Page 89 of All The Way Under
We live in one of those small, big towns. Big enough for people and places you’ve never heard of, but small enough that people tend to know, in a roundabout way, everyone.
Mom says something under her breath, and Dad claps me on the back once before heading in the opposite direction with the other guests.
I was given orders to enter through the side, where the deck wraps around. There’s a room where the bridal party is supposed to wait so we can enter together.
I stop at the deck to admire the sunset. I’m here early, so there’s no sense going in yet. A waitress with a tray filled with drinks spots me from inside and comes out to offer me a drink. I take a foamy glass of beer and thank her.
My parents’ conversation and their worry have me feeling melancholy, so I drink my beer and watch the horizon until darksettles. I set my glass down on a tray in the corner and head inside. I pull down my tux and readjust my shirt before turning a corner.
“Boo!” A flash of purple and blonde pounces in front of me.
I actually startle, my heart tripping.
Saylor. She’s standing in front of me. Like a dream vision of perfection.
“I’m sorry,” she says, but her smile deepens, crinkling her eyes. “Your dad said he’d pay me ten bucks to jump out and scare you.”
My damn dad. I should have known.
Her big blue eyes hold me to my spot. I don’t move. I can’t. She enters my bloodstream like a hit of a drug after I’ve been sober. My heart beats a familiar rhythm again after a year of heartbreak.
I’m alive. That’s what this feels like. Her scent fills my lungs. Her presence brings me back to life.
“Saylor,” I say, her name trembling on my lips.
I forbade myself from saying it after the breakup. Thinking of her was unbearable. It was easier to wash myself of her existence entirely. Which is easier said than done.
“What are you doing here?”
She’s eyeing me up and down.
“Cat sent me an invite, but obviously I sent back a no RSVP straight away because I didn’t want to intrude. Then a guest needed a last-minute plus one, and he convinced me it would be a good idea if I came.”
I push the jealousy aside because she isn’t mine. Was never mine, honestly, but who could she possibly be here with?
“I can leave if you’d rather me not be here. It’s why I wanted to talk to you first. Should I leave?”
I don’t trust my voice. I shake my head to reply.
Her gaze darts away.
“I didn’t keep up with anything to do with you. I couldn’t. When I got the invite, it was still fresh pain, you know? It was too hard to think about you.”
Saylor turns her face, and our oceans lock.
“I set the world record, though. I didn’t report it to the record book. That attention didn’t seem like something I wanted.” She smiles, then it drops. “I just needed to prove to myself that I could do it. It was never going to be safer than it was right after the SEALs squashed the terrorist group, so I took advantage. I spent a few months being upset, loaded my new sailboat, and went.”
She shakes her fists next to her shoulders in an exaggerated way.
“Didn’t get captured this time! I used ATWU the whole journey, and somehow my signal didn’t get jammed,” she smirks. “It took a long time and a lot of therapy to work through that, but I know it wasn’t you.”
“You took my advice,” I say.
“I dated a few guys when I got back too.”
“I did not give you that advice.”
Saylor tilts her head and smiles. “You gave up rights to stop me.”
