviously bypassed Sarah’s “no illegal substances” rule by partaking before his arrival.               “Where've you been?”
              “I've been around, I guess.”
              “A couple of us are heading out to the field later. You in?” The field was where the upperclassmen gathered and there was always plenty of alcohol. Asher took me there one weekend before school let out but it wasn't really my thing. He knew how uncomfortable I’d been so he hadn't asked me to go again.
              “Maybe next time, dude,” Asher replied, seeming mildly uncomfortable. I squeezed his hand apologetically and he offered me a smile in return.
              “Suit yourself. What about you, Addie?” Colt asked me. Even though it was pretty early, he must have already reached the point of stupid-drunk if he thought I'd leave Asher to go hang out with him. Of course, even though Asher was holding my hand he hadn't actually made anything official so maybe Colt thought I was still fair game.
              “Um, no thanks. I'm good.”
              He reached out to pat my shoulder but apparently underestimated his own strength and knocked me over. I fell backward, landing in the incoming tide. The instant I landed in the water something exploded with such a force that I felt it in my bones. The thunderous sound was deafening and I half expected my ears to start bleeding from the force and volume of it. My whole body trembled as the aftershock tore through me and I found myself gasping in response. I was so stunned that I almost didn't register the fact that Asher wasn't at all concerned. He just stood above me chuckling at my expense.
              “Are you okay?” Lindsay rushed to my aid quickly and helped me stand up. Once I was standing on my own two feet again, she turned to her brother with narrowed eyes. “Asher! You're such a jerk! I can't believe you just stood there!”
              “Did you hear that?” I asked, stunned that nobody else seemed to be at all concerned by the explosion. It had to have happened quite a distance away because I saw no physical signs of any kind of disturbance even though I could still feel the effects in my bones.
              “Hear what?” Asher looked at me like I had spoken a foreign language.
              “That boom?” The look on his face told me plainly he had no idea what I was talking about. “It was like an explosion or something.”
              “Did you hit your head?” he asked sarcastically, surveying my skull even though I had clearly landed on my butt rendering any kind of head wound impossible.
              “I'm sure.” I said, brushing him off. I was a little wet, but I felt mostly okay other than the ringing in my ears. My toes were tingling but I was pretty sure that was just a reaction to the shock of the cool Atlantic water, not any kind of physical damage. “You guys really didn't hear anything?”
              “Other than you? No. Though it could very possibly have been drowned out by your earsplitting scream,” he teased.
              “Ha, ha.”
              “Are you sure you're okay?” Lindsay asked again. She knew of my fear—she was my best friend and one of the few people I had actually confided in—so she was probably worried I was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
              “She's fine. Just a little wet,” Asher answered for me like it wasn't a big deal.
              “C'mon, let's get you inside so you can dry off,” Lindsay said, ignoring her brother.
              She wrapped her arm around my shoulders and guided me up the path back to the lighthouse. I was glad for her support since my legs were still feeling a little wobbly.
              “Are you sure you're okay? I mean, I know how much you hate the water. You have to be freaking out.” Lindsay rambled when she was worried.
              “I'm okay,” I assured her. “Did you hear that explosion?”
              “What explosion?” she asked obviously concerned about my sanity.
              “Never mind.” I still couldn't believe no one else had heard the explosion. Maybe it was all in my head. Is that what happened when you had an aneurysm? Great, now I was going to be up all night Googling aneurysms like a hypochondriac.
              As if I didn't already have enough trouble falling asleep at night as it was.
              As strange as the incident had been, when the initial shock began to wear off I began to realize that whatever had just happened to me felt oddly familiar. And somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that I had felt it before.
 

Sea Swept will be available 11.17.14!

About the Author
Erica Cope lives with her husband and their three children, three dogs and a cat named Katniss who frequently steals her desk chair. Her husband always tells her she lives in her own little fantasy world and she’s inclined to agree, but it’s okay, she likes it there.
When not writing you can find her watching movies with her family, reading, knitting or pretending she knows how to play her guitar (she can play three songs).
You can find Erica on Facebook (Erica Cope-Author), Twitter (@EricaCope3) and her blog (www.ericacope.com)

Books by Erica Cope

The Lark Trilogy

Lark (Lark #1)
In the Shadows (Lark #2)

Like the Dawn (Lark #3)

Pieces of Me
Unfamiliar

Sea Swept
Riptide (Sea Swept .5)