Free Shady Bay by Casey L. Bond, Anna G. Coy Page B

young and stupid. No excuse for slicing and dicing, but it is what it is.”
    I hugged her tight. “Well, I love who you are. Scars and all.”
    “Scars and all,” she repeated, her voice muffled by my neck.
     

     
    Mercy,
     
    I got your letter today. I miss you, too, Mercy-girl. But stay where you are. You’re young and building a life. Build a better one than I did. Enjoy the sand and make new friends. I’m glad you found Celeste. She sounds really great.
    Stay away from Jaxon. No moody boys around my baby girl. Thanks for the boost to my account. You didn’t have to do that. But I do appreciate my noodles. Work hard. Love you.
     
    —Daddy
     
    With the spring weather at Myrtle, came the tourists. Families flocked to the shore from everywhere from California to Quebec and all places in between. The beach was an equalizer. Beautiful bodies were on even ground with pudgy, middle-aged, hairy men. All just wanted some fun, sun, and relaxation. And they found those things in abundance at the beach.
    Celeste’s shop had never been so busy. I was constantly answering questions for passers-by, fielding phone calls, scheduling reading appointments, and in between, I crocheted my new creations. My rounder emptied more each day, quicker than I could replace the items being purchased from it. Celeste’s advice: charge more. She felt I was nearly giving away the swim suits. She obviously was savvy when it came to business, so I took her advice. The items still sold and I got more money in my pocket.
    With the extra boost, I decided to pay my rent forward a few months. Jaxon’s brother was only charging me two hundred fifty dollars per month for the townhouse. At first, I felt as though it were charity or pity he was giving me. But Celeste had convinced me that it was a blessing and that my living there was saving my landlord money and headaches in the long run. My living there kept the party-crowd out. Partiers damaged things. They were messy and smelly and all sorts of colorful words, per Celeste.
    Shady Bay was insane. I barely got to sip water during my short breaks. It was just too busy. We needed more waitresses but Summer explained that it was a transitional period: the time between Spring Break and summer. Most who flocked here for jobs wouldn’t be here for another few weeks. I looked forward to their flight south.
    Each night Jaxon would ignore me, except for the occasional looks of aggravation or disapproval that I saw from him. He’d been aloof and stand-offish since the night he’d seen me and Drew on the porch. Drew and I had gone out to dinner and again, no fireworks went off for me. I asked him if he felt the same, and luckily, he did. We’d agreed to be friends and had both been relieved and happy for the same.
    I was dead on my feet when I finally got home. I locked my door behind me, kicked my shoes off in the living room floor and dragged my hind end to the refrigerator. I had one Pepsi left, so I popped the top and settled onto my bed to relax for a minute. I needed a shower. I stunk like fried food and beer. I let that warm water wash the stench of hard work away. I shrugged on my favorite long t-shirt and pink polka-dot panties and collapsed into the bed. I’m pretty sure I was snoring before my head hit the pillow.
    Bang! Bang! Bang! Slam! What the? More noise. It was coming from my door or one of my neighbors. The alarm clock’s red numbers read four thirty-eight in the morning. Bang! Bang!
    “Come on. Come on. Come on. Please! Mercy, wake up! Please!” Bang! Bang! Bang!
    June? I padded to the door and released the dead lock. June stood with her fist ready to bang my door again. Her eye was black and her lip was split open and bleeding.
    “Oh my God! What happened?”
    “Let me in. Lock the damn door! Hurry!” She slid past me, pushed me away and engaged the deadbolt. Before I could question her further, banging came from the door again. This was different. Hers had been desperate, scared.