Vienna Beach: Paradise

Bay’s P.O.V~

The next few days felt…slow. I would get up, surf until my body ached, and spent the day reading on the balcony. By Wednesday I was in dire need for someone to talk to.

“Hey, mom?” I called, racing down the stairs.

“In the sitting room!” she hollered back.

I found her sprawled out on the fainting couch—why we had one I had no idea—scribbling numbers into her Sudoku book.

“Is it okay if I go out for a little bit?” I asked her. “I won’t be gone long,”

She smiled. “Yes, you may. Thank you for asking me.”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I?”

Mother shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe because your brother never does. Speaking of, have you seen him?”

“No,” I told her, “I haven’t seen him. Still, that’s unlike him.”

“Not lately,” she said, her face fell in thought. “Honey, do you think he’s unhappy here?”

I took a seat beside her, wrapping my hands around her own. “I think he’s scared. He doesn’t want anything to hurt our family…like it did years ago.”

“I’m guessing he told you about the doctor?”

I nodded. “He feels responsible.”

“I know,” mother said, “and I’ve tried to tell him. He just won’t listen.”

“He will.” I promised.

“I hope so,” she commented, “now go on, have fun, Bay, I’ll see you for dinner?”

“Yes.” I answered, kissing her cheek before beginning my walk into town.
___________

Reed’s P.O.V~

The more I thought about it the more frustrated I became. To think that something that catastrophic slipped by like that…it made me sick. This whole town gave me the fucking chills.

My phone continued to ring. I wanted to turn it off, or at least silence it, but then something could happen and I wouldn’t know.

“Hello?” I sighed, might as well answer it.

“Son, where the hell are you?” my father asked, his voice sounding strained. Now, I know my father was no saint, but he almost never cursed. To hear him speaking like that…he was seriously pissed.

“Out.” I deadpanned. “Why, what’s it to you?”

“So you just decided to walk out, are you insane?” father hissed.

I smirked even though I knew he couldn’t see me. “Yeah.”

“Come home. Now.”

“Not yet,” I told him. “I have something I have to do first.”

“No, you are going to come home right this second! Your mother and I have been worried sick. You weren’t answering any of our calls—”

“Dad, I’m eighteen now, a legal adult. I didn’t know I still had to post everything I did on the fridge.”

This time it was my dad who let off a sigh. “You don’t. But we would still like to know when you are going out. You aren’t setting a good example on your sister.”

“I know. I’m sorry but I just needed to go out. I’ll be back soon.”

“Alright.” With that my father ended the call.

Placing the phone back in my pocket, I tugged the keys out of the ignition and made my out of the car. I had something to do and I wanted to do it as fast as possible.

“Reed?” someone called. “Is that you?”
___________

Zach’s P.O.V~

“Alright, man, you’re done for the day,” Will said to me. It was a little past lunch. “That was a short shift, Boss Man giving you an afternoon off?”

“Nah,” I told him, shucking off my apron, “I have to take my sister to cheer tryouts? Something like that.”

“Oh,” Will laughed, “well you go on and have fun.”

“I’ll try,” I teased, “but pep really isn’t my thing.”

Will nodded. “Yeah, I can tell.”

I pocketed the morsel of tips and made my way to the back for my car keys. I didn’t have to be home until two-thirty, but I wanted to check in on Summer. Just as I was about to leave I heard Wilson, one of the other waiters, call my name.

“Yeah?” I asked. “What is it, Wilson, I got to go,”

“There’s someone here for you,” he told me. “I told her you were about to leave, but she sounds pretty persistent.”

“Her? Zach, man, what are you doing after hours—?”

“Okay.” I cut in, dropping my keys down on the counter.

It was Bay. Bay Shades was standing there in her faded cut-offs and a white t-shirt, looking impatient and…a little bit pissed?

“Hey,” I said, my voice sounding a little about a whisper. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I, um—I was…I was just sitting around and was wondering if you wanted to, you know, hang out?”

I must have looked like an idiot. There Bay was, one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever met, asking me to grab an ice cream or something, and here I was, gaping like a deer in the headlights. Say something you moron! I screamed to myself. “Uh—I have cheerleading,”

Bay blinked a few times, “You cheer?”

Wow you dipshit, way to go, I thought cruelly to myself. “Oh no, I mean…my sister cheers. I have to drive her.”

“I guess that would make much more sense,” Bay said, laughing.

“Well…would you like to come?” I asked, hoping I didn’t sound too desperate. “It wouldn’t be that long, just until like—”

Bay smiled. “It sounds like fun. I’d love to.”
__________

It was no surprise that Summer liked her, I mean, what’s not to like about Bay? She’s gorgeous, she’s funny—not to mention nice. This was defiantly a no-brainer.

“So do you do a sport?” Summer asked Bay as she smacked her giant wad of gum.

“Does surfing count?” she asked my sister.

I kept my eyes on the road while Summer weighed the option. “Hmm, I guess so…”

“How long have you been surfing?” I questioned her. Bay didn’t really strike me as a surf type of girl.

“Um, about a year, maybe two,” she told me, “not long enough.”

“That is so cool!” Summer gushed. “I don’t know how to surf, can you believe it, we’ve been here for a year and no one, no one has bothered to teach me; I bet you’re fantastic!”

Bay smiled. “I’m alright.”

Summer tugged at her safety belt, trying to get as close to us as she possible could. “Oh, Bay, would you teach me how to surf? Pretty, pretty please?”

I could tell this was awkward for Bay. “Summer, come on, cut it out and focus on tryouts.”

“But I—”

“Oh, lookie, we’re here,” I gratefully noted, pulling up into the parking lot. “Here you are front door service.”

Summer sighed and looked back at Bay. “You’ll be here when I get back, right?”

Bay nodded. “Of course.”

Hearing that, Summer smiled, leaned in to kiss my cheek, and bounced out the door. She made it three steps before she began to text, her thumbs in a rapid frenzy. And then she was finished, clicking her phone shut, skipping her way towards the gym.

I got the text a minute later: I know you don’t like her like that, the text started, but she’s a keeper.
Mom would be proud. Love you, see you at 5. ~Sumz

I glanced over at Bay and smiled, quickly replying to Summer.

I know.
__________

Bay’s P.O.V~

Kill me. Take something, anything, and stab it through my heart. Just put me out of my misery, this was pure torture.

“Oh, Bay,” my mother sighed, “wipe that look off your face, this is fun—what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I quickly said, “I guess I’m just…I don’t know.”

But I did know. There was so much wrong with this situation. For starters, it was hot and if there was anything that could make me super cranky it was the heat. Adding to that, I happened to be spending my Thursday afternoon sitting in a foldable metal chair with my family, “cheering” and “smiling” with the Wates. And if that wasn’t enough, this was all for Lucy and her dumb graduating junior class of 2013. Like really, what the hell is the point of this if they aren’t even really graduating?

Luckily my mother was completely oblivious to the death glares I had been sending to Lucy ever since we got here. “Well it’s almost over,” she reassured me, “hang in there.”

“I am,” I muttered, “I’m hanging by a noose, dangling off a ten foot platform.”

Beside me Reed tried to smother a laugh.

“Both of you hush,” my father scolded.

Surprisingly, Reed and I both made it through the remaining half hour of the ceremony. By the time it was over I had a thin layer of sweat all over, and by “all over” I mean all over. But, shocker, there was Lucy, prancing over in her killer stilettos and bedazzled cap. Yup, this had plastic written all over it.

“Congratulations, Lucy,” I managed to squeak up, “you looked stunning out there.”

“Aw, thank you, Bay, I am so glad you could come!” Lucy exclaimed. “And I love the, uh, boots and sundress look. Very original.”

“Um, thanks?” what the heck was this chick trying to say?

Lucy just smiled. “No problem, honeybee.—ah, Selena, come here and meet one of my old friends!”

Um, Selena? I had no idea who that was. “Lucy, who’s Selena?”

Lucy just laughed and waved over a girl with perfectly straight blonde hair pulled back into a ballerina bun. And of course, like Lucy, Selena was absolutely gorgeous. “This is Selena, silly. Selly, this is my friend from way back in the day, Bay Shades.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said politely, taking her hand.

“Uh huh, so you’re Bay?” Selena snickered and pulled on a smile. “I heard so much about you Bay—Lucy tells me so much about you.”

I sneered back. “I would hope all good things?”

Selena shrugged, “Well, more or less, you know how it goes.”

“Sure.” I wanted to be anywhere but here. “Um, it was nice meeting you but I got to go find my family, I’ll talk to ya’ll later.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll see you at the bonfire tomorrow night, right?” Lucy asked.

I nodded. “Yup.”

“Great,” Lucy smiled and winked. “See ya tomorrow, hot stuff.”

I forced on a smile and turned away on my heels.
__________

“Zach, come on, you have to come,” I whined. “There is no way I’m going to survive the night without you.”

We were sitting up in my room trying to avoid the heat as much as we could. Ever since I went with him to Summer’s cheer practice Zach and I had started to hang out, and, to be honest, I thought Zach was a great guy. He was very smart and very funny and just…a comforting friend. That’s how I saw him, as a friend—maybe even my best friend. I wouldn’t mind a real friend right about now.

“No, Bay, that cute little puppy dog face isn’t gonna sell it; I’ve seen Summer do that a billion times, I’m basically immune.” Zach warned me. “Save it, B, that place isn’t anywhere close to my kind of scene.”

“So?” I snorted. “Do you honestly think it’s close to mine?”

Zach shrugged. “Yeah, I mean, why wouldn’t it be?”

“Uh, maybe because all of those people are jerks,” I started, “and they’re just…dumb, look, I have my reasons.”

“Really, then I would love to hear them.”

“Not today.”

“Fine, then I guess I won’t be going to the bonfire today either.” Zach said, crossing his arms over his chest. It was times like these, when Zach was acting like a big fat smartass, which made me want to hit him.

I sighed. “Please, Zach, we’ll go for an hour. If you aren’t having fun we’ll leave, okay? Is that a deal?”

“Okay, okay, deal—but for your information I’m not dressing up for this dumb thing.”

“I wouldn’t as anything of it,” I grinned. “Now, turn around.”

Zach turned around. “Why am I doing this?”

“I’m gonna change.” I said and started digging through my dresser. “Hey, do you know what people wear to these things?”

Zach snorted. “Hah, like I would actually get invited to something like this, let alone chart down outfit data.”

“Shut up, just help me.”

“I thought you wanted me to turn around?” he countered.

I rolled my eyes. “Just help me and then I’ll go change in the bathroom.”

“Okay,” Zach smiled and twirled me around. “You are so lucky I’ve been helping Summer pick her outfits since kindergarten.”

I giggled and sat back on the bed, letting Zach thumb through my clothes instead. Was it sad that he was more of a fashonista then I was, and I was the girl? I could care less either way.

“Here, now go try this.” Zach called, tossing me a pair of dark tan cutoff shorts and my burgundy detailed top.

No arguing allowed, I took the outfit and dressed in the bathroom. I had to admit, actually wearing it, it was cute. This was something I could never pull together on my own. I liked it. I actually liked it.

“Wow, Zach, I never knew you were so good at this,” I said when I came out. “How do I look, like a Barbie?”

Zach snickered, “Nah, you look absolutely stunning. This is defiantly a big step up from board shorts and t-shirts.”

“Hey,” I defended, “I happen to like board shorts and t-shirts.”

“I know, but this looks totally hot.” Zach said and grinned. “You are going to wipe the floor out there.”

I frowned. “Well I don’t want to stand out.”

“You won’t, trust me. There will be girls out there in prom dresses going all out. You look just fine.”

I surrendered. “Fine, fine, let’s just go before all the parking spaces run out.”

“Alright, let’s go.”
…