"It's always been you, Phoenix. You are the one who makes me the happiest. Just being in the same room as you gives me god damn butterflies. Hearing the sound of your voice makes me feel safe and protected. And when you left for college, home didn'...
We ended up driving over to a more popular beach not that far from the vacation house and planned to spend most of the afternoon there. My dad was able to reserve the last section of beach chairs and umbrellas that were already put together for everyone, so us girls dibbed the chairs while the guys had their towels laid out in front of us. It was a perfect setup for the day.
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After a couple hours, my parents went back to the house for a midday nap. When they left, Kole and Sam wasted no time in trying to make Ryder and my ears bleed by making a joke about how the nap was for sure a cover for another activity...one that I would like to never correlate with my parents. God, just thinking about the conversation makes me want to vomit.
"Look at those dummies out there," Mia spoke up beside me as Lily, Vee, and I looked over to where she was pointing.
I shook my head, chuckling when I saw Phoenix and Kole trying to boogie board on a wave while Ryder and Sam were each laying back in a donut-shaped floaty, riding along next to them. "The one that just got wiped out by the wave is kind of cute," I joked, watching Nix pop up out of the water, looking for his board that disappeared.
Lily laughed loudly. "What about the blondie with the cute pink donut floaty?"
"There are two blondes in donut floaties, Lil," Mia added.
We all turn to her as she raised a brow. "The goofy-looking one that's wearing yellow swim trunks brighter than the damn sun."
"Yep, that's my brother for you," I spoke through a laugh before noticing how quiet Vee has been.
Mia and Lily went on talking about the guy's choices in swimsuits as I turned towards her on my other side. "Hey, are you okay?"
She looked like I snapped her out of some deep thought when her eyes met mine. "Hm?"
I softly smiled. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good. Sorry... I just have a lot on my mind lately," A corner of her mouth slightly curved up.
"It's okay. When you've had a week from hell, it's pretty understandable to have your head all over the place."
Vee slowly nods, grabbing the water bottle beside her. "At least the week from hell showed me that I was dating the devil's spawn," She let out a small huff, taking a drink.
I lightly shook my head. "Now, if that doesn't describe him perfectly, then I don't know what would."
"I just wish I realized sooner...I would have made a few smarter choices," Her voice trailed off at the end as she looked away for a moment.
My brows furrowed, tilting my head to the side. "I'm about to sound like my mom right now, but sometimes we have to go through the pain and heartache in order to realize that we deserve better and to save our hearts for the one that was always meant to hold it. It sucks that most of the time, we give it to the ones that only destroy it, but when you find your person...they will do whatever it takes to put it back together and never let anything happen to it again. Once that rough chapter of your life ends, don't be afraid to turn the page because you have no idea what's to come in the next one."
