Every Little Piece - By Kate Ashton Page 0,39

I, the whole gang, used to drive the strip and walk the shops. What used to hold sunshine memories and laughter, now holds a flood of sadness.

She has to run to keep up with me. “Are you sure your parents won’t mind me staying with them? I’m sure I can find someplace else.” Her voice trails off with uncertainty.

I stop in front of the arcade. Crude T-shirts hang from a string across the top of the gift shop. I grab Katie’s shoulders and whirl her toward me. She’s been the one constant in my life besides work on her dad’s ranch this past year and my volunteer work. She’s like the little sister I never had. She has to understand. “My parents wouldn’t have said yes if they weren’t completely on board with this. And trust me, you don’t want to stay in my grandfather’s old fishing cabin.”

One of the biggest reasons Katie came back east with me was for the ocean. I swore to her dad, my dad’s roommate from college, I’d take care of her. He gave me a place and work for the last year while I figured stuff out. He didn’t ask any questions. A month ago, he pulled me inside and hugged me. With tears in his eyes, he called me his son and then told me he couldn’t see me living like this without saying something. He saw my pain, the guilt. He told me I couldn’t move on without tying up loose ends, without closure. And he sent me back home. I can’t return until I’ve wiped away the haunting look in my eye. Then Katie begged to come with me.

“Are you going to stick around?” Her green eyes sparkle, and she tilts her head to the side and smiles, knowing I can’t say no to her.

“For a little bit. I have unfinished business.” As if Haley is unfinished business. The gaping hole in my chest for the last year is much more than crossing off my to-do list.

Katie skips ahead, then whirls around. “Something’s going on with that girl back there. I know it.”

“Yeah?” I smirk. “You think you’re so smart?”

“Yup.” She steps closer, her jaw set in determination. “And I’m going to figure it out too. So much makes sense now. Why you came running out to us like a hurt puppy. Why you’ve been so hard to get to know.”

I glance sideways. Katie’s a beautiful girl with her green eyes and blonde hair and fun personality. I’d fall for her in a heartbeat if my heart didn’t belong to someone else. But in the past year my heart hasn’t felt much, until today. Which reminds me of the whole reason I came back. We reach my car and jump in. My parents are expecting us.

We’re humming down the road, the memories flashing by with each landmark. I ran out west. Haley ran to the ocean. I focus on Katie. “Where would you like to apply for jobs? I can take you around tomorrow.”

She taps her fingers against the window, watching the sights with wide eyes. “Along the ocean.”

“No way.” I grip the steering wheel more firmly, thinking of all the guys cruising the beach for girls. “That’s not always the best scene.”

“You can’t keep me in a box here. I’m seventeen, not twelve.”

She’s right. She’s only two years younger than me but I feel years older. I promised her dad a summer back east. “Why the beach?”

“Seriously? You have to ask? I’ve wanted to see the ocean forever. And that reminds me. When can we go?”

I slow down and pull to the side of the road. “We can grab some hot chocolate and go now if you want.”

She squeals in response.

I stop at a gas station, and we run in and buy hot chocolate, then head to the beach. It’s easy to find parking this early in the season and soon we’re walking in the sand. We left our shoes on the boardwalk. The tiny grains of sand slip between my toes, and I can’t help but remember all the times Haley and I and the gang hung out here.

“Seth?” Katie asks.

“Hmm,” I murmur.

“Where do you go when you get that look?”

“What look?” I ask.

“Do you think I’m blind? That sad, puppy dog one. Whenever you’re quiet I know you’ve gone there to that place in your past. Whatever it is you’re running away from. Or maybe it’s that girl?”

She’s so close to the truth. But I haven’t talked to