6: Justin.

I get caught talking with Cora for the entire length of breakfast, and I miss Eris leaving for the beach. Cora’s nice enough, and I appreciate her trying to make sure I’m not left out when so many people already know one another, but I want to talk to Eris.

“Anyway, I just think if you’re a cat person you can love dogs too, but it never goes the other way, and that’s not right.”

“Mm-hmm.” I pretend to be listening as I put away my dishes and grab my bag. “See you later, Cora.”

Without waiting for her response, I walk across the dining room and out the door that leads to the beach. In the distance I see a few cabanas are set up with towels and even buckets of water. The storm has cracked open long enough to give us a beautiful sunny day at the beach, but from the weather reports I checked early this morning, there’s more ahead.

I’d gotten out of bed early after giving up on sleep. I tossed and turned after Eris left while my brain went over every conversation we had. There were moments