Page 13 of The Summer We Kept Secrets (The Destin Diaries #4)
Today was… wow. Something happened that just stuck with me and will definitely become a “remember when” story next summer. Maybe even sooner. Possibly by breakfast.
We were all just being normal, okay? Me, Tessa, and Kate.
Our three matching striped towels lined up on the beach.
We brought snacks and books and dragged out the big turquoise umbrellas to make what Tessa insists on calling “her cabana.” (She also wore her snow-white bikini on her ridiculously tanned skin which makes all the boys do that cartoon eyeball bulging thing and I am NOT exaggerating.)
It was sunny and perfect, and really peaceful. Tessa was flipping through Seventeen, and Kate was doing that thing where she eats Goldfish crackers one by one and looks like she’s solving math problems in her head, and I was just soaking up the sun.
Enter: Dustin “Who Invited Him?” Mathers.
We heard him before we saw him.
Well—technically, we heard the sound of a beer can cracking open and someone singing what I think was supposed to be “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC, but it was so off-key I thought it was a dying seagull.
He stumbled down the boardwalk with two other guys I vaguely recognized from around town—maybe locals?
Dustin was definitely the leader of the idiot parade (so named by Tessa), shirtless, barefoot, and drunk .
I’ve seen him like this before at some beach parties, but this was the middle of the afternoon!
And of course he spotted us.
“WYLIE TWINS! LITTLE LAWSON!” He literally shouted across the dunes like we were contestants.
(For the record: I am not little . I am 5’4”. That is average.)
We all groaned in unison. Except Tessa, who waved, because of course she did.
We knew Dustin was drunk right away when he tripped over absolutely nothing and landed in a sprawl in the sand in front of us.
He smelled like beer and Nacho Doritos. His eyes were bloodshot but sparkly, and he literally slurred his words like a cliché.
We complained about him wrecking our peace, but Tessa pronounced him “harmless” which got her a very drunk grin from him. He said he wasn’t harmless. He was wild. Actually he said, “I am untameable. I am the storm.” (Picture my eyes rolling.) He was barely coherent, that’s what.
And he kept calling me “Little Lawson” which irks.
Crista is little. I am fifteen, but he was in no shape for an argument.
The thing about Dustin is he’s got this way of saying things where you’re not sure if he’s teasing or being genuine, and that smile is annoying because it makes it harder to stay annoyed.
Then it got weird.
Tessa kicked him—playfully, of course—and told him he should probably get home before his parents freak.
He was really quiet. Weirdly quiet for a long time. Then all he said was: “Nah, there are too many ghosts at home.”
I had to write it down so I didn’t forget. Ghosts?
Even Kate looked up from her Goldfish math.
But right away, he snapped back into Dustin Mode and yelled “I’M GONNA SWIM TO THE BAHAMAS!” and took off running down the beach like a maniac.
Tessa shouted that it wasn’t the ocean. Actually she yelled, “It’s the Gulf of Mexico, you idiot!”
He didn’t even turn around. Just dove into the water fully clothed and started doing a sloppy backstroke while singing “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Kate said we should leave him and let the sea deal with him. But I sat up and watched him, making sure he kept moving.
Tessa sighed and called Dustin a “loveable mess.” She’s kinda right.
What did he mean about the ghosts ? It kind of sent chills up my spine.
Maybe there’s more to him than chaos and beer cans.
Maybe not.
Okay. Shutting this down before I get too philosophical and accidentally become Kate.
Viv