Chapter 24

The next week consisted of the usual summer routine of simply being lazy and sleeping all day. Natalie found herself to be pretty busy between babysitting for her siblings when her parents were working, or taking shifts at the aquarium.

By the time there was only one week until the first day of school, Natalie realized she wasn’t ready for summer to end.

“This basically sucks,” Natalie said with a sigh as she sat in a movie theater chair, her feet propped up on the seat in front of her. “I don’t see how you can live in Hawaii and actually have focus on school.”

“That’s why you don’t,” Bruno said with a small laugh. “Just slide on by doing as little work as possible,” he added with a smirk, shifting in his seat as he lowered his shoulders.

“I’m not going back,” Natalie simply stated bitterly as she rested the side of her head on Bruno’s shoulders just as the opening music to Pearl Harbor began.

“Let’s just run away,” Bruno said sarcastically, laughing. “I mean, fuck family, let’s go to like Manila or something so we don’t ever have to go back to school.”

“Sounds like a great plan,” Natalie replied half-heartedly as she watched the screen. “This is ironic,” she said after a moment, thinking about the film.

“Wow Nat, you catch on fast,” Bruno laughed, shaking his head.

“You’d think people would be terrified to play this movie here,” she said in a small whisper with a laugh.

“Why? Because it’s Hawaii?”

“Well come on, I mean it’s like twenty miles from here!”

“Yes, because when tragic events happen, the best thing to do is get rid of anything related to them,” Bruno said softly, shifting his body while shaking his head.

 “Whatever. I think it’s still weird,” Natalie finally said with a sigh, watching while the movie progressed.

About halfway through the movie Natalie realized she was starting to fall asleep. Her head slipped off of Bruno’s shoulder, causing her to jerk her head back up, startled from the movement.

“Stay awake now,” Bruno whispered near her ear with a smile, touching her leg with his hand.

“I am awake,” she simply stated, shifting her eyes back to the movie.

“Do you want to leave?”

“No, I want to watch this,” she whispered back to him, sitting up some more.

“Come on, we’ve got one week until summer’s over,” he said with a small sigh, shifting his hand across her thigh. “We shouldn’t waste it watching a movie.”

“It was your idea,” Natalie flatly replied as she grabbed his hand and moved it away, back towards her knee.

“Well I’m sick of this idea. Let’s go,” he whispered back, making goosebumps rise throughout Natalie’s body as his fingertips drifted across her skin, slowly moving up again.

“Brunnooo,” she said in an almost whining voice. “I’m going to finish this movie.”

“Fine,” he replied, defeated as he leaned back into his chair, watching the movie once more.

They walked out of the theater into the dusk just as the sun began to slip behind the horizon. Bruno walked with his hands in his pockets, staring at the ground while they made their way back to his car. “Do you want to come to Ryan’s tonight?” he asked as he got into the driver’s seat, putting his key into the ignition.

“I can’t tonight. It’s a strict family night,” Natalie replied, rolling her eyes with a shrug.

“That sucks…”

“Not as bad as it sucks for you,” she said laughingly, turning to face him as he mimicked her face sarcastically.

“What about later?” he asked hopefully taking his eyes from the road for a second to smile at her pleadingly.

“I don’t know, Bruno,” she said honestly. “We’ll see.”

—

“Oh my God, Bruno, you make me do horrible things,” Natalie whispered later that night as she quietly walked away from her darkened house, towards Bruno.

“I know,” he said with a sly smirk, grabbing her waist when she was within reach. “How was your evening?”

”Wonderful. I got to play board games and watch G-rated movies. You would’ve had a blast,” she stated as they walked alongside the beach. “And how was yours? Anything exciting?” she added, turning to raise her eyebrow at him.

He shrugged his shoulders, keeping his eyes down. “It was alright. Nothingnear as much fun as you had.”

“Oh whatever, Bruno,” Natalie stated in a much louder voice, punching him in the arm. “I know you’re fucked up right now, so don’t try to hide it.”

He looked up at her, laughing and shrugging his shoulders. “Well then since you know, it doesn’t matter if I kiss you,” he said as he pulled her in close to him, kissing her fully on the lips.

“Eewww,” Natalie said as she pulled back from a couple seconds, tasting the alcohol on his breath. “You’re disgusting.”

“Like as in a turn on kind of a way?” he asked with a smile.

“No, more like a turn off kind of a way,” she said, pretending to be disgusted with him.

“I love you, Natalie,” he simply replied, pulling her in close to him as they neared the boardwalk, now quite a distance away from Natalie’s house.

“Love you too, Bru, even if you taste like shit.”

“…You don’t mean it,” he said in a small whisper right next to her ear.

“Yes huh.”

“Prove it,” he replied as they walked along the darkness of the one in the morning emptiness of the boardwalk. The lights were all shut off from the stores lining the pathway aside from the orange-glowing streetlights that shone above them.

“No, you just want me to kiss you again,” she said, knowing what he was trying to do. “And where the hell is your car?” she asked, knowing that he’d said they were going to walk to get it from where he parked.

“Down by the steakhouse,” Bruno said with another smirk.

Why in the hell would you park so far away? Natalie thought to herself, shaking her head finally, not bothering to even ask of his odd actions. “Oh shit, is that a police officer?” Natalie suddenly asked when she saw the car pull up a short distance from where they were.

“Just keep walking,” Bruno simply stated, not turning his head in the direction of the car.

Natalie bit her lip, crossing her arms over her chest as she heard the car door close with a small slam.

“Excuse me,” she heard the man’s voice shout out, causing the two to stop walking. She heard his footsteps approaching them in the silence and emptiness of the night, his shoes making small clicks against the wood. Natalie turned to the officer approaching them, seeing a man in his mid-thirties, wearing sunglasses (at night, god forbid), and chewing gum.

Her gaze immediately turned towards Bruno’s glossed over eyes, a sudden knot tying up in her stomach as she looked at him. Shit.