“You too, Will.”
We didn’t say we loved each other anymore—it was a given. We now told each other to be careful, or stay safe. Because I love you hadn’t helped my parents the night of the fire. My telling them I loved them over the phone didn’t stop the flames from engulfing the hundred year old barn and taking my parents with it. They knew I loved them. I should’ve told them to be careful.
CLICKS
The Pinhold Prophecy
By Amy Evans
Part One
Chapter 1
When I walked out, Blake whistled.
“Lookin’ good,” he said with a wink of his turquoise eye. The other one, his right one, was half that same startling blue and half grayish silver, the same color as my own. Ours was a small island with a shallow gene pool. Endless summers gave everyone the same sunkissed, tanned glow, even before you factored in the many sets of identical twins that comprised an unusually high portion of our population.
Blake was literally the poster child for life here on Pinhold: a blond, tan, sixteen-year-old swimming god who was part of the ad campaign for this year’s Surf Carnival, the competitive swimming and surfing event that drew international pros from both sports to our tiny island home. His twin Kaleb had left Pinhold when were thirteen. He’d been my best friend, just as Blake was Mica’s.
On the surface Blake and Kaleb looked identical but they were mirror twins—Blake’s right eye matched Kaleb’s left, Kaleb’s nose hooked the tiniest bit right, while Blake’s went left. They had identical birthmarks in exactly the same place on their left and right knees respectively.
Like all magnetic objects that go in the same direction, they repelled each other. So while Blake dove in head first to island life, Kaleb rejected almost everything about Pinhold, especially The Guard. He hated how into it Blake and Mica had gotten and it was something that we’d fought about before he gotten in trouble and shipped off to military school.
Kaleb had snuck over to the tiny island to check Pinhold’s most revered symbol: an ancient pin that supposedly stood straight up on a rock in the middle of our archipelago. It was visible only at certain times of the year, and only members of The Guard, the island elite, were permitted to see it. Blake, Mica and I weren’t in The Guard yet, but we were hoping to be, so we were on our way to First Night.
Always on the summer solstice, First Night kicked off the new season of the Surf Carnival, a series of extreme lifeguarding competitions that took place on weekends all summer long. There were three distinctive parts to the evening: a religious ceremony, a party and a competitive ocean swim that took place in the dark. Even though I usually ignored them, his flattering comments pleased me because dressing had been challenging.
“Quit it,” I said, looking down so he wouldn’t see the traitorous blush on my cheeks. From behind me, Mica snickered. He didn’t need to see my face; he could feel every thought in my brain. Every girl for a hundred miles wanted the flirtatious compliments that rolled so easily off Blake’s tongue. Except for me, usually. But tonight I had steered clear of my typical bathing suit and board shorts, opting instead for a white bikini, red tank and denim skirt that looked nearly too tight in just the right way.
“No one’s gonna mistake you for Mica tonight,” said Blake’s older brother, Billy, as he pushed a keg down the driveway. My face reddened more as Billy drew attention to the fact that ‘til a few months ago, Mica and I had passed for identical twins because I didn’t have a single curve to make me look like a girl. Recently, seemingly overnight, I’d grown in all the right places.
“Missed you too, Billy,” I said, grumbling a little but accepting the bear hug he offered. My surrogate big brother, Billy, had spent as much time with Mica and me as Kaleb and Blake, ‘til he’d left for college a few years back. He’d come back to do his medical residency and he’d brought his girlfriend, Celeste, with him. “When did you guys get here?” I asked.
“A couple hours ago. I went up to see Kaleb after I took the boards. He says good luck to all you guys tonight,” Billy said.
“Sure he did.” Mica snorted, echoing my sentiments exactly. Kaleb hated The Guard, had made me promise more than once during all our years as Nippers that I’d never join. But when he left, I started training because it made my Gram so happy. I got addicted to the adrenaline rush that came from racing in the ocean and loved every minute I spent on my surf board, even though I was much better at paddling it then standing on it.