Cruel Me

Chapter 25 |Part 3|: Byegone

"Ooh, the plot thickens," sang Milo.

I watched her back as she walked away from us. What I said was cruel, and a part of me almost regretted saying it. But Snow had to hear it.

It was one thing to rat on us and not believe me, but it was a whole other thing going AWOL on Connie. She couldn't just waltz back into our lives and expect everything would be all ponies and rainbows. Nothing was forgotten.

But . . .

"I'll gel your cotton candy head, Milo," warned Halo.

Milo gasped shockingly at her. With a hand on his chest, he said, "Ugh, how dare you? Fine, I'll just go where the drama is." He waved us off and followed Snow.

"I better go with him," Halo told me, lightly stroking my back in comfort.

"I'm sorry about that," I sighed, rubbing my face with a hand.

. . . I'm fucking tired of this shit.

"Hey, we're here to have fun," she firmly reminded me, as she slapped my back.

I closed my eyes and looked up, feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. I focused on the sound of the waves. I took a deep breath, the salty smell of the ocean engulfing me.

We all needed a goddamn break sometimes.

If only I could just forget everything - even for a little while.

I opened my eyes and looked down on Halo.

"You ever jumped off a cliff?" I asked.

She blinked for a second, taken aback by my question. Then, she eyed me suspiciously and slowly shook her head.

"I have an idea," I said, before grabbing her hand and pulling her with me to the shore.

"Yes, Oz," panted Halo, hurrying beside me. "Of course, you can drag me wherever it is we're gonna risk our lives at. Not a problem. I'm cool with it."

"It's safe," I assured her. "We've done it a million times." When we passed by Connie and her friends, I told them, "I'm kidnapping my girl. You'll have her back in a few hours."

Someone behind Brooklyn stopped. My eyes wandered to Snow who was carrying the bag of coals to the grill. She stood frozen on the spot. We stared for a moment.

I couldn't look away.

Back then, I was always numb. Now a part of me thought that I should feel somewhat smug, like a huh-your-loss feeling. But I didn't. I felt far from that.

Staring at her like this, I didn't expect to feel . . . sad.

"Oh, you can keep her," grinned Milo.

"You are so out of my cutiepie list," huffed Halo.

Snow blinked, as if waking up from a trance. She shook her head, avoided my eyes, and continued walking to the grill.

I turned my head to the sea.

"Fine, make the most of the day."

I looked back at Connie. She rolled her eyes at me and went back to taking out the raw barbecue sticks from the plastic container, smiling a little despite herself.

"I owe you for that cockblock, anyway," she shrugged.

I couldn't stop the crooked smile forming on my lips.

"I'm so touched you remembered," I said.

She flipped me off, making me chuckle.

"C'mon," I told Halo, tugging her hand.