I slide down in my seat as Yusef pulls out of the parking lot. “Feel like I’m being kidnapped.”
“Don’t worry, we’re not far,” he says, turning to give me a sympathetic smile. “Plus, I’ve been meaning to take you to this spot for a minute.”
Erika mouths a “told you” with a mischievous grin. My cheeks burn as I slide lower. Yusef rolls down the windows, letting the cool air glide in as he speeds down the freeway.
“So, I don’t get it,” I say, putting my head between the front seats. “How is it okay for you two to be friends, and not us?”
Erika groans. “What I keep telling you? I don’t pose a threat. Although I have brought a few ladies to my side of the park, if you know what I’m saying.”
She wiggles her eyebrows and I can’t help laughing.
“Well, I’d happily play your girlfriend just to avoid all the heat.”
“For the last time, you are not my type. You’re also tall as fuck. I’ve chopped some trees down before, but never a damn Amazon.”
“That’s her gentle way of letting you down easy,” Yusef quips.
“Besides, I need to be free for all the pretty girls who plan on dressing like sexy nurses and housemaids for Halloween.”
“So, what are you going to be?” I ask.
“Sick.” She fakes a cough. “With a dirty house.”
“What are you gonna go as?” Yusef asks me.
“You should be a damn ghost,” Erika says, kicking her feet up on the dash. “With your house being haunted and everything.”
The word ghost hits hard, ringing louder than any word I’ve heard all night.
“Who . . . who said my house was haunted?”
Erika smacks her lips. “Girl, you live in the Hag’s house. Of course your house is haunted!”
“Dude, that’s just some old-ass story. We don’t have a ghost,” I say, looking to Yusef for backup.
He takes a deep breath, avoiding my gaze. “Um . . . I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? Dude, you’ve been to my house. There’s no floating women or chairs sliding across the floor.”
There are doors that open on their own, though, a small voice inside me says, but I ignore it.
Yusef rubs the back of his neck, focusing on the road but clearly holding something back.
“Your spot went through a lot of contractors. And they all complained about . . . just a bunch of weird stuff happening.”
“Weird stuff happens at lots of construction sites,” I counter, feeling defensive. “My dad worked on a property where every single piece of equipment broke down. But he didn’t rush to call the Ghostbusters.”
Erika turns to face me. “All right, let me ask you this: Anything missing?”
“Well . . . yeah. But we just moved. Stuff gets lost in the shuffle.”
“Pssh. Yeah right,” she scoffs, shaking her head.
Yusef tries to take it easy on me. “Cali, there wasn’t one construction worker who walked out of your house with everything they walked in there with. No matter how hard they searched. Shit kept vanishing.”
I think back to our second day in Maplewood. When Mr. Watson was looking for a hammer. Swallowing, I try to keep a straight face.
“My house isn’t haunted.” The statement came out cold and weak.
Erika laughs. “Girl, the Hag is chilling in your living room as we speak.”
Darkness shrouds the car as Yusef parks and turns off the engine.
“We’re here,” he says.
“Is it safe for me to come out?” I whisper, unnerved by the silence.
“Girl, ain’t nobody here,” Erika laughs, opening the door.
I pop my head up and see we’re in an empty parking lot facing a beach dipped in moonlight. Behind us, a blackened road is surrounded by high trees, hills, and grassy knolls. Jumping out of the truck, I’m speechless.
“Where . . . are we?” I gasp, drawn to the water.
“This is Cedarville Park,” Yusef says, standing next to me. “And that’s the Cedarville River. Dope, right? See, we got beaches here too. In case you thinking of heading back west.”
Erika cackles, skipping ahead. “Don’t go listening to him. This ain’t no real beach. Feel the sand, we might as well be standing in kitty litter. And look at that water! Bluer than blue. Walk in there and it’ll tie-dye your skin.”
As soon as my feet touch the sand, tears prickle the corners of my eyes. It’s not that I thought I’d never see a beach again, but just the sight of it floods my muscles with instant relief. I take a deep breath and smell . . . chlorine?
“Whoa,” I mumble, creeping closer. Across the river, houses line the shore, their lights twinkling in the water. I guess that’s a neighboring city. Haven’t exactly had a chance to look at a map, but we should be pretty close to Canada.
“Watch,” Erika says, grabbing a nearby pebble and chucking it into the water. “Dang, I thought it’d do that skipping thingy like in the movies.”
Yusef rolls his eyes. “The Sterling Foundation did this massive cleanup of the river and parks a few years ago. Commissioned this new sandbank. I’ve seen people chill here during the summer. No one from the Wood, though, they remember too much of what the river used to be like.”
“What was it like?”
“Let’s just say if you stuck a toe in, it’d probably burn off.”
“Bruh, the shit was slime green, had three-eyed fish and killer eels,” Erika adds.
“Dude, that’s gross!”
“Yusef drank some once. That’s why he got a tiny peen,” she snorts, shoving him before taking off.
“Yo, quit playing!” he shouts, chasing after her.
Watching them run around the beach, I bend down to grab a handful of sand. It’s heavy, a little damp from the rain, no broken coral or shells. It’s like we’re playing in a kid’s sandbox. I sit, patting the area around me. Bedbugs hate the beach, which is probably why I felt so safe there.
The rippling currents softly lap the dark blue water. Nothing like the crashing waves back home, but the setting reminds me of all the bonfires we used to have after winning track meets. I can almost feel the sand in my toes, taste the trash beer, smell the smoke in my hair. I shake the memory away, trying to remain present.
Change is good. Change is necessary. Change is needed.
I’m in a new city, with new friends. That old life is gone . . . all thanks to my ex-boyfriend. Well, who am I kidding? It was my fault. All of this is my fault. And everyone knows it. So, I deserve to swim in slime-green water at a fake beach. Thankful for the darkness, I wipe away a stray tear. Until I stuff my hand in my pocket and hit my phone. Crap, I forgot to leave it. But maybe Mom’s not watching like usual. Maybe she’s so caught up in the movie and actually trusting me for a change, she won’t bother to check my whereabouts. Besides, I’m just at a beach, with friends, like a normal girl. She can’t be mad at that.
Yusef and Erika run over, bookending me. The three of us gaze out at the water, light dancing across the tide.
“This is kinda nice,” I admit. “Why aren’t there more people out here? I would be here every day if I could.”