Chapter Nine
Sarah
ZACH AND SARAH were as close as siblings could be, especially in the midst of the circumstances of Sarah’s college departure and Zach’s status at the age of hating/adoring his older sister. Plus, Alison was so old to him she seemed to be another mom or a distant aunt. He loved Sarah. Mostly, he just loved her.
A week after Sarah’s return, Zach and Sarah decided to give the aquarium a shot. Sarah did not mind babysitting her younger brother, because it gave them much needed time together, and also because their mom had handed her a handful of ten-dollar bills to explore the town together. She was in desperate need of new tennis shoes, and she’d promised Zach they’d go to the yogurt store at the border of town proper.
The pavement was peeling in the baking parking lot of the aquarium, and the hint of swamp beyond added a Lousiana-esque feel to the locale. The sky was overcast, but the aquarium building was coated by murals of indigo dolphins, stingrays, and pufferfish. Sarah had not been here in years, but she knew that inside housed many mysteries of the dark water, and Zach loved marine biology. He loved anything that moved, really, which was why Sarah believed he would make a nice doctor. Zach was definitely smart like a doctor, and he preferred science to English, which was Sarah’s strongpoint, though she had learned to hate it like most other humans.
“Oh my gosh, I haven’t been here in so long!” he squealed as he undid his seatbelt. The boy was twelve, at the cusp of losing his boyhood and still at the barrier of childhood.
Sarah unbuckled and hopped out of the car, glad she had brought a sweatshirt, because the day was becoming chilly with the threat of an impending summer shower. She locked her mother’s car and followed Zach into the lobby, which housed an incredible fish tank beneath the welcome desk, which surprised her. The place had undergone renovations since she’d last been, as the inside was painted in new, vibrant colors, with similar sketches of mermaids and whales covering wall space. As the transaction processed, Sarah and Zach bent down to see a placard describing the spotted gar and the urquoise-colored bird wrasse. The fish swam around together in the bright tank. It’s crazy how something so ordinary can seem so extraordinary.
She paid for their entrance, which included a special meet-and-greet with the dolphins at one o’clock. They could peruse the place, grab some lunch from the little restaurant, and be at the dolphins by the right time before heading out to grab yogurt and do some shopping. Heck, Sarah had an entire summer to shop. Her motto for the summer was languid living, because college hadn’t exactly been as easy as she’d been told.
They followed a path etched out on the floors resembling dolphin fins. Various fish tanks greeted them with fish from beyond: red lionfish, which happens to be venomous, and as a native from the Indo-Pacific, it is now an illegal immigrant to the East Coast; moon wrasse, which has a colorful tail but buries itself deep in the sand to sleep; blue green chromis, an iridescent fish that changes colors depending on the sunlight; and the diamondback terrapin, a turtle whose habitat ranges from the Florida Keys to Cape Cod.
Sarah was intently watching a clownfish, which supposedly had an ability to withstand the sting of anemone, as Zach blabbed beside her about a shark series he’d watched on TV. A male voice resonated behind her, a voice she recognized immediately. She refused to turn around, knowing that he wasn’t calling for her, or even knew who she was, probably, although it would be hard to forget a person from a high school class of seventy when they’d graduated only a year ago. Plus, they’d just seen each other at church.
The clownfish darted between the anemone, its movements jagged like Sarah’s breathing. She hated to see people she knew in public, which her mother had called antisocial, but Sarah knew was insecurity. Eventually, Zach tugged on her arm, and she was pleased to see the voice and its speaker had vanished.
However, Zach hissed, “Sarah. Sarah.”
She looked up, tucking a globule of brown hair behind her right ear, the one she’d recently pierced at the top. She touched it often to make sure it was still there. Sarah did not put two and two together immediately, because her heart hammered so hard that she became nervous and quite scared.
A young man, a handsome young man, stood before her, with a big, goofy smile draped across his lips. He had a shock of brown, curly hair, and chocolate eyes that had enlightened many people. He was so tall, and he seemed more mature than when they’d graduated only a year before. Joel Sealet was still lanky, but not as gangly as he had been, and Sarah felt her heart swoon, even though her steely mind halted her from saying anything. She knew he was a good-looking guy, but he was not anywhere good enough for her. Not with his history.
“Sarah Towson,” he said, his voice seductive. Sarah felt Zach tense against her arm. “What’re you doing here?”
Sarah did not smile. Instead, she offered, “It’s summer break. For me at least. Thought I’d show my brother the… Big nose unicorn fish.” Right on cue, the little specimen floated near them.
“Did you know that they can change colors—from pale to bright blue—depending on their moods? Anyway, wow, Sarah, I didn’t say this before, but you… You look different.”
“Excuse me?” Zach butted in, his voice cracking.
Sarah clenched Zach’s hand in her own. “The same goes for you, Joel.”
Joel smiled, knowing full well of the little pit bull inside Zachary Towson. He was known to be one of the best wrestlers for his age in the area. Plus, they went to church together now, and Zachary always ran away when Chloe or some of the other girls tried to chase him. He was an eerily candid snapshot of the male version of his sister.
“It’s weird seeing you here,” Joel admitted, not wanting to leave. He was intrigued by Sarah Towson. Not many people ever left Breezewater, and when somebody did, it was the talk of the town. For months after Sarah’s departure, she was the biggest news for miles. No one could stop talking about Sarah’s big shot in Hollywood. Of course, no one knew that Sarah had only gone to a specific college that had captured her heart because she wanted to major in anthropology, not acting or music or writing. She hadn’t gone to California because of that. She’d gone because it was far, far away from the Hollywood dramatics her own family displayed.
“Why is it weird?” She refused to let down her guard. She knew how much of a scoundrel Joel Sealet could be.
“I wasn’t sure you’d ever come back.” He said it like they had been intimately acquainted. Yet they had been on the verge of strangers. They’d only shared a few hellos and greetings over the four years they’d gone to high school together, even in a class as small as theirs. Sarah had been an academic, and Joel had been in some honors courses, but Sarah was a loner, and Joel was part of the in-crowd.
“I did,” Sarah whispered, looking away from him. “And you didn’t leave?”
“I came back for the summer, to work. I go to college in Savannah.”
“How’s that working out?”
Joel cocked his head, fascinated. “Good, I guess. I enjoy working in an aquarium more, though.”
“Sarah,” Zach said, “can we go see the dolphins now?”
“I can walk you guys over to the dolphin tank. I’m heading that way anyway.”
Zach gagged, loud enough that Sarah heard it and smiled, but even though she did not like being in Joel’s presence and she had an antisocial streak, she nodded. “Sure. Zach, run ahead, okay?”
Zach nodded, rushing off to observe chocolate chip starfish nearby. Sarah turned to Joel. “So?”
“So what?” Joel asked, proffering a cocksure smile. “I mean, I’m not exactly your best friend or anything, but I do like seeing people I once knew.”
“That’s the thing, though. We never knew each other.”
Joel crossed his arms, deep in thought. “I guess not, which was a shame. Do you keep in contact with any of your old friends? I remember you hung out with Destiny Tridell, and Karli Kirkpatrick, and Sophie Morrisburg…”
“
Actually, you might be able to help me with this.” She licked her lips, eager to figure out this issue, because her luck had dwindled. “I was going to ask you this at church a week ago, but then…”
Joel shifted his standing position so he was just a little bit taller. “Then we had to rescue Elsie Brandon.”
“To answer your question, I don’t keep contact with any of them, and that is a huge failing on my part. These people used to be the people I saw every single day. Sorry, I don’t mean to burden you with this…”
Joel smiled, because she was finally beginning to open up around him. “If you apologize again to me, I will become extremely offended. Don’t apologize. I can handle it.”
“I’m sure you can,” Sarah said, the hint of a smile appearing on her lips. “I lost all contact with the three of them, and I went to see Karli’s parents a week ago or so. Do you know anything about her?”
“Karli Kirkpatrick.” Joel licked his lips, his brown eyes deep in thought again. He stroked his chin—the chin where a hint of stubble poked through—and Sarah tried not to stare at the motion. “She attended classes at college for a few weeks. I even had an Intro to Econ class with her, but she stopped coming around September. I heard she’s dating John Cruston. Remember him?”
“That’s what her parents said. And they’re living together.”
“Cruston’s not the best influence,” Joel admitted, though he felt guilty for saying it. Cruston was his primary weed source. Cruston was a bigtime dealer around the area, and Joel had used his services quite often, but Karli never was involved in that aspect, as least not to Joel’s knowledge. Then Joel got a weird feeling in his stomach. He could not imagine living with a girl at nineteen. Sharing a dorm with another guy was hard enough.
He continued: “Well, but I think I know where Cruston lives.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. I could show you sometime.” Sarah’s eyes flashed, and Joel knew he had caused discomfort. He immediately backtracked and said, “Or, you know, I could get in touch with you. I can find his address and send it to you.”
She appreciated this, and she nodded. “You wouldn’t mind?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Hey, Joel, can I ask you another question?”
“Shoot.”
“Is it true Cruston beat her?”
Joel frowned. “Yes. It was bad. You know, I can ask Brie more about Karli. She would know…” Suddenly, he remembered he had a girlfriend, and he felt guilty for the first time in ages. He definitely had ulterior motives when it came to helping Sarah, the unattainable good girl who had returned from California like an exotic gem. Something he had known of for years but never really known.
“Brie?” she asked, feigning interest. “Is she your girlfriend?” She cursed herself immediately for asking the last part.
Joel nodded, jamming his hands into his pockets. “Yeah, she’s my girlfriend. Do you remember her at all? Well, Savannah’s smallish, but not that small to know every single person.”
“That’s exciting,” Sarah said. “Girlfriend and all.”
“You looking for one or something? Lame joke.”
“I would say so.” She stared at him, knowing he was flirting with her, or at least attempting. She was not entirely blind, but she still would not consider him an ally. She would have to be careful of her dealings with Joel Sealet. “You know, I think Alex McFarland turned out really cool.” She knew it was a low blow, but the moment the statement peaked over her tongue, she felt justified in saying it.
“You want me to set y’all up?”
“Nah, I don’t date.”
“Is there a reason why?”
She shrugged, her brown hair cascading down her back in rivulets. Unlike Brie’s hair, Sarah’s curls were au naturel. “I’ve never met a person I want to date.”
“Really?” he asked, not believing it for a moment. “Not one person? Someone may need to change her standards then.”
“No one is perfect, not one,” she said back, her tone sarcastic. “I don’t believe it’s my standards. Just the fact I prefer solitude.”
“Do you want children?”
“No,” she said quickly.
“Do you want to ever get married?”
“No.”
“Do you want to be human?”
She smiled at him. “Frankly, not really.”
“Cold, very cold, Miss Hollywood.”
A heavyset man appeared, the logo of the aquarium planted on his shirt. “Hey, Sealet, what’re you doing flirting with a customer? Come do what I pay you for.” Then he winked.
In response Joel winked at his new friend, a girl whom he’d just exchanged more words with in a few minutes than in the entire past few years. “See you?”
“How’re you going to send me what you find out?”
“It’s a small town,” Joel said, rushing off.