Fairytale Green
: Chapter 7

‘Do you think Stone has calmed down yet?’ Lana voiced her concern as we strolled out of our last period class ‘He still looked livid at lunch’

‘I hope so.’ I replied while thinking back to the gym episode and how angry he still was at lunch ‘We are getting in the car with them. I don’t want it to turn into a scene from Road Runner.’

‘Are you trying to say he might run us off the road?’

‘I still believe he has an elaborate plan to kill me so yes.’ I mentioned to her with a shudder ‘Road rage is one of the biggest causes of accidents on the road. Look it up.’

The corridor was packed with people. Everyone was crammed into the narrow corridor like sardines in a tin.

I could not see where I was going until I caught a glimpse of light from the main door of the school. I headed in the direction of the exit while trying to budge others out of the way.

‘Move out the way!’ I called while I waved my arms around to try and escape the teenager tsunami ‘Lana has a date!’

A few people stopped to look at us but most continued to rush to the exit. Every person was eager to leave the building and that meant the whole crowd would trample over others to leave the school.

We finally made it out of the doors and onto the parking lot. Both Lana and I searched around the busy lot for any sign of the two guys we were supposed to meet.

Two minutes later and we found Brennan and Stone leaning against a black truck parked at the very back of the parking lot.

‘What are you going to do about your car?’ Lana questioned as we neared Stone’s truck and passed my car ‘Are you just going to leave it here?’

‘Shit.’ I cursed at myself ‘I never thought about that.’

Brennan stood up straight at my outburst and cocked his head ‘Is everything okay?’

I sighed ‘What am I going to do with Kermit?’

Kermit was the name of my small green car that I bought last year when I first got my license. I fell in love with the car at first sight because it reminded me of the one Mr Bean drove. The car was a little old and run-down, but I had grown an attachment to it.

Stone grew to his large, towering height as he stood straight and demanded to know ‘Who is Kermit?’

‘My pet frog that I have been carrying around in my bag all day.’ I sarcastically remarked.

The giant took a step closer and waited for the real exposition.

‘My car is called Kermit.’ I told him while pointing at the littlest and the greenest car in the lot.

‘You called your car Kermit?’ Brennan asked while laughing.

‘It is small and green.’ I challenged ‘What else was I going to call it?’

‘How about Ella?’ The deep voice of the large man delivered gruffly and slightly tauntingly.

I crossed my arms and bit my lip to stop myself from laughing. I tilted my chin and offered the large man a glare.

‘How about I run you over with Kermit?’ I threatened up to Stone.

My gaze dropped to the huge chest as the words left my mouth. My conclusion was that if a car tried to run him over then it would only be the vehicle that got hurt.

‘I thought you had a motorbike, Ghost Rider.’ I mentioned with a challenging tone ‘I have only seen your black truck.’

‘A motorbike only takes two.’ Stone rebutted with a hint of amusement to his monotonous gruff voice ‘If you wanted it to be only the two of us then you should have asked.’

I rolled my eyes while I quickly disclosed ‘No, thank you.’

‘You could just follow behind us or you can leave the car here and walk to school tomorrow.’ Brennan suggested to me.

I hated exercise but I knew there was no point in taking two cars to the beach.

‘Okay.’ I nodded while deciding ‘I’ll just leave my car here.’

Brennan and Lana made their way around the truck to get in at the other side meanwhile I reached for the door handle.

Stone got there first and opened the door for me before asking ‘Do you need a hand up, Medusa?’

There was a significant height between the ground and the car, but it was not a large enough one for me to struggle to climb into the truck.

‘I am not that small!’ I exclaimed to the man towering over me.

I got into the truck and sat beside Lana in the back. I looked around at the interior of the car while sitting back in the extremely comfortable leather seat.

The truck was lavish. Each seat was leather with spongy armrests and headrests. Each door of the car had twelve buttons that controlled something different.

I had no clue about cars, but I knew that this one was expensive. I wanted to know how Stone could afford a truck like this and a motorbike.

Stone adjusted the rear-view mirror. He tilted it so significantly to the side that I managed to look up and see his reflection in the mirror.

Lana looked at the back of Brennan’s head when she spoke up ‘How often do you go to the beach?’

The car pulled out of the school grounds onto the main road and the large veiny hand shifted the gear stick.

‘Every day.’ Brennan finally answered the question ‘I have never gone twenty-four hours without surfing the waves.’

‘What happens if you do?’ Lana teased ‘Does a sea monster come and eat you?’

Brennan turned his head towards us, and he smiled while explaining ‘Every day is a new wave. Never two days does the same wave surface. It would be a shame to miss one.’

I leant over to Lana and whispered, ‘I feel like what he said is a metaphor but even I don’t understand it.’

The car radio blasted a song that I immediately recognised as one by Nirvana as we continued driving along the road.

I started to tap the beat of the song on the door with my hand as I let my gaze drift outside.

When I looked back in front of me, Stone was watching me with an amused expression in the reflection of the rear mirror.

‘Sorry about the shitty music.’ Brennan complained ‘Stone’s car, Stone’s rules as he likes to say.’

My immediate reaction was to defend the music but then I realised I would be complimenting Stone on his good taste in music. I did not want to compliment him on anything, so I bit my tongue and stayed quiet.

‘So, what kind of music do you like?’ Lana questioned Brennan, attempting to get to know more about him.

‘I don’t really like music.’ Brennan answered sheepishly to her.

Disliking music was probably the only flaw that Lana had found in Brennan since meeting him. It might not have seemed like a massive deal, but I knew it would cause problems for them in the future.

Music was Lana’s life and ambition and she wanted somebody to share her passions with.

We were approaching the main beachfront. The palms trees whizzed by as we passed onto a new street. The scene was aesthetically beautiful. The sea in the distance glistened under the sun and it highlighted the turquoise waters.

The place made me feel uneasy.

I felt sick at the realisation I was going to have to go to the beach. I felt I was going to faint at the realisation that the sand was going to touch my toes and that the sea air would fill my lungs.

I was too caught up in wanting to be there for Lana that I forgot why I avoided the beach like the plague.

My feet had not touched the sand since my mother’s passing. My body had not touched the ocean since my mother walked into the water and never came back.

Maybe it was because of the sun beating down on me through the window or because of the confinement of the truck or perhaps something else but I needed out.

An abrupt uncomfortable heat started to swallow me whole and threaten to suffocate me.

Knowing we were only a few minutes away from the beach made me panic more so I pushed the button in the car and rolled the windows down to try and gain my breath back.

A gust of cool wind hit my face and I let out a breath. I closed my eyes and stuck my head out of the truck. I focused on my breathing and tried to forget everything else.

I then sat back and my chair and let my head rest against the seat.

My eyes opened and they instantly met Stone’s in the reflection of the mirror.

He wore a foreign expression on his face as he watched me. It was still stern, yet it was softer than I had ever seen it.

Stone did not look away when I caught him staring. He continued to watch me carefully.

‘What are you looking at, Lurch?’ I tried to remain calm as I forced out the question from my dry throat.

The soft look in his eyes remained as the corner of his mouth twitched upwards.

‘I was just wondering if you are going in the water with your clothes.’ The gravelly voice was quiet and low when he shared his thoughts ‘I have not seen you anything but your band t-shirts.’

‘You are one to talk.’ I pointed out before laughing ‘Do you ever stop dressing like Danny Zuko?’

He shifted the gear stick as he let out a single rough chuckle. Or what I assumed to be a chuckle.

To keep myself distracted from panicking, I spoke to him again ‘Band tees make up ninety five percent of my wardrobe.’

‘What is the other five percent?’ Stone questioned, continuing to watch me in the mirror and occasionally glancing at the road.

‘I have a dress but that is for special occasional.’ I told him before remarking ‘I am saving it for your funeral when I get to dance on your grave.’

Stone laughed. It was a rough deep noise that shook his chest and reverberated around the car.

It was not just a chuckle. It was a full-on laugh.

A wave of accomplishment hit me from achieving the impossible and I could not help but smile.

I could not explain the toe-curling euphoria I got from making him laugh. I felt my whole body tingle and my heartbeat faster at the grumble of a laugh that was hard to call a laugh because it was so low octaved.

I was grateful for Stone in that moment because he had offered a distraction for me. Unconsciously or not, he had made me forget for a moment or two.

I closed the window when I started to feel slightly better and then I turned to Lana to mention to her ‘It is boiling outside. Like Sahara Desert hot.’

‘Did you not get enough breeze in gym class with your t-shirt?’ A husky voice interjected from the front of the car.

‘Right. That is it.’ I responded with a scowl before leaning forward and closer to the driver seat while I ranted out ‘What I do and what I wear is none of your concern. If I want to traverse the halls naked then you keep your eyes down, shut your mouth and you mind your own business.’

Stone caught the irritated look in my eye.

I narrowed my eyes up at the mirror that he was watching me through.

Silence filled the car until a grumble came from the bulky hollow-sounding chest that sounded a lot like ‘Sorry.’

‘What was that?’ I asked him so he would speak louder.

Stone said it louder, but it was not any less of a grumble ‘Sorry.’

‘Good.’ I glared at him while sitting back in my chair and affirming ‘You should be.’

Brennan was staring at the driver seat with a dropped jaw.

‘Ella, I think you have broken Stone.’ Brennan shared with me ‘He has just laughed and apologised. He has never done either one of those things before. Let alone in the space of two minutes.’

I looked back out the window to see where we were.

The beach was busy, and I was starting to doubt I could go out there and pretend I was okay.

I stared at my feet that were shaking like they might flee as soon as the car stopped moving.

The truck parked up on a grassy area before Lana and I parted ways with the two men and left to go and get changed in the public changing rooms

I said nothing because I was more focused on putting one step in front of the other as I made my way towards the changing rooms.

The changing cubicle smelt of sea salt and sunscreen. My slightly shaky hand bolted the door to the enclosed space as I started to remove my clothes. The walls seemed to be closing in on me, so I rushed to get on my bikini top and my shorts.

As I opened the cubicle door, Lana was ready waiting for me. She smiled at me while I picked up my school bag and towel.

‘You look stunning. That bikini does wonders for your figure.’ She gushed before adding ‘Although, I am shocked you are not wearing black.’

My matching two-piece bikini was silver and shone multiple colours when the light hit it.

I did like the bikini even though it made me look like a turkey in tinfoil ready to get cooked.

Lana started to fan herself as we walked along the beach back towards where we left the guys ‘It is so hot.’

‘Tell me about it.’ I mimicked her action at the sweltering heat ‘I feel like a snowman in a sauna.’

The texture of the sand on my toes made it all too real. I heard the ringing in my ears and I felt my chest start to move as we continued walking on.

I clutched at my chest like it would magically make the pain stop.

Two hands touched my arms as Lana got me to look at her. She let out a gasp when she realised what was happening.

‘How could I have been so ignorant, Ella?’ Lana held onto me tighter as guilt flooded her words ‘I am so sorry.’

‘It is okay.’ I tried to wave off her concern.

‘It is not okay.’ She argued with a sigh ‘You have not been here since your mom’s passing.’

‘Lana, I am fine.’ I tried to convey to her ‘I live in Santa Monica so I could not avoid this place forever.’

She tilted her head at me before she delivered sternly ‘If you want to leave then we will go. No questions asked. We will make up an excuse and ditch the two of them and get out of here.’

I shook my head and mustered up a smile as I asked her ‘Do you know what would make me feel better?’

‘Ice Cream?’ She suggested while matching my smile.

‘Well, yes.’ I laughed in agreement before I gave her the real reason ‘I want to see you have a good time with Brennan on your date.’

One more reassuring smile her way and she put an arm around my shoulder while we made our way past the people sunbathing and swimming.

We stopped when we found the two men we were supposed to be meeting.

Lana stopped to admire Brennan.

Brennan was wearing royal blue shorts which stood out against his dark skin. His large chest and his six-pack were on display as he held his surfboard under his muscular arm.

‘How does his six pack look wet?’ Lana whispered to me with a reddened face ‘He has not been in the water yet.’

My attention was captured by Stone and the heartbeat I had just gotten in control spiralled again.

Stone’s bare chest was a sight to behold. He was ripped and every inch of his chest was covered in dark inked lines.

I found myself wanting to run my finger along the markings and wanting to know what they all meant.

I was replaceing it hard to look away as I let my gaze drop lower.

Everything about this man was huge. Every inch of him was oversized. It was like he had been engineered to be the best of the human species.

He did not look real. His body did not look real.

My study continued to his stomach. I tried counting his abs, but I kept losing my train of thought. It took me two minutes to realise that he had an eight-pack.

His weight in muscle mass had to be more than double my body weight. Maybe even three times.

Unlike Brennan’s body inviting someone to look, Stone’s was more of a warning to look away.

I forcefully made myself look away from Stone but that was short-lived.

A pair of eyes were on me. A dark pair of eyes roaming up and down every inch of me.

If my body was not warm before then it was certainly heated now. The black orbs left no inch of skin untouched by their gaze.

Stone clenched his jaw and his head quickly turned to the side as he grumbled out ‘Fucking hell.’

I felt my face grow hot, so I looked down at the sand.

The black eyes rested on the ocean as his jaw ticked violently. The darkened irises turned back to me and then looked away and then they went back to me. The moment was rapid like he could not control himself.

‘Are you ready for a surfing lesson, Lovely Lana?’ Brennan asked while cutting the tension that hung in the air.

Lana looked hesitant and I knew it was because of me.

‘I’m going to stay here with Ella,’ Lana quickly told him ‘You just go ahead without us.’

‘No.’ I argued, turning to face her ‘You should go with him.’

‘Ella?’ Lana’s voice grew quiet when she spoke to me ‘Are you sure?’

I nodded with a falsely confident smile.

Lana still did look convinced, but it was too late because Brennan walked over and took her hand. He led her towards the water and helped her onto his board as they reached the ocean.

Stone was standing with his surfboard under his arm while he watched me fixedly.

I ignored his attentive eye and placed my beach towel down on the sand.

A tattooed hand touched mine before I could sit down. The electric-like feeling in the spot of my skin where he had touched made me stop moving.

The large skull-tattooed hand enveloped my own as his whole palm wrapped around my hand.

My attention went to behind him where he had left his surfboard in the sand. I then glanced down at the heated touch that had swallowed my small hand.

I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

‘We are going for a walk.’ He ordered rather than asked while he kept his hand on mine.

I did not argue with him. I pulled my hand away from his gently so I could pick up my towel and place it back in my bag.

I had no idea how he knew I needed to leave. I stared up at him in shock as he waited for me to walk in front.

Stone stayed right by my side as we turned onto the path right next to the beach. His head remained directed downwards so he could keep his eyes fixed on my smaller frame.

He never spoke as we began our walk along the promenade. His eyes were set down on me and his jaw was ticking continuously. He looked far too concentrated on watching me to speak.

I started to fill the silence by blabbering. I talked about anything and everything. I voiced everything that came to mind.

For a whole hour, I shared my theories about the universe with him. I spoke about everything from aliens to Russian dynasties. From theories about assassinations of famous presidents to the origin of the world itself, I told him almost every single theory that I had ever had.

His attention on me never faulted at all during the time of my theory-telling. It never strayed once. It remained steady.

He listened like he was genuinely interested in every single syllable that left my mouth. He listened intently and keenly because he never spoke once during my rant. He only sent me a little smirk at the wildest parts.

When I realised how long I had spoken for, I shut my mouth and focused on something else other than him and his bare torso.

He broke the silence by demanding in his rough voice ‘Keep talking.’

I let out a small laugh ‘What?’

‘Keep talking.’ He grumbled out, unhappy that I had grown quiet.

I did not talk. I was more interested in looking at his tattoos.

‘Medusa, I don’t think you are going to replace the answers to the universe on my chest.’ He uttered quietly and gruffly with a hint of amusement in his usually monotonous voice.

‘I was not looking!’ I denied before deciding to put our height difference to some good use ‘Your abs are at my eye-level. That is not my fault.’

Stone’s lip quirked up for a millisecond.

‘Maybe I am just trying to work you out.’ I shared with him, continuing to keep my chin tilted upwards so I could keep looking up at him.

One of his dark eyebrows raised, silently asking a question.

‘Brennan and Lana might be spending more time together so we are forced to speak.’ I fibbed and then went on to smile as I pointed out ‘I should get to know my acqenemy.’

His attention was on my smile when he grunted ‘Your what?’

‘Acqenemy.’ I repeated before elaborating ‘It is a mashup between acquaintance and enemy. That is us.’

‘I’m glad I inspire you to make new words up, Medusa.’ He delivered throatily.

I stopped walking and Stone stopped too.

I took a step closer to him and watched as his eyes turned darker. They appeared completely black as he watched me like a lion watching its prey.

All I wanted to do was stand still and study the lines of his tattoos, but I restrained myself.

I rose on my toes and leant close to him. I wanted to catch him off-guard like he had caught me off-guard many times.

‘You inspire me to do a lot of things.’ I told him, lowering my voice into a mere whisper.

The round shoulders moved up and then down. The sharp line of his jaw clenched, and his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. The towering man hunched over me so he could lessen the gap between us

‘Like what?’ He released hoarsely.

‘Plan murder, mostly.’ I quickly affirmed with a grin before I took a step back.

Stone released a deep breathy chuckle that still sounded hoarse as he watched me turn and walk back the way we had come.

One footstep of his equalled four of mine so he caught up in no time. He lingered near my back while he followed behind me.

‘You did not have to stay with me.’ I told him over my shoulder ‘You could have been out in the sea surfing.’

He grumbled back like he was somehow offended ‘I will stay with you.’

I quickly looked away from him. I watched the shore as the sea foam moved in and out and I took a breath every time that it did.

The giant split his time between watching me and glowering at the men that passed us. He split his attention between looking down at me and making sure his scowl made the passing men run away.

The waves were crashing against the shore more violently as the sun began to slide down the sky and leave an orange trail on its way.

A gravelly voice pulled me out of my daydream ‘Twenty questions.’

‘Twenty questions?’ I repeated while sending him a confused look ‘You want to play Twenty questions with me?’

He nodded once. It was a small movement that if I blinked then I would have missed it.

‘I do want to know more about you.’ I accidentally said aloud so I covered it up by joking ‘Keep your friends close but your acqenemies closer.’

Stone has still not taken his heated gaze away from my face. His study continued flicking between my mouth and my face while he waited for me to say something more.

‘What if one of us doesn’t want to answer a question?’ I questioned.

‘Forfeit.’

Curiosity picked at my insides, and I quickly replied, ‘What kind of forfeit?’

His dark irises once again flicked between my eyes and my mouth. His fixed gaze rested more upon the latter of the two.

I tilted my head up at him and waited for an answer.

‘A compliment.’ He finally forced out.

The deep raspy voice was husky every time he spoke. It always sounded like he had not spoken in a while, or he had just woken up. There was something primitive about the way he spoke. It was like every word counted for something.

My body always reacted to his voice. My toes curled and a shiver ran down my spine which forced my chest to edge out a little more.

I gasped dramatically at the idea of paying him a compliment.

‘You are an evil man, Lurch.’ I informed with a hum before I agreed ‘I’m in.’

‘You can go first, Medusa.’

‘How chivalrous.’ I said sarcastically before coming up with a random question ‘If you were abducted by aliens and you could only take one thing then what would you choose?’

There was no hesitation from him. He did not even take a second to think about his answer.

‘You.’ He grumbled out quickly and nonchalantly.

I almost tripped over my own feet. I took a breath and told my feet to keep moving before I faced him again.

‘Why?’ I asked while frowning up at him

‘To annoy you.’ Stone did not meet my eye when he answered, nor did he when he changed the subject ‘What are you most scared of?’

‘Apart from getting abducted by aliens and having to spend the rest of my life with you?’ I rebutted.

His eyebrows furrowed slightly, and his mouth dropped into a small scowl.

‘Apart from that.’ He said through clenched teeth.

The answer to his question came to mind straight away. I looked out to the horizon where the sun was meeting the sea and I had my answer.

I doubted he was interested in hearing about my trauma or the tragedy in my life, so I decided to lie.

‘Heights. I hate even looking at the Ferris wheel.’ I replied and then added to my answer, so it seemed more legit ‘But I guess some good came from it. If I went on the wheel with Lana that night, then she would never have met Brennan.’

‘You would not have met me.’ Stone uttered so lowly that I almost missed it.

I let out a laugh before I stuck my tongue out at him ‘On second thought, maybe it is all bad.’

Stone did not laugh. He searched my face like he was looking for something.

‘You are lying.’ The deep voice concluded after a minute of silence.

I did not know if he meant lying about my biggest fear or about meeting him.

My eyes wandered all of him. I did not want to compliment his appearance or his muscles, so I looked for something else.

‘Your shorts are nice.’ I finally squeaked out as my eyes landed on the plain black material.

The obsidian eyes widened infinitesimally as the mouth usually set in a frown twitched once.

It was my turn to ask a question, so I thought long and hard about what I wanted to ask.

I asked up to him ‘What is your last name?’

‘Stone.’

I blinked twice and then I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing.

‘Your name is Stone Stone?’ I concluded.

‘No.’ He grunted with a hint of amusement ‘Stone is my last name.’

‘Oh.’ I said in surprise ‘So what is your first name?’

He cocked his head to the side before informing me ‘It is my turn.’

‘Fine.’ I huffed, curiosity to know his name eating at me ‘Ask away.’

‘What is your favourite book?’

‘I can’t choose. There is so many good books out there and there is still so many I haven’t read.’ I exclaimed before finally giving somewhat of an answer ‘If I had to pick then it would be my collection of Edgar Allan Poe poems. He is my favourite writer.’

A few more questions were exchanged as we walked back along the sidewalk of the beachfront.

Stone managed to answer every question vaguely.

My questions were more fun than deep. His questions for me were the complete opposite as he tried to squeeze all the information out of me that he could.

‘What do you want for your future?’ I asked him ‘Does Lurch want to get married and have kids?’

‘I thought we discussed this, Medusa.’ He replied with no hint of teasing on his serious expression ‘We are having six kids and moving to Green Gables.’

‘You are so annoying.’ I pointed out the obvious as I glared up at him.

It was his turn to ask a question and it looked like he had just remembered something because a dark look crossed his face.

His whole demeanour changed from relaxed to wrathful in a matter of seconds. His tattooed chest puffed out and his jaw ticked in a furious rhythm. A part of his skull tattoo that decorated his knuckled disappeared as he clenched and unclenched his fist.

‘Does the blonde prick think you are dating him?’ He grounded out roughly.

I blinked a few times in surprise before I mumbled ‘It is complicated.’

‘No.’ He growled.

‘No?’ I repeated, not sure what he meant.

A rumble left his chest again ‘No.’

‘He is usually nice.’ I tried to convey to him ‘He is fun, and he is my type.’

‘Your type?’ Stone gritted out, his stumbled jaw ticking faster.

‘Yeah.’ I murmured, ‘My type is blonde, skinny but lean with no tattoos.’

‘You are describing the opposite of me.’ He gritted out, his voice growing deeper.

‘No.’ I argued, ‘I’m describing my ideal man.’

I turned my head upwards to avoid his penetrating stare. The sky was filled with almost every colour but blue and I wondered how long we had been walking and talking.

‘What is your first name?’ I questioned.

Stone had not unclenched his fists when he gnarled ‘Why are you with him?’

He was so intense. He looked ready for some kind of war. Along with his ticking jaw, the veins in his neck, arms and hands bulged in an angry beat.

‘I don’t think that is any of your business.’ I remarked softly.

His big burly body came to a halt. He made his way in front of me so that he could stop me from escaping. His wide shoulders and his large hard chest blocked my view of everything else as he guarded the space around me.

‘Why do you hate Chase so much?’ I queried.

He growled at me ‘Why are you with him?’

‘Don’t you growl at me.’ I shouted up at him in reply and when he growled again, I added ‘He is a good kisser.’

Stone did not see the funny side of my comment.

The rage and the murderous fury simmered off him in waves. His large chest was moving up and down erratically as if he was close to losing every single hint of humanity. A ten Richter scale earthquake would shake less than his chest and probably appeared safer to approach as well.

‘Let’s see how good he kisses when he is fucking dead.’ He gnarled out determinedly.

I pushed up on my toes so that I appeared strong and taller as I tilted my head at him.

‘If he ever so much as breaths the same air as you again then I will rip his heart out of his chest and make him eat it.’ Stone barked the threat, running his hand along his jaw.

‘My next question is if you are a serial killer.’ I deadpanned.

He continued to take deep frenzied breaths. He flexed his hands while he looked away and closed his eyes.

‘The comment Chase made about me in English class was not okay, but I am handling it.’ I remarked while pointing a scolding finger up at him ‘I don’t need a gorilla-sized babysitter. I fight my own battles.’

Rage continued to ignite across his face as his thick jaw clenched and his nostrils flared.

The look was so intense that it made me shiver.

A small buzz interrupted the tensed moment.

The giant took out his phone and let out a deep curse ‘Fuck.’

I almost jumped back from the harshness of his voice. I widened my eyes as I looked up at him.

Stone noticed my reaction and quickly tried to soften the roughness of his voice as he uttered ‘Sorry.’

‘Is everything okay?’ I asked while motioning to his phone.

‘We need to go. Now.’

I followed him along the seafront while trying to match his speed. He was striding determinedly while forgetting that I had small legs.

He then slowed down when he noticed I was struggling to keep up with him.

The time we had arrived back at the beach where Lana and Brennan were, I had to fight the urge to keel over and catch my breath while lying down.

‘Where have you been?’ Brennan appeared slightly vexed when he turned to Stone and questioned him ‘It is half eight.’

Stone glanced at me before recollecting his surfboard from the sand where he left it.

Lana watched the two guys as they packed away their stuff in a hurry. I stood next to her and joined in as the two men rushed around.

‘What is going on?’ Lana asked them.

Neither one of them answered her.

‘I don’t know what is going on.’ I whispered to my best friend ‘Maybe their surfboards turn to pumpkins at midnight. Or in their case half eight.’

Brennan jogged over to Lana and kissed her on the cheek.

Clenching his jaw, Stone glanced at me for a few seconds before he looked away again.

‘I’m really sorry. We have to go.’ Brennan told Lana with a small sympathetic smile ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’

I offered Brennan a small wave before he walked over towards Stone.

The giant had his sights set on me when he insisted in a way that came out more as an order ‘I will take you home.’

I shook my head at him ‘That is okay. Lana and I will probably go and get some ice-cream anyway.’

Stone gave a stiff nod as he ran a vein-struck hand through his hair.

Both two males left the beach in a rush without an explanation. The two large bodies became small dots in the horizon as they rushed away into the falling night.

I noticed then that the beach was empty of people. It was like everyone had suddenly disappeared.

Lana commented on the weirdness of their sudden disappearance while we strolled back to the changing cubicles.

Our conversation about them lasted a good half an hour as we changed back into our clothes and made our way back along the beach.

The black truck was still parked on the patch of grass where Stone had left it when first arriving.

‘Stone’s truck is still here.’ I pointed out to her ‘They have not left the beach yet.’

‘That is strange, huh?’ Lana commented with a hum.

A gust of wind blew past us and something from my school bag blew into the air. I quickly grabbed hold of the item before it could blow away.

In my hand was a five-dollar bill.

I never usually carried money around with me. I did not have the luxury of being able to carry spare money around with me.

Then something clicked in the back of my mind as I stared down at the five-dollar note.

It was the money I had slipped into Stone’s pocket for my lunch, and he had given it back.

Lana chose to look at the positive side of the beach visit instead of the weird ending. She started retelling her whole time with Brennan to me. She was far too invested in her romance to question how unusual their getaway was.

She might not have been suspicious about them, but I was.