~Chapter 11~
Sam flashed a triumphant, shark-like grin and gestured toward the shoreline. "Great. Let's go."
Anna didn't hesitate. She stepped onto the sand with the practiced ease of someone who owned the coastline, her posture relaxed and effortlessly inviting.
Sam didn't just walk beside her-he closed the gap. With a confident, easy laugh, he reached out and caught Anna's hand, his fingers locking with hers as if they'd been walking this beach together for years.
Allison, trailing a few steps behind, felt the air vanish from her lungs. Her eyes widened in total disbelief, her gaze fixed on their joined hands. It was too fast, too bold, and too real.
Her own legs felt like lead. Every step was a physical fight against the urge to turn around, sprint back to the car, and disappear into the humid afternoon air.
The distance between her and Devin was no longer measured in oceans or letters. It was down to a few yards of burning sand, and Sam was dragging them straight into the impact zone.
Devin didn't get up. He remained anchored to his towel, his gaze fixed stubbornly on the surf. It was only when Sam dropped down beside him and began noisily rummaging through a cooler that Devin finally acknowledged them with a brief, sideways glance.
"See?" Sam said, his voice brimming with I-told-you-so energy. "The beach wasn't a total bust after all."
Anna laughed, a bright, melodic sound as she settled onto the sand directly across from the boys. "Your friend seems remarkably quiet," she noted, her eyes dancing with a challenge.
Sam popped the tab on a soda, the sharp hiss of carbonation cutting through the salt air. "That's just his factory setting," he joked. "He saves his words for the people who actually matter."
The words felt like a physical sting to Allison's chest. She sat down slowly, her heart a frantic bird trapped in her ribs. If I spoke my real name right now, she wondered, would he finally look at me? Or would he see a stranger?
Devin finally lifted his head. His eyes found hers, and for a heartbeat, the roar of the ocean faded to a hum. That flicker of recognition crossed his face again-a shadow of a memory he couldn't quite catch, like a word on the tip of his tongue.
He broke the contact first, snatching up his discarded shirt and shaking it out with unnecessary force. It was a nervous habit she remembered from his childhood-fidgeting when he was overwhelmed.
Sam held out a cold drink. "Here. Thirst-quenchers for the newcomers."
"Thank you," Anna said, her fingers brushing Sam's as she took the can. She nudged Allison's arm-a silent, sharp prompt. "You're missing out, Al-I mean, Lisa."
Allison shook her head, her voice small but steady. "I'm fine," she said softly. "I don't drink."
Sam shrugged, unfazed. "More for the rest of us, then."
Allison forced a polite smile, but her eyes were traitors; they kept drifting to Devin. He was a statue again, staring at the horizon, but his jaw was tight.
"Alright," Sam cleared his throat, sensing the atmospheric pressure rising. "Since we're sharing a patch of sand, let's do proper intros." He pointed a thumb at his chest. "I'm Sam." He delivered a sharp, rib-cracking nudge to his friend. "And this brooding monument is-"
"Devin," he said.
The sound of his voice-rich, steady, and much deeper than the shaky voice notes of their youth-made the air leave Allison's lungs. It carried a weight that made her pulse skip a beat. She looked down at the sand immediately, terrified that her pupils would give her away.
"I'm Maria," Anna lied smoothly, her voice a silk curtain. She gestured to Allison. "And this is Elizabeth. But you can call her Lisa."
Devin gave a curt, sharp nod. But after a few seconds, his eyes drifted back to "Lisa." Something about the way she'd said she didn't drink... the specific cadence of her hesitation... it was vibrating in his mind like a struck tuning fork.
Stop it, he told himself, his grip tightening on his water bottle. Allison is in Spain. She isn't here.
"So," Allison interrupted, her voice trembling slightly. "Are you guys... in college?"
"Yeah," Sam answered easily. "My friend here is a medical student. My sister is in the same program-they're classmates, actually. Study buddies for life."
The word classmate hit Allison like a crushing pressure. A medical student. A life of science, labs, and a girl who was always by his side-a girl who wasn't her.
"Oh," Anna said, her eyes widening as she caught the look on Allison's face.
Sam and Devin looked puzzled by the sudden drop in the girls' energy.
"Cool. A doctor, huh?" Allison managed, her voice sounding hollow to her own ears. "Well, Maria and I just finished high school. We might study here. It depends."
Anna jumped in to save the conversation, pivoting to Sam. "So if Devin's the brainy doctor, what's your deal?"
"Me? I haven't decided," Sam laughed. "Nothing motivates me yet. We're lucky enough to be wealthy, so I'm just... waiting for a dream to hit me. Reasonable, right?"
"Sounds like a plan," Anna smiled.
Throughout the talk, Devin remained a ghost. He couldn't shake the sensation of his own body reacting to the girl in front of him. The "stolen stares" were becoming more frequent, the air between them thick with unspoken questions.
"What about you, Lisa?" Devin asked suddenly.
Sam's eyes widened. Devin was finally engaging.
"Since we're all talking about the future... what do you want?"
"Me?" Allison looked at him, her 'Writer Brain' failing her for the first time. "I haven't decided. My family... they want me to manage our family business. I'll probably end up there."
The mention of a family business acted like a key in a lock. Devin's head snapped toward her, his eyes narrowing with a sudden, piercing intensity.
"Family business?" he asked, his voice low and sharp with suspicion.
Allison and Anna's eyes met, a shared jolt of panic passing between them. Are we caught?