Half Responsible

Kataifi

"C'mooonnnn, Sally!" Anne rolled her eyes. "We're here to relax. Why don't you just –" she waved her hand around. "– do exactly that?"

Sally got on the bike. It was one of the cheaper ones she could find, and she could only have it until the store closed at 3pm.

"I am relaxing," Sally insisted. "I'm going around town."

"It's just..." Anne trailed on. "We haven't seen you much since we graduated, you know? I thought you'd let lose more but..."

"But what?"

"You're still you," Anne shrugged.

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked. She was twenty-two. Their high school graduation was over four years ago, and she didn't even get to stand on stage with them. It didn't help that every other day of her life was monotonous. She worked nearly every day and did classes to get her GED. It was going slow simply because she didn't have enough time in the world, but she was slowly getting there, even if it meant that her friends kept moving forward.

Sally knew there were two things she could do: hop on the bike and leave Anne behind or join her friends on the beach and lie down doing nothing, which didn't suit her well.

"What if, I make my seven layer dip tonight and we watch a good old rom-com," Sally promised. "I just need this one afternoon to myself."

Anne looked at her. Then, she held out a pinky.

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise," she affirmed and tangled her pink with her.

She shot off. The wind bit against her cheek. The small rocks under the wheels vibrated throughout the bike. The wind burnt the inside of her nose, lighting her lungs aflame and leaving behind a clear path so that she could breathe. Sooner or later, she would need to stop, but for now, it was enough to keep going. Her father would often take her on bike rides, and they'd take this very path. She felt closer to him, even if he wasn't there, and she could no longer remember the sound of his voice or what he actually looked like.

When it was time for a break, she parked her bike and continued the walk by the docks. She contemplated getting a treat for herself, maybe an Aperol spritz or something, but she reminded herself that she needed to get back by bike, and it would still be considered drinking and driving.

She got ice cream instead. Walking down the docks, she eyed the kids running around with their families and felt a pang in her heart. She wanted that; perhaps she could find someone kind one day. Someone who could help her out of her situation and let her live just a little. She couldn't rely on someone to do that, of course. She hated the idea that she'd owe someone something.

"Morning," she turned around. There he was again, the guy from the beach. He had his sleeves rolled up, a rather peculiar thing to wear when it was burning hot in the summer.

He followed her eyes to his arms.

"It's to protect them," he said. "From the sun. It's a lightweight material, you know. Sometimes, I just don't want a farmer's tan."

He jumped down from his boat – oh, he has a boat, Sally thought – and walked up to her.

"Did you get home okay last night?" he asked. "No accidents along the way?"

"Everything good," her voice went up a squeak. "We ended up having to carry one of the guys to the vacation house."

"Doesn't sound like a fun time, at least not for you."

"That's why I went out biking," she took her helmet off. By day, she could finally look at the man. His eyes were a beautiful sea green, the same colour the ocean was that day. "I needed some time away from them."