Twice The Trouble

Chapter 68: A Flicker

Sophia

The sky was a clear, cloudless blue shade and I cherished the windy and serene weather.

I am sitting on the sandy space where the ocean met the shore, my long white skirt was soaked and sticking to my legs which were stretched before me. My skin was prickling with the cold sensation of the water and the sand was touching the back of my legs. I shivered with giddiness.

"What are you thinking?" asked Lucas, who was sitting a couple of feet away from me.

I looked him dead in the eye and with a deadpan face, I said:

"A few days ago I found out that apparently if you kill someone in international waters on an unregistered boat then throw the body overboard they can't trace it back to anyone in the legal system so you can't be prosecuted for their murder."

I then pasted a saccharine smile on my face. "So what's on YOUR mind?"

"That if you ever invite me to a boat or yacht, I'm not saying yes," he said with fake terror.

My shoulders trembled with laughter and I gazed ahead. "Do you often come here?"

"Yes," he answered.

"What do you do?" I asked him.

"Just sit here, looking at the view and listening to a piece of music or trying to create one."

I looked at the view. It was a clear afternoon with no clouds or haze in the horizon. The sun was dropping bit by bit. A salty breeze blew into our faces. I admired the crystals glittering over the dark blue ocean and my heart warmed at a memory of Stacy and I wading in the waters.

"It has been a long time since I've been here," I said, wearing a reminiscent smile. "Stacy and I used to come here a lot when we were little. We would chase each other around a lot and pretend to fish. We always had a picnic under the stars." When it hit me, I blinked several times and said: "I'm rambling. Sorry."

"It's okay." Lucas rested his hand on top of mine, prompting me to look at him. "Ever wished you could go back in time and be a kid again?"

I nodded. "Yeah, sometimes. Back then we were so happy and untroubled.. But even then, I still didn't have a complete family."

"What do you mean?"

I pulled my hand away from his and crossed my arms on my knees as I watched the ocean.

"I just found out this morning..." I forced myself to keep talking. "..that my biological parents passed away a few minutes after Stacy and I were born. They were involved in a fatal car accident and they didn't even have the option to live. It was just me and my sister.. at least until Mama May and Papa Ben adopted us. They had promised to take care of us in case anything bad happened to our real mom and dad." A dam of tears dripped down my chin. "So that's it. They didn't get the chance to be married. We never had enough time to be a whole family. Their love story was short-lived and there's nothing that can change it."

I buried my face in my hands and cried and cried until my throat felt dry. I felt Lucas move closer and wrap me in a bear hug, his left hand behind me and his right hand caressing my head.

Mama May's words before I left the house suddenly rang in my head like a church bell.

"Sophia, always believe in love, but also keep in mind that not all love stories have happy endings."

A realist--that's what my mother was. She can be optimistic at times, but she also kept her reality in check.

"Sophia." Lucas broke the hug and held my shoulders, turning me so I would be looking ahead.

He pointed at the sun,which was now almost hidden behind the horizon. "There's an optical phenomenon where the sun flashes a green light the moment it dips below the horizon or rises above the horizon. Blink once, and you won't see it, so watch the upper rim of the sun very carefully, okay?"

"Sure." I sniffed and accepted the handkerchief Lucas was offering me.

I watched just as instructed, thrilled to see this green light. We both waited as the sun dropped until it was nearly entirely below the horizon. For a second or two, an intense flash of emerald green on the sun's upper edge before the ball of light completely disappeared from the sky.

"How was it?" I heard him ask, but I wasn't able to answer right away. My brown eyes were glued to the where the blue sea met the orange sky. Seeing such a rare and fleeting moment was so overwhelming.

I hugged my arms as I blinked my eyes, adjusting to my surroundings. The air was freezing cold.

When I swiveled around to glance at Lucas, he was already pulling his blue hoodie over his head.

"..." My lips parted, then clamped shut again. "..." Literally rendered speechless.

I looked at everywhere but at him. A fierce heat rushed to my face and my heart was pounding.

"Here, Sophia. Wear this to keep warm."

"N-no. I can tolerate the climate," I stammered, turning my face to the left, away from him.

"There's no zipper on this. You have to slide it over your head," he explained, poking my arm.

My cheeks were burning red. "How come you weren't wearing any shirt under the hoodie!?!"

"What?" I heard Lucas say. "It would have been too hot to wear another layer at the beach."

I stood up as though my butt was on fire. "I-I'm going to swim for a while."

"Sophia, the ocean is too cold now! Why are you so adamant to go into the--AH!"

Lucas spun around when I reached for my long skirt and unclasped it, dropping the limp white fabric to the white sand, leaving me in a green sleeveless top and black short shorts.

I was shaking out my long brown hair down my bare shoulders and over my back when Lucas whirled around to stare up at me with dilated brown eyes.

"Why--what-" His features were flummoxed, and I felt slightly self-conscious about wearing skin-tight shorts whose hem was cut several inches above my knees.

"I'll just be a few minutes. I want to check out the cove," I told him, and then I dashed away.

Lucas

Crazy.

That girl was undoubtedly--CRAZY.

It was strange to think that the girl behind the alias S. Green was none other than Sophia Ann Sta. Ana, the shy, bashful girl of Orion University. Yes, she is headstrong, creative, and intelligent.

But she is also impulsive, adamant, and downright nutty.

I sprang to my feet and shielded a palm over my eyes as I my nude feet splashed in the water.

"Not so far.. not too far.. damn it, she's out of my line of vision," I muttered and slapped my leg.

I squatted in front of her stuff--namely her beach blanket, green backpack, and picnic basket.

If she was planning to kill me with worry, then I was definitely going to raid her biscuit stash.

"Hey, chips," I stated with a ghost of a smile.

Were those binoculars? I picked them up and stood up from the sand, then faced the ocean.

I peered through the binoculars and I spotted a brown-haired girl bobbing from a distance.

She was really far away so I couldn't make out her expression, but her arms were flailing.

My blood ran cold when her blurry figure was coaxed in by the rippling waves and one minute passed and she still didn't rise to the surface of the water.

What the heck was I doing? I tossed the binoculars behind me and stretched my body before diving into the vehement ocean, swimming in the direction of the brunette.

Hang on, Sophia. I'm coming.