A Healing Heart (11 page)

~
Savannah
~

Collin stood up and left the kitchen. He was taller and had filled out since I’d last seen him. I could feel his strength when we hugged. His cologne, so subtle, was the same brand that I remembered. My pulse had raced in his embrace, but he seemed distant. This was not what I’d thought would happen when we saw each other again. It was like I barely existed. How could he just run out like that? We hadn’t seen each other for over two years and that was it? “Hi, Savannah, bye, Savannah.” I’d expected him to be more excited to see me.

The drive from Vegas had seemed to drag on and on, and then when we had finally arrived, I’d been so disappointed that Collin wasn’t even here to greet us. I’d patiently waited for him to get home from work thinking we’d be able to spend the evening together getting caught up, but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen either. So far, things were not going as I’d planned.

I was still sitting at the table with my mom when I heard Collin’s footsteps racing down the stairs, and in an instant he was out the door. He didn’t even come in to say goodbye. I wondered where he was going in such a hurry.

Trying not to let it bother me, I focused on tomorrow. He had promised to take me to the beach tomorrow, so maybe it would be different. Having him all to myself on the way down to the beach would be a good start. There would be plenty of time to get reacquainted. I only had a week here with Collin and I needed to make the best of it.

~
Bailey
~

The phone buzzing brought me back from my daydream. I glanced down and read the text: Collin was running late. A bit out of the usual for him, but maybe they held him at work. We were just going out for ice cream tonight. The plan was to be back home early since tomorrow we were going down to the beach early in the morning to join a bunch of other kids from school. Mia and Natasha had gotten back today from their skiing trip, and I was anxious to see them and update them on the week’s adventures. I’d been texting them through the week, but reception where they were was not always reliable.

Leaving my room, I went downstairs to wait for Collin to arrive. The house was quiet; my aunt and uncle weren’t home. I enjoyed the quiet most of the time, but sometimes it was almost too quiet. I remembered how irritated I got when my brother and sister would run around the house screaming at each other. “He touched me/she looked at me.” There was always something they were fighting about. I would try to ignore the screaming, wishing so many times they would stop. Now, I would give about anything in the world to hear them screaming at each other again. I shook my head to clear it. I knew I needed to stop dwelling on the things I couldn’t change, but still, the thoughts would creep into my head.

Collin pulled up a few minutes later. I guess he wasn’t running as late as he had thought. I hurried out, eager to see him. He met me at the passenger door. I wrapped my arms around him and looked up into his sparkling blue eyes. His hands lightly touched the sides of my face as he leaned down and kissed me in greeting. Pulling away slightly, he held me a bit longer with his chin nestled on the top of my head. We seemed to fit each other perfectly.

“
I missed you, sweetie. It’s been a long day!”

“
I missed you too. I thought you were running late.” Stepping aside, Collin opened the door for me and I slid in.

After starting the car, he turned to me. “I wasn’t sure how long it would take at my house. We have company.”

“
Oh, who?” This was the first time he had mentioned having company at his house. A sense of uneasiness washed over me. As quickly as it came, I tried to shove it aside.

“
Old family friends. We used to live down the block from them. I’ve known them all my life. My dad and Shane were old college roommates.”

I was overreacting; my stomach started to settle down a bit. “That’s cool. How long are they here for?”

“
A week. Their kids are on spring break, so they’re planning on doing the tourist thing: Disneyland, Sea World, all those kind of things.”

“
Kids? How old are they?”

“
Savannah is my age, in her senior year, and Ashley is eleven.”

The knots were suddenly back in my stomach. “Oh.”

Collin’s eyes darted to me, “What do you mean ‘Oh’?”

Breaking away from his searching gaze, I looked out at the front windshield. “Nothing. Never mind.” I felt his hand turn my head back toward his.

“
That doesn’t sound like nothing. What’s wrong?”

I let out a deep sigh. “Is Savannah somebody special to you?”

“
I grew up with her, we were best friends. Yeah, she’s someone special, but she’s like a sister to me.”

“
That’s it? Just like a sister?”

“
Bailey, yes, that’s it. I haven’t seen her in two years. She’s like another sister, okay.”

“
Okay.” I smiled hesitantly at him, but the knots were still lodged in my stomach.

“
Where am I right now? With you. I got out of the house as quickly as I could, to see you. Okay?”

I knew he was right; I pushed aside the uneasiness and settled in to enjoy the next few hours with him. We shared a hot fudge sundae while sitting on the outdoor patio of the food court. We laughed as little kids ran in and out of the water feature located in the center. The evening was starting to cool, but the kids didn’t seem to mind. As the sun set that night, the clouds in the sky turned deep red and orange. So beautiful and bright, it almost looked like the sky was on fire. The saying “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight” ran through my head. It was a good omen that the weather tomorrow would be great, and a day at the beach with Collin would be like heaven.

CHAPTER SEVEN

~
Savannah
~

I
was up early Saturday morning, carefully picking out my best bikini, my shortest shorts, and my favorite tank top. My top stopped just before it reached the waistline of my shorts. As I moved, glimpses of my tanned, slim waist were visible, showing off my new belly button piercing. My parents had been horrified when they had discovered the piercing. I was eighteen, though, so they really couldn’t say much to me about it.

This morning I decided to leave my long blond hair down and carefully applied my makeup to accent my deep brown eyes. Reviewing the finished product in the full-length mirror, I was satisfied with my appearance and went downstairs to meet Collin.

Collin sat at the table eating a bowl of cereal; he glanced up as I came into the room. “Hey, Savannah, you ready?”

“
Yes, whenever you are.” I was a bit miffed that he didn’t seem to notice me except for a slight glance in my direction. This was not the reaction I was hoping, or expecting, to get. Most guys would have paid a little more attention to the revealing clothing I was wearing, but Collin seemed oblivious. I wondered what must be on his mind that would cause him to be so preoccupied. I hoped this wasn’t an indication of how the entire week was going to be!

“
Do you want breakfast? I’m almost done and need to grab the beach towels. I already loaded the beach chairs that we have and an ice chest; everyone’s bringing something. A couple of the kids left early this morning to save us a fire pit.”

“
Cool, let me grab some warmer clothes then for later. It sounds like we’re going to be down there for a while. I’m not really a breakfast person, so I’m good.”

Leaving the kitchen, I raced upstairs grinning. Maybe all was not lost—an evening at the beach with Collin could be quite exciting. A walk along the sand or watching the sunset would be cool. There were several possibilities that could be a lot of fun. Rummaging through my suitcase, I located my capri sweats and matching sweatshirt. Tossing them into the bag with my other clothes, I went back downstairs.

Collin was waiting for me at the front door. “I’ve got everything loaded if you’re ready to go.”

“
I’m ready, let’s go!”

I followed Collin to his car and got into the front seat as he went around to the driver’s side. Collin started the car, and we pulled away from the curb.

“
Nice car, by the way.”

“
Thanks. I got a good deal on it but had to do some work to it to get it to run right. The previous owner was going through a divorce and didn’t want to deal with it.”

“
Um-hmm. So isn’t the freeway the other direction? Where are we going?”

“
Oh, sorry, I have one stop to make first. We need to pick up Bailey.”

“
Bailey? Who’s Bailey?”

“
I guess you could say she’s my girlfriend, although we’ve not officially called it that yet.”

My heart stopped. “Your what?” I could barely spit the words out.

Collin glanced sideways at me, “My girlfriend.”

“
That’s what I thought you said. When did this happen? How come you haven’t mentioned her before?” I tried to keep my voice even, but inside I was seething. How and when could this have happened?

He shrugged. “A few weeks ago. The topic just didn’t come up. She’s great. I’m sure you’ll really like her.” He flashed me a big grin that only made the matter a hundred times worse.

Forcing a smile, I did the only thing I could right now, which was to agree. It was a good thing I hadn’t eaten breakfast or I would have probably needed to puke. This was a major setback, but not impossible to overcome. I would just have to change my tactics a bit and refocus. Failure was not an option.

~
Bailey
~

I was finishing packing for the beach, mentally going through my checklist to make sure I didn’t forget anything. The food I was responsible for bringing was already downstairs waiting by the door. All I needed now was to grab my sunblock and baseball hat. My skin did not fare well in the sun and I didn’t want to come home looking like a red lobster. I could hear the faint rumble of Collin’s car coming up the street, so I grabbed my belongings by the front door and walked outside.

Collin pulled his car up to the curb and I almost stopped on the sidewalk as I noticed a stunning blond girl sitting in the front seat. Savannah? It had to be. She was coming with us? Great. Somehow the excitement of the trip quickly evaporated. I couldn’t understand why Collin hadn’t mentioned that she was joining us today. I forced myself to plaster a smile on my face and continued walking toward the car. Collin jumped out and reached me quickly, grabbing my bags and carrying them to the back hatch.

After he had finished loading the items, he leaned down and brushed a light kiss across my lips. “Morning.”

“
Morning,” I replied, then without skipping a beat, I couldn’t help but ask, “So, is that Savannah?”

“
Yeah, I asked her last night if she wanted to come with us. I thought she might have fun with everyone.”

“
Oh. Okay.”

Collin opened the passenger door, his other arm lightly wrapped around my waist. We stepped aside as Savannah got out.

“
Bailey, this is my friend Savannah. Savannah, this is Bailey.”

“
Hi,” we both said in unison.

I knew we were each measuring the other one up. Savannah was absolutely gorgeous: a little shorter than me; long blond hair, perfectly brushed back; flawless face; deep, chocolate brown eyes; angelic features; and slight dimples in her cheeks. There was no way I could compare to her. Her perfect body was set off with very skimpy jean shorts and a tank top that fit her tightly, leaving little to the imagination.

Savannah was the first to break the silence. “Here, let me move the seat up for you so you can climb in back.”

I was not expecting that. I immediately knew I shouldn’t underestimate this angelic creature in the front seat. I got the distinct impression that she wasn’t much of an angel. I glanced quickly to Collin to see if he would correct her, but he said nothing, seemingly oblivious to the tension crackling between Savannah and I. Could he really not see through this ploy? I wasn’t really surprised, though. Instinct told me that Savannah could twist anyone she wanted around her little finger.

“
Ah, thanks.” Two could play this game; I would just have to be quicker on the way home. I climbed into the tiny backseat. This was not the ride down to the beach I had been anticipating. I had barely gotten my knees adjusted when the seat came flying backward, crushing me further.

“
Oh, sorry, wrong way. Let me fix that.”

“
It’s okay,” I muttered.

Finally the seat moved forward enough so that my knees were not jammed up to my chin. I was glad I couldn’t see her face in the mirror: it was going to be a long drive.

* * *

Surprisingly, the trip down to the beach was not as awful as I had thought it was going to be. Collin kept the conversation going between the three of us. I was pretty sure he was unaware of how Savannah tried to isolate me. She was good; I would give her that. Her subtle changes in subjects and the light touches to Collin’s shoulder had me gritting my teeth. The jealousy that coursed through me was intense, unlike anything I’d ever felt before. I really needed to try to get things under control before I snapped and said or did something I might regret later.

We pulled into the beach parking lot and were lucky enough to find a spot pretty close to the fire pit area that our friends had been able to reserve. As we got out of the car, I caught sight of Mia and Natasha already walking in our direction.