~Ten~

Almosts.

My summer is filled with them.

My father almost spends time with me.

Emily almost leaves him.

I almost work up the courage to seek out Rose again.

But then I almost bump into her brother.

Almost is not enough. Then it's too much.

The bonfire burns bright in the distance, sending sparks to join the stars. I hover on the boardwalk, indecision sticking my feet to the ground like gum.

I become unstuck when I see a group of boys pour out from the arcade and head down onto the sand. Instead of following them, I sidestep into a touristy gift shop, straight into the path of Rose.

"Bella! I was about to call you!" She's wrestling with a large bag filled with towels. "Can you give me a hand with this?"

We're balancing the bag between us before I can think of a reason I have to be elsewhere. It clinks with each step, giving away its contraband.

She fills the distance to the fire with chatter about her day. I scan the faces we pass, jumping from one to the other. I tell myself I'm looking for a familiar face. But it's Edward I search for.

A cheer goes up when Rose empties the bag into a ready-made ice bucket.

She pulls a flask out of her purse and hands it over with a grin. "Something special for us."

I take a swig and fight the urge to spit it out over the sand. The sharp taste of alcohol makes my mouth water and my nose burn. "Jesus. What the hell is that?"

"Vodka. It's supposed to be honey flavored, but it's pretty old. I found it in the back of our garage." She shrugs and takes a long drink. Its effect barely registers on her face.

Music is playing, but it's not loud enough to drown out the chatter or the whisper of the waves. Rose grabs my arm and leads me over to some girls sitting on the cooling sand. "Guys, this is Bella." She sits crossed-legged beside them and pats the sand, gesturing to the others. "Angie, Kate, and Taylor."

They all smile and wave, passing around Rose's flask. I'm glad when there are rounds of spluttering and coughing. I'm not the only one it had that effect on

"If you drink any more of that, you might end up in the ER. I think it expired in the 70s." Angie screws her nose up.

"You're all lightweights." Rose snatches it back and pokes her tongue out at her friend.

Rose explains how we met. She leaves a lot out. Her laughter and smiles paint over the little white lies. When the attention of her friends is elsewhere, she drops her act, and I see the anxiety in her eyes as she mouths a thank you.

Nervous. Evasive. Troubled.

I know he's behind me before he speaks.

I daren't turn round in case he's not there and in case he is.

"Anyone got a light?" Edward walks around to face our group, beer bottle held loosely in his fingers, a joint in the other hand.

Rose barely breaks from her conversation to shake her head at him. He looks at each of the girls, who all shrug their shoulders. Kate looks frantically through her purse, and much to her distress, comes up empty-handed.

I avoid looking at his face, glancing at the violent orange flames behind him and then back to Rose as if I'm engrossed in her story. He doesn't move, and his shadow presses down harder on me with every second of silence until I answer. "No. I don't smoke."

Rose turns to him again with a smirk. "Can't you use the huge match behind you?"

The girls laugh, but Edward doesn't. I begin to wonder if he has a sense of humor.

"Don't be such a bitch. And don't bother asking for any of this when I do find one."

She rolls her eyes at him. "I don't want any, and I know you've got a lighter in your car, so why don't you just use that?"

"Fuck you, Rose." He stalks off, leaving the heat from the fire behind. Somehow the bonfire feels cooler against my skin than Edward's presence.

"I have no idea what's up with him," she says, her head tilted up to the sky as if it knows the answer.

I'm not sure what time it is, but the moon is hovering high over the sea, and my veins are filled with the warmth of the fire and company.

Rose's are filled with liquor. It's glazing her eyes and melting her bones. She's taken to leaning on me when she's not distracted by her phone. The screen lights up and steals her away every few minutes. Her lazy smiles as she reads the messages give away who they're from.

I haven't seen anyone from Riley's party on the beach, and I'm not surprised. It's too laid back: down to earth and dusty. I'm entirely at home here, amongst these strangers.

I'm also not surprised when Rose starts to peer into the darkness that shadows the rest of the beach.

Another text, and she links her fingers with mine and pulls me to my feet. "Come on," she whispers, and suddenly I'm her co-conspirator.

"Where are we going?" I ask, though I already know the answer. I swallow back my concerns.

"You'll see." She giggles and falls into me for a moment before setting herself straight.

The sand is silver-cold as we walk away from the circle of heat. We draw closer to voices, and two people materialize from the inky darkness. Riley and Michael.

Rose wastes no time in jumping into Michael's arms. I find it difficult to raise a smile at him, instead directing one at Riley.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" I ask.

Riley shrugs. "No idea. I think Michael has a death wish."

"Whatever, man." Michael overhears and walks over, his arms wrapped tightly around Rose.

Riley lowers his voice and shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans as we walk back toward the bonfire. "Either that, or he's stupidly in love, but that's unlikely, so I'll go with just stupid. How've you been? I haven't seen you around?"

"I'm good. Just been busy doing this and that."

He accepts my innocuous response and doesn't probe further. I'm not sure how he'd take it if I explained I've been avoiding his friends, which, unfortunately, means him too.

"I went looking for you at the beach the other day."

"You did, huh? That was brave. All recovered?"

He looks forlorn, placing his hand on his chest. "I'm getting there. I'm going for shock treatment. You know, overexposure? It's why I agreed to come along tonight." He sighs then smiles. "And to see your beautiful face, of course."

I laugh in absence of a witty response and duck my head to hide the flicker of pleasure his compliment causes. We slide back into easy conversation, and I find myself glad for a familiar face, even if it means having to be in close proximity to Michael.

We don't go back to sit with the girls but find a quieter spot at the outer reaches of the fire. Though Rose is confident and flirtatious, I catch her eyes flitting back and forth to Edward and his friends, who are sitting in the darkness by the shore. It puts me on edge more than it should, and I feel the pull of tension across my shoulders.

Riley spots my discomfort and confuses it. "Are you cold? Do you want my sweater?"

He starts to take it off as I hold out my hands to stop him "No, no. I'm just a little uncomfortable."

He ignores me and hands it over. "It's fine. I don't mind."

I hold the warm fabric, unsure what to do, but I don't want to appear ungrateful, so I wrap it around my shoulders.

All the time I sense him watching.

Predatory in his gaze and territorial to those close to him, he reminds me of a wild animal. Like standing at the fence of a lion enclosure and fighting the dangerous urge to curl my fingers through the wire. The thrill of being so close to something so unpredictable. For that reason, I can't ignore his pull. I find myself looking over to the shoreline.

And for a moment, I meet Edward's eyes and let him catch me.

The arrival of the boys has set the night simmering. Even the laughter and music seems fractious since we brought them back here. I can't help but wish we hadn't.

Rose is all over Michael, and it's awkward to watch. Everything in her demeanor is fake. The throaty laugh, her coy mannerisms. Despite being halfway drunk, even the words she's choosing don't fit with the girl I've just spent the last few hours with. I feel a flush of embarrassment for her. Riley tries and fails to involve them in our conversation.

Eventually, they both peel themselves off the ground and disappear into the night.

Riley is cast orange by the fire. Its flickering shadows draw out his pained expression. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"Michael."

"You don't have to apologise for him. I … he's all right." It's as good a compliment as I can manage.

He laughs at me. "Don't worry, I know you think he's an asshole. And he is. The biggest one I know."

"So why are you friends with him?"

"I've known him for years. Our fathers worked together, and it went from there. Sorta had to make an effort to be friends, but he's all right when he's not being a dick. I've spent a lot of summers here, and I'd go crazy without people to hang out with." He shrugs, scooping up the coarse sand, watching it trickle through his fingers.

I consider asking him how he could call someone as selfish and arrogant as Michael a friend, but instead say, "So you're kinda stuck with him."

"I guess. He has his uses."

I start to ask him about the night of his party again, but he's distracted. His eyes dart back and forth over my shoulder. I purposely turn and look, confused by his change in demeanor.

He returns his attention to me for a moment. "I need to go talk to a friend for a second. Do you want a drink? I'll get you one on the way back."

He stands, brushing sand off his jeans and walking away before he's even registered my answer.

Alone, I start to feel awkward. Riley's sweater around my shoulders itches and feels heavier than it should. I look over to where he's deep in conversation with two boys. Their heads are bowed, but their stances don't scream friends. If anything, they're holding themselves stiffly. The tall, lighter-haired boy has his arms wrapped across his body, hands under his armpits, as if they're cold, which is impossible so close to the fire. The other, dark with a shaved head, holds his hands up in surrender, or maybe ignorance. I watch their exchange. The impression I have of Riley shifts again, morphing into something new.

I hear Rose scream with laughter. It's teetering on panic, and everyone's attention is once again drawn to Michael. He's trying to catch her. Chasing until he grabs her and swings her round, much to her delight. When he puts her down, she stumbles and falls without raising her hands to protect her face. There's an audible gasp at the thud her face makes when it hits the sand.

I rush over to check if she's okay. Both of them are laughing by the time I reach them. I ignore Michael and go to help Rose up. Blood is a dark crimson smear across her cheek as she wipes the sand from her mouth. "Are you okay?"

I turn to Michael with narrowed eyes, but his amusement has already disappeared, extinguished by Edward's sudden presence.

"Rose?" Edward's touch is soft as he lifts her chin, looking at the blood pooling from a cut on her lip. "You okay?"

She bats at his hand, trying to push him away. "I'm fine. We we're just having fun. Leave me alone."

"Fun's up, Rose. You can't even walk." He looks at me. "Can you get her out of here? Take her home?"

For once we agree on something. "Yeah, but I don't have a car. Is it far?"

He fishes keys out of his pocket and tosses them over to me.

Rose snatches her hand out of Edward's. "I said I'm okay." She goes to stand by Michael, clinging to his side.

Edward's hands curl into fists, the tendons in his forearms tense with anger. "You're not okay. Will you listen to me, for once? Fuck."

"She said she's okay, dude." Michael tries on a smile, but it doesn't fit well with the irritation twisting his features.

Edward ignores him, the flicker in his jaw the only sign he's biting back words. "Can you take her home? Now."

It's not a question, but it's not the time to argue with him about his attitude towards me.

The commotion has caused a ripple of unease through the revellers, and every pair of eyes are on Rose and Edward. Riley returns and places a hand on the small of my back as Edward repeats his request again.

I step away from him, a reaction to his touch, but he moves with me, directing his next words straight at Edward. "You don't have to do anything, Bella."

Edward cocks his head at us. A smile hooks at the side of his lips, pulling them into something that raises the threat already flitting around our little sideshow. "You should mind your own fucking business."

"Come on, Rose." I urge her to follow me, but she's barely registering what's happening.

I step forward, but Riley holds a hand out to stop me, and takes a step into Edward's line of sight. "You should calm down."

"I don't think so." Edward laughs, and fixes his eyes on me again. "Please, Bella. Get out of here. Both of you."

"Rose was already drunk before anyone got here." I don't know why I'm defending them, but at this point I'll say anything to diffuse the situation. "Just leave it, okay?"

Others start to gather around us, Edward's friends, watching and waiting. He looks at me for the first time with something other than distaste. It's a plea and another warning. "Go, Bella."

I don't get a chance to grab Rose as Riley acts first, striding up to Edward. He's taller, but only by an inch, and they're almost touching foreheads. "Don't talk to her like that."

I try to tell him to stop, but his arms are raised, pushing against Edward's chest before I can form the words.

Edward's fist smashes into Riley's face before I get a chance to blink.

Then it all goes to hell.

AN: An early update this week, as I'm away for the weekend in an internet black hole! Thanks for reading and reviewing, I love to hear from you all.

Love to Kim, Choc and Cat for everything xx