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Ally loved this part of the beach, where the buildings and the tourists gave way to nature. She ran past the dunes and skipped over the rocks, heading toward the tiny cove where she used to come for picnics with Brooke and Ember. The three of them would stuff themselves full of whatever they’d managed to grab from their parents’ kitchens, barely able to eat because they were all talking too fast about whatever the latest school gossip was, or more often, about their crush of the month.
Ember used to bring her iPod and speakers with her – that was back in the days before they had smartphones to keep them company. They’d play music and dance themselves silly without fear of anybody seeing them. Ally smiled, remembering how Ember would fling out her arms and spin until she dropped.
Those were good times. She missed them. Now they were too busy to spend more than a few hours together. Ember had her relationship with Lucas, and Brooke had her son, Nicholas, to take care of, and on top of that they were both so busy with their jobs and school. Ally’s eyes began to sting and she blinked, blaming the salty air that carried up from the water.
She came to a stop in the middle of the cove, stretching out her arms, and feeling her chest open as her fingertips reached out into the air. Then she spun herself around the way that Ember always used to, starting slow, before turning faster, her hands whooshing through the air as her body turned in circles.
She’d forgotten how it felt to be this free. To not care about the fact she was getting dizzy, nor that any moment she’d be too lightheaded to remain upright. Instead, she kept turning, her body leaning to the left, the air escaping her mouth in a shout of joy.
By the time she fell over her blood was rushing through her ears, echoing the sound of the waves crashing into shore. She collapsed on her back, flinging her limbs out in a starfish position, feeling her body still moving in circles even though she’d stopped.
As the sound of her rushing blood died down, it was replaced by something strange and high pitched. Ally cocked her eye open, glancing out of the corner. She saw a young girl standing there, laughing her head off at this adult who’d spun herself until she’d felt sick.
“Glad I amused you,” Ally said, not feeling quite stable enough to sit up yet.
The girl shook her head and laughed again. Ally opened her other eye and attempted to focus on her. She looked a little familiar, but she couldn’t quite place her. “Do I know you?” Ally asked.
“Nope.” The girl shook her head. “I’m new in town.”
Slowly, Ally sat up. Her stomach was still lurching. “Then you probably don’t know that this is our town dance. Everybody who lives here has to do it.”
“Bullshit.”
Ally blinked. “Okay, so I might be making that bit up. But don’t you ever want to spin until everything else disappears?”
“All the time.” The girl sat down and pulled her knees to her chest, circling her arms around them. “But what I’d really like to do is spin myself out of town and back home. Wherever the hell that is.”
The girl sounded despondent. If only Brooke was here. Or Ember. Both of her friends were so much better at talking to children than Ally was. She was more used to taking their food orders and telling them to get their feet off the benches.
“Don’t you like it here?” Ally asked, grasping for anything to say to the girl. “I’m Ally by the way.”
“Riley,” the girl replied. “And no, I don’t like it here. I prefer Seattle where there’s actually something to do. Do you know all everybody talks about is the beach? When they’re going to sunbathe or surf, or go and grab an ice cream from the parlor. If you took the sand away there would be nothing to do at all.”
“There’s the mountains,” Ally pointed out. “Lots of people go hiking up there.”
“But what about the movies and the mall?” Riley replied. “What about hanging around and going out to eat together? There’s nothing fun to do around here.”
“Déjà Brew is opening up an outlet at the beach,” Ally said. “I’ve heard it’s pretty popular with kids.”
The girl let out a strangled scream that made Ally jump. “Do you know how much I hate Déjà Brew?” Riley asked, her nose wrinkling up. “I hate it with the power of a thousand angry demons.”
“Wow,” Ally replied, her brows rising up. “That’s a lot of hate. What did the place ever do to you?”
“My dad owns it.” Riley shrugged. “Isn’t that enough?”
Ally felt the air rush out of her lungs. “You’re Nate Crawford’s daughter?”
Riley frowned, tipping her head to the side. “How do you know my dad?”
“I work for him.”
The girl’s lips twitched. “At Déjà Brew? Oh god, what on Earth did you do to deserve that? Torture kids? Kill a cat?”
“Is he that bad?” Ally asked, biting down a smile. There was something about this girl that she liked.
Riley leaned forward, her voice lowering. “He’s much, much worse. Take my word for it. Run as fast as you can. And whatever you do, don’t look back.”
