CHAPTER FOUR
—JAMIE
The sun is shining asI step outside for the first time today. I slip on my sunglasses and take a deep breath, letting the warmth of the day settle over me. The breeze coming up from the beach is a mix of salty air and earthy wetness, tinged with sunscreen from the pool deck. Not a terrible smell, but not exactly refreshing, either.
It’s nearly time for lunch, so my mother sent me on a mission to find my little sister, Astrid. While most twelve-year-olds around here are obsessed with celebrities, social media, or… horses, I know there’s only one place my sister would be: closest to the water.
Sure enough, I find her sitting on the edge of the resort pool. She repeatedly dips her toes into the water, watching the ripples spread out and fade away. She doesn’t notice me at first, her attention focused on the movement of the water. It’s a change from her usual frantic energy—her bright red hair always in some chaotic state, her words constantly flowing faster than I can keep up with. But right now, she’s lost in her thoughts.
“Hey,” I say, my voice soft so I don’t startle her.
Astrid glances over her shoulder and smiles, though it’s subdued. “You finally made it outside,” she says.
“Reluctantly,” I admit, crouching down beside her. I dip my fingersinto the water, immediately pulling them back with a quick wince. “It’s freezing.”
She laughs, kicking her legs in the water to try to splash me. I back away, giving her a look that saysTry me.She just smirks, like she’s already won. When I come beside her again, she tilts her face toward the sky and squints her eyes.
“Do you think it’s going to rain today?” she asks.
“Not sure,” I reply, looking around. “Sun seems pretty stubborn right now.”
“Too bad,” she says, sounding wistful. “I kind of like it when the beach gets all moody. It’s different, you know?”
I nod, considering her words. My sister has always had a different way of looking at things “Yeah, I get it. Sort of like it’s subverting expectations.”
She rolls her eyes. “Whatever that means,” she says. Her gaze drifts back to the water. “Do you want to swim with me?” she asks, hopeful. “You promised you would.”
I glance at the pool, then back at her. “In this?” I motion to the water, raising an eyebrow. “A little cold, don’t you think?”
Astrid shrugs nonchalantly. “You’ll get used to it.”
“Uh-huh,” I tell her. “You always say that, but I think you actuallylikeswimming in cold water. Like an eel.”
“It’s not that bad,” she says, amused by my comment. “We’ve been in worse.” She jumps up from the deck with a little bounce, splashing water over my sneakers. “Remember that time we tried swimming in the freezing lake near Grandpa’s house?” she asks, her grin widening. “You were crying about itso hard.”
“Yeah,” I say. “Because it felt like someone poured ice cubes in the water. But in case you forgot, I did go in. Eventually.”
“Exactly,” she says. “If you can survive that, you can survive swimming in a heated pool. Don’t be a baby.”
“This pool is definitely not heated,” I murmur, thinking for a moment. After a long pause, I smile at her. “Fine,” I say. “I’ll swim with you, but you’re going in first.”
Astrid is very pleased with herself. “Deal,” she says.
She goes to the edge of the pool, but before she dives in, Astrid looks back over her shoulder at me, her forehead furrowed. “Jamie,” she says, her voice softer. “Is Dad going to send you away again?”
Her words are a dagger to my heart, and I instinctively put my hand on my chest to protect myself. It takes me a moment to recover, but then I shake my head. Force a smile.
“Nope,” I say simply. “You’re stuck with me for a while.”
Her face softens, and I see the tension ease from her shoulders. For a split second, she looks like her usual self, the Astrid I know—bright and full of life.
As she jumps in, the weight of her question still lingers in the back of my mind, but I try not to let it ruin the moment. I’m doing everything I’m supposed to; I’m being responsible. I’m gettingback on track,as my parents said. At the same time… Astrid and I are already late for lunch, so what the hell. Might as well make the most of it.
“You want to race?” I ask my sister. “I bet I can beat you this time.”
Astrid’s eyes widen in mock disbelief. “You? Beat me?” She shakes her head like it’s the most ridiculous thing she’s ever heard. “I hope you’re prepared to lose,” she says, waving me in.
“I’m about to embarrass you,” I call, then dive into the water without another word. The cold is a shock to my system, but it wakes me up instantly.
