take the leap and enjoy the fall.
I’m not scared of either.
It’s whether we’ll stick the landing or not that terrifies me.
But maybe…just maybe he’s worth the risk.
“Thea?” my dad asks.
I lift my head. “I’m sorry I lied, Pops.”
His face crumples at the sight of my tears, and his arms are around me not even a second later.
“Shh. It’s okay, peanut. We’re not mad.” He squeezes me tighter. “But now I’m a little concerned. Things seemed to be going well—what happened?”
“It’s nothing,” I tell him, pushing myself away and swiping at my eyes. I can’t be crying in front of employees, embarrassing myself. “We’ll work it out.”
I hope.
“Listen, I’m only going to say this once, okay? Don’t throw something away just because you’re scared.”
I open my mouth to say something, but he beats me to it.
“Did you know I tried to leave your mother once?”
Now my mouth is open for completely different reasons.
He nods. “I did. It wasn’t my finest moment, but I got scared. We were young. We were getting married, moving in together. Everything was moving fast, and things were getting serious. I woke up one day in a panic because it was just all so real, you know? Then I realized I wanted real. I wanted the easy, the hard, the moments when I wasn’t so sure. I wanted it all because it made those good times all that much sweeter.” He exhales. “What I’m saying is, don’t let something good, something real pass you up just because you’re scared. Running might seem easy, but it’s not. It’s a lot harder than sticking around and wading through all the bullshit, because then you’re left with the regrets. Don’t run, Thea.”
Take the leap. Enjoy the fall.
Slice Twenty
Sully
“Okay, now that was a sick wave.” Winston slicks his wet hair back, looking down at his camera. He scrolls through the photos and lets out a low whistle. “I got so many cool shots, man. Gonna have fun looking through all of these later.”
“Uh-huh,” I say, not really paying attention.
I’m sure he got some great photographs, but it doesn’t matter. I wasn’t feeling any of it.
He pauses in his examination for just a moment but doesn’t say anything, continuing to look at the images with a creased brow.
I know he’s dying to. He’s been dying to.
All fucking week.
But he knows me. If I want to talk, I’ll talk.
And I do not want to talk.
Especially not about Thea.
Not about how I told her I love her and she stood on the edge, refusing to leap.
What hurt the most is that I know she wants to jump; she just doesn’t think I’m worthy of taking the chance.
I settle my board on the sand and take a seat, bringing my knees up and resting my arms on top of them. Winston sits beside me, scrolling through the pictures on his camera, still not saying anything.
We sit there in silence for I don’t even know how long. It’s early, the sun barely up over the horizon, and the water is a beautiful beast today.
I take a deep breath and try to exhale all the mixed emotions inside me, attempting to find my calm, but it’s no use.
It’s been no use all week, and it’s really starting to grate on me.
Surfing is my escape, the water my sanctuary—but I can’t seem to find a lick of peace in either.
My peace left when Thea did.
Winston clears his throat beside me. “So, any big plans this weekend?”
He doesn’t know the details of what happened with Thea—I haven’t broken that promise to her—but he’s put two and two together and has picked up that it’s nothing good.
I glare at my best friend. “I’m not stupid, Winston. I know that’s your way of asking if I’m going to the wedding.”
“Well, are you?”
“Yes.”
He seems relieved. “Good, because the whole town has been invited. You have to go.”
I had no intention of missing the wedding, but he doesn’t need to know that.
I might have broken the rule about not letting feelings get involved, but I’m not breaking my promise of being her date. I would never leave her in the lurch just because I screwed up.
Winston sighs dramatically, doing that thing people do when they want attention but don’t want to outright ask for it.
I’m not one to play games.
He does it again, and I grit my teeth.
“Dude, I am not in the mood for your shit. What’s that rule you have for me? If you have something to say, then say it.”
He