Okay, so definitely never stopped writing this story. I started editing it this year because there was a lot of mistakes but then you know, grade twelve is a bitch.
If you want to read more of my stuff I am pretty active on fanfiction.net I write all Twilight (By Stephenie Meyer) fan fictions and I will be starting an account on another story site soon. My fan fiction is calle After Jacob's First Love and it is under the account name topaz addiction. Remeber to search the name of the story and not the account, it's my friends account it's posted on.
If anyone wants me to write more of this story and get updates on a regular basis, e-mail me and I will let you know when I start it back up again. my e-mail is rawrr.hearts@hotmail.com
The day passed by, cold and miserable. Nate had forbode Sam from surfing until the waters had calmed. Instead of staying on the beach, they drove into the nearby town. Nate drove through the unfamiliar streets with Sam as his guide, although her directional skills were fogged thanks to this mornings' events. Nate knew for sure that something had gone terribly wrong but he wasn't ready to send her through another spin cycle like the one he witnessed the night before. He just wanted to pull her out of this rut that she had seemed to fall deeper and deeper into.
Sam's mind was racing, but dead at the same time. Her heart ached to see her Mother once more, but another part of her wished she could just forget about her Mother and Riley both so she could move on with her life, her life with Nate. She knew that her constant tantrums and terrible mood was bringing him down, and the last thing she needed was for him to be dragged down with her. He was her only life line, her only handle on sanity. Right then was when she decided that she was going to try her hardest to hide ever inch of depression and thought about her past and move on. Her future was brighter than the sun, she just needed to push these clouds away.
Nate was her sun, he was her future and she knew it. As every part of her did.
Nate remained quiet, glancing over at Sam every few seconds, waiting for her to say something. She caught his glance and smiled. He smiled back.
"Turn in here." Sam said, pointing to a parking lot in front of a local diner.
Nate parked the jeep and as Sam went to open her door he pulled her close and kissed her tenderly.
"I love you Sam."
She smiled.
"I love you too."
They walked hand-in-hand into the diner. It was old and out-dated, but warm and inviting still. The smell of fresh pancakes and bacon filled the air and the dull light shone through the windows, still lighting up everything as if the sun was beaming right inside the window.
Another memory of her childhood flooded her head, only this one contained no pain. It was the memory of her Dad and her sitting at the bar eating pancakes a few summers back. A smiled flooded her face as she closed her eyes for a momment, savouring one of her favourite smells, breakfast. When her eyelids parted she saw a woman come into the restaurant from the kitchen. Her red skin stood out against her long curly black hair. She was a larger woman, native, and had one of those Grandmother faces that Sam loved.
The woman looked towards the door, only too see the little, tanned, sand-coloured girl that she saw years ago.
"Saamanthaaa!" She cried as she ran from behind the counter and pulled Sam's tiny figure into her arms.
"Oh Love! It's been too long!" She said again as Sam hugged her tight.
"Ahahaha! I know Polly!" Sam said almost in tears. Sam had known Polly all her life. Sam's Mother had grown up in Tofino and Polly had been more of a Mother to her than her own. When she was fifteen, she was kicked out of her house and Polly took her in as if she were family and she remained there until she met Sam's father when she was 17. Polly was the only memory of a grandmother Sam, Riley and her sisters had, but after Riley's death, Sam had avoided every aspect of Tofino and the memories that drowned her. As far as she knew, her Father still kept in touch.
Polly pulled away and took another look at the little girl that had grown into an adult right before her very eyes. Tears welled and she pulled her into a hug again. Polly could see the pain in her eyes. Sam looked identical to her Mother, the same eyes, the same eyes that gave away the fight they were holding back. Sam buried her head into Polly's neck and cried.
"Husshh..." Polly hymned to Sam.
After a minute Sam pulled away and looked into Polly's swollen eyes.
"Sorry..." She whispered.
"Don't apologize love. There is no need." Polly smiled and wrapped one arm around her little girls' shoulder.
"So you must be Nate." Polly said in her song-like voice.
"Yes, nice to meet you." He said, holding out his hand. Ignoring his hand, Polly gave Nate a tight hug. She smelt of pumpkin and campfires.
"Dad called you didn't he." Sam said wiping her eyes on her sleve. Polly just nodded her head.
"He was worried about you love." Polly said, looking at Sam.
"We are all worried about you Sam." Nate added. Sam just looked around. She ran her fingers along the bar counter and sat in a familar chair, expecting another memory to flood her mind, but she held it back. She was back with the two people left in this world she loved most, and at this momment, she felt at home for the first time in a long time.
Over breakfast, Sam was quiet, nibbling on her chocolate chip pancakes the cook, Morty, had always made specially for her. Nate and Polly chatted about Tofino, and the locals.
"Sam?" Polly asked, waking her from a daze.
"Mhm?" Sam looked up.
"Tonight how about you and Nate come over to my house for dinner. I'll make your favourite." Her inviting eyes made her hard to resit. Polly was an amazing cook and would always make Sam fresh smoked salmon that the local boys would catch for her.
"I'd like that." Sam smiled and Polly seemed pleased.
"Perfect! Dinner will be at 6 on the button." Polly exclaimed as she cleaned their dishes away.
Sam tried paying but Polly wouldn't hear of it.
"Love, seeing you was all the payment I needed, pancakes and eggs were the least I could give you in return."
"Sammy," Morty yelled from the kitchen,"You better not be giving her money, you don't need to pay here!"
"Fine!" Sam laughed and rolled her eyes.
"I'll see you tonight Pol." She said as she walked out of the diner. As they walked out, Nate turned around and smiled in Polly's direction.
"Thank you." He mouthed silently.
Polly nodded her head and smiled. He knew that Sam had needed to see her, and he also knew that tonight, she would finally be able to let go of everything she was holding back to Polly and possibly hear something that he couldn't explain to her. He remembered one late night conversation a few months before where Sam had mentioned Polly and how she had always made sense of things, no matter what the situation may be. Nate just hoped that Sam was right.
The day passed by, cold and miserable. Nate had forbode Sam from surfing until the waters had calmed. Instead of staying on the beach, they drove into the nearby town. Nate drove through the unfamiliar streets with Sam as his guide, although her directional skills were fogged thanks to this mornings' events. Nate knew for sure that something had gone terribly wrong but he wasn't ready to send her through another spin cycle like the one he witnessed the night before. He just wanted to pull her out of this rut that she had seemed to fall deeper and deeper into.
Sam's mind was racing, but dead at the same time. Her heart ached to see her Mother once more, but another part of her wished she could just forget about her Mother and Riley both so she could move on with her life, her life with Nate. She knew that her constant tantrums and terrible mood was bringing him down, and the last thing she needed was for him to be dragged down with her. He was her only life line, her only handle on sanity. Right then was when she decided that she was going to try her hardest to hide ever inch of depression and thought about her past and move on. Her future was brighter than the sun, she just needed to push these clouds away.
Nate was her sun, he was her future and she knew it. As every part of her did.
Nate remained quiet, glancing over at Sam every few seconds, waiting for her to say something. She caught his glance and smiled. He smiled back.
"Turn in here." Sam said, pointing to a parking lot in front of a local diner.
Nate parked the jeep and as Sam went to open her door he pulled her close and kissed her tenderly.
"I love you Sam."
She smiled.
"I love you too."
They walked hand-in-hand into the diner. It was old and out-dated, but warm and inviting still. The smell of fresh pancakes and bacon filled the air and the dull light shone through the windows, still lighting up everything as if the sun was beaming right inside the window.
Another memory of her childhood flooded her head, only this one contained no pain. It was the memory of her Dad and her sitting at the bar eating pancakes a few summers back. A smiled flooded her face as she closed her eyes for a momment, savouring one of her favourite smells, breakfast. When her eyelids parted she saw a woman come into the restaurant from the kitchen. Her red skin stood out against her long curly black hair. She was a larger woman, native, and had one of those Grandmother faces that Sam loved.
The woman looked towards the door, only too see the little, tanned, sand-coloured girl that she saw years ago.
"Saamanthaaa!" She cried as she ran from behind the counter and pulled Sam's tiny figure into her arms.
"Oh Love! It's been too long!" She said again as Sam hugged her tight.
"Ahahaha! I know Polly!" Sam said almost in tears. Sam had known Polly all her life. Sam's Mother had grown up in Tofino and Polly had been more of a Mother to her than her own. When she was fifteen, she was kicked out of her house and Polly took her in as if she were family and she remained there until she met Sam's father when she was 17. Polly was the only memory of a grandmother Sam, Riley and her sisters had, but after Riley's death, Sam had avoided every aspect of Tofino and the memories that drowned her. As far as she knew, her Father still kept in touch.
Polly pulled away and took another look at the little girl that had grown into an adult right before her very eyes. Tears welled and she pulled her into a hug again. Polly could see the pain in her eyes. Sam looked identical to her Mother, the same eyes, the same eyes that gave away the fight they were holding back. Sam buried her head into Polly's neck and cried.
"Husshh..." Polly hymned to Sam.
After a minute Sam pulled away and looked into Polly's swollen eyes.
"Sorry..." She whispered.
"Don't apologize love. There is no need." Polly smiled and wrapped one arm around her little girls' shoulder.
"So you must be Nate." Polly said in her song-like voice.
"Yes, nice to meet you." He said, holding out his hand. Ignoring his hand, Polly gave Nate a tight hug. She smelt of pumpkin and campfires.
"Dad called you didn't he." Sam said wiping her eyes on her sleve. Polly just nodded her head.
"He was worried about you love." Polly said, looking at Sam.
"We are all worried about you Sam." Nate added. Sam just looked around. She ran her fingers along the bar counter and sat in a familar chair, expecting another memory to flood her mind, but she held it back. She was back with the two people left in this world she loved most, and at this momment, she felt at home for the first time in a long time.
Over breakfast, Sam was quiet, nibbling on her chocolate chip pancakes the cook, Morty, had always made specially for her. Nate and Polly chatted about Tofino, and the locals.
"Sam?" Polly asked, waking her from a daze.
"Mhm?" Sam looked up.
"Tonight how about you and Nate come over to my house for dinner. I'll make your favourite." Her inviting eyes made her hard to resit. Polly was an amazing cook and would always make Sam fresh smoked salmon that the local boys would catch for her.
"I'd like that." Sam smiled and Polly seemed pleased.
"Perfect! Dinner will be at 6 on the button." Polly exclaimed as she cleaned their dishes away.
Sam tried paying but Polly wouldn't hear of it.
"Love, seeing you was all the payment I needed, pancakes and eggs were the least I could give you in return."
"Sammy," Morty yelled from the kitchen,"You better not be giving her money, you don't need to pay here!"
"Fine!" Sam laughed and rolled her eyes.
"I'll see you tonight Pol." She said as she walked out of the diner. As they walked out, Nate turned around and smiled in Polly's direction.
"Thank you." He mouthed silently.
Polly nodded her head and smiled. He knew that Sam had needed to see her, and he also knew that tonight, she would finally be able to let go of everything she was holding back to Polly and possibly hear something that he couldn't explain to her. He remembered one late night conversation a few months before where Sam had mentioned Polly and how she had always made sense of things, no matter what the situation may be. Nate just hoped that Sam was right.
Morning came sooner than Sam wanted it too. It was a cool, grey morning, but a sea of dull, depressing light filled the tent. Sam rose from Nate's arms and took off her sweater and pj's. She slipped her swim shorts over her sun-bleached bathin suit that rarely left her body, especially when she was in Tofino. She left the tent as she pulled her tangled hair into a ponytail. The ocean dangerously rough, it was like the anger she released last night was let out into the water and now it was rebelling back at Sam. The crashing sets made her feel like they were insider her head rather than in front of her eyes. The loud splashes of water echoed through her head like the memories that made getting up everyday that much harder.
At that momment, her urge to enter the waves left her as her heart ached for something different.
She started to run.
Her mind was empty, but her feet were carrying her to a place she feared and to a place she'd never thought she would see again. Her body ached but her feet kept moving. As she got closer, her heart was beating faster. She kne what she would see and she wanted to scream at her feet to stop, but she knew it was no use. Her heart was the only part urging her feet to move faster.
Just through these rocks...
As she climbed through the rocks in front of her she saw exactly what she had invisioned. A downward slope to another bed of rocks with the best view of the ocean. This was her and Riley's spot since they were kids. The only other person that had seen it was their Mother. They brought her there and from then on it was like their secret. The last time she had seen this spot was just after their Mother had died. Her and Riley trecked down here after they had spread her ashes off her surfboard in the middle of the ocean, their last trip to Tofino as a family. Her heart ached more, moving her feet cautiiously down the hill to the spot where they would always sit.
The spot that they had sworn they would never visit again.
Her mind became a movie screen as she replayed that day in her head like it was a tape that she found in a box with old family pictures. She fastfowarded past family picnics, the birth of Echo, and her and Riley's seventh birthday, to that day. They had both sat on the very rock she was sitting on and cried, they cried for hours. Her tears that never seemed to fully escape her returned to the brims of her eyes.
"Big girls don't cry..." Her Mother's voice echoed through her mind and shook her body. This had never happened before. The voice sounded so real, like her Mother was right there. Sam's mind became a blur as it rewound to the day when she was 4 when she broke her arm trying to climb a tree at her Poppy's house. She remembered lying on the ground trying not to scream as her Mother and Riley stood over her in effort to calm her down.
Sam was petrified.
It was like her past was flying through her head at 15 frames per second, as if it were a projector.
She looked beside her and Riley was sitting there, he was crying and his mouth was moving as if he were trying to scream at her. Not in anger, but in frustration. His face looked as if he were trapped in a glass box trying to communicate with her, trying to tell her something. But she couldn't hear anything. She got up and slowly backed off the rocks as Riley sat there screaming with no sound. It was like some terrible nightmare that never seems to end until you are about to die under the worst circumstances and you wake up in a cold sweat. She kept backing off getting ready to run, but she hit something behind her which made her jump. She turned around only to see her Mother, bald and in scrubs. She wasn't looking at Sam. She had a scared look on her face, a look that she had never seen her Mother portray before. Her Mother looked to the sky and mumbled a prair, as if she was sitting on the operating table.
Sam ran back towards their tent until she heard a scream. She whipped around only to see another vision of her Mother. She was looking down into the sand, dressed in white and glowing. She had never seen her Mother so beautiful in her life. Sam slowly inched back towards her, until she saw her face.
It was filled with sheer horror. Then a bloodcurdling scream left her lips. She started pulling at her hair and wincing from the pain. Sam stood there, looking at her Mother in hysterics. She walked forward and bent down, putting her hand on her shoulder.
She felt her Mother's skin, it was warm like it always was. Her Mother was startled and looked up.
"Oh no! Not you too baby!"
Their eyes met.
"What?" Sam asked confused. She had no idea what was going on.
Her Mother pointed down, to where a black hole seemed to have formed. She was looking at something that was invisible to Sam.
Sam couldn't take it anymore. She bolted.
Back to the tent, back to Nate.
She stopped at the tent and picked up her backpack that sat in front of it. She dug through until she found her cellphone which read 6:14 am. She dropped everything and looked at the water. The waves were even more furious. It was like they were fighting. Sam had never felt so confused, or scared, in her entire life. She grabbed her board, feeling as if she fought through the waves, she could fight for some sort of explanation to everything she just saw.
Sam ran towards the waves. She was almost knocked off her feet at her first step into the water. She had anticipated such force. She paddled through, getting thrown into the water twice. It didn't stop her though.. nothing was going to stop her. She had never surfed in anything this intense.
She finally reached a spot where the waves calmed just enough that she could keep a steady balance to find a wave to catch.
And that's when she saw it, the perfect pipe.
A risk, she knew it, but she had too much on her mind to care. She rode through the wave, weaving in and out to avoid loose waves that would send her soaring. As she escaped the cave of dark, angry water she saw Nate standing on the beach. She rode to shore only to see a face of mixed emotions. Fear, anger, confusion, and sheer amazement crossed his face.
"What the hell are you doing!??! You could have died out there!" He said wading into the water to meet her, almost getting knocked off his feet the same way Sam did.
She just jumped off her board which was immediately washed to shore and embraced him as if nothing, not even the waves crashing against them, could tear her from his arms...
As the group walked back to the beach the sun almost completely drained from the sky.
"Where are you guys staying while you're here?" Danny asked as they walked towards the parking lot.
"We're staying on the beach actually. We brought a tent." Sam said happily, she loved camping on the beach, she used to do it with her family all the time as a kid.
"Oh that's cool, if you don't want to tomorrow night then my place is free."
"Oh! Thanks! Are you guys going to be back here tomorrow?" Sam asked. Danny's place was alwasy empty, his Father spent the majority of his time at his long-time girlfriends house, leaving their house to Danny and all his friends, he was a lot like Sam's father and that's why they were really good friends.
"You know it!" Danny answered, climbing into his beat-up, orange Chevy truck. Sam remembered his Dad driving it and she guessed he passed it on to Danny.
As they drove away Sam and Nate took the camping supplies out of the back of the jeep. They carried the stuff to the beach and while Sam set up the tent, Nate lit a fire. They spent the next two hours on the beach roasting marshmellows and watching the stars. At around midnight a car pulled into the deserted parking lot. The lights shone onto the beach and sparked in the dark water that had risen significantly since that afternoon. They both turned around but were blinded from seeing any further than the lights that filled their eyes. The sound of the car door opening and closing echoed through the quiet beach. Heavy footsteps came after. Finally Sam could make out a figure in the headlights, it was a man, obviously, built, and that's when she realized it was a police officer.
"Nice night, huh, guys?" He said in a friendly voice, again the voice sounded familiar.
"Yeah, it's really nice." Nate said, seemingly unaffected by the fact a cop was approaching them. As the police officer came closer Sam recognized his face. They used to get in all sorts of trouble when they came here, but it was mainly Riley. He was always getting brought back to the cottage drunk or high, or because he had tresspassed, or vandalized something, he was the troublmaker... always.
"Well I just wanted to..." His voice trailed off as he came closer and recognized a familiar face.
"Samantha, right?" He said poiting his finger.
"Hey Officer Stecyk." She said smiling as she arose from the beach.
"Wow I havn't seen your family in a while! How is everyone?" He asked.
"They're good, and yeah this is the first time I've come up in a long time..." She answered. Nate rose from the sand.
"And Riley? How's the kid doing?" He asked, unaware of the events that passed the following year.
"Uhh.. he's.. well.. Officer Stecyk, Riley passed away last year." Sam said looking at her feet, trying really hard not to choke up.
"Oh, oh my god, Sam I'm so sorry, if I had of known I would have come up to the funeral. Is everyone alright?" The large amount of concern that he had on his face was evident. Sam knew he cared. She had learned quickly who cared and who pretended to care.
"We're dealing with it the best we can, things are finally getting back to normal." She felt her eyes stinging and her face was flushing.
"Well that's all you can do I guess, but I'd love to stay and catch up but I really have to get back to work. Next time your family comes up, come by my place for an afternoon. It'll be nice to see everyone again, and make sure to put that fire out soon." He said with a wide smile, their families had always gotten along. All the locals had befriended Sam's family at one point, they had a lot of friends there.
"I will Officer Stecyk, take care." He waved back and drove off down the dark road. Sam watched until his car was out of sight and let out a huge sigh. She walked back to their tent where Nate was just putting out the fire.
"Are you okay?" He asked, concern flushed his face.
"Yep." She answered, obviously disturbed, but again Nate knew that she would talk when she was ready, although it was killing him seeing her hiding her emotions from him. He walked over and gave her a tight hug. Sam buried her face in his chest and hugged him back, he seemed to take every stich of fear and disturbance from her mind.
"Come on, let's go to bed." Nate said, still holding Sam tightly in his arms.
"Kay." She answered not letting go. He swept her up from under her feet and carried her into the tent. They had both already changed and set up the blankets earlier that night. Sam crawled onto the giant air mattress and into a ball under the three quilts and a sleeping bag that they had brought for warmth, the beach got rather cold at night. Nate crawled under them too, and slid his arms tightly around her body, pulling her closer. Within five minutes Nate was asleep, he found it a lot easier to sleep with Sam in his arms.
But that night, Sam had too much on her mind to sleep. After waiting another twenty minutes, she knew she wasn't ready to sleep. She wriggled from Nate's grip and quietly unzipped the tent. She quietly walked onto the sand and looked out at the black waves that were tumbling with force towards shore. Sam moved towards the water until the tide touched her toes and sat down. She couldn't hold them back anymore, a tear slid down the side of her cheek, and more after that. The wind swept over her bare arms and goosebumps formed but she didn't move. Her heart ached, and finally she realized what she wanted more than anything. She wanted one last hug, she knew she couldn't have pursuaded him not to do what he did, but she wanted to at least say goodbye and that she loved him with all her heart, and tell him at he was more special to her than anyone else. Sam and Riley had shared a bond that couldn't have been replaced by anyone, not even Nate. She would never feel that bond again and it killed her inside.
"Sam?" A voice broke her sobs.
"Sam what's wrong?! Are you okay?" Nate ran over to her. His eyes sank at the sight of Sam crying so hard. She remained silent and kept on sobbing.
"Sam... I can't take this anymore, it's killing me. You need to tell me..." Her eyes flooded again and her head fell onto his shoulder. He slid his arm around her and pulled her into his lap.
"I...I...I miss him." She said, not even looking at Nate.
"I never thought he could do that to me. He swore to me, he made a promise that he would never leave me when our Mom died. He said he couldn't leave me and see me that heartbroken again. But he lied! He lied about it all! Now how can I be sure that he didn't lie about everything else he's ever said to me? All he left was a letter, a letter that basically told me he was a coward and couldn't handle it anymore...." Her flushes of tears turned boiling, anger filled her body. She wanted to strangle something. Her breaths were heavy and her tears choked her.
"My Mom's probably standing up there right now, looking at him. Staring him down. She didn't have a choice, but he did. She probably slapped him. I knew she would have been a lot more proud if he had just admitted his problem and got help instead of taking his life out of guilt. She didn't raise us like that, she would have never wanted him to waste his life like that but he did, and what bugs me the most was how she told us, that day, the last time we saw her, one of the last things she said to us in that operating room, all in scrubs and a shaved head, she said to us that if she didn't make it out to never stop fighting, to live our lives, to grow up and give her a reason to keep on smiling. She said that even if we didn't have her, we would always have each other, we had to look after each other. She told us she loved us and that she knew we were fighters and told us how brave we are, BUT LOOK AT HIM NOW! He's dead, he's gone, he went against everything she wanted us to live by. He let her down, and it makes me sick!" She took a deep breath and got up from Nate's lap.
"He fucking left me here alone! With NO ONE! NO ONE!" She started screaming.
"Yeah well Riley, FUCK YOU! You fucking COWARD!" She fell to her knees and put her head in her hands and kept on crying. Nate got up and ran over to her, scared. He had never seen her like this before. She looked like she wanted to run and drown herself in the ocean.
He slid his arms around her and held her and she grasped him tightly back.
"Shhh.. Shh. It's alright, I'm here Samantha." Nate whispered calmly into her ear, rubbing her back.
"Don't ever leave me, don't ever leave me like he did.... you're all I have left Nate..." She sobbed into his shoulder.
Nate pulled her away from his chest and looked into her eyes. Her arms still slung around his neck.
"Samantha, I would never do that to you, I couldn't ever hurt you. I will never leave you, I promise." He said, tears almost comming to his own eyes.
"Do you mean that?" She said. He wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"Samantha Lena Aviitio, I promise, I will always love you, and I won't break that promise ever." She pulled him close and kissed him. She never wanted him to leave her. Without his touch alone, she wouldn't breath.
He then lifted her up like a baby and carried her back to the tent. She was shivering feircly. She tucked her under the blankets and slid in beside her warming her up. Her breathing calmed, her tears stopped and her mind was free. She had been holding everything back for so long that it was a huge releif to be able to let it all go.
Sam's mind raced as the set dragged her surfboard until it hit the sand bank. Her heart beat ran faster, she couldn't beleive the feeling she felt. The wave of shock that floated over head like rapids made her dizzy. She stumbled off her board and sat in the tide trying to catch her breath. She stared at her toes trying to replay in her head the past three minutes. One minute she was riding her board by herself, the next she felt hands on her shoulders, and the next she looked over only to see an image of Riley riding on the board behind her, something they often tried. Sam looked up and looked around, wondering if Riley's suicide was all a nightmare and she was really at the beach a year before, and Riley was still alive, but as her eyes floated from one side of the beach to the other, he was no where to be found.
Nate rode the wave skillfully to shore. As he looked to his left where Sam once was, she wasn't there anymore. He panicked and looked around frantically, wondering if she had fallen. Finally his eyes came accross her tiny body sitting up on shore. He quickly paddled up to her realizing that something had changed in her eyes.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Nate asked, abandonning his board in the water, running up to her. Her eyes seemed lost and clearly her mind was lost as well.
"Sam?" He asked again as he sat down beside her putting his arm around her shoulders. Snapping out of a trance-like state her eyes darted to his, tiny tears had formed in the corner of her eyes. Nate didn't need an explanation.
"I'm fine." Her voice came breathless and she rubbed her eyes.
"I just got a huge clump of sand in my eye..." Sam hated lying, but she knew she couldn't handle any more Riley-related thoughts. Nate left her alone with the notion that she would come around to talking, she just needed time... at least that's what he hoped. She grabbed her board and started to head out into the water again.
"Sam? Maybe we should grab a bite to eat before we go back out. We skipped breakfast." Sam stopped dead in her tracks, a stack of pancakes did sound appetizing.
They walked silently hand-in-hand up to the snack bar and Nate ordered the food while Sam found a table. He sauntered back carrying three orders of pancakes and orange juice.
Sam smiled.
"You know me all too well."
Sam ate most of the pancakes herself, they were her comfort food. No matter what kind of mood she was in, pancakes seemed to calm her down and stop her shakinees. The beach was getting busy as Sam finished the last pancake.
"Are you okay to go back out?" Nate worried.
"I need to." Nate didn't ask again after that.
Sam needed to get over her fear of Tofino, after all it was her favorite place in the world, but putting aside that fact, she was terrified of seeing Riley again. Nate picked up her board off the beach and handed it to her. She smiled, as long as she didn't think about him she would be fine, at least she hoped.
The rest of the day was amazing. Nate and Sam spent the whole day surfing. She knew he was having a blast, and regardless of that hidden fear, she wouldn't rather be anywhere else but there with Nate.
"Do you want to go down further?" Sam asked, motioning to the cliff that wrapped around the right side of the beach. "There are some pretty intense sets over there if you are up to it..."
"Of course I am!" Nate said enthusiastically.
They walked down the beach and around the bed of rocks to the other side of the cliff. There were approximately seven other surfers on the shore, and three in the water, getting pounded by the waves. Sam was the only girl. As Nate and Sam approached the group, they all turned and looked.
"Locals only, sorry guys." One husky-looking blonde with extremely broad shoulders said. His tone reaked of annoyance.
"I come here all the time, relax..." Sam replied rolling her eyes.
"I'm sure you do babe. You couldn't handle one of those sets, it bet serious dollars on that." He answered with a chuckle.
"I'm thinking the same thing about you hun." She said as he turned away. The guy looked at her again, walking towards her and Nate. Nate stepped in front of Sam.
"What did you say..?"
"Well, I don't see you out there getting your ass beat, so i'm thinking you're a little hesitant, or maybe you just don't have the balls to paddle out." Sam responded, folding her arms accross her chest.
Just as the blonde was about to answer, a familiar voice came from the shore line.
"Miss Samantha Aviitio... is that you?" The question came from another broad-shouldered guy, only he was very tanned, almost native, with longer black hair and celtic band tatooed around his left arm.
"Danny! Oh my god!" Sam shreeked as she ran over and gave the guy a huge hug. He lifted her off the ground and spun her around.
"It's been too long!" He said putting her on the ground.
"You know this chick?" The blonde asked in confusion.
"Ty, it's Sam! Remember? Back when we were like ten? Her family always came and stayed for the summer at the cottage off Thacks Road by Martin's place?" Danny said walking up the beach towards Nate. Sam followed.
"Ty Barns? I thought you moved." Sam asked surprised, realizing who she just told off.
"I moved back a few months ago from Calgary. You've changed a lot." He had always been a difficult one to get along with.
"So who's this?" Danny asked motioning towards Nate, who just stood there.
"This is Nate, he's staying at my place for a while and we decided to come up here for the weekend." Sam answered as she positioned herself beside him again.
"I have always heard about the waves out in Tofino so I told her she had to bring me out at some point." Nate said.
"Well, it doesn't get much better than this my friend." Danny said looking out into the water where a few more of the guys in the group had ventured out waiting for a wave to catch.
"Well let's go already!" Sam said, grabbing her board and jogging down the to the shore.
Danny was right, there were no waves like these ones. They came in so fast that you really had to pay attention or else you would miss it by a long shot, and were they ever rough, but the first wave that passed, Sam caught and rode to shore making it look all too easy, Danny did the same on the next wave, but Ty tumbled after realized he didn't paddle hard enough. After one wave passed Nate got the feel of how fast they came in and rode the next one in to shore. Sam had major doubts that he wouldn't be able to handle the impact the first time, remembering her first experience with these waves, a concussion and three stitches over her right temple.
But shooting her own doubts and those of everyone around her Nate rode the wave perfectly to shore, not even stumbling.
"Holy shit! I've never ridden anything like that before!" Everyone just starred awestruck at the fact that a first-time, non-local, rode an east cliff set without even falling.
"Dude, you are welcome here at ANY TIME! That was AMAZING! I've never seen anything like that." Dan said as he ran up to Nate, giving him props. Sam just laughed, clearly still in shock.
"I didn't think you were THAT good. Is there anything you can't do?" She laughed.
"Well, there isn't much." Nate said, obviously sarcastically, but wide smile formed accross his face.
They spent a few more hours together with Sam's old friends, catching up and catching more intense sets as they came in. By sunset they were drained and decided to settle in for the night.
The next morning came with a bright sun filled sky and a warm breeze that blew through the motel room through the window Sam had opened in the bathroom the night before. She woke up to Nate's bare chest to her cheek and him sleeping softly next to her with his arms wrapped tightly around.
She sat and savored the moment for a few minutes before she looked over to the clock to reveal it was only 7am. Sam dozed back off for a few minutes and woke up to Nate getting into the shower. When she heard the water turn off she turned over and got up.
Nate walked out of the bathroom with only boxers on and his hair everywhere. He saw Sam at her bag trying to find the second half to her bathing suit. He walked over and put his arms around her waist.
"I can't wait for today." Sam said as she turned around and put her arms around his waist. They height difference between them was large but yet they still managed to always find a way to fit into each others arms comfortably.
"Neither can I." Nate smiled.
They finished getting ready and left 20 minutes later. They still had an hour and a hlaf to drive and they wanted to get there by 9. Nate loaded up the jeep while Sam returned the keys. When she left the office Nate was already in the jeep ready to go.
She ran to the passenger side and jumped in. On the way to the beach the talked about what they were going to do right when they got there.
Finally Sam saw the last hill. She knew exactly what was over it. She knew that when they went over the hill they would see the beach, the parking lot, the locals, the snack bar. The mountains that surround the road were going to break off on one side and line the other side of the ocean.
In a way it gave her a sense of anticipation, but again she dreaded the memory of Riley smashing through her brain as soon as she saw the first set. When they pulled over the hill Sam saw exactly what she replayed in her head.
"Wow. This is amazing." Nate exclaimed with the sparkle in his eyes. Sam nodded her head and smiled, trying to hold back tears.
They pulled into the parking lot facing the beach and got out. Nate ran and grabbed his surfboard.
"You comming?" He shouted.
"Yeah." Sam answered as she pulled her surfboard out of the back. She watched the water waiting for the first set to come in. She walked on the sand as her hair blew behind her. The set came in strong and she closed her eyes and pictured the past. She remember how she would wait to go in just so she could see Riley ride the first set perfectly, his shaggy blonde hair shaking, the smile streched across his face. She opened her eyes and searched for him but he wasn't there.
He would never be there again.
And all she wanted to know was why he did what he did.
"Sam?" Nate asked with a worried look on his face. He noted the fact she had her eyes closed and was breathing really heavily.
"Yeah? Sorry. Too excited there for a second." She laughed and waded into the water. Together they paddled out further and sat on their boards as the smaller waves pushed them out even further. Then out a nowhere a large 7 foot high wave came and Sam with a burst of energy caught it effortlessly while Nate followed right behind her.
Although she tried to surf it herself. Riley was holding her up, and she savoured the feeling and let out the first real smile since she had gotten in the water.
After about an hour of just wandering the deck the bell sounded loudly.
"We are docking in 15 minutes. Please return to your vehicles." dictated the voice through the loudspeaker.
Sam and Nate walked back inside and down the crowded stairs. While they were waiting to get through the doors Nate wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she weeved her arm around his waist.
All she could do was smile.
They finally reached Sam's jeep and Nate hopped into the drivers seat and turned the ignition starting it. Sam grabbed her Vogue magazine and wool blanket and covered her bare legs. Then the door at the end of the ferry rose and the cars started driving out.
"Take the 107 North." Sam said as she pointed to the exit Nate needed to take.
"Kay. You are the expert." Nate joked as he turned onto the highway.
Sam smiled and looked around the familiar terrain. The trees that lined the highway and the street signs all pointing to different surf spots. It gave her flashbacks of the last trip to Tofino. The sky was almost the same as her last trip too. On the last day, Riley was sitting on the beach.. just quietly sitting looking out onto the horizon. Sam thought it was strange, little did she know that he was saying goodbye to his favourite place in the world. Just the thought of him made her shudder.
"You okay?" Nate said, breaking her silence.
"Yeah. I'm fine." Sam said shaking sense into herself. He just kept looking at her funny.
"I'm sure." Sam said trying to get him to turn around. She knew that he knew something was wrong. She didn't want to burden his trip with her personal feeling of remorse and self doubt.
The sky was completely black within the hour. The little stars twinkled in the moonlight. The wind was making Sam shiver.
"I wish we didn't take the roof off again."
"We should pull off soon, are you okay for like 15 minutes?" Nate asked.
"Yeah. There's a little motel just off from the next exit."
He pulled off once the next exit approached and pulled into the part empty parking lot of the motel. There was two cars in the parking lot, some sort of family van and a white pick up truck.
They hopped out of the jeep and a creepy, 40-ish man starred at Sam from the pick-up truck. Nate noticed where he was starring and held Sam close. She didn't seem to notice.
They walked into the office and Nate paid for a one night stay. When he turned around the man was getting out of his car and leant against the side of the door. Nate and Sam left the office and walked back to the jeep where Nate snapped the roof back on and Sam pushed the boards so they were fully in the jeep and grabbed the bag with their clothes.
"You done?" Sam asked standing at the door of their room.
"Yeah." Nate said as he glanced back to the man and locked the door of the jeep.
He handed Sam the key to the room and she opened up the door.
"What's wrong?" Sam asked as she saw Nate casually look out the window.
"That guy was starring at you."
"So? He was just starring." Sam laughed.
"Not just starring.. the bad kind of starring." Nate said as he slid the curtain closed. Sam just looked at him.
"I'm sorry. It just creeped me out a bit."
"It's alright." Sam laughed again.
They both changed and went to bed. The sheets smelt of bleach and the blanket was scratchy, but as long as they were curled up with each other, that was all the needed.
*Sorry for the long wait. I'll try and write another chapter this weekend it's jsut exams are comming up and I've been really busy.*
Sam kept replaying the words that the Jamaican lady said to her in her head.
"Hold on to that one..."
For some reason her butterflies were fluttering more then usual everytime she thought about it. She looked over at Nate standing at a table looking through hemp necklaces. He was perfect. Everything about him was. From the way his hair flipped out to the colour of his tan skin to the way he held her every night under the stars and the way he smiled at her when she smiled at him.
Nate caught her glance and smiled. Sam smiled back. He didn't know what to think. Her ocean blue eyes were sparkling in the light of the sky comming through the skylights of the buildings. Her sun bleached hair and sun freckles were evident today, she had her hair down and wavy and no make-up on.
"Everyone booked to be on the 7:30 ferry to Victoria please make your way back to your vehicles and make sure to secure all loose cargo that you are carrying on." Dictated the loudspeaker.
Nate quickly paid for a few necklaces and they walked out, hand in hand, back to the jeep. They hopped in the jeep and Nate made sure the surfboards were on tight. Fifteen minutes later they boarded the boat and parked their cars while more cars and SUVs piled in behind them. Groups of teens were piling out of the vehicles as their cars came to a stop. Sam and Nate parked the jeep and snapped on the roof of the jeep too make sure someone with sticky fingers didn't come by and take something.
"Hey do you want a sweater? It's going to be cold up there." Nate asked Sam as she hopped out of the car in a pink Hollister t-shirt and a jean beaded skirt.
"Only if I can wear your Volcom sweater."
Nate grabbed a sweater for himself and Sam's favourite sweater of his to wear and handed it to her. She zipped it up and they walked to the door leading to the higher decks.
They made their way to the top and out onto the deck. The loud sound of the ferries horn set off and they pulled out of the harbour. Sam leaned up against the railing and Nate slid his arms around her. He gently kissed her head and knew he'd rather be no where else then right there with her.
"Do you want a water or something?" Sam asked as she was feeling parched.
"Sure. Do you want me to come with you?"
"No I'll just be a minute." Sam walked through the doors and down the corridor of the ferry looking for a place to buy water. Back out on the deck, Nate was looking out on the water. He glanced over to see two girls, about seventeen, looking his way and smiling. He smiled back and turned back to the water.
"Hey." One of the girls said as she sauntered over to where he was standing.
"Hey." Nate said in return. The girl was medium height, taller then Sam. Her eyes were small and her hair was dark brown and very curly. She wasn't completely unnattractive.
"I'm Marissa." She smiled and held out her hand.
"Nate." He shook it.
Sam finally found a place that sold Dasani water. She got one large bottle because it was cheaper then two smaller ones. Sam quickly paid the young guy behind the desk and walked back to where she left Nate on the deck. She walked through the doors and saw him standing there talking to two girls.
Sam was never one to be the jealous type, besides, he had this 'get away from me' look on his face.
"Hey. One big bottle was cheaper then two so I just got a big one. Is that okay?" Sam asked.
"Of course that's fine. Sam this is Marissa and her friend Claire, they are heading out to Tofino for the weekend as well. Marissa this is Sam."
"Hi." Sam said smiling.
"Hey." Said Marissa, confused at what just happened.
"Well Nate it was nice meeting you. Maybe we will run into in Tofino. I guess we should go find our friends." Marissa said staring at Sam.
"Bye." He said almost bursting with laughter.
Marissa looked back only to see Nate with his arms around Sam.
"Now that was funny." Sam said to Nate laughing.
"They just came up to me and started talki- flirting. I didn't want to be rude but like.. honestly that one was trying way to hard." Nate said still holding Sam tightly.
"If I would have realized it I would have walked up and gave you a kiss. I would have liked to know what she would have done."
Nate looked over and realized that Marissa was still watching them.
"Well she's staring at us right now." Sam looked over and realized that she was casually looking over ever 5 seconds.
Sam turned to Nate and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She stayed like that for a second and pulled his lips onto hers forgetting that those girls were there and forgetting about all the people around her.
Her lips tingled on his. His body raced with excitement as he pulled her waist closer to his body. The way she fit right into him amazed him.
For once in his life he told himself something that made his body race even more.
The next few days passed as though they were a dream. A dream in which Sam or Nate did not want to wake up from. Day by day they felt more for one another. Even if they weren't by themselves, their feelings were shaping into something more then just a summer love.
They surfed, they lyed on the beach, they hung out with Sam's friends, played Gamecube with Echo, watched the sun rise and set, and slept under the stars countless nights. Nothing ever got old.
"What would think if we took a little weekend trip up to Tofino?" Nate asked one night gingerly sipping a Corona watching the stars while Sam was running her fingers through the cool sand.
"Are you serious?" Sam said with enthusiasm. She loved Tofino. Ever since she was a little girl when her Mom would get Riley and her out of school on a Friday afternoon and they would head up before all the teenagers got there. She hadn't been at all since Riley died. After her Mom passed away it was hard enough to return to her favourite place in the world with the memory of her mother activly flowing through her mind. She had Riley to help her through it when her Mother passed away, but now that he was gone, she had to go there and see both of their memories floating across the horizon.
Sam had Nate this time, although she was in love with him, she knew it wouldn't be the same.
The week before, Nate had got a job at the local surf shop after graciously turning down the offer from Sam's dad to work at the tatoo place.
"Naw you've done enough for me already." That was Nate's response.
And Sam's dad responded,
"And what have I done? Nothing!" In, of course, his usual joke worthy tone.
Sam and Nate planned to leave on the Friday after he got back from work. As soo as he droves Sam's jeep in the driveway, they loaded it up with all their stuff. Their clothes bags, food, sleeping bags, a tent and the most important thing, their surfboards.
"Alright so you guys are off." Sam's Dad said as he walked out of the house just as Nate was hooking in the surfboards.
"Yep." Sam said as she hopped in the drivers seat.
"Do me a favor, give me a call just to keep me posted on where you are, and if it gets too late to drive any further, pull off to a motel." Sam's Dad added. Her father was a lax parent but still wanted to know where his daughter was, especially if she was going across the water on a ferry to Tofino, although they knew the place backwards and forwards, it was a still and intersting local scene.
"Yes Daddy, I have my cell on." She gave him a hug.
"Have fun, tear that place up. And make sure not to get the locals jealous with your surfing talents."
"Ahah! I'll keep that in mind."
Her Dad walked back in the house and Nate walked around to the drivers seat.
"Hey Hey Hey, I'm driving."
"What?! You don't even know where it is." Sam argued.
"No seriously." He laughed.
She gave him a look and slid over to the passenger seat. Nate hopped in, turned the keys, and they were off.
After getting through the 5:00 traffic an hour and a half later they found themselves at the ferry station. Sam's Dad had bought a yearly pass so they didn't ever have to wait ina big line-up. They drove to the quick-pass line and showed the card and drove to the line.
"Next ferry to Victoria leaves at 7:30. Please be back at your vehicles fifteen minutes before you are too depart." Announced the loud-speaker as they parked in the line.
The ferry shop was almost just as great as going to Tofino. Sam was always really excited everytime they went over because she loved the building that sat beside the lines for the ferry. It contained almost every kind of food out there and independant bargainers would set up their stands right inside so there was a lot of really neat stuff.
Hand in Hand they walked through the building.
"Oh look at that, that's so cute!" Sam said as she saw a very thin bathing suit shawl skirt that was pink and black and a shirt that tied around to match. She picked it up and walked over to the lady sitting on a stool braiding some hemp.
"How much are these."
"I'll say 20."
"How about 10." Sam asked, she was a pro bargainer.
"Well you are a beauty so I tink I can geeve it to you for tat." She echoed with a beautiful Jamaican accent. Sam pulled a ten out of her pocket but Nate got their first.
"Don't worry about it. I've got it."
Sam smacked him.
"Hey what are you doing." She laughed. The Jamaican lady smiled as Nate handed her the ten.
"Beauty, keep heem in your grasp. Hees a very seldom find in theese parts."
"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you again"
"I'll see you again soon!" The Jamaican lady answered, the accent just flowing like it was a sheet of music.
