Daylight

Part 8

The sun was shining above Camila as she sat down on the sand, the water reaching her legs every time a wave crashed. She could feel the sun warming her skin as her hands were on the sand, her fingers moving in search of something. It had been a long time since she last did this, but being at the beach house was a constant reminder of her mother’s favorite hobby. Her fingers finally touched something and she lifted it up, looking at the small seashell.

The house was filled with jars of seashells from when her mom was still alive and she thought she might add some new ones to the collection. Her mother was obsessed with seashells in every size and shape and Camila used to spend a long time helping her search for them at the beach. She knew there was a spot on the beach that was filled with them, it used to be her mom’s favorite place to be, but it was quite far and she would have to walk a lot to get there, so for now, she was just trying to find some near the house.

 Her eyes kept focused on the sand as her fingers searched for more seashells, losing track of time and forgetting where she was until she heard the sound of guitar chords. She lifted her head and looked behind her, smiling when she noticed Shawn playing his guitar not too far from her with his eyes closed. She watched him play for a few minutes, remembering how their first date had gone perfectly, clapping her hands when the song was finished and he opened his eyes. She laughed when he playfully rolled his eyes and stood up, walking to sit down next to her.

 “ Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.” He smiled at her before cupping her face and kissing her lips.

 “ You never disturb me.” She whispered, smiling against his lips.

 “ Seashells, huh?” He looked down at the few she had found. “ Remember when your mom took the four of us to spend the day helping her? I think I still have some of those that I kept in a jar in our living room.”

 “ I remember that.” Camila laughed. “ She wouldn’t let us go home until she got enough seashells for all those jars your mom gave her.”

 Camila screamed and ran down the beach laughing while Shawn followed her holding a huge seaweed he had found among the rocks. Their little sisters were laughing and trying to catch her too to help him out while her mom looked at them with a smile.

 “ Shawn, please! Stop!” She said, feeling out of breath as they ran in circles. She could feel the tears start to form in her eyes. She knew that was stupid, but she thought seaweeds were really disgusting.

 When she turned her head around to look at him, he finally noticed she was on the verge of crying and stopped chasing her. She watched as he threw the seaweed to Sofia, who started chasing Aaliyah as the two laughed.

 “ Sorry.” He said, his tone of voice and expression showing her he really felt bad for almost making her cry. “ I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

 “ It’s okay.” She smiled at how sweet he was. “ Just please don’t do that again, okay?”

 He nodded and Camila looked at him in surprise when he took her hand in his and dragged her back near the rocks, where they were picking seashells before he found the seaweed that scared her. Camila sat down on the sand next to him as they kept helping her mom with her seashell collection. Shawn was being too quiet, not like his usual self and she thought he might be feeling guilty for what he did. This was one of the things she loved the most about him. He wore his heart on his sleeve and she could always tell what was on his mind because of that. That was the main reason why she never had a hard time noticing the crush he had on her.

 “ I’m not mad at you, Shawn.” Camila told him, making him look up at her.

 “ Really?” He asked.