2 0 | s h a o l  b a y

"GOOD MOOD THIS MORNING?"

I turned to Everett with a wide grin, sending him a shrug. "Woke up and the sun was already up. I love having the day off."

Everett laughed, shaking his head. He hopped off the porch, pausing beside me to quirk an amused brow. "If they're that amazing, why don't you ever take more days off?"

"I told you," I said with an exaggerated eye roll. "I need the money."

"Right," he said, smiling sarcastically. "For food and stuff."

"Exactly," I said with a shrug.

I tried not to think about my savings account and the dreams I had stored in there, along with years' worth of summer savings. No. Today was going to be a good day. I wouldn't let anything ruin it.

We reached the beach in a matter of minutes and I locked my bike up at the usual spot before leading Everett to the pier.

"So, what's on the agenda today?" Everett asked.

"What do you think?" I replied, knocking shoulders with him. "Why else would we be on the pier? We're taking the Nauti Buoy out to Isla!"

"Great," he drawled sarcastically, though I noticed the tug at his lips and the spring in his step. He could complain all he wanted, but I knew he secretly loved our hidden island – the clear blue waters and pale white sands.

"Be as depressing as you'd like, Everett," I said, raising a brow. "Nothing is going to ruin this day for me."

He narrowed his eyes at me, smirking as if it was a challenge, but I ignored his teasing. I smiled snidely, speeding up as the Nauti Buoy came into sight.

"Isla!" Connor shouted, waving wildly at me. He stood in front of the tinny, his shirt missing and hair already wet.

"Hey, dummy," I replied with a grin. I leapt forward, pulling him into an affectionate headlock.

"Hey!" He pulled at my arms, locked around his neck, but I refused to let go. "What did I do?" He turned in my grip towards the boat. "River! What did I do?"

River shrugged from his seat on the tinny. His pants had been rolled up to his knees, and his shirt was also missing. He puffed at a cigarette lazily, a bucket hat pulled over his buzz cut.

"River!" Connor whined.

"This is for getting drunk at that bonfire," I scolded, tightening my arms.

"But you got drunk too!" he complained. "And so did River!"

"Yes, but you always get drunk! It was our turn!"

"Isla!" Connor whinged.

"Isla!" Austin shouted.

I blinked, immediately releasing Connor and spinning to find Austin approaching us.

With Mia.

"Austin," I said stupidly.

I hadn't seen him since our little argument yesterday. Could it even be called that when it was completely one-sided? He hadn't believed me when I told him about Mia. He hadn't understood how I felt.

And instead of airing it out with him, I'd swallowed my words and ignored the churning in my stomach, asking Connor for a ride home just to avoid Austin.

I wasn't one to hold grudges but seeing him – seeing him and Mia there with their oblivious smiles sent my stomach churning all over again.

"Hey," he replied with a wide grin. "What did Connor do this time?"

I blinked, glancing between Austin and Mia. She smiled at me – a sickeningly sweet smile attached to a sharp glare.

"Isla?"

"Huh?" I snapped my eyes back to Austin. "What?"

"Never mind," he sighed, shaking his head. "So, are we going or what?"

"When you say we..."

"I'm so excited to see this island Austin always talks about!" Mia exclaimed. She stepped forward, pausing at the edge of the pier where the Nauti Buoy waited. She turned, pouting at Austin. "Babe."

His eyes widened and he stepped forward, immediately helping her onto the boat. River furrowed his brow at her in typical River-annoyance, before putting his cigarette out and leaving to take his seat at the wheel.

"Whipped," Everett muttered from beside me.

I turned, meeting his eye, and he sent me a grim smile.

"Mia," I said, snapping out of my daze. "You're coming?"

"Well, Austin invited me," she said with an innocent smile. "Right, babe?"

"Uh, well..." Austin trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "We were supposed to hang out today. I thought, instead of cancelling, why not just all hang out together?" He beamed proudly at me. "Right?"

"Right," Connor grumbled, shoving past him and taking the passenger seat beside River.

Austin smiled, taking a seat beside Mia. I frowned, my lips pursing together.

Great. Mia was coming. And the only seats available were opposite her and Austin.

"Well," Everett murmured. He sent me a pointed look before stepping onto the boat. He paused, offering his hand to me.

I raised a brow at him. I was perfectly capable of boarding the boat on my own. But how often was Everett nice to me?

I took his hand, our fingers tightening around each other's. He grinned at me, steadying me as I stepped onto the rocking boat and pulling me into a seat beside him.

"Thanks," I whispered, settling myself into the gentle swaying of the waves.

"Anytime," he murmured back, his ears turning pink.

I warmed, meeting Austin's eye. He watched us, the muscle in his jaw tight, and I cleared my throat, suddenly feeling very awkward.

Thankfully, River saved us.

The engine roared to life and soon the boat was speeding across waves of crystal blue and bubbling sea foam. Water sprayed up onto my face and I laughed, loving the feeling of the wind in my hair.

I turned to face Austin – to meet his eye and match our grins like we always did.

But he was watching Mia.

They grinned at each other, squealing and laughing in excitement as the wind whipped at their hair. Mia leaned over the edge, catching more water in her face and causing her to laugh even more. Austin held onto her, shoving the hair out of her face with a loving smile.

I felt sick.

Suddenly, the boat ride wasn't so fun anymore.

I turned to face the waves again, catching Everett's eye along the way. His lips twitched up in a smile and he lifted a brow at me.

"Really, Monroe," he shouted over the waves. He reached up, taking a curl into his hand and pulling at it playfully. "These curls are starting to get out of hand."

I laughed, swatting his hand away and shoving my hair back, only for the wind to send the loose, damp curls tumbling right back over my forehead.

"It's a force of nature," I replied, grinning.

He shook his head with a laugh. His hands lifted, pushing my hair out of my face like a curtain.

"It really is."

We arrived at Isla a few seconds later, with a bump and a curse from River. Immediately, the boys jumped out of the Nauti Buoy, tugging it onto the sand. Austin took Mia into his arms, pulling her out of the boat and leading her to the lagoon.

I frowned, lagging behind as the others raced.

It didn't feel right having Mia here. This was our special island. It was off-limits to everyone who wasn't a Nauti Buoy – especially to girls who called me a whore. I mean, I was the namesake of the island. Didn't that give me a say?

And worse, he hadn't even asked us before inviting her. It was like none of us mattered anymore. Like I didn't matter anymore.

I sighed, trying to shove the feeling away. This was my one day off. I was going to enjoy it, whether Mia was here or not.

"Cannonball!"

Connor screamed, belly flopping into the lagoon with a resounding slap. River let out a whoop, jumping in after him.

"Come on, Isla!" he shouted as he resurfaced. "Jump in!"

I sighed, shaking my head at them.

"Come on!" Connor echoed, wading in the pool.

With an exaggerated sigh, I ripped my shirt and shorts off, kicking my shoes onto the rocks. I shot them a wild grin before I leapt forward, jumping straight into the lagoon.

Wind bit at me in the seconds I stayed suspended in the air. Then, I hit the water, a shock spiking through me at the sudden cold chill, and my legs burning at the hard slap of waves.

Immediately, I began sinking slowly into the lagoon. Water caressed my skin, sending a shudder down my spine and pushing my hair out of my face. I laughed in the form of bubbles, letting myself float underwater for a moment before making for the surface.

I pushed my head over the water with a gasp, my hands running over my face and legs kicking to keep me afloat.

Beside me, there was another splash, and I turned to see Everett crash into the water.

"Practically Australian at this point," River teased.

"What can I say?" he shrugged, shaking his soaking hair and splashing water everywhere. "I had a decent tour guide."

He sent me a wink and I rolled my eyes, sending a splash in his direction. "I was more than decent, thank you very much."

"RIVER!"

We turned at the same time to find Connor mid-tackle over River. He had a split second to widen his eyes and raise his hands before Connor was on top of him, shoving him down into the lagoon.

I laughed, turning to find Austin and joke about the two idiots trying to drown each other, only to see him with Mia over his shoulder, laughing and clawing at his back.

I frowned, my heart sinking into my stomach and lodging itself firmly there. He spun her, laughing, before tossing her into the water – just like he always did with me.

Except, with Mia, he pressed a kiss to her wet mouth when she resurfaced.

Because he loved her. And he didn't love me – he never would.

I'd always be waiting.

My day was officially ruined.

With my heart still decisively wedged in my stomach, and a growing pressure replacing its spot in my chest, I waded towards the shore. I hauled myself onto the rocks, not caring as they scraped at my abdomen, and barely shivering when the wind hit my wet skin.

I didn't care anymore.

I wanted to curl up in my bed, and cry, and call Sky – except she was in Cambodia, and Austin was dating Mia, and Connor was a useless, albeit loveable, idiot, and this was officially the worst summer ever.

The worst summer ever to kick of the worst rest of my life, stuck in Shellside Bay.

I sighed, leaning back against the rocks and closing my eyes, letting the sun melt my frustration away.

"Not swimming?"

I strained my eyes open to see Everett leaning onto the rocks, still in the water. I released a breath, closing my eyes again.

"Nope," I replied, monotonously.

"Why?"

"Don't feel like it."

"You? Don't feel like swimming?"

"It happens, Everett."

"Right." There was a splash of water and suddenly he was heaving himself onto the rocks beside me. "Just not to you."

I frowned at him. "What do you want, Everett?"

"I thought you said nothing would ruin this day," he said pointedly. He nodded slightly towards the lagoon where Austin was busy chasing Mia in a dreadfully rigged game of Marco Polo. "So, why are you letting them?"

I hesitated. There wasn't really a reason. I wasn't trying to let them ruin my day. But when I saw Austin with his arms around Mia, there was a terrible sinking feeling in my chest, and my throat clogged up, and my mood instantly turned sour. I couldn't help it.

I shook my head. There was no way Everett of all people would understand. He'd only make fun of me.

He was the one who'd called me a second choice in the first place, wasn't he?

Noticing my frown and my silence, he let out a loud sigh, leaning back against the jagged rocks as if they were the most comfortable thing in the world.

"I don't know why you're worried," he said, nonchalantly. "She's a bitch."

"I thought I was a bitch," I said, raising a brow.

"Yes, and?" Everett replied, smirking in jest.

I laughed drily, turning back to face the lagoon. "So, you're saying I'm like Mia?"

"No," he said simply. "Mia's different from you. You defend yourself and protect your friends. You have an insane sense of responsibility. I'll never understand how you drag your ass to work every day before the sun's even up."

"Careful, Everett," I interrupted, though my face warmed at his words. "That was almost a compliment."

He laughed lightly, but continued, ignoring me. "Mia's mean. She's great at conversation and laughs at everyone's jokes. She makes Austin feel like the hottest guy in the world. I can tell. But she's mean, and that kind of ruins the rest of it. At least, in my opinion."

"Right," I scoffed. "Because suddenly you're the expert here on girls."

"No," he said, shaking his head. "But Mia reminds me of Emma and –" he cut himself off with a strangled noise and I turned with raised brows.

"Emma?" I asked. "Who's Emma?"

"No one," he said quickly. He paused, hesitating. "No one. Just some girl from back home."

"Well, if she's like Mia, she can't be that great."

He laughed bitterly then, like I'd told some amazingly ironic inside joke. "She's really not."

There was a pause and we both sat in tense silence. I was vaguely aware of the splashing and shouts coming from the lagoon, but even more so of his leg beside mine, and his bare chest slick with water, and his hand so close to mine.

I cleared my throat before I could get carried away. "So, who is she? And don't say no one."

He glanced at me, his eyes shining hazel in the sunlight, before quickly turning away. "She... She dated my friend."

"Right," I said, nodding. His friend. That wasn't suspicious at all.

His face tinted pink and he sent me a furtive look, like he knew I'd caught him out on his lie the second he'd told it.

"And what makes her like Mia?" I asked slowly, wondering where the line was – the line where Everett closed himself off and the walls flew back up. I liked it when he spoke to me. I wanted to know more about him.

I didn't want him to close himself off again.

"She cheated on him," he said eventually. I turned, my eyes wide, but he wasn't looking at me. He released a long, weary breath. "She cheated on him with his best friend when she got sick of him."

I stiffened, frowning. The word sorry sat on the tip of my tongue, but what good would that do? That wouldn't stop Emma from cheating on his 'friend'. It wouldn't erase the bad memories.

He stared out at the lagoon, his eyes tired around the edges and his lips set into a deep frown. I stayed silent, waiting for him to continue, because there were more unspoken words floating in the air around us. We both knew it.

His eyes darted to his phone, sitting on top of the rocks nearby, and I realised. I realised why Emma sounded so familiar. I realised why he had been so stubbornly closed off when he first arrived here, and why he always stayed stuck to his phone; his face permanently frozen in a miserable grimace.

Because that was the Instagram account he always glared at when he thought I wasn't looking. That was the contact name his finger hovered over, and the Snapchat stories he watched on repeat, with his lips tightened in a frown.

Emma Adler.

And by the fire in his gaze and pain in his voice, she definitely wasn't his friend's ex.

His eyes returned to the ground and he wrung his fingers together, shaking his head like shaking a bad memory from his mind.

"That's how it is with shallow people like Mia," he continued finally. His voice had grown quiet and strained, but he also spoke the words with a sort of relief – like he'd never said them before, but now that they'd escaped his mind through his lips, his burden had turned a little lighter.

"What do you mean?" I squeaked.

He turned to me then, his eyes digging into mine. My heart leapt into my throat, and I swallowed thickly, trying to maintain eye contact.

"They use you when they're bored," he said. "They make you feel invulnerable. They make you feel loved. They erase all your problems, like they're nothing. Like they never existed. You'd do anything for them. Even change who you are."

"And then what?"

He looked away, his eyes unemotional like they weren't seeing, but rather just looking.

"And then they're onto the next best thing."

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A U T H O R ' S  N O T E

So who guessed Emma correctly? I think a lot of you guys got it, if not pretty close! What did you think? Next time, we'll learn even more about Everett.

Also! Omg, thank you so much for 15k reads!! Your comments and votes always mean a lot to me, and really inspire me to keep writing! We've only got like 11 chapters left! I can't believe it hahaha see you soon! 💕