THE RECKONING '.'.'. bradley "rooster" bradshaw

6

Analise p.o.v

Shit hangovers suck. My head pounds as the sun strems in my window, a golden beam landing on my desk. I pick up the pills that sit on my nightstand and dry swallow the advil before I hear my phone buzz.

Training plans have changed, meet at the beach at 10.

I roll my eyes at the text before walking downstairs. Smells of breakfast waft up to meet me and I reach the bottom of them. I see Penny standing the with Amila sitting at the table. I sneak up behind her and wrap my hands around her neck.

"Your up early stink." I say as she wiggles out of my grip.

"Yeah, mom's helping study for my Spanish quiz, it's so stupid the teacher made me memorize all the counties and capitals in one week, and I have to spell them. I can't spell in English, how do they expect me to do it in Spanish." She rolls her eyes as I start laughing at her.

"Oh, what I'd pay to be in high school again." I say grabbing a plate and filling it with eggs and bacon.

"You hated high school." Amelia retorted, as I stuffed my mouth.

"No, I didn't." I say my mouth still full. I look to Penny for some assistance but she just gives me a look.

"Analee you refused to go to homecoming because they wouldn't play the music from High School Musical at the dance," Penny says, which causes all of us to bust out laughing.

"That was a completely valid reason, and besides they wouldn't let Bradley come with me, because he went....." I stop mid-sentence as they both stop what they're doing and look at me. I shake my head turning the conversation. "Well anyways um training is at the beach today, so Amila would you help me pick out a bathing suit?"

Her face lights up as she turns to look at me in her seat. "Of course!" The energy returns back into the room as we finish our breakfast, and Amelia turns back to her flash cards. "Ugh I can never get this what Is the capital of Spain."

"Madrid," I tell her with a grin, she just rolls her eyes at me.

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I hop off my motorcycle as I pull up to the beach. The salty-sweet air surrounds me as I walk onto the warm sand. I find Pheniox first sitting on a chair soaking in the sun. "Knew you would be early," I say laughing as I walk up to her. She slowly looks up at me wearing her sunglasses.

"Always, now you have something to tell me." She sits up and turns to me as I set down on a towel.

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about." She glares at me as I say that, knowing that I'm avoiding the subject.

"So you're telling me that we're just gonna ignore the fact that Jake blew up at Bradley yesterday and almost told him the truth." I look out to the water after she says this, the sun breathing down my neck, making small beads of sweat fall down my body. Nat sits down next to me and pulls me into her shoulder. "Why do you let yourself suffer without him when you could just tell him the truth."

I take a deep breath before I start talking. "You were there Nat, both you and Jake saw it. God the way he looked at me that day, I haven't ever seen someone so upset, and would it matter? He made his choice."

Phoenix just looked at me for a second, then she just looked back out to the ocean. "If you hate him so much why do you still wear the necklace." The weight of the small pendant seemed to grow heavy as I looked down at it.

"I could never bring myself to."

All of a sudden I hear laughing behind us as Hangman's voice rings out. "Having a party without us?" He remarks as I and Pheniox stand up and walk to them, the group including Fanboy, Payback, Bob, Coyote, and Rooster, who was farther behind.