Common Ground (The Common Ground Trilogy Book 1) (2 page)

It took me about five minutes to change and pack for the day. After my backpack was full with a towel, hat, some bottled water and snacks, I threw it over my shoulder and headed to the front door to wait for Annie, who was still finishing her makeup. I, on the other hand, reached for the bottle of SPF-65 from my bag and loaded up until Annie finally emerged from her room fifteen minutes later.

“That’s what you’re wearing?” she sighed as we both stepped out of the apartment and the heat really hit us for the first time. It felt like an oven just opened and we had melted to the sidewalk.

“What? What’s wrong with this?”

“Capris, Zoe? To a water park? I guess there’s nothing wrong with it if you’re trying to be ignored today,” she said condescendingly. “You’re not showing any skin. How else are guys supposed to notice you?”

“Maybe I should go back in and paint my face before we go to a place where you’re going to get wet,” I mocked. “That makes much more sense.”

“Fine,” she snapped. “But one of these days, you’re going to let me make you over. Just wait and see.”

I rolled my eyes and we both got into Annie’s car, which her parents had given us money to purchase. The first week in town, we found an old ’88 warm grey Chevy Celebrity that cost only five hundred dollars. It wasn’t the greatest car in the world, but it got us from point A to point B, which was the most important thing. The car ran well enough and had a CD player (its best feature), but it was about twenty years old, and probably didn’t have much time left. On top of that, the air conditioner was broken too. Sweat was already protruding from our brows, so we rolled down the windows and set off for a day of fun in the sun.

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Thirty dollars seemed overly steep to enter a water park, especially since I had no desire to use any of the pools or slides. But I glanced over at Annie who looked happier than ever and paid the attendant money without noticing the depressive smirk on my face.

“This is going to be awesome,” Annie squealed as we entered the park.

Her eyes almost bulged out of her head while she stared at her personal buffet line. I glanced around and, just as I expected, there were hundreds of good looking, out-of-my-league guys everywhere.

“Mmm, mmm! We’re going to have fun today,” Annie exclaimed, throwing her arm around my shoulders while she gazed out at the meat market.

While we walked through the park trying to find a place to make camp for the day, large groups of guys passed us, one after the other. Every one of them glanced our way and whispered something to their friends, who just smiled widely, nodded and kept walking. I couldn’t remember ever blushing more in my life than I had the first few minutes inside the park. Annie paid no attention to it, but instead kept walking with a huge smile on her face. After another few minutes, we finally arrived at the wave pool area, where hundreds of beach chairs and oversized umbrellas sheltered people. Annie found a nice open spot relatively close to the water, where we agreed to camp.

Annie took off her tank top and short shorts, revealing a very skimpy ruby-red bikini. I stared at her in shock, having never seen her in such little clothing. Slowly, my gaze traveled up and down her slender body and I noticed something odd that I’d never seen before.

“Ann, what’s that on your hip?” I asked, referencing a dark mark on the left side of her waist.

“What? Oh, that? Not all of us are blessed with beautiful, blemish-free, snow-white skin like you have Zoe. It’s just a birthmark.”

“Any other goodies you plan on revealing to the world today?”

I took off my blue Seattle Seahawks T-Shirt, and khaki capris, revealing a modest black one-piece. It safely covered all major points of interest.

“Hmpf,” Annie contested.

“What is it this time?” I groaned.

“It’s just that I thought maybe you’d have something a little showier on under your other clothes.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

“You need to lighten up and relax. You’re in college now and it’s time to start over. Remember the deal we made before coming here. I’m going to focus more on school with your help and you’re going to at least make an effort to be social. It’s pathetic how you don’t even realize that you are the most beautiful girl in the park.”

“Yeah, right,” I replied nervously. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Well, if you ever got some confidence, no girl in here would stand a chance.”

“You keep believing that.”

“At least come into the pool with me then, it’s not that scary in there.”

“Oh come on Ann. You said there would be no pressure today. You promised.”

“Please, Zoe,” she pleaded, in a last ditch attempt to get me out of my shell. “I’ll be with you the whole time, I promise. It’ll be fun. You can even sit at the edge and put your feet in. You won’t have to go in the water at all.”

“Annie, I said no. Stop pressuring me, please!”

It was the first time I’d ever raised my voice to Annie. I regretted it almost instantly as the change in her expression was like night and day. For a moment, she stood there, frozen on the spot, staring a burning hole right through me. She took a deep breath and finally released it slowly, shaking her head.

“Fine,” she surrendered with a frown that creased her smooth forehead. “But I’m not going to sit here while you try and ruin my day. I’m going walk the park, check out the scenery.”

“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “It’s just that you know I’ve never been a fan of the water. I’ll just stay here for a while and relax. You go have fun.”

Without another word, she turned on her heels and glided away from the pool back towards the waterslide area of the park. She looked more like a kid in a candy store than an eighteen-year-old college freshman as she quickly skipped away. I slid on my thin sunglasses, and collapsed under the umbrella, trying to calm myself after Annie’s unrelenting pressure. She should have known better. I must have told her more than a thousand times how much I hated going in the water. While I sat there thinking, my eyes unexpectedly became very heavy. After the previous nights’ dream, the last thing I wanted was to sleep again. But the more I fought it, the heavier my eyes became. After a few minutes of futile attempts, the drowsiness finally overtook me.

The air had cooled modestly when my eyes slowly opened. Instead of a crowded water park, I was shocked to see a familiar sight. The sun was sparkling off of the beautiful Puget Sound and I found myself seated on a random park bench. My eyes glanced around in stunned silence, wondering if it was another dream or if I’d magically teleported back to Seattle. Families were spread all about, some playing in the sand with their children on the beach, others frolicking in the water and enjoying what felt like a typical Seattle summer day. Bicyclists were flying down the sidewalk, swerving in and out of families walking along with their children and dogs. I scanned the crowds of people sauntering along the waterfront, taking in the joy and calmness the scene had provided me. All of a sudden, my gaze fell upon a very familiar family, which caused me to rub my eyes in disbelief.

Along the waterfront walked my parents, who were each holding the hand of a very pretty little girl who was skipping along in between them. Her long black hair glistened in the sunlight while she stared out into the water, where many other families were enjoying the warm day. There was a look of longing in her sapphire blue eyes. I stared in awe as the younger me marched along with my parents, giving me a sudden feeling of déjà vu. My rigid body relaxed and I slowly stood up, trying to decide what to do. Curiosity started running rampant through my head. All I wanted at that moment was to hear them speak again, to get any taste of the past to soothe my grieving wounds. Without thinking, I headed down towards the water and quickly caught up to my family. I had to get close enough to hear them without being seen, and when I was a few feet behind them, my mother’s tender, familiar voice filled my ears.

“I’m sorry, sweetie,” she said, her stunning blue eyes gazing down towards her pleading daughter, “but we’ve gone over this before.”

“Please, mommy!” young Zoe begged in a very high-pitched squeal.

“Zoe, honey, listen to your mother,” my father’s booming voice chimed in from high above. His wavy black hair was rustling softly in the breeze, and his dark brown eyes scanned the scene in front of them. I stood for a moment and stared at my father in awe, soaking in any longing that was rapidly building inside. It was impossible to forget where my figure came from, as my father’s lanky, skin-and-bones frame stood out over the more meaty men that surrounded him. Even though it was a warm day, he still sported a pair of paper-thin khaki pants and a ribbed sweater vest, but didn’t have a drop of sweat anywhere along his brow.

“But why?” she pouted as the tears started to flow.

My parents both stopped walking simultaneously, exchanged a quick glance, and released their hold on her hands. The older me stopped walking too, and stood back at a safe distance, still close enough to hear and see what was going on. Both of them crouched down and remorsefully looked into their daughter’s young, tearful eyes. My father wiped away one of them and smiled.

“I know you’re upset, honey. This isn’t easy for us either. We love you and want you to stay safe.”

“But what’s so scary about the water?”

“You’re too young to understand,” my mother said somberly.

“I’m seven. I’m a big girl.”

“You sure are,” she chuckled. “We just feel better when you are safe with us. There would be nothing worse in this world than if we lost you. You’re very special.”

“Reyna,” my father urged sternly. “Don’t frighten her.”

“I’m not scared! Please let me go in!”

“We’re done here,” my mother said firmly, standing back up to her full and unforgettably tall height. I had forgotten how intimidating she could be. The silky smooth, thin hair that fell to her mid-back was blowing in the rapidly increasing wind, as was her bright yellow sun dress. Her curvy figure made her stand out, but in more of a good way than that same figure did for me. She stood with pride and poise. Her broad shoulders were squared, and her perfectly defined face looked very confident.

“But I never get to do anything fun,” young Zoe whined.

“It’s not that bad, Zoe,” my mom said. “Besides, you’re safe and healthy, which is the most important thing.”

“You always say no. I can’t play sports or sing or dance or do anything. I hate it!”

“Shhh,” my father whispered, still kneeling down. “Zoe, we love you and just want you to be safe. What if you went into the water and someone stole you away from us? We couldn’t live with ourselves. You are the most important thing in this entire world to your mother and I.  Trust me, this is all for your own good. You’ll understand one day.”

He leaned forward, kissed her forehead and wiped away the remaining tears. My mother reached down and took hold of one hand while my dad stood and took the other. The earlier  smile that covered the younger Zoe’s face had been replaced by my all-too-familiar frown. I hungrily watched as my parents continued to walk away, with the younger me locked in between them.

While I stood there in stunned silence, thinking how my dreams could get any worse, an ice cold sensation swiftly swept over my body and a quick flash of white light crossed my vision. Before I realized what had happened, the unbearable heat had returned and the blurry vision of the water park reemerged. Drops of cold water were dripping down my chest and back.

“What the…” I said, looking around, trying to shake myself awake.

Out of nowhere came more water, this time drenching my entire head. Gasping, I leapt up, spun around and saw a shadowy figure leaning over my chair, whose face had been blocked out by the sun that was slowly falling behind him. Then there was a deep, commanding laugh which shook me to the core.

“Uh, sorry,” the voice snickered. There was a water bottle in his hand that was tipped over my chair, as the last few remaining drops leaked onto the artificial sand. He and his friend just laughed and walked away. I stood there soaked and my anger started to boil over.

“Don’t worry about it,” I shouted in their direction. “It’s not like I was sitting here or anything!” The people around me stared uncomfortably at my public humiliation. I picked up my towel which was luckily still dry in my bag and wiped both my face and chair before sitting back down.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since I had fallen asleep. The sun was definitely not so high in the sky anymore which made me think it was sometime in the afternoon. Before I had any chance to relax or stew in my anger, an excited voice came singing from somewhere behind me.

“There you are!”
Annie shrieked in delight, bounding towards me. There was an all too familiar look in her face.

“Hey,” I responded. “What’s up?”

“I just met one of the hottest guys I’ve ever seen,” she declared with the sound of triumph in her voice.

“Really? Where?”

“Well…” she started. “When I left you, I went back towards those huge waterslides we saw when we came in. I had a feeling that all the hot guys would be there, and man was I right,” she said happily.

“Most of them were at this slide called “El Diablo”, which is ten stories high and has this old, freaky looking staircase. It has this huge tube that spins towards the ground with a five-story drop. There wasn’t much competition because most of the riders were guys. Hot, hot guys.”