Sammie sat on the beach, looking out into the ocean. It was a particularly nice day, the sun was out and the blue water was glistening - inviting people in. But Sammie didn't really fancy the water at this moment in time, she was too busy sulking on the beach. Having wondered off from her brothers, she waited for them to leave the beach, hiding in the trees, before going out to sit in the sand, all on her own.
"I thought I might find you here." A small voice, coming from behind her, startled Sammie as she turned round to see her friend Dex standing there, flip flops in hand.
"Hey." She said moodily, turning her attentions back onto the ocean.
"You look like I feel. You wanna talk about it?" He asked, sitting down beside her. Dex didn't really like the ocean, but he was willing to sit there and stare at it for hours if it meant helping his friend.
"Not really." Sammie was looking down at her feet now, a sad look on her face. This was the first time Dex had seen her look vulnerable. Most of the time she was so bouncing and full of energy, and her posture was threatening. But today, she was hunched over, her face as glum as the moon. "It's just family stuff, y'know?"
Dex knew, he knew exactly what she meant. The two of them sat there in silence for a little while, both staring at the feet. They sat together, quiet as anything, like two people who had known each other for years, and just enjoyed each others company. It was comforting for both of them to know that they weren't alone, that there was someone who understood them.
"There she is!" Sammie recognised the voice of Heath, as she turned round to see all three of her brothers walking toward her.
"I better go, I'd rather not get beaten up by your brothers." Dex smiled at Sammie kindly, before getting up and wiping the sand off his jeans. "Good luck!"
"Thanks." She smiled back appreciatively, and he walked off, away from her and her brothers.
"Where did you get to?" Heath asked obnoxiously as the three of them reached their youngest sister on the sand. Sammie had to fight off the urge to go up to him and punch him in the face.
"I just needed some time to think." She was still sat down, and still looking out into the ocean, refusing to look at her siblings.
"Yeah, well next time you run off like that, can you please just keep your phone on or something?" Brax inquired calmly, a concerned tone to his voice.
"Will do." Sammie replied absent-mindedly, and directed her gaze back down to her feet. She heard some mumbling behind her, and eventually two pairs of footsteps walked off in the direction of the water, and one walked up closer to her.
Casey Braxton sunk down onto the sand next to his sister, carefully placing his surf board on the ground.
"Brax said you stormed off after he told you about Heath's arrest." Casey suggested, understandingly.
"You knew as well?" Sammie asked bitterly. "You knew what he did and you didn't tell me?"
"I did tell you, I said he got arrested for hitting some guy over the head with a bottle."
"Yeah, but you didn't tell me that he actually did it." Sammie started tearing up, and Casey put his arm lightly around her shoulder. "I thought it was just police blaming him like it usually is."
"Don't cry." Casey whispered, rubbing his sisters back lightly.
"Why couldn't I just be born into a normal family? One that doesn't cause grievous bodily harm to others, and hang about in a gang?"
"I know how you feel." Casey feigned sympathy. "I want to get out too. Maybe we can, one day.""Yeah right. It's like you always say; Mangrove River's a black hole. No one gets out." She wiped a stray tear off her bronzed cheek.
"Well maybe I was wrong." Casey admitted. "Maybe if we tried hard at school, we could get out and make a life for ourselves. How does that sound?" He suggested, his only intention was to cheer up his sister.
"Sounds good." She sniffed, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.
"And don't worry about Brax and Heath, they can take care of themselves."Sammie smiled at her brother, silently thanking him for reassuring her. He was quite possibly the only person who never failed to cheer her up.
"Fancy a surf?" Casey suggested, helping his sister up before they both walked off, into the glistening blue ocean.