The next morning I felt the sun's hot rays shine right into my eyes. Burning eyelids had become my indicator that it was time to get up and get ready for work. I was used to it by now; I would lay in bed for a while, dread getting up, and after lying there groggily for a few minutes, I finally managed the strength to rise. After a shower and a quick breakfast, it was always about 7:10, and soon after, I'd begin my commute to work.
As I reached the familiar cobblestone path outside, the morning air—heavy with heat and humidity—greeted me. I looked overhead to an expanse of pale blue, and not a single cloud threatened to eclipse the sun. It was a sight that most people probably loved to see, but I also wasn't most people. All I knew was that it would be sweltering today, which meant lots of time inside. The summer heat wasn't my thing. It never was and probably never would be; I'd just have to wait it out until fall, as far away as it seemed.
When I reached the fork in the road outside work, I stopped. Somehow, my eyes couldn't help but wander farther south to Claire's farm. From what I remembered, that property had been abandoned years before I came to Mineral Town. I had looked at it once or twice before Claire took it over, and honestly, it was a piece of work. That was putting it nicely, too. The field was overgrown and uncared for, the barns were weathered and falling apart, and the farmhouse didn't even seem livable. I hadn't seen it since Claire had bought it, though. I was curious about what it looked like now.
I turned on my heels and headed towards her farm in disbelief. The same thought played over and over in my head: why do I care? Regardless, I ended up at… Freedom Fields? I looked up to the sign above her farm's entrance one more time, just to make sure that I had read it correctly. What a stupid fucking name for a farm.
I stood under the sign for a few moments, taking in what laid on the other side. Straight ahead, I noticed the field was practically spotless, and several plots of blooming crops lined over half of it. Everything else around the farm looked nicer; the grass around the estate was green and flourishing, the barns had been restored to their former glory, and even the house looked like it had been fixed up. I wasn't exactly impressed, but I'd give her props for making something out of this dump.
After standing at the entrance to Claire's farm for Goddess knows how long, I realized I would be late for work. Cursing myself, I hauled ass in the direction of the smithy.
Why did I even bother to look? I couldn't believe how stupid that was of me. Considering I didn't like the girl, there would be no reason to care about her work. These thoughts played on repeat as I pushed open the doors of the shop. I cringed, awaiting the verbal stabs from my grandfather.
"Please explain to me why you were ten minutes late, Gray," My grandfather said with a hint of rage in his voice, just like clockwork. He glared at me underneath a pair of bushy grey eyebrows and crossed his arms over his broad chest. "You know that's absolutely unacceptable."
It was time for me to think of an excuse. I wasn't going to admit that I was creeping on Claire's farm. Gramps would have a field day with that.
"Ah, well…" I started searching my brain for an answer. "It's Cliff," I lied, knowing Gramps had a soft spot for the traveler. "He, uh, had an asthma attack this mornin'. Had to take him to the clinic." I looked away and added a hint of exasperation to my voice, "Sorry for trying to do a good deed every once in a while, Gramps." Perfect.
I wanted to bask in the glory of my on-the-spot excuse. Instead, I walked to the back of the shop to prepare my work for the day.
"Hmm… Did he now?" Gramps said after a few seconds, raising an eyebrow and stroking his long white beard. "I never knew that boy had asthma… poor kid."
"Yeah, neither did we," I lied again. I was going to have to explain this to Cliff later.
Hours passed, and my eyes couldn't help gravitating to the clock. It felt as if time was going backward. The forge's heat, combined with the summer air, had drained every last ounce of energy and water that had been in my system. I was a tired, sweaty mess.
But finally, one o'clock rolled around, and I set my project aside for another day. My grandpa gave me a subtle wave as I, almost a little too eagerly, rushed out of the shop. I couldn't help it, though; it was the best part of my day.
I was headed to the library.
The library was the only place in town that I felt at peace, aside from Mother's Hill. I didn't consider that "in town," though. No matter what was going on anywhere else, I could go to the library and be at complete ease. It was quiet, serene, and, most importantly, it's where Mary worked. She was the only reason I chose the library over Mother's Hill.
I pushed open the heavy door to the library, awaiting Mary's greeting. I looked over to her desk on the other side of the room. She had been reading something but immediately looked up when she heard the bell above the door chime. Her amber eyes beamed as they met mine, and she flipped her thick, black braid over her shoulder. The corners of her lips curled into a sweet smile as she realized it was me. I felt my face unconsciously mirror her smile as the door shut behind me.
"Happy Sunday, Gray," she said, still smiling. "How are you today?"
"Same old, not too bad," I said with a shrug. "What're you up to?" I joined Mary behind her desk and leaned over her shoulder to see what she was doing. There was a relatively thick stack of handwritten papers on the table.
Honestly, I wasn't too interested in what she was doing; I just wanted to be closer to her. Her sweet vanilla scent grazed my nose; she always smelled so fucking good, I couldn't help wanting to get closer. Mary gasped and abruptly positioned her arms over the papers when she realized my proximity to her.
"Oh! Uh, it's nothing!" Mary replied quickly. Her face and ears were rosy and hot with a blush. We were so close I could almost feel it radiating off her. "Just uh… reviewing research about the flora on Mother's Hill… father's thinking about cross-breeding to increase harvest yields."
I had known Mary long enough to know she was lying, but I loved watching her get flustered. "Mmhmm?" I asked with a smirk. "Really?" I took another step towards Mary, lightly pressing my chest against her back. "So you wouldn't mind if I looked, right?" I snaked an arm around her, playfully reaching for the papers under her arms.
"Gray, no!" Mary squealed as she slapped my hand and abruptly pushed me away.
I returned my hand to my side. Mary turned her back to her desk to face me as if to block me from reaching the papers. While the space between us grew a foot or two, it felt like it was miles.
"Please," she begged, her eyes wide, "I just... don't want you to read it." She must have noticed the disappointed look on my face because she spoke up again, wringing her hands nervously over her chest. "It's not like that, Gray. It's just not done… I don't want anyone to see it yet."
She might as well just stabbed me in the fucking gut. I gripped my hat and pulled it down over my eyes in an attempt to hide any remnants of emotion on my face. "Okay," I said flatly, taking a step back.
Mary frowned. She could tell that I wasn't happy with her protest. I wasn't sure if I was more hurt that she didn't want to share her work with me, like she had been in the past, or that she was so quick to brush off my affection. I couldn't explain how I was feeling; I just felt… stupid.
"I'm gonna go grab a book," I muttered after a few moments of painfully awkward silence, turning on my heels.
"Okay…" she replied softly from behind her desk, "let me know if you need any help."
I nodded and walked off to the back of the library. Though I grabbed an adventure novel Mary had recommended to me last week, I knew well enough that I was too frustrated to actually read it. I plopped down at one of the wooden tables and tossed the book on the surface in front of me.
We spent the remainder of our time together in complete silence. Occasionally we'd glance at each other from across the room, but nothing longer than a moment. I knew I should be used to whatever the hell we were doing, but it still sucked every single time.
Trying to explain Mary's and my relationship wasn't an easy task. It was clear we had feelings for each other; we had talked about it several times over the years. Much to my disappointment, we didn't act on these shared feelings often. We went to festivals together, saw each other practically every day, but we still weren't officially together.
Mary had shut down the idea of dating when we first started talking two years ago, over a year after I first moved to town. She was barely 19 at the time, and I was 20, which I didn't see as an issue, but apparently, it was a big deal to Mary's family—but most importantly, her mom. The age gap was an issue for her parents at the time, but it didn't help that nearly every adult in town had heard about why I had been shipped off to Mineral Town. The icing on the cake was Mary and her parents' blatant disapproval of the friends I had acquired while living here. Needless to say, her parents weren't necessarily thrilled about us seeing each other, so Mary opted to wait until we were "ready" to date publicly. Whatever that meant. Sometimes, it felt like Mary cared a little too much about her parents' approval.
But I was willing to go along with Mary's wishes because I liked spending time with her. Not only was Mary quite possibly the most gorgeous girl that had ever expressed interest in me, but she was intelligent, dedicated, and way too kind to somebody like me. She was a fantastic yet hesitant writer, and I treasured the moments that she felt confident enough to share her work with me; it made me feel special in ways I'd never imagined before.
Besides my small group of friends, everyone else in town saw me as rude, sarcastic, and troubled. Maybe that's how my friends saw me too. Even if any that was true, though, Mary looked past it all. She always tried to bring out the best in me, and I liked having someone who ignored my past and saw my potential. She was calm, gentle, and supportive, all aspects I lacked in my life before Mineral Town and aspects I didn't want to lose now.
I liked Mary a lot; I thought of her as my ideal girl. Sometimes, though, it seemed as if she didn't return my feelings. She would tell me how much she enjoyed having me around, then act in a way that didn't reflect that at all, like today. Our relationship was burning hot and icy-cold. The good times we shared usually outweighed the bad, but lately, that wasn't the case. It was even harder to deal with how Mary made me feel when we weren't exclusively dating. I didn't know how I was allowed to feel and act around her, only furthering my frustration.
I thought about when the insecurity in our relationship had started. Despite our weird circumstances, Mary didn't always make me feel this way. Only lately did I find myself pondering what was going on inside her head and why she was acting the way she was. The sulking over Mary and our relationship, or lack thereof, really had only started this past season, so what had happened?
All that could come to mind was Claire. She was the only variable that had changed in Mineral Town recently. I couldn't explain how she was involved, but I found myself blaming her. Maybe I just wanted a scapegoat. But ever since Claire came to town, she had been consistently disturbing the routine I had grown so accustomed to over the years. It didn't seem like a reach to blame her for this disruption as well.
The real question, though, was why I let Claire wander into my thoughts so frequently? This girl was living rent-free in my head. I wasn't fantasizing about her; that was laughable. If anything, it was the opposite. I only thought about the little things she always did that infuriated me, like that stupid, awkward smile of hers, her smart-ass remarks, or how she would so confidently insert herself into the conversation. I couldn't think of one thing I actually liked about Claire. Her one redeeming quality had to be her looks, though her personality ruined that for me. I never spared her more than a passing glance. At this point, I was having trouble distinguishing between my anguish over Mary and the vexation Claire had caused me by moving here.
Before I knew it, Mary had crept up behind me. It took a while for her to tap on my shoulder to register, but soon enough, I turned around to meet her steady gaze. The light in the library had changed significantly, which only meant that I had been in deep thought for longer than I'd planned.
"Umm, Gray…" Mary started shakily, "I'm closing the library now…."
"Why so early?" I questioned, looking over my shoulder at her.
She raised a thin eyebrow. "Early…? It's 4:14."
How long have I been sitting back here thinking? I hadn't even touched the book I picked out earlier. "Oh. Yeah, shi—, I mean, of course, Sorry, Mare," I replied sheepishly, pushing up from my seat.
She looked up at me and smiled as I stood next to her, "It's fine. You know that I like having you around."
I pulled my hat down a little to hide my face in response, "And, uh, I like comin' here."
"So I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked a little too eagerly, averting her eyes to the floor. From underneath my hat, I could have sworn I saw pink creeping back into her cheeks.
I gave her a nod, attempting to hide what felt like a matching blush. As I walked towards the door, I felt a pang in my heart. Mary was acting like she hadn't just rejected me hours prior, and I was falling for it. She had been doing this more recently, recoiling from any of my attempts at intimacy or physical affection and then acting as if nothing had happened. After dwelling on that thought for far too long, I figured now would be a good time to address it.
I turned to face her once again. "Listen, Mare," I started.
She nodded, indicating that she was listening. Her big brown eyes held mine captive, the windows' light making them glisten like sea glass.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and continued, "Can I ask you somethin'? Be honest." I quickly shoved my hands in my pockets and looked down at the floor.
"You can ask me anything, Gray," Mary said with her signature lippy smile. She pushed a chunk of her thick raven locks behind her ear, and almost instantly, my gaze followed. I had to stop my eyes from tracing her jawline down to her collarbone. Now was not the time to get distracted. Yet, it was hard not to fixate on her. I had to take a deep breath to focus my thoughts.
"A-are you happy?" I asked, feeling a bead of sweat roll from my hairline to the back of my neck. "With me, with how things are between us?" My jaw tightened as I anxiously watched Mary process the question.
The smile left her face, and her lips pursed and twitched from side to side. I could tell she was thinking. After what felt like an eternity, I saw the energy return to her face.
"Of course I'm happy with you," Mary said sweetly, a soft giggle escaped her lips, "I cherish the time we spend together. I wouldn't change a thing!"
I tightened my lips to resist frowning. She seemed pleased with her answer, but it wasn't what I wanted to hear. I'd desired so much more from Mary for so long. Hearing how content she was with whatever we were doing hurt. I promptly turned back to the door to hide my face from hers. I couldn't look her in the eyes right now.
"Cool," was the only thing I could manage to say as I reached for the door once again. "I guess I'll see ya then."
I didn't wait to hear Mary's reply before I dragged my feet out of the library. The heavy oak door slammed behind me. With my head down, I trudged back to the Inn. I needed a drink.
Later that night, I found myself at the inn's bar with the regular summer crowd. Cliff sat to my left, and to my right were Kai, Karen, and Rick. As usual, Kai and Karen were going hard enough for the lot of us. The pair had been going shot-for-shot since we sat down about an hour ago, and the sheer amount of tequila the two of them were able to put down in that amount of time was fucking disgusting.
I took part in a few rounds, hoping it would help me forget what had happened earlier. It was impossible to keep up with Karen and Kai without dying, though. To no surprise, Cliff and Rick didn't partake. The two casually sipped on a beer instead.
"You know, Karen…." Rick started hesitantly, reaching out for the brunette as she slammed the empty shot glass on the bar top, causing him to shudder slightly, "maybe you should slow down a little..."
She hastily turned on her barstool to face Rick, giving him a look that could kill. She was facing away from me, but I could tell solely from Rick's terrified expression. To be completely honest, I wasn't sure if Rick was concerned with how much she was drinking or who she was drinking with.
"Are you implying that I can't handle my liquor?" Karen slurred as she pointed an accusing finger at Rick. "'I feel fine, I just… wait…never mind." She took a deep inhale and braced the bar for support. It looked like the tequila was finally catching up with her.
"Are you okay?" Rick asked, placing a gentle hand on her back. He pushed his long strawberry blonde hair out of his face and leaned closer to Karen to whisper something inaudible from my seat.
Karen let out what sounded like a mix between a burp and a hiccup and took another deep breath, "That one just… didn't go down as well as the others," she forced out, maintaining her grip on the bar top.
I saw Karen drunk often. Almost every night, to be exact, but this was different. I rarely saw her sick from drinking, but tequila was not her liquor of choice, in her defense. It was Kai that loved the tequila, and Karen wasn't the best when it came to peer pressure. Most nights, Karen could be found drinking copious amounts of wine, which I'm sure Rick would have preferred tonight.
"Ah, alrighty then," Rick said softly. He leaned back in his barstool and whispered to us behind Karen's back, completely looking past Kai as he did so, "I think I'm going to take her home now." Rick quickly chugged the rest of his beer and hopped out of his seat. He gave me a wave and lifted Karen's arm around his shoulders to bear some of her weight. My eyes followed Rick as he dragged Karen out of the inn.
I didn't envy Rick's current situation, but I had to admit that I was a little jealous of what Karen and Rick had. The couple had been together off-and-on since they were teenagers, long before I came to town. Ever since the Full Moon Festival last year, the two had been official. Nothing had really changed, but Rick was noticeably calmer since then. After observing their interactions over the last few years, a couple of things were clear: 1. The two deeply cared for each other and showed it often, sometimes in interesting ways, and 2. Karen definitely wore the pants. This tangent brought my thoughts back to Mary, who I was trying so badly to forget in this instant.
"Come on, Gray!" Kai said warmly, giving me a playful slap on the back. "You need to lighten up, man. We should take another shot!"
It was undeniable that Kai was able to hold his liquor significantly better than Karen did at this moment, making him literally the only person in town that could outdrink her, at least when it came to tequila. Otherwise, the two were a reasonably even match. Almost everyone who frequented the inn had challenged Karen to a drinking contest at least once, yet Kai had been the only one who managed to beat her. Kai was so proud of this feat but always conveniently forgot to mention the advantage that returning to sea-level gave him every time he came back to town.
I lifted my mug of beer, which was still half full, signaling that I was OK. Kai just shot me a disapproving glare in response.
"If I wanted to drink with a party pooper, I would be sitting by Cliff," Kai said with a smile and wink in Cliff's direction. He noticed Doug passing the bar on his way to the kitchen and flagged the innkeeper down for another shot. "More tequila, please!" Kai sang after him.
"Hey..." Cliff started, looking at Kai and then immediately back down at his drink, "I just have better things to do than get drunk." That much was evident; Cliff had maybe finished a third of his first, and only, beer.
"Okay, whatever you say, man," Kai chuckled, adjusting the purple bandana on his head. His eyes lit up as Doug returned from the bar back with another round of shots. Kai turned to me and pushed another shot in my direction. "Come on, buddy. You only live once!"
I raised an eyebrow and scanned the shot in front of me. After a few seconds, I caved in and picked up the glass. "Yeah, and if we keep this up, we won't be livin' for much longer," I joked, a small smile growing on my lips.
Kai brought his glass up and clinked it against mine. We tapped the glass on the bar top in unison, threw the drink back, and slammed it back on the table.
"Good shit, dude!" Kai exclaimed, wrapping his left arm loosely around my shoulders and leaning into me. "That's what I'm talking about!"
I let out a huff of a laugh. It was clear that the alcohol was starting to catch up with him. And honestly, it was starting to catch up with me too. Relaxation was finally settling over me, and my chest felt warm. All my worries from earlier started slowly drifting away, just as I hoped they would.
A few moments later, the bell above the inn's front door chimed. I wasn't usually very interested in who's coming in or out of the inn, but I could tell by the way that Kai was repeatedly pushing my arm that he wanted me to look.
As I looked over my shoulder, I let out a heavy sigh. Blonde hair and overalls. Of all people, it had to be fucking Claire. Just when I was starting to feel good too. I turned back to my beer and took another long sip.
"Gray… who is that?" Kai asked, now very interested. He started repeatedly pushing my arm again, and I rolled my eyes; I wished he had sat next to Cliff.
"Claire. She's the new farmer who took that old piece of a farm," I said between swigs of my beer.
"You don't say?" Kai smiled mischievously, looking the girl up and down from afar. He turned back to me, his voice only somewhat lower than it had been, "Is anyone hitting that yet?"
Cliff and I couldn't help but look at each other and laugh at his choice of words.
"Not that I know of," Cliff spoke up, still chuckling slightly at the entertainment Kai was providing us.
"Well, you're looking at him," Kai winked. He faced his attention to the blonde and began frantically waving her over.
She shot him a questioning look but complied. Just my luck. I turned back to my beer, suddenly intent on examining the carbonated bubbles. I secretly hoped that if I were still enough, she wouldn't even realize I was there.
"Um, hi, do I know you?" Claire asked as she approached Kai. She had some sort of wooden crate in her arms, but I could tell the hesitancy in her steps wasn't due to the box's weight.
He just smiled and stepped down from the barstool. "Kai Inoa; I run the Snack Shack here during summers," he said confidently. "The real question is, who are you?" Kai leaned closer to the blonde, bracing himself on a nearby chair. "I was just over here thinking that I knew all the beautiful girls in this town," he paused for emphasis, "but I guess I missed one."
I could hear her nervous laugh, so I peeked over my shoulder to see the poor girl's reaction. Meeting Kai was a trip, but meeting Drunk Kai? That was something else.
"Oh… well, thank you, Kai," she said with a hint of uneasiness in her voice, "I'm Claire Langbroek. I run the farm south of town." She glanced around the inn a few times and brought her attention back to Kai. "You don't know where I can find Ann, do you? I have a delivery for her."
"If Ann is what you're looking for… I can be Ann," Kai said flirtatiously. If he wasn't drunk earlier, he was definitely drunk now.
Claire started to inch away. "Oh, ha, that's nice of you…" she said with a plastered smile. "Umm, hey, Cliff, Gray," Claire started as she stepped aside from Kai.
I immediately snapped back to my drink, avoiding eye contact.
"Do either of you know where Ann is?"
"Hey, Claire," Cliff said, turning to face her. He took a quick survey around the dining room and then looked back to Claire. "Um, if she's not out here… I'd check in the back."
Claire silently thanked him as she pushed her way past Kai and into the kitchen. Kai's eyes stayed glued to her until she disappeared. Thank Goddess. It felt like I could breathe again.
"Damn…" Kai slurred. He wobbled back onto his stool and turned to Cliff and me. "She's almost as good-looking from the back as she is from the front."
I just shook my head and glanced over to Cliff. I could tell by his answering look that we were both thinking the same thing.
"Well… that's enough harassment for one day," Cliff said as he got up from his seat. "I think it's time we went to bed."
I followed Cliff's lead. We placed ourselves on either side of the drunk beach boy and pulled him off the stool.
"You guys are so lame," Kai pouted. "I'm…" he paused to take a deep breath, "not even drunk yet."
"No. You're beyond drunk," I added.
Cliff and I hoisted Kai's arms around our shoulders and began dragging him upstairs to the room. Kai put up a struggle at first, trying to pull his arms away, but slowly tired himself out. We forced Kai up the flight of stairs and into our bedroom. He flopped down on the bed face first and began mumbling into his pillow.
Cliff and I looked at each other again, unable to understand the intoxicated man before us. Just as Cliff and I were about to turn away, Kai rolled over.
"Watch me," he said groggily, his eyes barely open. "Imma get with her before summer ends... I bet you." I ignored the man's rambling and headed over to my bed. I was tired of listening to yet another person talk about Claire.
Suddenly, something light hit my back and then landed on the floor. I spun around, confused, and looked to the ground. Kai's bandana was sitting in a crumpled ball at my feet.
"Gray! Bet me!" Kai yelled, trying to get my attention.
I looked back over to Kai before rolling my eyes and walking over to my bed. I'd had enough of him for one day.
"Okay, Kai," I heard Cliff say with a nervous laugh. "You should probably go to bed now."
"Mmm, okay…" Kai murmured as he rolled back on his face.
Cliff left for the bathroom, and it was finally quiet in the room.
I tore the clothes off my body and threw them in a pile by my bed. Feeling just numb enough, I finally laid down to rest. I closed my eyes, hoping for a few decent hours of sleep before the inevitable hangover hit tomorrow.
