Can You Hear the Ocean?

Chapter 1

Leila Sutherland awoke like she did most days—being screamed at by her fat tabby cat Fuji for his breakfast. Despite the fact it was still early on a Saturday morning, Fuji was on a strict schedule, and Leila would be lying if she said she didn't find herself already tossing and turning.

"All right, I'm up," she grumbled. She shoved aside her bedsheets and quickly went to feed the young tabby in an attempt to silence his cries.

As Fuji devoured his breakfast at an unhealthy rate, Leila poured herself a morning cup of coffee and watched the sunlight stream into her apartment's spacious living room. She took a few small sips and grinned to herself as the beverage warmed her body. It seemed it would be another beautiful summer day, the perfect weather for catching up with friends.

Leila dressed for the day, finding that a lightweight blouse and a long-flowing skirt best fit the weather. She reached for the front strands of her long brown hair and tied them back with a pink clip. Afterwards, she gave some chin scratches to Fuji, who was now comfortably basking in the sunlit shards on her bed, and applied some sunscreen to her pale skin, never forgetting the time at the beach when she was eight and her skin had turned lobster red from a lack of it. She hadn't been able to wear any tight clothing for two weeks after that.

"Guard the house, Fuji," Leila said as she grabbed her apartment keys and headed toward the door.

Fuji apparently took this to mean to continue sleeping.

Leila could only roll her eyes and shout one last farewell to her silent companion before heading out.

Leila always enjoyed the drive down to the seashore. She knew the tourists were sometimes a bother, but she always enjoyed seeing families biking together and children running on the beach. Leila could not have imagined what her childhood would have looked like without the experiences of coastal Maine, and every day she made sure to never take for granted the sights and scenes of her hometown. Her four years away while at University of Maine had taught her that.

As Leila walked down the sidewalk, she glanced ahead, finding her two friends already seated at a round, metal table outside the burger joint they had decided on for lunch. They were easy to spot when her Ashlynn had the brightest red hair Leila had ever seen and Elena had the loudest laugh.

"Leila, how are you doing?!" Elena exclaimed as Leila took a seat at the table across from them.

Since high school, Ashlynn Curran and Elena Rodriguez had been some of Leila's closest friends. They'd kept up connections in college, and when all of them inevitably ended up returning to southeast Maine after graduation, their friendship had only strengthened.

"I'm doing well," Leila said. She strung her purse over the seat and leaned back in her chair, happy to feel the warm sun on her body. The waiter stopped by briefly to ask for their orders, and then the conversation picked up once more.

"How has the apartment been?" Ashlynn wondered. "Are you all settled now?"

"Just about," Leila replied. "I think I finally got everything out of the boxes last weekend. Although it's kind of embarrassing it took two months."

"Hey, kudos to you though. I can't wait to have my own place," Elena remarked. "It's nice my parents are letting me stay with them while I'm in nursing school, but I always inevitably end up at Eric's."

"You've basically lived at his place since junior year of high school though," Ashlynn teased. "You should just move in together already like Cole and I did."

"Well, you know how my parents are," Elena murmured as she took a sip of iced tea. "They're super Catholic, so living together before marriage is a no-no."