Chapter 5

"BUT I WANT ice cream too!" Noah groans as he rolls onto his back, his glorious abs showcased for the world to see. I slip my feet into a pair of black flip flops, run my hand through my salt-covered hair and glance at him over the top of my glasses. "No." I point at him while holding the money in my other hand, "You're the one who chose the furthest spot from a bathroom and I'm not having you ruin another kid's summer." "Penny, she's being mean to me." Noah whines while Penn chuckles as she slips her sunglasses over her blue eyes and comes to a stand next to me. Penn folds her arms, "I'll buy you a lollipop." "Ok, so we've got a lollipop for Noah," I say as Noah glares at me from where he was sunbathing on his fuchsia pink towel. I only grin back at him before pointing at Chase who also had his glorious abs on show thanks to the pair of dark turquoise board short that rode dangerously low on his hips, "Mint chocolate-chip for Everett, blueberry swirl for Levi and strawberry-cheescake for my headache of a cousin." I glance over my shoulder, wondering where the hell he had run off to. Probably to flirt with some girls in or a couple dudes. It's his only reason for coming to the beach. Vera decided to stay home today, I guess it's cooler in there than out here. Especially with all the layers she's wearing. She said she didn't feel well and we didn't press it any further. We had all decided to come to the main beach in Holden Bay for the day because we were all in a desperate need of a tan. It was more fun here than the beaches back at the house. However, it was a bit of drive from there because he lived in the richer, quieter area but we didn't mind. There were volleyball courts here, restaurants and a pier with a mediocre ferris wheel. "Yes ma'am." Chase gives me a two finger salute with a small smirk. I've missed that damn smirk. "Great." I smile before turning to Penn and gesturing towards the parking lot a few yards down the beach where the Beach Hut and another couple restaurant stood, overlooking the ocean, "Milady." Penn only giggles at me as she hooks her arm with mine and we start walking over the sand and towards the Beach Hut. The sound of the waves crashing, friendly chatter and the youthful squeals of kids reminded me of the countless days I spent here during my summers. My mother would always pack for an eight member family so I never got to go to the Beach Hut like the rest of the kids. I was stuck with fucking club sandwiches and juice boxes. Looking back at it, that was a bomb ass meal but so was cotton candy and hot dogs that were drowned in ketchup. I'm pretty sure I threw another kid's hotdog into the sand because I was jealous. He still ate it. "I'm actually so proud of you Hayden." Penn says as she tugs lightly on my arm, pulling me from my thoughts as I smile softly at her, "With you and Chase. I'm not gonna lie, Noah and I memorised conversations prompts in case of awkward situations. Noah's a little disappointed that he doesn't get to use his Elastigirl segue." I frown, "Elastigirl?" "Don't ask," Penn shakes her head and she swipes through the air, "I'm just glad that you got it all out in the open, talked through everything and—" "Well..." I trail off with a high pitch as Penn frowns at me from behind her rose-coloured glasses, "Everything is just such a strong word." "Hayden." Penn says in her impressive motherly, chiding tone as I groan loudly and tilt my head back, "Neither of you guys have had closure, you need to talk about." "Fuck closure!" I exclaim, , no doubt earning a couple disgruntled stares from the old couple chilling under their unnecessarily big beach umbrella. "Closure is so stupid. Who even said you need closure in relationships. I'm fine. He's fine. Problem solved." Penn continues, "You need to talk about why you broke up. Have you at least told him about that phone call." "It's his grandfather Penn." I groan as I drop my head as look at the sand as we walk across it. I'm glad I decided to wear flip flops because the sand is so fucking hot it's like it was shipped directly from satan's ass crack. "Chase is finally getting close to his grandfather again, I can't break that up." "I don't swear much, but Chase's grandfather is a million-dollar asshole. Grade A butthead." Penn shakes her head as I snort and shake my head. "He was right though." I explain as we get step into the beach hut, instantly feeling the overhead fans on us. "Please don't bring that phone call up around Chase...or anyone. You're the only one that knows." "Thank you for trusting me." Penn grins as she rests her head on my shoulder, "Now, I'll go grab Noah's lollipop and meet you back here." "It doesn't look like I'm going anywhere," I say before my eyes land on the front and my volume rises, "Because someone apparently can't make their mind up!" The little old lady, as well as everyone else in the line, glance over their shoulders at me. What? We're all dying of heat stroke here and allowing her to take forever to choose a flavour is not helping. "You have fun." Penn grins before patting my shoulder and leaving the shop. I fold my arms as our conversation relays in my head. She was right, I needed to talk to Chase. Just not about that phone call. I can't. Not only does it make me look stupid, which I no doubt already do, but it also puts his relationship with his grandfather in jeopardy. Orrrrrr, I just don't talk to him. That's sounds like a great plan. "Hayden Jones?" I spin around at the sound of my name to see a girl in a blue bathing suit, a towel draped over her shoulder and an ice cream cone in her hand staring at me. Her blue eyes were staring at me in questions, deeply wondering if she got the person right. She slowly walks towards me and realisation strikes me. "Oh my god, Emily?" My jaw goes slack as she quickly closes the rest of the space between us, "I haven't seen you since..." "Since you blew up our school cafeteria?" She jokes as the couple in front of us glance over their shoulders at us. They meet my stare and instantly turn back around. Nice. I laugh along with her, "Yup. You still talk about that?" "I don't think anyone's stopped." She giggles as she cleans up her dripping ice cream, "So are you back for the summer?" "It seems like it." I shrug as I take a step forward. Finally the elderly woman had made a decision. She walks past me, glaring through her tiny glasses and I glare back. We waited all the time for fucking Butter Pecan. "Great. I've been wanting to get in contact with you since you left but it was kinda hard since you went to a reform school or something. I was scared I was going to get arrested for just positing a letter to you." Emily laughs but I could tell she was slightly nervous. "You'd think being in a reform school that security and rules would be through the roof. But our headmaster didn't believe that was how we could grow and develop. How fucking wrong he was, huh?" I chuckle as Emily nods, still nervous. Emily Richards was apart of the swim team I was in. We were the only juniors in the squad so we kinda banded together during trainings. She was extremely shy and basically just the complete opposite of me and yet we still managed to get along so well. "I've always wanted to know what it was like at Caldwell Academy. That's where you went in senior year, right? " She questions as we take another step towards the counter. My mouth was watering just at the thought of ice cream. But then again, my mouth waters at any thought of food.