Until the Sun Burns Out (7 page)

Austin was right. Hitting the crap out of a punching bag was therapeutic. Not because I wanted to punch my dad, or even Penny. Mostly because it was exhausting both physically and emotionally. Exercising had a calming effect on me. When my adrenaline started pumping, I felt like I could face anything. While my fists repeatedly connected with the punching bag and sweat slid down my spine, I felt invincible.

But like any high, there would always be a low. A time when I’d crash and burn.

That happened when Austin and I were walking away from the gym. With every step, the dread returned. I knew that pretty soon I’d be back at Dad’s, and he’d want to talk. Even though I was glad to know the truth, a part of me wished I’d never broached the subject. Dad wasn’t the type of person to let things go. He’d want to hash this out until he felt like we were on the same page. And I wasn’t sure that was possible for us anymore.

“You swear you’ve never boxed before?” Austin asked as we stepped off the curb, preparing to run across the street.

“Nope. Never.” Shaking my head, I waited for a break in the cars and took off running. Austin’s footsteps clamored behind me. Back home Mom would never let me run across the street like this. She’d scold me for jay walking, but it seemed to be the norm here. Maybe because most people here were on vacation. Everything felt different. As if rules didn’t apply. And for a rule follower, it was weird. Also, strangely exhilarating.

We hopped up on the next curb, and Austin nudged me in the shoulder. “Liar.”

“I’m not lying.” I chuckled. “Why don’t you believe me?”

“Cause you kicked ass in there.”

I shrugged. “I guess I just had a lot of aggression to work through.”

“Clearly,” he agreed. “And did you work through it?”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “It felt good when I was in there, but I don’t know if I feel any better now.”

He stopped walking and turned to face me. “Hey, why don’t you come over for dinner? My family’s been nagging me about meeting you, and it’ll give you a break from your dad for a bit.”

“That sounds great,” I answered without hesitation. My chest expanded at the mere thought of delaying the inevitable. “Let me just text Dad.” Yanking my phone out of my pocket, I shot off a quick message. As I shoved the phone back into my pocket, I prayed he wouldn’t text back, demanding me to come home. However, that was the nice thing about texts. I always had the option to pretend I didn’t see it right away.

When I glanced up, Austin was on his phone. “My parents are cool with it,” he said.

“Great.” Until he’d said that I hadn’t thought much about meeting his family. I was too consumed with relief about avoiding my dad tonight. But now that the thought had surfaced, it caused panic to overtake me.

Austin put away his phone and started walking. I followed, but it took more effort than I cared to admit.

“You okay?” Austin’s brows furrowed.

“Yeah,” I lied, struggling to breathe evenly.

“Really? Cause you’re acting weird.” He paused. “Well, weirder than normal.”

I slugged him in the shoulder. “Shut up.”

“My family doesn’t bite,” he said, facing forward. “In case that’s what you’re worried about.”

His comment made my lips tug at the corners. “I’m not worried that they’re going to bite me. I am worried that they won’t like me though.”

“What’s not to like?” By his tone it was hard to tell if he was being sarcastic or not. He bumped me with his shoulder. “Relax. My parents are a little….I don’t know…uptight. But they’re always pretty nice to guests.”

If his comment was meant to put me at ease, it didn’t.
Uptight. Pretty nice
. These were not words I wanted to hear. What about words like “warm”, “talkative” or “funny”?

I stayed silent the remainder of the walk, and the closer we got, the more I wondered if I was making a mistake. However, it seemed a little too late to back out now. When we turned onto his street, I felt a vibration in my pocket. Pulling my phone out, a part of me hoped my dad would tell me I had to come home right away. I almost laughed at the absurdity of that. Wasn’t I dreading the prospect of going home mere moments ago?

Dad: Ok. Have fun. Call me if you need a ride home.

“Everything okay?” Austin asked, peering over my shoulder.

“Yeah,” I said. “Dad’s fine with it. Just said to let him know if I need a ride home.”

“You won’t,” He responded. “My sister can give you a ride, or I can walk you back home.”

“Too bad we can’t drive, huh?”

“I have my permit, so I can drive with my parents in the car.” Austin winked. “It’s not as exciting as it sounds.”

“I don’t have mine yet, but I have my permit test scheduled for when I get back.”

“Next summer we’ll own the streets in this town.” Austin grinned.

I giggled, warmth spreading through my body. Sometimes it felt like this was all we had. Like when I returned home it would be all over between us. And that made my stomach hurt. But Austin’s words were a reminder that this wasn’t the end.

There was always next summer.

Austin’s beach house was similar to my dad’s. The biggest difference was the female touch. It was clear that Austin’s mom had done most of the decorating here. At Dad’s, it appeared that he went to a shop near the beach and found every single boat and seashell picture he could find so he could throw it up on the wall and call it a day. Honestly, I was surprised he even did that much. Growing up, I never saw him help Mom decorate. My stomach tightened upon realizing that he may not have decorated now either. Perhaps Penny had helped him. Swallowing down the thought, I trailed Austin as he went in search of his parents.

Before finding them, we located his sister. She was sitting on the couch, her legs stretched out, a glossy magazine spread open in her lap. Her eyebrows raised at the sight of me. She was pretty. Really pretty. I could definitely see the family resemblance between her and Austin.

“Is this her?” When her gaze traveled up and down my body, I fought the urge to cover myself with my hands. I felt exposed and uncomfortable.

“Alyssa, this is sum-” Pausing, he offered me a brief smile. “Mina.”

I kind of wished he had called me summer girl. I liked it better.

“Hi, Mina.” She didn’t offer her hand. Instead, she flipped a strand of sleek golden hair over her shoulder and leaned back on the couch. Then her head bobbed toward the back door. “Mom’s in the kitchen, and Dad’s out back grilling.”

Austin nodded, turning toward the kitchen. The clinking of dishes could be heard from inside. As I followed, I wanted to make some comment about how unfriendly his sister was. It was the kind of thing Austin and I would’ve commented on if it were a person we’d run into in town. However, this wasn’t a random stranger. This was his sister. And he’d spoken so fondly of her. There was no way I was talking bad about her to him. So instead, I kept my mouth shut as we entered the kitchen. The scent of steaks on the grill reached my nose, and my stomach growled. I hadn’t even realized how hungry I was until this moment. Austin’s mom was attractive, her long hair pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of her neck, her makeup flawless. She stood over the counter tearing lettuce into a bowl with perfectly manicured fingers.

“Hey, mom,” Austin greeted her in his typical casual manner.

Her head whipped up, her mouth dipping. “Austin, what have you been up to? You’re all sweaty.” When her gaze slid past him, she offered a faint smile. “So I finally get to meet the girl who’s taken up all of Austin’s time so far this summer.”

Heat crept up my neck and spilled across my cheeks. Austin’s fingers brushed over my arm. I was sure his gesture was meant to calm me, but it only brought more agitation. Now I felt like I was on fire. As if I might explode like a firecracker at any moment.

“Mom, this is Mina.”

I forced my legs forward, thrust out my arm.

Austin’s mom glanced at it. Then she wiped her hand on a nearby dishtowel. When she took my hand in hers she shook it like it was a dirty rag she was scared to touch. I was starting to wish I’d gone home.

“You can call me Mrs. Parsons.”

I nodded, pulling my hand back and pressing it to my side as if to comfort myself. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Parsons.”

Without acknowledging my statement, she went back to tearing lettuce.

The back door opened, a man who looked like an older version of Austin walking in holding a plate piled high with steaks. My mouth watered.

“Nice to see you made it in time tonight,” he said, and it seemed like the type of thing Austin would say. Only he didn’t say it in jest like Austin would. His face was deadpan. “You must be Mina.”

“Yes.” I smiled, praying he wouldn’t try to shake my hand too. I was already tiring of the introductions. This whole experience was nothing like when Austin met my family. He fit in seamlessly.

“Austin, make yourself useful and set the table, would you?” His mom said, not looking at him.

“Why can’t Alyssa do it?” he shot back.

“Alyssa is only with us another month,” his mom snapped.

I wasn’t sure how that was an answer to his question, but it certainly shut him up. He moved around me, making a beeline for the fridge. 

“Besides, you’re the one who brought a friend,” she added.

My blush deepened. Austin threw me an apologetic look. I wanted to be angry with him for bringing me into this, but I couldn’t. Their disapproval seemed to be directed toward him, not me. What I didn’t understand was why. In the short time that I’d known Austin, he was kind and generous, smart and witty. I assumed his parents were proud of him. My dad fell in love with him instantly. So had Luca.

After setting the table, Austin’s mom sent him to retrieve his sister for dinner, which forced me to have several uncomfortable minutes alone with them in the kitchen. I spent that time picking at my cuticles until they bled. An audible sigh of relief blew out of my mouth when Austin returned. He guided me to my spot at the table, and I thankfully plopped down into it. I was grateful that the food looked good, so at least one part of this evening wouldn’t be awful.

“What did you do all day, Austin?” Mrs. Parsons asked.

Austin passed me the platter of steaks. I speared one onto my plate before handing it to his sister.

“We went to the gym.” Austin smiled at me. “I taught summer girl here how to throw a punch.”

I grinned.

“Oh, Austin. The gym, really?” His mom asked in an irritated tone.

I had no idea why that bothered her. My parents liked when I went to the gym.

“Don’t worry,” Austin said. “Mina did most of the work. I was merely training her.”

It wasn’t the truth. He was working as hard as I was, but I let it go. Cleary there were things going on here that I didn’t understand.

“Austin, why would you teach her how to fight?” His mom shook her head.

“He was just helping me work out some aggression,” I blurted out in an effort to help him.

“You have a lot of aggression to work out, then?” Mrs. Parsons raised one eyebrow. Mr. Parsons gave me a funny look. Alyssa chuckled under her breath. I swallowed hard. In my effort to help Austin, I’d made myself look like an idiot. Luckily that was something I was used to. What I wasn’t used to was seeing a family treat one of their own like this.

“Yeah, actually.” I shrugged, going with it. I’d rather have them think poorly of me than of Austin. “And Austin helped a lot.” I nudged him in the side. “He’s really good at it. Actually, he’s good at a lot of sports.”

He flashed me an expression of gratitude that made my heart soar.

“Too bad he has terrible work ethic,” his dad said, causing his smile to turn to a frown. My heart dropped. “He’ll never make it anywhere in life if he keeps playing around instead of working hard.” Mr. Parsons’ hand landed on his daughter’s shoulder. “You could take some cues from your sister here. She worked hard, got good grades, and now she’s going away to her dream college.”

“Oh, honey.” Mrs. Parsons’ hand flew to her mouth. “Must you always bring this up? I have her for one more month. I’m not ready to think about her leaving.”

A triumphant smile painted Alyssa’s face. Austin stared at his plate, seething with anger. With a shaky hand, I picked up my fork. Only now I wasn’t so hungry. My mind traveled back to that first time I saw Austin’s family in the restaurant. They had looked like the perfect family, and I had even been jealous of them. In fact, I wanted to
be
them. But tonight was proof that things aren’t always what they seem.

My family may not have been what it once was. And, sure, it wasn’t perfect. But my dad would never speak to me like Austin’s dad had spoken to him. My parents had always been big on positive reinforcement. And they’d always been my biggest cheerleaders.

In that moment, I realized how good I had it, even with everything that had happened. That’s why when I got home that evening, I forgave my dad. He had messed up and he had hurt me, but he was trying to make it right, and I didn’t want to spend the rest of the summer fighting with him.