Beach Wish, A by Shelley Noble

Author:Shelley Noble
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2019-06-25T00:00:00+00:00

Mel ducked her head and concentrated on the stupid towel she was folding until she heard the door close behind her mother. Then she threw the towel on the folding table.

“Where are you going?” Noelle asked.

“To the bathroom.”

“You better not think of skipping out and leaving me to do the rest of the folding.”

“Why don’t you get a job?”

“Why don’t you get a life?”

“I will, and you can stuff this laundry. Zoe’s right. We should hire a service.”

“‘We’?” Noelle gripped the sheet she was folding in front of her. “What ‘we’? Do you pay for it? Do you work ten- or twelve-hour days to keep this place running? No, you don’t. You sit at the reception desk streaming videos for a few hours a few times a week, and you have to fold a few towels when things get backed up.”

“Well, what about you? Mom didn’t pay for you to go to college just so you could come home and mooch off her. A lot of good it did you.”

“At least I have options.”

“Doesn’t look like it to me.”

“Then go. Get out and go have some fun.”

“I will.” Mel headed for the door. Stopped at the threshold. “You’re wrinkling the towel.”

“Just go.”

And Mel went, but not before she saw Noelle’s face start to crumple.

Mel’s stomach lurched, and she turned away and ran down the hall, her sister’s expression seared into her mind. Not just anger, but something else that made Mel blush hot with shame. Her sister was scared. Of what?

Mom being angry? What was going on with Zoe Bascombe? Because Noelle couldn’t get a job? Because she thought she was letting them all down?

She wasn’t. Noelle was really talented, and she’d studied hard and graduated cum laude. She was just having a hard time finding a job. It wasn’t her fault. She would get a good job in the end, Mel was sure of it.

She ran until she was out on the back lawn in the sun. Her steps slowed. She should go back and tell Noelle not to worry. Besides, she couldn’t really leave her to finish up alone.

She turned to go back, but she really needed to talk to Eli. If she cut across their hotel beach, she could see him and come back. It would hardly take any time at all.

He’d come straight over last night to tell her that he thought he’d done well on his exam, but he didn’t stay long; he said he still had to study. She could tell he was excited about going away. More excited than he was about staying with her.

Mel just wanted things to stay the same. She wasn’t smart or talented like Noelle—and look at her. All that work and she was back living at home.

Noelle had been so happy when she graduated; now she didn’t think she was so great. Mel didn’t want to admit it, but she was kind of glad, in a mean-girl way.

And that made her feel worse. Noelle wasn’t mean. Mel was. Especially when she didn’t understand what was going on.

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