Quietly, Audri slipped inside the first room in the hallway, careful not to disturb the inhabitant. She made her way over to the other bed in the room and sat down, sitting up with her back against the headboard. He looked so peaceful sleeping; she didn't want to risk waking him just yet.
Sunlight was beginning to stream in through the curtains on the balcony door, making tiny strips of light dance on the carpet. She looked around the room from the furniture to the posters on the walls. It was nothing like her room back home. Her walls had been bare, long ago stripped of any pictures that might reflect what she liked. Come to think of it, she never really had anything of value in her room. She had owned a few clothes in the closet that she had carried with her to Playa Linda, her hairbrush, toothbrush (she had bought another one in a convenient store on her way), Johnny's letter and a few other odds and ends. But there was something else. Something she was forgetting. She ran over the list of objects she had brought with her again in her head. Suddenly, it hit her. The thing she kept forgetting wasn't a piece of clothing or some postcard. It was her diary.
Quietly, she tread softly from the room heading quickly downstairs to her backpack. After taking some things out, she found her prize. Clutching it tightly to her chest, she went back upstairs and into the same room. She opened the cover, flipped through a few pages, and began the first entry of her new life. Excitedly, she wrote in a frenzy, trying to write down every thought that popped into her brain.
Dear Diary,
You'll never believe where I am. I left home only a couple of days ago, and now I'm in Playa Linda with Uncle Johnny. His roommates are wonderful; they took me in without a moment's hesitation. I still don't see why Uncle Johnny and Ava ever broke up.
Bradin has been so understanding and helping. He is asleep now; he almost looks like a child, so peaceful and calm.
The Fourth of July is next weekend. I cannot wait. Uncle Johnny has told me so much about all the fireworks that light up the entire town, and the celebrations that take place. I want to see it, hear it, smell it, live the entire thing through and be able to do it all again. I want to remember everything from here on out.
I need to talk to Uncle Johnny about going to the doctor's office. I want to know how my pregnancy is going, just to make sure everything is in order. For the first time, I think I'm at peace with this child. It didn't do anything wrong, and hopefully someday I'll be able to figure out what happened. Until then, I'm going to live my life as though everyday is my last.
More words kept flowing out of her like no tomorrow, filling page after page. Writing started to seem like a comfort to her, a long lost friend found again.
After a while, the flow of words stopped, she smiled and closed her diary. Almost at once, she noticed the doors across the room that lead to the balcony; she hadn't paid attention to them before. Slowly, she got up, careful not to disturb Bradin. Placing her hands on the door knob, she pulled at little too hard making the doors fly open and collide with the corner of the dresser. It made a loud noise, waking Bradin with a start. Audri froze.
"Audri?" he said groggily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Bradin!" she said still startled.
"Are you okay?" he asked, sitting up.
"Yeah, I'm really, really sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up. I just, um, I wanted to see your balcony."
He smiled and made his way over to her, stepping outside into the sunshine. He turned back to her and held out his hand, which she took and lead her onto the balcony, complete with two deck chairs and a small table.
"Have a seat and take in the view."
She gladly took his offer, watching as Bradin stretched and leaned against the railing. His blonde hair blew gently in the breeze, running a chill through her being. She was struck by something in him, something about him that made her heart skip a beat. Smiling, she rose from the chair, and leaned on the railing with him, looking out into the ocean. Sea gulls played happily, squawking at each other. There were a few people down on the beach, playing volleyball and frisbie.
"Audri, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Have you ever really experienced the Fourth of July?"
"Not really," she said, her heart leaping.
"Well, I was wondering, only if you wanted to that is, if you would consider going to the pier party with me next Saturday."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'd love for you to…you know, be my date."
"Why me?"
"Why you? Well, because, you deserve a perfect night, a good memory that you can look back on a thousand times and never get tired of remembering. And when you look back on it, I want to be the one you remember giving it to you."
Audri was stunned and speechless, something went through her like ice, chilling her skin.
Their eyes and smiles met, making the moment linger. Bradin leaned slowly in to Audri, their lips inches away.
"Bradin?" Jay yelled from downstairs.
They sighed, the moment lost.
"C'mon," Bradin whispered, taking her hand.
They got half-way down the stairs when Bradin stopped dead in his tracks. Audri, who was close behind him, nearly ran into him.
"What is it?" she asked.
She didn't have to say much more. She saw what Bradin was looking wide-eyed at. Two policemen were standing in the living room holding their hats. Johnny sat on the couch, elbows on knees, chin resting on his folded hands, eyes deep in thought.
"Miss Durant? May we have a word with you?"
Instead of speaking, Bradin talked for her.
"What do you want?"
One of the men looked a little surprised, and raised his eyebrows. He smirked and said, "Chill out, Superman, we just want to talk to her."
The one who had spoken before, shot the other one a look to shut him up.
"We just want to ask you a few questions."
Audri found her voice somewhere in the distance.
"Are you going to take me back there?"
The officer smiled and said, "Come sit down."
Audri obeyed, but Bradin was close behind her, determined not to leave her side. The second officer stepped in between them.
"Sorry, son, we need to talk to her and her uncle alone. Maybe Australia there can take you for a walk."
"Hamilton!" The older officer scolded. "That's enough! If you don't shut your mouth, I'm sending you back to the car."
Bradin smirked, "Oh, Down boy."
Hamilton sneered, popping his chewing gum, and backed off.
"Good doggy," Bradin whispered.
"C'mon," Jay said, taking Bradin by the shoulders, "Let's go for a walk."
Bradin looked at Audri, "I'll be back, I promise, alright?"
She nodded.
Jay and Bradin exited, leaving Audri behind.