Free The Ocean by Mia Castile Page B

didn’t understand it. I grabbed my phone.
    Just read ur letter. I texted.
    Really? Did u like it?
    Very much.
    Then I took out my notebook. I wanted to write him when it was stil fresh in my mind.
    Travis,
    I definitely agree with a few of your points. It’s easier to tell you things this way. I can say what I’m feeling right now. I can only imagine what your reactions will be, but it’s OK. You seem to confirm the way I feel with every letter you give me. It makes me happy that we are on the same page, so to speak. I have two favorite colors: grey and green. I really like that combination. My mom painted my bedroom those colors when we first bought our house, and since then they’ve been my favorite colors. You know what my favorite kinds of music are. You went through my phone that night on the beach, remember? I’d have to say my favorite song is “Dangerously in Love with You” by Beyoncé. It has such a beautiful melody and the words take my breath away. My favorite movies would be ones about action heroes: Spiderman, Ironman, and Transformers. I went through a comic book stage from the time I was ten ‘til I was thirteen. My favorite childhood memory was probably when we moved to Indy.
    That was when we actually got new furniture for our house. I remember my mom telling Alex and me to go play outside, and we asked if she wanted us to do our chores first. She said “No, go play.” And we did. You really touched my heart when you told me your favorite place to be was with me. I find myself anxiously counting the minutes until I can see you again. You wanted to know what I was like in Indiana; well for the most part I was happy. I played the piano and guitar. I haven’t played in a long time, but then music was my life. The day my mom told me and Alex that she had cancer, we argued that the doctors were wrong. She assured us that they had been testing for weeks. Her annual visit with the doctor had revealed an abnormal test result. Then she’d had a biopsy. They had tried to remove it, but it seemed to be too late. Watching her go through chemo was really tough. I stopped playing; I just didn’t have the heart for it. Instead I escaped into my play lists and tried to understand why this had to happen to us. She was so strong though. She really fought even until the end. I grew up really fast in the last six months. It’s not like I didn’t have to grow up before, but I think every time I relaxed, boom, catastrophe.
    I have two best friends still in Indiana, Gracie and Melissa. I showed you pictures of them. Do you remember? Gracie is crazy and says inappropriate things all the time. Melissa is reserved and smart. I think I’m a combination of the two of them. We usually hung out in our bedrooms and listened to music and read magazines.
    I must sound really depressed. I’m not; I’m just trying to deal with the loss of the only person who cared enough about Alex and me to make a difference. I worry about him too. He seems to be adjusting well, but it’s only the surface. I just hope that he doesn’t lose it and I can’t get to him to help him. He refuses to talk about her, even about his memories of good times. Anything at all.
    I understand if after this letter you think that I’ve got too much baggage for you to deal with. I sometimes don’t want to deal with it, but I have to.
    But if you can hang in there with me, I might be worth a shot.
    -Gia
    The next morning I performed my usual routine, sneaking into the bathroom so as not to bother Oliver. Picking out three outfits and final y deciding on one. I’d never put this much thought into what I would wear. Today I wore a black short A-line skirt and a lavender scooped neck cotton shirt. I put on my strappy sandals. I did my make-up and put a couple of skinny headbands in my hair and was down the stairs. Alex was tying his shoes and gave me a low whistle as he surveyed me.
    “You’re real y going al out for this guy, huh?” He grabbed his bag