chapter 12 • Davenport beach.
1653 Words
The first thing Dana did when she got into her room was call her mother.
After the second attempt, she picked up.
"Honey! I'm so sorry I missed your call! How are you?" Her mother's frazzled voice rang out through the phone.
"I'm good, mom. How's it going?"
"It's fun! But it's a lot more than I expected. I'll be home on Monday though, I told Rosie that. I miss my girls!"
Dana felt a pang of guilt in her chest. "I miss you too, mom. Don't work too hard."
The feeling intensified, a lump forming in her throat, when her mother laughed like she had no cares in the world. If only she knew her daughter was sneaking out and dating.
"I won't, honey. I'll call you later. Bye!"
The silence engulfed Dana as she sat on the floor by her bed.
Her mother didn't deserve to be deceived. Dana sighed, rubbing the back of her neck.
Despite how much she loved her, her mother couldn't be her friend in the way she needed. She hadn't really tried and Dana didn't think she was capable. Besides she was finally living her life, there wasn't anything wrong with that.
She pushed the feeling aside, getting up to pick her outfit for the beach.
••••
Dana hadn't known it but Davenport beach was only a stone's throw from her house. Avi did, and he'd asked her to meet him there.
The moonlight caused the nomadic waves to glisten, the salty breeze welcoming her as she neared the beach.
The kaleidoscope of lights from the city's tall buildings illuminated the figures of the youths running, dancing and standing around.
Dana rubbed at her arms through her cotton blouse, thankful for her dark jeans which provided sufficient warmth in the coolness of the night. Most people moved in groups, save for a few lone surfers.
After scanning the area for the third time, Dana began to wonder if her GPS had brought her to the wrong place seeing as she hadn't seen a single familiar face.
She exhaled in relief, when finally, she saw Lian's blonde hair and sweet smile as she stood next to a curly haired surfer.
She jogged up to her. "Lian!"
"Dana!" Lian pulled her into a hug. "How are you?"
"Good! Where's everyone?"
"I've only seen Talia, she should still be by the rocks. I'll be with you guys in a bit." Lian squeezed her hand gently before going back to her conversation with the boy.
Dana excused them, walking along the boulder-like rocks till she saw Talia's brown hair whipping in the wind.
A bottle of Budweiser cradled in her hand, Talia stood staring off into the distance at the waves. Dana contemplated walking away, not wanting to burst her bubble when suddenly Talia's warm, brown eyes were on her.
"You came."
"Yeah, Avi invited me. Have you seen him?"
"I knew I'd find you here." The two were joined by a third. The boy’s voice was how the night's breeze felt to Dana. It was soothing, almost to the very core of her being but it wasn't cold, it made her feel warm all over.
He took the beer from Talia's hand, his electric blue eyes and grin teasing, "what's this? Your fifth?"
Dana was unable to look away from him. It was how relaxed he looked, not just as a state of mind but with himself. He wore a simple white tee and white wash jeans on red converse. RayBan style reading glasses rested on the bridge of his nose.
"Shut the f**k up! Look who decided to grace us with his presence. Your brother done with the photo shoot?"
He smiled bashfully, ruffling his dirty-blond hair. "Yeah, it'll be on his website in a couple of days."
Talia turned to face Dana. "You need to see his brother, hot." She used her free hand to fan herself. "You know the dark and brooding artistic type? He could make me straight."
Dana felt his eyes on her. It made pulse race. What would he think of her? She thought her clothes were pretty, though her face was bare. Did he find her as attractive as she found him?
"Who's this?" He asked Talia, though his eyes were locked onto Dana's, toothy grin still on his face. It was making her stomach flip and flutter.
"This is Dana. Dana, Archie." After her brief introduction, Talia took a swig of her beer like a reward for the task she’d just completed.
Archie continued to stare at Dana with his smile that made her want to melt on the spot until Leila came jogging over.
"Archie! You came!"
Leila, in her slimming black surfer suit that showed off the contours and curves of her perfect body, had on the hugest smile Dana had ever seen on her. It was so wide, Dana thought her lips might split.
Archie laughed, draping his arm over her shoulder.
"I'm about to trash Willow, you have to watch!"
She led him away by his arm, her wet locks casting droplets on Dana as she turned away.
"It's like we weren't even here, huh?" Talia put the cold beer in Dana's hand and she began putting her hair into a side braid.
"They seem close," Dana remarked quietly.
"She really likes him, sometimes I think even more than Avi."
Talia took the beer from Dana and while walking backwards, she said, "I want to go watch Leila, coming?" Then she turned around, drinking her beer and putting more and more distance between them.
Dana stood in her spot, her eyebrows pulled together in a frown. Only a few days ago, Leila had wanted to crash Archie's car. That was a pretty unusual way to show affection.
She was pulled out of her internal monologue when out of nowhere, strong arms wrapped around her body from behind, causing her to jump.
"Dana, it's me."
Her shoulders relaxed. "Did you just get here?"
"Yeah, sorry I couldn't pick you up, my mom wanted me to do something for her."
Dana shrugged it off, "it's okay."
Avi dropped onto the sand, pulling her down to sit so her back was against his chest. He exhaled into her hair.
They sat in silence for a while. Dana shut her eyes, her mind occupied with the thought of what Archie would smell like. Probably like clean laundry because of his white shirt. Also lemons, fresh.
She scrunched her nose up as the pungent smell of alcohol wafted into her nostrils. Opening her eyes, she was met with the sight of Avi chugging the liquid in a silver flask. Her hands itched to take it from him but she hesitated, the unknown consequence daunting to her.
"Avi," she said, her voice coasting away with the breeze.
"Don't frown, Dana. Have a sip." He said with a smile, his eyes distant and voice morose.
She took it, glad he'd offered. All she had to do was find a way to pour the contents of the flask on the sand, conspicuously.
"Are you okay?"
"Why aren't you drinking?"
"I asked you first."
"I'm not okay."
"What-"
"I won't say what's wrong till you drink."
Dana grimaced as the smell hit her again. Avi chuckled and raised the metal to her lips. She allowed him, letting the alcohol enter her mouth and flow into her system, burning her throat as it did.
Pulling the bottle away from her lips was slower than she'd have liked.
"Done." She said with a silly grin. "Now tell me."
"I feel like I'm being suffocated."
"Why?"
"There's so much that's expected from me. It's been like that probably all my life. I just always thought if I could get things done fast enough, I'd have a bit of freedom."
"Who's expecting so much?"
"Parents. If I'm not in school working to have the best grades, I'm spending my summer working internships and attending business classes. You'd think in my senior year, after I've already gotten into uni, my parents would be satisfied but now my dad's making me plane hop."
He sighed before taking another drink. Concerned Dana was now also sloppy Dana as she tried to grab the flask. He put it on her lips and let her have another drink.
"Why is there so much pressure on you?"
"My dad is grooming me for business. Well, Leila and me, but he doesn't put her through as much as I do. He wants us both to be moguls... " he chuckled.
"I'm grateful that I have such a future ahead but it's still a lot."
A wave of emotions coursed through Dana. Her chest swelled and her eyes burned. "Once you're in uni, he can't be with you all the time. You'll get some freedom... " she tried to comfort him but it sounded pathetic in her ears so she stopped.
She spoke confidently about his future but her's was a blur. She hadn't applied to any colleges yet but even then, would any want to take her? And if they did, what came next?
"I'm scared."
"Why?"
"Because I don't think I have a future, well not a solid one."
Dana guided his hand to her lips, tipping the bottle over into her mouth. Her mind was becoming hazy and she kind of liked it. "I've always been average and it's too late to try to get into a good college... but you know what really hurts? That no one tries to push me anymore—no one that counts anyway."
The only person that still carried the hope of her going to a top college was her father but he didn't know her so his opinion didn't count.
"Do you want to know the truth, Dana?"
"No one has to push you, you can push yourself. You just need to know what you want."
- Writer
