Cohen

Oh my god. I have the worst headache I've ever felt and my face feels like it's going to fall off. I can't open my left eye and there's a now-warm ice pack laying beside me, in my bed.

Rex made me take Tylenol and hold the ice to my face for awhile before he let me go to sleep. He said I might even have a concussion. Even though I was annoyed, I know how lucky I am to have him as a friend. At least I didn't have any problems sleeping last night.

I get up slowly and go to the bathroom - avoiding the mirror as I wash my hands - and when I go back to my room, Rex is sitting on my chair, near the desk.

"Jesus," I mumble, crossing the room.

"Good, it doesn't look at bad as I thought it would," he says right away. "Fresh ice pack."

I take it from him and sit back on my bed, placing it against my eye and cheek. It feels good, but so bad. What the hell was I thinking? I barely know this girl and I now have a mangled face to show for it.

"Thanks, Dr. Rex," I say, to break the awkward silence.

He clears his throat and doesn't even laugh. "Seriously, Cohen? Teegan is Lola's step sister? Teegan is the girl who everyone was talking about, that's staying in Avila for the summer with her mom?"

I nod, because what else am I supposed to do? I didn't know she was staying here all summer. I just knew she was Lola's step sister, her mom is married to Lola's dad. And I know she works at the rental hut.

"Teegan's mom owns the rental hut, Cohen. Did you know that?" Rex goes on, as if he's reading my mind.

My mouth falls open. "I did not."

Rex takes in a deep breath, gathering his thoughts. He always tries to take care of me and I know he's trying to figure out what to say without being mean. I wait. He stands and walks over towards my closet and then turns and comes back.

"Don't get involved, okay?"

That's it? That's all he has to say?

I snort out a laugh, and shake my head. "Really? You think you can tell me what to do?"

"She seems sweet, but it's so... messy. I thought we were going to avoid the drama this summer?" Rex wants to know, looking hopeful. "She's Lola's sister, Cohen."

"Step sister. They don't live together. Lola lives with her mom in Santa Maria, you know that. And if Teegan is just here for the summer visiting, then who cares? We both work at the hut. We both have insomnia, so we -"

"Wait, what?" Rex interrupts and I know I said too much. 

"I saw her on the beach two nights ago, after midnight. Just walking. I was out there trying to get tired, too. Insomnia." I shrug.

"You slept like a baby last night," he says and then laughs.

"How do you know that?"

"I checked on you a couple hours after you passed out. Made sure you were breathing."

"Jesus. Thanks, I guess," I laugh. "Last night I was drunk and beaten. I did sleep well, though. Maybe that's the key."

Rex bursts out laugh. "I can beat you up tonight if you want?"

"You couldn't beat me up if you tried," I laugh.

"I have to go... my mom's been texting. You will be okay today?" he changes the subject. "I know I said we'd go to the fair, but-"

I give him a thumbs up. "I'll be fine. Thanks for..." I don't finish but he nods anyway.

"Call me later?" he suggests and then turns and walks towards my bedroom door. "Just let me know you're still alive."

"Will do," I tell him and shake my head as he disappears into the hallway.

A shower, clean clothes and a big bowl of cereal later, I'm having a hard time staying home. As in, I'm really close to heading back to Teegan's, to try to talk to her. I want some answers. When I think about seeing her pull away from Raff, I have to take a deep breath. That asshole would have done whatever he wanted with her if I hadn't been there. I don't know if she'll tell me anything but I want to try.

I don't bother talking myself out of it as I slip on my flip flops and fly out the back door. It's a dreary afternoon, which is exactly how I feel. It's not raining but it could down pour at any second. It's just a three minute walk down the lane to the front of the house but I go around the back instead. I haven't let myself think about what happens if her mom or Lola's dad answers the door. It's Sunday afternoon. Anything could happen.

I knock anyway.

Nothing. No one comes to the door. I knock again, a little louder.

I guess it's possible they are all gone out. I hadn't thought of that either. As I turn to go, I hear a noise. The door is squeaking as it opens.

"Cohen?" her voice asks. She sounds surprised and definitely looks surprised as I turn back.

"Oh, hey."

"What are you doing here?" she wants to know.

I swallow hard. I can't tell if she's glad to see me or the opposite. What am I doing here? "I... wanted to make sure you were... okay?"

"Is that a question? Do you not know why you came here?"

"I was hoping we could talk," I say a bit more confident.

"About what?" she asks me.

The door is still just open, and she's inside and I'm outside. I don't know which way this will go. I don't know what to say to make her want to talk to me.

"About last night," I say and her face changes.

But then she steps out onto the deck and lets the door close behind her. I watch as she crosses the large deck and sits down on the attached bench. I'm standing, near the stairs.

"Your friend Rex seems pretty cool," she says to me, then shrugs.

"He is. He's awesome, actually. But I worry about him."

"Why?" She looks so curious.

"He's naive and he likes everyone. I left him at the party and went home, last night, because I was pissed off. Then I felt bad and came     back -"

"You were pissed off at him?" she asks.

"Oh, no. No, I don't think I've ever been mad at him. But then as I was walking back towards the party, I saw you. And Raff."

She breaks eye contact and looks out at the water. "It was stupid. I was stupid."

"Why?"

"I liked the attention, I guess. He was being sweet and... I got too drunk. That's on me," she admits.

"Maybe, but I could tell right away his intentions were -"

"Please don't say it. It's embarrassing that you were there and that you hit him and..."

"Well, I hit him but that had nothing to do with you," I admit.

"He slept with your girlfriend?" she asks. "I mean, that's what I gathered from that."

I still don't know if Teegan knows that Lola is my ex , who we are talking about. I don't know how close she is with Lola. There's a lot I don't know.

"I guess he did. After I left," I nod.

"Where'd you go?"

I like that's she's sitting with me and that she's asking questions, so I answer.

"San Diego. In March. My family moved there."

"Oh. But you came back recently?"

"Yeah. A couple weeks ago. I'm staying in our house, my mom hasn't sold it yet. I guess that's happening at the end of the summer," I tell her.

Her face scrunches up but she's confused. "You're here by yourself for the summer?"

"Yeah. It's been a bit of a learning curve."

She laughs and looks out at the water again. I keep my eyes on her until she looks back at me. The sound of her laugh makes me want to pull her into my arms. Our connection feels different now, in the day light. I wonder if she felt it last night too.

"Anyway. Back to last night. I just knew I had to get you away from Raff. I went back to get Rex but -"

"You rescued me," she interrupts.

"I guess. The fight was unexpected."

"He really fucked up your face. How does it feel today?" she asks her eyes on me again.

"Not great. And I have to work tomorrow."

"At the rental hut?"

I nod. "Where are you from?"

She is caught off guard by the question "I live in Seattle with my dad. My mom lives here. Generally I visit for one week each July. But this year... my mom asked for me to stay the whole summer."

"Seattle. Wow. I've never been up there," I tell her.

"It's awesome. But in August I'm moving to New York. For college."

This is the statement that really throws me off. I wasn't expecting it. I don't like thinking of the end of summer because it means my house will be gone. I'll have to go back to San Diego or somehow get my own place. Rex will be gone. And now - even though I barely know her - this girl who intrigues me and makes me feel like fighting other guys - will be gone, too.

"Cool," I say after too long. I'm forcing a smile.

"Yeah. I didn't think I'd like it here as a long term thing. But I am enjoying spending time with my mom and her two kids, and..."

"You said you weren't going to the party," I blurt out.

"True. I was already down there because I'd been watching the fireworks , the first ones, with my siblings. And my mom wanted me to go and say hi to... whoever," she says, without missing a beat.

"Your mom wanted you to go to the party?" I ask.

"She wants me to have friends. I'm here six more weeks." She shrugs.

"So who's your friends? Riss? Please don't say Harlow."

"I don't know if they are my friends. Riss seems cool. Harlow is..." She lets her voice trail off.

"A bitch," I say, without thinking.

"Yeah."

"God, Rex used to have the biggest crush on her. She was so mean to him." I shake my head and look down at my feet for a second.

"That sucks. He have a girlfriend now?" she want to know.

I laugh. "Football? He loves football and he's going to USC on scholarship."

"Oh that's awesome," she says and I can tell she means it.

"Yeah. I mean... we could be friends." The words just come out of my mouth, before I can stop them.

"Us. Like you and me?" she wants to know.

"Uh huh. No reason why we couldn't."

That is a big, fat lie. There's plenty of reasons why we shouldn't. She just doesn't know them. If she knew Lola was my ex, she'd probably steer clear of me. And I hate that.

"Short term friends. We're both leaving when summer ends," she says.

"Right. Well, let me know what you decide." I'm trying to act like I don't care either way, but god do I want her to say yes.

"About our friendship?" she asks, and she's grinning.

"Yeah. I hit you with a frisbee. But then I saved you from evil Raff. We're even," I say, then smile back at her.

   "Oh. I see how it is." Now she's laughing. "Well, I do need a friend."

"Yeah? Come meet me at the hut after my shift tomorrow? 2pm?" I say quickly.

She considers this, but not for too long. "Okay. "

"Okay."