Page 24 of Cloudless

BITCH TENDENCIES

LILA

The beach used to be my mom’s favorite place in the world. I can feel her here just as clearly as I can feel the salty breeze blowing over my sun-warmed face.

I can hear her laugh drifting through the wind as clearly as I can hear the crashing waves in the distance.

The warm sand shifting between my toes feels like a hello from a long-lost friend as I take my first steps onto the sand without my mom. For the first time, memories of her don’t threaten to drown me in grief, but instead fill my heart with happiness for the time I had with her.

My pink-tipped toes disappear into the sand as Posey and Jasper’s laugh drifts toward the water. Sand flies into the air behind them as they run through the crowd toward our friends.

I don’t know when I started calling them friends, but watching the way they embrace my brother and sister with fierce hugs, I can’t think of any others more deserving of the title.

“They make everything better, don’t they?” I can hear the smile in Kam’s voice. His eyes are alight with happiness as he watches Dax spin Posey around in the air. Sand flies off her feet as her giggles float to us in the wind.

Kam’s eyes grow serious and his voice grows so quiet it's almost swallowed up by the wind as Jasper follows Mace and Wyatt toward the water. “It’s scary to care about them so much. Jasper fell on the ice this morning at camp and almost gave me a heart attack.”

I smile as Ellie drags Posey down onto her beach towel and envelopes her in a tight hug. “It’s definitely scary, but loving them is worth it.”

He nods as his eyes never stray from my brother in the water. “Is he a strong swimmer? I think I’ll go join them. Looks like they're getting ready to play football. I’m sure they could use one more.”

I laugh as he takes off toward the group of hockey players currently throwing a football to my brother. “Hey, Trouble!”

His body tilts toward me, but his eyes never leave the water. “Yeah, Sunshine?”

“You might want to drop off the bags first!”

He glances down with a look of surprise as he realizes his arms are full of beach supplies. “Oh, yeah. Probably a good idea.”

He dumps the supplies at Ellie’s feet and takes off toward the water without a backwards glance.

Ellie laughs from her place on her towel in the shade as I approach. Her bright red one-piece stands out against the pale sand. “What’s his problem?”

I battle the corners of my towel as it blows in the wind, laying it out next to hers under the umbrella. “I think he’s worried about Jasper being out in the water.”

Her eyes soften as she watches our brothers laugh together. “Ah. I see. Kam’s always worried about everyone else.”

I smile as she braids Posey’s hair out of her face. “And you’re not?” My fingers twitch as I fight to keep them in my lap. “You don’t have to braid her hair. I can do it.”

Her eyes shine with a mischievousness I’m growing to love as she ignores what I said. “Only certain people make my list, L. And once you’ve made the list, you’re stuck on it for life.”

Posey twists to look at Ellie over her shoulder. “Am I on your list, Ellie?”

Ellie’s fingers weave deftly through Posey’s hair, despite the wind. “You sure are, Posey-Pop!” Her voice grows quiet as she turns toward me. “All three of you are.”

“Oh. Hi, Lila. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.” Kim’s voice makes me turn to find her walking from the parking lot. She’s surrounded by a few other girls from work and one I’ve never seen before.

I fight the eye roll that’s begging to be set free as I take in her barely there bikini and a full set of jewelry. “Hi, Kim. I wasn’t expecting to see you here, either.”

I fight a growing smile as the corners of her fake smile dim and her eyebrows pinch together.

The movement is so slight, I almost don’t notice.

“Well, I always come to the annual beach day. They do this every year before their first regular season game, you know.” Her smile brightens. “I never miss it.”

The rubber band snaps into place in Posey’s hair as Ellie turns to our new guests with a smile firmly in place. “Funny how you never fail to miss it, even though you’re never invited.”

Kim’s face transforms from Barbie to bitch in record time. “The only reason you’re even invited at all is because your brother is the captain.”

Ellie’s smile grows as she tilts her head to the side. Her hands slide over Posey’s ears before she says, “That’s funny. I’ll have to tell him you said so when I go over to their townhouse for dinner this week. I’m sure he’d love to be reminded of your bitch tendencies.”

The girl I don’t recognize from work is the only one that doesn’t scoff at Ellie’s remark. The rest of the group practically has steam coming out of their ears. If they're not careful, they’ll melt their full faces of makeup off.

Ellie turns back to my sister in an obvious dismissal. “Alright, Posey-Pop! Are you ready to build that sandcastle?”

Kim either didn’t take the hint or simply wants to get the last word in; it’s hard to tell. Her eyes blaze as she stares a hole in the back of Ellie’s head. “Come on, girls. They obviously can’t tell when someone is trying to be nice.”

Ellie rolls her eyes as she helps Posey empty her bucket of all the sandcastle supplies that used to be mine when I was little. “Watch them settle in the sun. I hope their skin turns to leather.”

A laugh that has been waiting to burst free finally pushes through my last restraints. “Have they always been like this? They are absolutely the worst thing about working at The Penalty Box.”

She lines the supplies up in a neat row as she gives me a humorless laugh. “No. They were actually my friends in elementary school.”

My eyebrows disappear into my hairline as I search her face for any sign that was a joke. “You used to be friends with them? I have a hard time believing that. You don’t fit in with them at all.”

She smiles at me as Posey flattens a spot in the sand for the castle. “That might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Curiosity runs rampant through me as I fail to imagine Ellie in their friend group. “So, what happened?”

She blows out a breath. “They turned into mean girls when hormones started happening. I chose to ‘become one of the guys’ instead.” Air quotes accompany her eye roll.

“I like it better this way. The guys are always honest and there’s no drama.

You’ve just got to watch yourself and make sure you don’t ask a question you don’t want to know the answer to. ”

I hand the empty bucket out to Posey. “Hey, Jellybean. Why don’t you go get some water so we can harden the sand up a bit?”

Sand coats every square inch of her legs as she stands and runs toward the water with the pink bucket.

I smile as her braid floats in the wind behind her.

I laugh as I run my fingers along the shadow of the umbrella on the sand.

The cool sand transitions to warmth as my fingers move over the shadow.

“I can imagine. It’s kinda like that with kids, too.

They’ll say whatever they’re thinking if it will hurt your feelings or not. ”

She groans. “I made the mistake of asking Kam if he thought my dress looked nice for a date one night. Let’s just say I’ve never worn that dress again.”

I laugh as the image of a fuming Ellie fills my mind. “I bet you didn’t ask him again.”

Her answer is immediate. “Of course I do. Who else will be that brutally honest with me?”

My laughter dies as I think back to the few friends I’ve had in my life. “To be honest, I’ve never really had a lot of friends, especially after we moved here. What few friends I had, I left behind in Chicago. My mom was always my best friend, anyway. And Posey and Jasper after they came along.”

“Well…” Ellie pulls two cans of lemonade out of a cooler next to her.

As she hands one to me, the icy chill of the metal seeps into my overheated skin.

The wind swallows the sound of our tabs snapping open.

She holds her can out to me with a warm smile on her face.

“Here’s to new friends. May they last a lifetime and always be your perfect alibi. ”

A smile takes over my face as I clink our cans together. “To new friends.”