SEVEN
We loaded everything into the trunk except the prepaid phone. I’ve been trying to figure out how to set it up, but it’s dark in the car and the instructions are hard to read. I don’t even know how to power on the phone.
I’m struggling with it when Samson says, “Want me to help?”
I glance over at him and he’s holding out his hand. I give him the package and he uses his own phone to light up the directions.
He’s still working on it when Marcos parks the car on the ferry. “Coming?” Sara asks, opening her door.
I point to the phone in Samson’s hands. “In a sec. He’s setting up my phone.”
Sara grins before she closes the door, like Samson setting up my phone is somehow going to lead to a summer fling. I hate that it’s a goal of hers. I really have no interest in someone who has such little interest in me.
Samson has to dial a number to finalize the setup, but it tells him there will be a two-minute hold time while the phone is activated.
Two minutes doesn’t seem that long, but it feels like I’m entering into eternity. I glance out my window, trying to ignore the quiet tension that’s filling the space between us.
It’s so incredibly uncomfortable, I find myself hoping he’ll say something after only ten seconds.
After twenty seconds, I start to feel nervous, so I blurt out the only thing I can think to say. “Why were you taking pictures of me on the ferry today?”
I glance at him and he’s leaning an elbow into the area where the car door and the window meet. He’s lightly dragging his fingers over his bottom lip, but he pulls them away when he sees me staring at him. He makes a fist and taps it against the window. “Because of how you were looking at the ocean.”
His answer wraps like a ribbon around my spine. “How was I looking at it?”
“Like it was the first time you’d ever seen it.”
I adjust myself in the seat, suddenly uncomfortable by how his words drape over me like silk.
“Have you looked at them yet?” he asks.
“Looked at what?”
“The pictures.”
I shake my head.
“Well. When you do, feel free to delete what you don’t want, but I’d really like the memory card back. There are pictures on there I’d like to have.”
I nod. “What else do you take pictures of? Besides girls on ferries?”
He smiles at that. “Nature, mostly. The ocean. Sunrises. Sunsets.”
I think about the sunset from earlier and how he might have gotten a picture of me with it. I’ll see if Sara has a computer I can borrow so I can look at everything on the memory card. I’m curious now. “The sunset was really pretty tonight.”
“Wait until you see the sunrise from your balcony.”
“Yeah, I’m not waking up that early,” I say with a laugh.
Samson looks down at my phone after the call notifies us setup is complete. “You want me to enter everyone’s numbers?” He’s opening up contacts on his phone to Sara’s name.
“Sure.”
He enters Sara’s number. Then Marcos’s. Then his own. He does a few more things to the phone, then eventually hands it over to me. “You need a tutorial?”
I shake my head. “A friend from back home had one like this. I can figure it out.”
“Where’s back home?”
It’s a simple question, but it sets my skin on fire. It’s a question you ask someone you want to get to know better.
I clear my throat. “Kentucky,” I say. “What about you?”
His eyes linger on me for a quiet moment. Then he looks away and grabs the door handle, as if opening up a conversation with me is something he immediately regrets. “I’m gonna get some fresh air,” he says, opening the door. He closes it and walks away from the car.
I should probably be offended by his strange reaction, but I’m not. I’m relieved. I want him to be just as disinterested in me as I am in him.
Or at least as disinterested as I’m trying to be in him.
I look down at my phone and add in Natalie’s number. She was one of the few friends I had back home and I’ve been wanting to talk to her since last night. I’m sure she heard through her mother that my mother passed away, and if so, she’s probably worried sick not knowing where I am. It’s been hard for us to keep in touch since she left for college because I don’t have a phone. That’s a contributing factor as to why I don’t have a lot of friends. It’s hard to keep in touch with anyone when you’re technologically out of the loop.
I get out of the car and walk to an empty spot on the ferry to make the call. I face the water and dial her number, waiting as it rings.
“Hello?”
I breathe a sigh of relief when I hear her voice. Finally, something familiar. “Hey.”
“Beyah? Holy shit, I’ve been worried sick. I heard what happened, I’m so sorry.” Her voice is so loud. I try to figure out how to take the phone off speaker, but the screen is just numbers. I look around, but no one is near us, so I just muffle the phone with my hand to keep the call from disturbing anyone in the vicinity.
“Beyah? Hello?”
“I’m here, sorry.”
“Where are you?”
“Texas.”
“Why the hell are you in Texas?”
“My dad moved here. I figured I’d stay with him for the summer. How’s New York?”
“Different,” she says. “In a good way.” There’s a pause before she says, “God, I still can’t believe Janean is dead. You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah. I had one good cry, but like…I don’t know. Maybe I’m broken.”
“Whatever. She was the worst mother I’ve ever met.”
And that’s why I like Natalie. She says what she means. Not many people are as forthcoming as her.
“What about your dad? Hasn’t it been a while since you’ve seen him? Is it awkward?”
“Yeah. It might even be worse now that I’m an adult. But he lives in a beach house, so that’s a huge plus. He’s married, though. Has a new stepdaughter.”
“Yay for the beach house, but oh no. A stepsister? Is she your age?”
“About a year older. Her name is Sara.”
“She sounds blond and pretty.”
“She is.”
“Do you like her?”
I think about that for a moment. “I’m still not sure what to think of her yet. I feel like she might be a locker room girl.”
“Ugh. Those are the worst. Any cute guys, at least?”
Right when Natalie asks that question, something catches my attention out of the corner of my eye. I turn my head and Samson is walking toward me. He’s staring, like he might have caught the end of my conversation. I clench my jaw. “No. No cute guys. But hey, I gotta go. Save my number.”
“Okay, got you.”
I end the call and grip my phone in my hand. I swear to God, he shows up at all the worst times.
He takes a couple of steps closer until he’s next to me at the railing. He narrows his eyes in my direction, looking at me curiously. “What’s a locker room girl?”
I hate that he heard that. I really do like Sara. I don’t know why I said that to Natalie.
I sigh and then turn, resting my back against the railing. “It’s what I called the mean girls at my school.”
Samson nods, like he’s processing my answer. “You know…when Sara found out you were coming, she moved to the guest room. She wanted you to have the better room.” With that, he pushes off the railing, walks around me and heads back toward the car.
I turn and press my hands against my face and groan.
I have never made an ass out of myself in front of one person so much in my life, and I’ve only known him for half a day.