The Beach House
She approached the boardwalk parking lot slowly; the drops from the windshield wipers cast a shadowy mix of blues, reds, and yellows across the leather seats. Abby felt a gloomy solace in her car, while the rain thrummed overhead. The years had transformed her. While she still liked to believe that she was in control of her story’s narrative, Abby couldn’t help but feel that in this moment, she was a tiny spec in a world devoid of human connection. “Don’t get lost in the past,” she said, steadying herself and gaining composure. Her phone started to buzz, and massaging her temples she realized it was her boyfriend, Adam. Well boyfriend isn’t really the right word. They had only been dating for two weeks, but still she felt comfort in hearing his voice. She liked to play games of pretend. She pretended he was really the one, and pretended she had her life together. When she hung up the phone, the wind became a phantom, screeching all around her as she drove through the sea of green traffic lights. Soon, the thunderous storm began pouring out all Abby’s booming emotion on her, obscuring her vision through the windshield until she needed to pull over….
Abby was completely drenched by the time she got to Kaley’s house. Her wet clothes stuck to her body; her shoes made an unpleasant squeaky sound as she walked. It was a gamble coming here. A big gamble. But, she had nowhere else to go and the bridge was up, which meant that she had to wait it out for the night on this side of the island. As Abby walked closer to ring the doorbell, a cold shiver ran down her spine. She felt frozen solid. What was she doing here? After waiting for what felt like forever, Abby turned away to walk back to her car, and then the door slowly creaked open. It was Kaley, looking perplexed, but her face soon melted into a kind smile. While the years had changed both of their appearances, nothing could quite dull the magical bond between old friends.
It had been an eternity since she was here. The interior of the house had not lost its charm, but a pervasive sadness lingered, one that could not be seen, but that Abby felt. Kaley and her husband Michael had endless questions. But being here had ignited an old childhood spark. As Abby sunk into her comfortable chair, she could soon hear the laughter all around her, of summers past…
They dug their heels meticulously into the wet mushy sand by the shore. The cold current of ocean water felt energizing against Abby’s sunburnt skin, and as she turned to her right, she could see Kaley, becoming quickly absorbed by the sticky quicksand. Abby playfully taunted Kaley, who was the tallest of the group, now up to her knees in the sand. As Michael, Lucas, and Carly soon joined her, sinking deeper into the moat, Abby towered as tall as a giant over them. “Do you guys need any help?” she slyly asked. Their group name was as simple and special as the bond they shared with one another: the five. Almost as powerful as the name that will never be spoken.
The next morning, Abby, Michael, and Kaley drove out past the downed powerlines and broken tree branches to the Midnight Diner. Abby had some questions for her old friends that had gone to new places. Michael was a full-time real estate agent, specializing in summer rentals. Kaley had become a nature photographer, specializing in images of the ocean waves down by the beach. Abby learned from Kaley that her images were breathtakingly emotional. And what about Lucas? she thought energetically, while thoroughly devouring her blueberry pancakes. She learned that Lucas, Kaley’s brother, had recently gotten an intense corporate job…was it him she saw at Twister the other day? No wonder she didn’t recognize him, it had been over ten years since the accident, since the day all their lives changed forever. The day the five became the four.
The five used to go to the carnival every summer. In the heat, the salty sea air always had an invigorating effect. As teens they had felt they could take on the world, masters of their own destinies… Nothing could have prepared her for the influx of emotions when she saw Twister. Twister was her and Carly’s ride. Well, it was for a time. Until it became Carly and Lucas’s ride. Until it became her and Lucas’ ride. Abby breathed deep; she knew she was the evil stepsister that had separated the princess and the prince. And she felt the depths of this unhappy fairytale pulling at her subconscious. Out of focus, Abby almost didn’t see Lucas arrive. Carly’s Lucas. Abby was sure he could read the anxious expression on her face, because just as he took his seat, he shot Abby a disapproving glare.
Just say her name guys. Empty conversations were as useless as childhood fantasies. Something was clearly off. The four were together but there was so much left unsaid. Just say her name. Abby began chopping up her food with more vigor. Too much pain they said, they couldn’t talk about her they said. Just move on, they said. Abby’s heart started racing as she realized that from Kaley and Michael’s body language that they were hiding something. Something big. She finally summed up the courage to blurt out: “so, can we talk about Carly?”
As Abby clicked in her seatbelt, and felt the cold metal of the buckle, she shivered, knowing that whatever she heard next wouldn’t be pleasant. The beach house. Destroyed. Michael and Kaley were driving as they explained that they had gotten the call this morning. The hurricane had taken it out; flattened childhood memories reduced to dust. The house had been owned by Carly’s parents and had been passed to the four of them. Abby and Lucas wanted to see the wreckage for themselves. They had to. For the five, for their friend.
As they pulled up to the beach town, the smell of sandy wood and sea salt created a wondrous wave that hit Abby intensely. She remembered the color of the pebbles lining the driveway of the house; blues, greens, and sandy peaches. She could envision in her mind’s eye the five standing far out in the ocean on sand dunes. Carly and Lucas chasing each other with little sea crabs. As the car turned into Westdrive Ave, Abby tried her best to hold herself together. But, as the four of them got out of the car to survey the wreckage, she could feel hot tears welling up in her eyes. As much as she wished for her fantasy to be true, she could now clearly see the stark reality behind her dreams. Nothing she did at that moment could ever bring her friend back.
Abby remembered that fated summer, long ago, with its fragrant breezes and long walks on the beach. She could see it clearly now, Princess Carly in her flowy purple dress that danced in the wind. Carly wore a matching masquerade mask lined with fake gemstones that glistened with mysterious glamour. She looked radiant at the masquerade carnival, with her arm around Lucas. What a perfect pair, Abby thought with a growing pit in her stomach. Abby finally understood. Her Lucas had pretended to love her, but true happiness belonged to Carly, and it was too much for her to bear. “You don’t deserve him,” she had said aloud, surprised at her own actions but drawn forward by the strength of her own conviction. She had continued, her words cutting deep into Carly’s heart – “Lucas can’t you just decide that you want to be with me?” Abby could visibly see the hurt on Carly’s face as she walked away in tears. And, in that moment, she realized it was the end of their rose-colored childhood.
As she stared out at the desolate ruins of a beach house, she recalled the last time she had been here with Carly, on a very humid evening twenty-something years ago. Abby had tried to apologize to Carly, but she was having none of it. Carly unleashed her defensive anger on Abby, and instead of apologizing Abby continued to explain why she wanted Lucas to be hers. Carly finally had enough and said: “if you really want my life so badly, here, take it.” And Carly handed Abby her masquerade mask, as she stormed out of her beach house. As Abby blinked the tears away, she could still hear the slam of the car door and the sharp revving of the engine. It was moments before the impact, before Carly lost control of her car. The blurred memories of that night, paired with the ruins of their summer home caused the floodgates to finally open.
Abby was lost in her emotions, a torrential downpour that could rival the hurricane that destroyed her one connection left to Carly. In this moment, Abby mourned the loss of the place she once called home, her summer sanctuary, their summer sanctuary. As she turned to leave, Michael and Kaley saw Abby’s distress and said in a crying shout, “we miss Carly too.” The lines on their faces read of years of sorrow. Lucas walked over to Abby and in an accusatory tone asked her if she still felt guilty for how she treated Carly all those years ago. Wiping away the tears from her eyes, Abby muttered, “yes” and pulled a feathered mask lined with purple gemstones out of her bag and handed it to Lucas. “You should have it,” she said with the depth of the thunderous sea. It had not lost its beauty, not even after all of these years.
Abby walked in sync with Lucas, Kaley, and Michael; they journeyed towards the land of dreams that they once knew so well. As Abby adjusted her aviator sunglasses, the sun danced freely among the waves, bubbles blew without abandon in the air. Abby felt like she could get swept up in this haze, but she acknowledged to herself the reason why they were there. To remember the past, Abby thought. Abby finally had the key to her beloved kingdom, the battle of light and darkness finally subsiding. As the four boarded Twister, Abby smiled as she recalled the times that she and Carly laughed all the way up into the stratosphere, for a split second believing they could live among the stars.
