Every bend in Bosmouth spoke to its storied past. Narrow streets wove cobblestone paths between unmarked alleyways, leading curious walkers into a web that whispered of commerce and criminality long committed to history. Elise had tracked these trails many times, sometimes purchasing Robin's company with promises of drinks in sight of the town's clear, calm coastline. However much they differed on local history, both she and Robin ventured over the pale sands to take in the flaring red sky and shadow-blanketed sea from the water's edge. It was their cherished drop of peace when the waves of stress threatened to crest over their faces.

    Located a few steps from the same sands, Books by the Sea offered Elise a safe bower away from the university's crowded campus. It sat tucked in the centre of a short Georgian red-brick terrace, the sun's broad beams bouncing off its crystal-clear window panes to catch the eye from anywhere along the bay. Cool sea spray pricked against her summer-bright skin as she reached the shopfront, and the water's salty scent tingled the length of her nose. Passing under the bookshop's old black sign relaxed Elise's nerves better than any drink ever did.

    At least that was usually the case. "Oi!" a voice cried as Elise stepped inside. The speaker's booming bassy tone disguised the voice's origin, and Elise fell into the closing door behind her as she locked eyes with a strawberry-hued face of the burly bald man. "Look where you're going, would you?"

    "Sorry," Elise said through a feeble laugh, clutching her fabric messenger bag. "My head was in the clouds just now. Are you alright?"

    "I'll be alright when you get out of my way." With a huff, the man waved Elise to the side and barged through the door, the entrance's jingling bell vanishing beneath the stomp of his walking boots.

    Elise's eyes followed the stranger's silhouette across the front of the bookshop, a frown taking hold of her brow. As she lost sight of the man, her gaze landed on a girl about her own age studying the scene behind the window glass. She replaced a volume on the wall of books in front of her and shook her head, muttering to herself just sharply enough to cut through the settling shop air. "Prick."

    The frown on Elise's face unfurled into a warm smile. "You can say that again," she said, hiding her giggle behind her hand.

    Starting like a stray cat, the girl glanced at Elise before retreating further into the store, the electric purple streak through her dark hair leaving the air fizzling behind her. A tang of disappointment soured Elise's tongue, and she swallowed it down before slipping her sunglasses into her bag's side pocket and walking into the shop.

    Though the bookshop's central section was as calm and cosy as ever, a chorus of creaking floorboards betrayed the event kicking off further inside. Breathing in the rich, cool air around the leafy indoor plants, Elise ran her fingertips over the polished oak display tables and straightened any skewed stacks of books. A hum of voices swelled behind the arch of fairy lights that announced the shop's event space, and Elise took one last look around the shelves. The girl was out of sight, though a nagging familiarity remained rooted at the back of Elise's mind as she entered the event space.

    Dozens of people filled the room that greeted Elise. They flocked between the rows of plastic seating and the refreshment table along the wall, thick clouds of perfume choking tears from her eyes as they passed. Round lamps overflowed with yellow-hued light, and their bulbs buzzed and burned with enough power to stick Elise's white vest top to her sweating back. Every step off the thin square rug beneath the seats added another snap to the creaking symphony that ruled the room.

    "Ellen! You made it," someone called through the noise, and a hand landed on the back of Elise's sleeveless jumper. She turned to see Tegan's shocking blue eyes flashing at her, their stare potent enough to burrow holes through Elise's face into the wall behind her. "We were worried something had happened to you."

    "It's Elise, actually," she said, stepping clear of Tegan's spontaneous physical contact. "And who's we? I thought you said this was a date."

    Tegan made an indefinite sound, then covered up her confusion with a grating laugh. "Oh, it is! I just thought that it'd be nice to introduce you to my friends tonight too. You don't mind meeting them, do you?"

    Holding back a nervous laugh, Elise shrugged and forced a smile. "Of course not. It should be...fun."

    "Fabulous! Let me show you to them. You look gorgeous, by the way. Though if I can give you a teensy tip, you shouldn't use sunscreen. It's blocking out your skin's lovely natural radiance. They say it gives you more wrinkles, too. Can you believe parents put it on their kids?"

    Elise blinked at the back of her date's head. "I didn't put any sunscreen on."

    As they passed through the growing crowd, the smooth slopes of Tegan's bare shoulders caught Elise's eye. Her date's outfit of a lacy black top and tight cherry trousers stood out from the rest of the audience, and the way Tegan sashayed to their seats suggested that had been her plan. Elise's hopes that her date's self-centredness had been a one-off occurrence flickered and faded into ash.

    "Alright, girls," Tegan called with a clap, her bronze rings clicking together. Stepping past an obstructive chair, Elise's breath hitched at the sight of two girls saving their seats, each as glamourous as her date. "Say hi to Ellen."

    The tallest of the seated girls rose to take Elise's hand before she could correct her name, her blush pink pantsuit dazzling anybody who looked her way. "Wow, Tiggy. I know you said she was hot, but...wow. She's stunning!"

    Walking around the chairs, the other girl's gaze swept over Elise's frozen body. "Lizzy's right. She's like a Misty Waters lead, actually. Is that why you picked her up, Tigs? Looking for someone to tie up later, you kinky freak?" she asked, twirling her fingers through the back of Elise's hair.

    "Shut up, Nessa! Like you can talk, Miss Rope-Burns." Tegan's shrill laugh shattered her words into barely discernible shrieks. The other girls broke into fits of giggling, and the combined noise threatened to burst the blood vessels in Elise's ears.

    Against the cries of every cell in her body, Elise took the nearest empty seat. Whatever this was, it was not the start of something wonderful.

    Tegan sat in her seat and placed her hand on Elise's lap. "Nessa's boyfriend, Stu, should be joining us soon," she said, a musical glee strung through her words. "He's bald and a bit old for her, if you ask me, but she seems to like him. Fair warning, though – he's just stormed off because he's driving and can't drink. We're going clubbing after this, you see."

    "Are we?" Elise checked the time on her phone and shuddered. There were still five minutes to wait until Robin's shift ended, and the prospect of any wait in the cramped event space sent stabbing pains through her gut. Passing the whole night in bars with these girls was unthinkable. "I don't know, Tegan. I had an early start today, and –"

    "And nothing, Ellen." Taking a fistful of Elise's burgundy skirt, Tegan waggled her eyebrows at her and giggled. "I didn't drag you out tonight to watch you drink coffee again, girlie. I bet you're the cutest when you're tipsy. And don't worry, I won't tie you up. Unless, you know..."

    The time on Elise's phone stayed stubbornly still. As the rest of the room drifted into their seats, she pulled herself free of Tegan's hold and pointed to the exit. "I have to let my flatmate know I'll be coming back late," she said, making for the doorway before she finished speaking. "I'll just be outside."

    If Tegan heard her words, she chose not to respond, instead sharing something on her phone with the one called Lizzy. Elise darted through the bookshop and out onto the street, pausing to catch her breath. The cool jets through the sea breeze flushed the heat from her nerves, and she followed the calming chill to the promenade, the waning sun bathing her in its soft glow.

    Coming to rest at the promenade's handrail, Elise sighed and let the soft crash of the sea's slow waves carry her away. She drank in deep breaths of the fresh ocean air, a soft smile blooming on her face. With the empty beach and gentle tide, the idea of kicking her shoes off and sinking her toes into the soft sand grew more appealing by the second.

    A sudden snap of the promenade's boards tugged Elise out of her daydream. Behind her, the girl from the bookshop paced onto the beach, her gaze glued to her phone. Her dark brown leather jacket shimmered in the sunlight, and small holes poked out along the length of her grey skinny jeans. At some point since their brief encounter in the bookshop, the girl had slipped on a subtle purple beanie, expanding the power of her hair's bright streak.

    The girl scoffed at her device, and a surge of embarrassment rushed through Elise's cheeks as she stopped staring. "Hi there," she said, making her way down the steps to stand near the girl. "Sorry about spooking you earlier. I was just trying to be funny. Ha-ha funny, that is, not funny like a freaky stranger, which is probably what I ended up looking like to you."

    Rich red cracks ran through the girl's hazel eyes, and flecked droplets glittered through her lashes. As the stranger stared at her across the beach, something flashed in Elise's mind, though it slipped away before she recognised it. "Oh. Don't worry about it," the girl mumbled, choking back a sob. Specks of sand slipped from her black boots. "You didn't bug me."

    "Something's bugging you, though." After she spoke, Elise gasped and shook her head to organise her thoughts. "Sorry! I don't mean to pry. It just looks like you've been crying, is all."

    "I came here to be alone," the girl answered. She tucked her phone in her jeans pocket and headed for the outcrop of large, dark rocks further up the beach, yet her phone buzzed after just a few steps. "Damn it, woman. Just..."

    Though Tegan was waiting inside for her, Elise's heart ached at the thought of leaving the girl now. Not only was Elise keen to avoid returning to the huddle of handsy women inside the bookshop, but she had to find the root of the itch that needled her mind whenever she met the girl's eyes. "Nosy mum? I get that," she said, passing by the girl's side. "My flatmate's parents keep him on the phone for an hour and a half sometimes. He comes out of his room looking like he's had the biggest car-crash of an interview imaginable – and, given how they interrogate him, he probably has."

    "I bet." Fiddling with the chain of her necklace, the girl hopped on top of a beach rock, the contents of her pockets jingling. "Listen, I'm fine. Leave me alone. I'm going to sit on my own for a bit, then I'll let them know I'm heading back when I've –" Her face paled as she stared at her phone screen.

    Elise raised her eyebrow. "Is your mum shouting at you again?"

    Her limbs heavy, the girl lay flat against the rock and hid her face behind her hands. "No, for once," she groaned through her split fingers. "My stupid phone just died, and I didn't get a chance to tell stupid Arin to keep the stupid door open for me. I feel so..."

    "Stupid?" Elise offered, smirking as the girl glared down at her. She rummaged through her bag and produced her phone, unlocking it and lifting it up for the girl to take. "You can borrow mine if you like. I even charged it before I left the flat, so it's not about to die on you."

    The girl's glare shifted into a puzzled expression. "Do you really expect me to take your phone off you? Just like that?"

    Shrugging, Elise brought the keypad up on the device's screen. "I do, actually. I guess that makes us a pair of stupid idiots." She shook the phone by the girl's arm. "It's up to you. I just couldn't leave you upset like this without at least trying to help."

    "Is that it?" the girl asked, and the slight tilt of her head shook something loose in Elise's mind, only for it to fall just beyond her conscious reach. "You're just trying to help. Nothing else."

    "Absolutely," Elise said with a flicker of confusion. Standing in the light of the girl's knowing look drained the strength from Elise's legs, and she pressed her outstretched arm against the rock for balance. "Don't you believe me?"

    Taking the phone from Elise's hand, the girl slid from the rock and pulled her beanie from her head. Standing a little taller than Elise, she draped her natural brown locks over the purple streak in her hair. "You seriously don't recognise me, do you, Ellie?"

    The sea roared in Elise's ears as the sands slipped beneath her feet, and the cold air blasted between her lips to seal her throat. "How do you..." she began, yet her question answered itself before she could finish. Stood right in front of her, features illuminated by the clear outdoor light, the girl's appearance gave Elise all the information she needed. "No way."

    "So, you do remember me."

    Elise froze, her shaking hands the single movement her body mustered. Her tongue moved without her say, and she gave life to the sound that had swirling around her mind since she first saw the girl's face. "Cadence."