Riptide by Scheibe Lindsey

Author:Scheibe, Lindsey [Scheibe, Lindsey]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: teen, surf, young adult, summer, ya, surfing, Fiction, abuse, california, college, Junior Library Guild, young adult fiction, scholarship
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Published: 2013-04-30T16:00:00+00:00

sixteen

remorse: a gnawing distress arising

from a sense of guilt for past wrongs

—www.merriam-webster.com

Grace yawns, sprawled out across my living-room couch. “I’m cashed out. I’m not dying. Quit with the twenty questions and quit being so anal about keeping me awake.”

How can she be so irritating and lovable at the same time? “You could have fooled me. I was flipping out when Kahuna Pete paddled you in. You were limp when he carried you onto the beach. You barely responded at first. Gave me a freakin’ aneurism. If I hadn’t promised to take stellar care of you, they might have swung in the direction of the hospital instead of bringing you here. I swore I would keep a tight watch over you.”

She shields her eyes from nearby lamplight. I rush to turn it off. She peeks out from under her hand sheepishly. “Okay, okay. Sorry. It’s just … my head hurts and I feel like I’ve been run over by an eighteen-wheeler.”

I look at her, concerned. And part of me wonders if she was with it enough to hear me say she was my girl. Total slip. Just got caught up in the drama of the moment. We’re not anything. Period. I pat her knee. Then I stand up, hands in my pockets. “Do you want migas? PB&J?”

“Do you have any rice, or cheese and crackers?” She closes her eyes for a second. She looks so helpless laid out on my couch. “And maybe some water?”

Guilt hits me like a Mack truck. I slap my forehead. “Of course, you want water. What was I thinking?”

I run through the kitchen like guys raiding it on Superbowl Sunday. In minutes I’m juggling a plate of cheese and crackers, PB&J on a separate plate, and a glass of water.

Grace winces out a smile. I feel like a jerk. Shouldn’t have taken her to the Point. I pushed her too hard. Her dad is going to be pissed.

She says, “Wow. Now that’s service. Maybe I should get shredded at the Point more often.”

Ouch. To my core. “Not funny. I’m really sorry about that. I shouldn’t have pushed you into it.”

She sets down the cracker. “You didn’t. I got annoyed by a couple of guys teasing me and wanted to prove them wrong. Instead, they probably think I’m a total kook.”

I snort … of all things for her to be worried about right now. Typical Grace. “Who cares what they think? I’ll tell you what I think. Surfing the Point was a bad idea. We’ll stick with other breaks. Cool?”

She sips water and then frowns. “Not cool. I’m not giving up. I’m going to paddle back out there and catch a stupid wave. I can do it. I messed up on my timing. Come on. I’m serious about joining a surf team. You think the college coach is going to want someone who says, ‘Excuse me, sir, I’m too wussy to surf this break. I’ll work on blah blah blah a few jetties down.’ Yeah, right. Paddlepusses don’t make the big leagues.

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