AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We should have run for the cars,” she whispered, though there was no way Tyler or Seth could have picked up her voice from so far away.
“We’re safer here. They won’t come in the water.” Chris glanced at her. “And we had to get Seth away from the patio.”
What did that have to do with anything? “I don’t see your brothers.”
“They’re there.” His eyes were trained on the beach again.
Wind caught her hair and traced an icy finger along the inch of skin exposed by her shirt. She shivered again, bracing an arm against her stomach. The gust caught the flames in the drums, whipping them higher, making the girls on the beach giggle and scatter a bit.
Tyler and Seth flinched away from the drums, as if the fire reached for them.
Seth strode between the fires, spinning full circle to scan the beach. “Cut it out!”
Something cracked and split in one of the drums, shooting sparks and flaming bits into the wind.
A piece must have caught Seth on the arm, because he swore and smacked at his bicep.
Chris smiled, his eyes bright in the distant firelight. “See?”
She didn’t see anything. Another wave brought the water almost to her thighs. Had they moved? The water felt deeper suddenly, as if they’d drifted out another ten feet. She watched the wave roll up the shore, carrying foam and debris far higher than the last one had.
Seth began to pace the shoreline while Tyler hung back behind the drums, looking infinitely more frightening with the glow of the fires on his face.
Her teeth were starting to chatter, some mixture of cold and adrenaline. Chris’s hand was still wrapped around hers, strong and warm. She focused on that feeling. “How long do you think they’re going to wait?”
“They want to kill us.” His voice was dry. “It might be a few minutes.”
The wind kept up, pulling sand and debris into the air, tossing it into the fire to sizzle and spark. Girls fought to keep sand out of their clothes, tucking themselves against guys and gesturing toward the house.
“They’re clearing the beach,” said Chris.
Tyler and Seth? Or the twins? No one seemed to be doing anything except the people streaming toward the house.
Chris glanced down at her. He stood close, and his voice was rich in the night air. “Nick said you warned him. About Tyler being here.”
“It seemed like a good idea at the time.” Gusts were spraying water now, sending the flames sideways from the drums. Another wave soaked her jeans above the knees and she shivered violently. She’d never seen the tide roll in this quickly.
All of the party kids had abandoned the beach. Seth and Tyler were standing at the edge of the water now, staring out into the darkness. Tyler seemed to be staring straight at them, but the wind had to be stinging his eyes.
“I know you’re out there!” he called.
She shifted closer to Chris, as if that would help. She wanted to duck behind him, to hide, to bolt for the shore. She couldn’t stand immobile in the frigid water much longer. She started to pull free of Chris’s hand.
He held fast, and his voice came low and ironic. “So. You’re here with the new guy.”
Becca whipped her head around, feeling the choppy water swirl around her thighs. “You want to talk about this now?”
“Shh.” He gave a warning glance at the shoreline.
She froze, but Tyler didn’t seem to have heard.
“As I was saying.” Chris gave a low whistle. “Dude works fast.”
“Shut up.”
“Would you rather talk about our History project?”
He was so infuriating. She wanted to punch him—but then she realized she wasn’t shivering. The water actually felt ... warm.
