Burning Soul

Sixteen

Sixteen
🌸Everlee🌸

"Is Cairo acting funny with you?" This is the first thing I question my best friend as soon as I see her.

Lottie is currently lying on the beach with a huge smile on her face, and I think that answers my question already. Cairo is not acting funny with her. So it's just Blaze going back to his routine of when we first met.

Ignoring and being grumpy.

"No. He seems to be a lot more affectionate." Her eyebrows wiggle and I grimace. Not what I need to hear right now. "Why'd you ask?" She questions in her northern accent, which is sort of disappearing since she's been living in London.

I dump my ass on the sunbed next to her, almost toppling the thing over when I sit too far up. Once I'm comfortable, I turn my head to face my friend with squinted eyes, the sun trying to pierce through my skull.

"Blaze has gone back to his old ways. I wanted to sit and eat ice cream with him a couple of days ago — by the way, he never turns ice cream down. But he did this time. He completely shut me down, Lottie. Said that he was just here to protect me, nothing more, nothing less. Not only that. But he even gave me a glare to go with his lovely words." Lottie's eyes widen and she sits up on the sunbed, staring at me with her mouth hanging wide open. Almost like she can't believe what I have just told her.

"You don't think it's a coincidence that Blaze is acting like this ever since your father entered the country?" I nibble on my bottom lip and think about what she's just said. It makes sense.

But my father flew back home already this morning. Blaze is still ignoring me. At breakfast, I made him a massive fry-up and got a grunt as a thank you. He couldn't even look me in the eye and it's starting to annoy me. If he hates his job so much, then why doesn't he just quit? It's not like I'm holding him at gunpoint, forcing him to follow me around twenty-four-seven.

How can a person, who at some point made me feel so happy, so suddenly switch his tone and make me feel as though I am a burden?

"My father has left the country, Lottie. Blaze is still acting like a dickhead." I huff and grab her strawberry mojito, finishing the whole drink in a few gulps.

"Hey!" she whines, snatching the glass from my hand and staring into the empty cup which only has ice left.

To make matters worse, I spot Cairo walking across the sand toward us. He is in a pair of yellow swimming trunks which do wonders against his dark skin. He looks happy and relaxed. Especially when his honey brown eyes are directed at my love-struck best friend who fidgets excitedly on the sunbed.

"Hey!" She beams up at him, whipping her sunglasses off to reveal her mesmerising forest green eyes. I didn't think Cairo's smile could widen any further — but it very much does.

Of course, Cairo can't openly hug and kiss Lottie, so he settles for a warm greeting and a quick nod, which has Lottie in a puddle on the floor, anyway.

"What are you girls up to?" He questions in his transfixing accent.

"Ev and I wanted to hire a boat to go on this afternoon if that's okay?" We do?

"I can get something arranged for you."

"Thank you, Cairo. Will Blaze be joining us?" Cairo's face hardens, his chiselled jaw clenching at the mention of Blaze, but he quickly covers up his expression when he sees me looking at him with creased eyebrows. Have the two had some sort of argument?

"He will have to if Everlee is going on the boat."

I'd rather not be stuck in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in a boat with the grouchy man, but it looks like I don't have a choice.