Aurora Book 1: Soitera

12. The Knot

We wake up to Ann on an intercom in the morning. "Breakfast is in 15 minutes."

"Do these people not believe in down time?"

He pulls me against him. "We'll have some later. I'll take you to a surf shop."

"That sounds fun."

"Throw something on and we'll head down. I guess we can shower later."

"I'm going to start to stink soon." I rip a brush through my hair.

"I'll dump some perfume on you. You'll be fine. That's not going to work for me." He stands up and stretches. I love his muscles. My eyes get stuck on his stomach. "I would like to go for a run. My body feels like it needs it."

"I can explore while you do that. They have lots of paths here."

"Let me know if you find a good hiding spot." He puts a shirt on, and we head down to breakfast.

People are everywhere and there are like 30 kids. I'm not sure what happened.

Jack stands up. "Everyone made it in last night. Did anyone have any issues?"

I put my hand up. "Where do I put the jewelry?"

Ann smiles. "I'll walk to your room after breakfast. I can grab it."

"Thank you." I hate having it in my room. I'm afraid it'll get stolen, and they'll think it's me. I know I steal a lot, but that would be too much.

After breakfast, she takes the jewelry back and Everett goes for his run. I take a long hot bath. Then I put on shorts and my frog tee shirt. This is good for exploring.

I find so many little hiding places. Tables and chairs or hot tubs. So many little cozy spots. And the island is huge. I didn't realize how big it is. Bridges connect different walkways. Fruit plants sprout randomly. I finally find the bridge to the second island. There seems to be nothing on it. It's about 20 trees and that's it. I'm surprised they didn't put a picnic area over here. The shade is nice and all I can hear is the waves and a few birds. It's the most relaxing place on the island. I put my back against a tree and let my mind wonder.

I am so lucky to be here and meet all these people. Every single person has been so kind. Dante was kind of weird. I'm not sure why anyone would have a one-night stand, but as soon as he figured out my age, he didn't say anything else like that. Maybe he thought I was sexy. I know I thought he was. But I had so much makeup on. I think the girls made me look that way. I guess it's not his fault. Cassie was interesting. She drinks too much though. That makes me nervous. She probably has stories like my dad. Ann was right about Jack and Frank. They are competitive. But they seem friendly. They're like an old married couple in ways.

Then Andy blurting out that I'm Everett's girlfriend to everyone. That was embarrassing. I wish that wouldn't have happened. We haven't decided about anything yet. And being a couple doesn't seem like the right direction. We're at a weird time in our lives. We're going to be separated after the summer. Everything I've heard about long-distance relationships is horrible.

I lay down and relax. The breeze brushes over me and I focus on the waves.

"How did I know where to find you?" Everett moves some hair out of my face. "I see you found a secret spot and took a nap."

"Sorry. I didn't realize that would happen. What time is it?"

"Time for lunch." He helps me up and we walk back together.

"Did you have a nice run?"

"I did. The scenery is amazing here."

Everyone is in the dining room.

Ann smiles at us. "You found her quickly."

"Yea, she likes to sneak off for naps. I know where to look."

"I'm sorry. I didn't even mean to nap that time."

"Nonsense." Ann hugs me. "If you need a nap, you take one. You can always have lunch delivered to your room when you wake up. We were just concerned because nobody knew where you were."

Jerry nods. "It's best not to get concerned until Everett does. Then there might be a problem."

I sit with Everett as Jack stands up. "I'm not going to do a lot of introductions. It would take too long. And it would be weird since most of us are family. We know each other. Dante is right here. He's one of my neighbors, and we're working on some stuff. Aurora is Everett's friend. She's a new student at BlackRock next year, so some of the alumni are popping in to see her. Don't worry about them. They're just nosey."

Everett rubs his eyes and grips my leg.

A girl about 13 or so jumps up. "I'm Amber."

The girl beside her jumps up too. "I'm Ruby. We're twins. Let us know if you need anything, Aurora."

"Thank you. It's lovely to meet you both."

Then the kids start naming themselves. I lean into Everett and whisper. "What is wrong?"

He whispers in my ear, "I was annoyed when my brother blurted out you're my girlfriend. Now I'm more annoyed when my uncle said you're my friend. You're not my friend."

That hurt. I sit up straight and blink a few times. I can feel someone's eyes on me. I look up at Dante as a tear falls. I wipe it off and ignore him. I pull it together and go back to listening to the kids. I'll never remember all these names, but it's cute anyway.

Jack laughs. "And here we have Armen and Hugo. BlackRock alumni. I told you all, they're going to keep doing this."

"Don't blame us." Two guys in suits just walked in. BlackRock people must only wear suits and fancy dresses. "Dante told us to meet him at his house. We didn't realize he moved in with you."

Dante laughs. "I didn't think I would be here this long."

"Have a seat. You can join us for lunch. There's too many people here for introductions. This is my family."

"I'M AMBER."

"I'M RUBY. We're twins." The girls hug.

Jack shakes his head. "Yes, that's Amber and Ruby, but we can't do that again. We'll never eat."

Andy jumps up. "That's Aurora. She's Everett's..." He glances at us a few times. Then to his uncle. "She's just a knot in the family tree." He slams himself back down.

Dante and Jack lose it. It only takes a minute and everyone else is laughing too. That was a good one.

Everett's grandma stands up. "My great aunt was also a knot in the family tree."

Everett looks at the ceiling. "She's not a knot."

"My great aunt was. Listen to this. She got married and had four children. Then her husband died. She got remarried right away to his brother because that's what people did back then. That wasn't weird. Then they had six children together. BUT... When her oldest daughter turned 14, she started sleeping with her stepdad. Then, when she turned 17, the stepdad had her mom, his wife, committed to an asylum. Husband's could do that back then. Once his wife was committed, he went on to marry the oldest daughter. They had 3 children of their own."

"He had her committed for no reason?"

"Oh, no. She found out the old bastard was sleeping with her daughter and chased him all over town with a butcher knife. The police agreed she was crazy and signed the papers for the asylum too."

Jessica raises her glass. "To family time."

Ann takes a drink and nods. "Learn something new every day."

"That was all the way on the other side of the tree. It's not even our branches. Our branches are rather solid. I think we're safe now."

I glance at grandma. "Does that mean the daughter's kids were siblings and cousins?"

Everyone cracks up laughing.

She eventually shakes her head. "It's best not to try to sort it out. That whole bunch is weird because of it."

After the weirdest lunch I've ever had, Everett and I take a boat to the mainland. We hold hands and walk.

"Why are you sad, baby?"

"I'm not sad. It's beautiful here."

"I can see it in your eyes. Talk to me."

I give him a hug. "It's nothing."

He wraps his arms around me. "It's something."

I give up. "You said we're not friends."

"I'm sorry I said that. We are friends. But I didn't like you being introduced as my friend. You're more than my friend. Friend doesn't sound right. That's what I meant. Not that we're not friends. I'm sorry it came out like that. I never meant to hurt your feelings or make you think we're not friends."

I squeeze him. "That makes me feel better."

"Good. Have you thought anymore about us?"

"Yea."

"And?"

"I don't see how it would work. Have you ever heard anything good about a long distance relationship?"

He wraps me back in his arms. "Thank you."

"You're welcome?"

He tilts my chin up and kisses me. "All your doubts have been about us, currently. You weren't thinking about the future. Now, you're thinking about a future with me. This means a lot. It's a big step."

"But the long-distance thing I said?"

"My parents did it. I mean, I know it won't be easy. But it does happen, and it works out more than you think. People are just more vocal about the times it doesn't work."

"You're parents? Really?"

"Yep. They decided to do it. Then they went to different colleges. After that, they got married."

"Six years is a long time though."

"I know. And it's crazy to think about right now. We're not even officially together, and we're talking about being together for a long time."

"Yea, we're 17-year-old kids. I've never even had a boyfriend. This is an awful big commitment."

"It really is. Let's keep going like this for now. We can keep getting to know each other and decide later if we want to try long distance or not."

"That sounds like a good plan."

He opens a door for me. There are so many swimsuits and they are everywhere. Beach towels line the walls. I can't wait to get a job.

"Look at this."

"A string bikini?"

"You would look sexy in this."

"It would leave good tan lines." I pull the price tag out. "It's $50."

"So?"

"So, how much was the plane ticket?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It does matter. You're going to have to tell me at some point, you know, I plan to pay it back. You already agreed to it."

"My dad bought the plane ticket, woman. Let it go."

"No. Tell me."

"$880."

"The other swimsuit was $20. I'm already up to $900. That's a lot, Everett."

"It's not that much."

My mouth falls open. "Maybe for someone like you, it's not. I've never even had..."

"Do you two do anything other than argue?" Dante is beside us with his arms crossed.

"Apparently not." I shove the swimsuit at Everett and run outside.

"Damn it." Everett chases me outside. "You can't run here. You don't know where we are."

I sit on the curb and hug my knees.

He sits beside me and rubs my back. "I'm sorry. I know you don't like owing people. I shouldn't have pushed. It's not even a big deal. You already have a swimsuit."

I wipe my eyes off and stare at the ground. He'll never understand.

Dante hands me a bag. "Congratulations getting into BlackRock. It's a gift."

I open my mouth. I think I might yell, but instead I start sobbing.

Everett jumps up. "Are you following us now?"

"No. Armen didn't have a swimsuit and you two were making a scene, so I stepped in. How would I have known where you were? You should think about what you say before more stupid s**t falls out of your mouth."

One of the other men adjusts his jacket. "I own 200 custom-tailored suits. I don't know why I would ever wear anything else."

The other one rolls his eyes. "Yea, ocean swimming in a custom suit. That's a genius idea. Are you ok?" He helps me up. "You're having a rough day. You want to come with us and take a break?"

"No." Dante answers. "She's 17. Kidnapping isn't on today's plan, Hugo."

Hugo smiles at me. "Maybe tomorrow. I'll see if I can get him to fit kidnapping in somewhere."

I laugh and wipe my eyes.

"There I got a smile."

Armen rolls his eyes. "Hugo can make all the girls smile. It's his special damn talent. I just piss them off."

Dante smirks. "Better than making them cry."

"I don't know. I got hit in the head with a frying pan once. That b***h knocked me colder than a cucumber." Armen pulls his hair back. "Still got the scar right there."

Hugo shakes his head. "I don't even want to know what you did."

He smirks. "Her sister."

"UGH." Dante crosses his arms. "Did you really just say that?"

"What?"

"Let's go. You f*****g deserved it."

"I didn't say I didn't deserve it. I said my special talent is pissing women off." They walk off bickering amongst themselves.