Other Side

I lazily gazed out at the ocean, watching as the waves kissed the shore under the glistening moonlight. My feet were dangling off the pier, my toes occasionally skimming the top of the water. My fingers were subconsciously twisting the worn, homemade faded blue and green bracelet adorning my wrist with little frayed pieces sticking here and there out of place.

My heart leapt into my throat when I felt a slight tug on my bikini string before someone took a seat beside me. I relaxed upon seeing the familiar grin and rolled my eyes.

“Beau, it may technically be winter, but it’s California. I don’t think you’ll really be needing that jacket.”

He rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his blonde hair with a deep sigh. “Shut up, Summer.”

“Whatever,” I quipped, and we lapsed back into a comfortable silence for a few minutes just listening to the crashing waves break.

“Why are you out here this late?” he asked softly. I kept my gaze fixed on the horizon and moved my hands from my lap to gripping the pier edge.

“Couldn’t sleep; wasn’t tired, too much on my mind.”

Though I couldn’t see him, I knew Beau was nodding his head – it was something he did when he didn’t know what exactly to say.

“Beau – “

“I’m not going to be gone forever!” he exploded, and took a deep breath before continuing in a softer voice. “I’ll come home on holidays and I swear I’ll still call you and text you. Don’t act like it’s the end.”

I cast a weary glance his way and he met my eyes, laying his hand over mine. He gave me a reassuring, sad smile and laced our fingers together.

“It’s just- you’re my best friend, Beau,” I sighed. “We’ve never been more than an hour away from each other for any kind of extended period of time – And I know I’m sounding clingy, but it just scares me.”

“I know, I know.”

I moved closer to him and lay my head on his shoulder, relishing the feel of his calloused hand against mine as he slowly moved the pad of his thumb across the back of my hand. We sat like that for a couple hours, one of us occasionally making a comment, but were content to just listen to the ocean.

“Summer,” murmured Beau, and I hummed in response. “You see how the waves keep coming back to kiss the shore, no matter how many times the shore sends them away?”

My brow creased, but I nodded anyway.

“I know we’ll always find a way back to each other no matter what pulls us away.”

“You promise?” I whispered meekly, gripping his hand tighter in mine. Beau turned to look down at me with a soft smile and pressed his forehead to my temple.

“I promise, babe.” He placed a soft kiss just above my ear before removing his hand from mine and winding his arm around my waist, pulling me into his side. "There's another side to this story."

---

Nine hours later, the airport was far too crowded for my taste as I stayed nestled in with my family as well as the Bennett family. Beau and I had drove here together while our families followed in vehicles of varying sizes, and we were now pooled into the terminal, waiting to hear his flight be called. I excused myself to the bathroom, thinking there was enough time before he would be boarding.

As I wandered through the airport, I tried my best to wrap my thoughts up.

I was happy for him, infinitely so, and unyielding proud of him. The hours we spent together working on any given part of his game were innumerable. The hours we spent training in the gym together, or on the beach, were even greater.

It was great to see his hard work beginning to pay off, and I knew he was excited to start the new chapter of his life. But I couldn't help but be scared, worried that he would leave behind our friendship in lieu of new, more exciting friendships.

I had misjudged the time, and when the call for flight 1806 of Delta from LAX to Pittsburgh International was called, I began sprinting back through the airport in an absolute panic. My heart was racing and tears began to prick my eyes, blurring my vision.

When I finally broke through to the terminal, I spotted Beau immediately – searching for me. I didn’t stop or slow down, and when he spotted me he immediately dropped his backpack to hold his arms out. I leapt into him, winding my legs around his hips and my arms around his neck with tears pouring freely from my eyes. Beau buried his face into my neck and clung to me so tightly that, were circumstances different, I may have been concerned about him possibly bruising my ribs.

“Beau,” I whimpered as the last call for his flight sounded through.

He lifted his face from my shoulder and I dropped back to the ground, my hands now resting on his chest. Beau took my face in his hands firmly, staring into my eyes with his lips pressed into a thin line, before he shook his head and pulled me back into him tighter.

“I love you, you know that,” he said. “Remember what I told you last night? We’ll always find our way back. Okay?”

“Okay,” I whispered in a shaken voice as he pulled away. “I love you, Beau.”

He flashed me a brilliant smile as he looked between my eyes for a fleeting second, and then in a split moment decision brought our lips together in the single most heartbreaking moment of my young life.

When he pulled away, there was a wild and excited look in his eyes and a mile-wide grin etched onto his face. He gave his family one last hug, and then mine, before he kissed my forehead sweetly.

“The other side, Summer, I’ll see you there.”

Those were the last words Beau Bennett said to me in California, three years ago.