The One That Got Away [COMPLETED][Unedited]

16. Last day

Chapter sixteen - Last day

Alexis applied sunscreen to the parts of her body that weren't covered in clothing. The Branson family was wearing green shirts and green headbands. Evelyn had found green mascara so she applied it to her eyelashes and to Alexis' as well.

Since she had no siblings, Alexis would be playing in a team with either her mother or father. Caleb was their cheerleader and Olivia Michael and Joanne's.

Ethan and Aiden were dressed in their signature shorts. This time they were wearing the exact same pair in blue.

The sun was hidden by a few clouds but there was no sign of a storm so the games would carry on. The announcer, a man Alexis remembered from her childhood read out the rules and order of the volleyball matches. Forty families had entered in total. There would be two groups. They would play matches of ten minutes each against each other, and the winners in each group would play against each other.

Alexis couldn't remember when she had last touched a volleyball. It took her quite a while to get the hang of it, but after her first two matches she knew what she was doing. It was a lot of people effort, the matches were short so everyone had to use all the energy they had in order to win. Alexis was glad the sun wasn't beating their backs, it would've made the experience unpleasant. She felt a little awkward, playing in front of so many people but the fact that her mother was excellent made her look far better than she actually was.

In one match, Alexis dived to hit the ball, grazing her knees in the process and she managed to get it over the net. She only felt the sting of the bruise when the game had ended but it was their first win so she didn't mind. Ethan and Aiden played like professionals and they beat the Bransons by far. At the end of the group matches, Ethan and Aiden made it to the finals against a lifeguard and his grandfather.

Alexis shrugged off the loss and cheered her heart out for Ethan and Aiden, who won by a few points. She noticed the tattoo on Ethan's back and decided to ask about it later. It was a dead tree with a single human heart hanging from it.

Joanne celebrated with Aiden at the bar and Ethan stayed behind with Alexis' and her group of friends. They sat down to breathe and Alexis handed Ethan a bottle of water.

"Thank you," Ethan panted.

Alexis smiled and took one for herself. As she twisted the cap of the water bottle off she spoke, "Tell me about your tattoo."

Ethan took two more gulps from the water bottle and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He cleared his throat and replied to Alexis. He spoke with such enthusiasm, and his dark brown eyes glowed with excitement.

"Well it's a tree, obviously. But it's a dead tree, with my heart hanging from it. I bring life to dead things. And the fact that sometimes things seem like they're dead, but people forget that the situation, the relationship, the person, once had a heartbeat and they will always be alive somehow."

"I wasn't even thinking of that," Alexis said.

"No one does, and if you look really close, the veins of the heart join the tree branches. They start out bright red and get darker closer to the tree bark," Ethan turned his back toward Alexis for her to see.

Alexis ran her fingers along the vein lines and saw what Ethan had explained to her. His cocoa brown muscular back was impressive and it felt smooth to the touch. Alexis nodded forgetting that he couldn't see her. Ethan waited and then turned around, a questioning expression on his face.

"Oh sorry," Alexis smiled shyly,"I meant to say I see it."

"Do you have any tattoos?" Ethan asked.