There wasn't much for Marley Mason on the tiny edge of Bayside. Sure, he had his father as well as Jah-Jah's Jamaican Jerk Foods but those were things that already belonged to him without him ever having to seek them out. Marley wanted trees to sit in and watch the world around him go dark, or rivers to scoop up crabs in his hands only to let them go in the end. Miami didn't have those things. It had tall concrete walls and trees that were not the kind you were supposed to climb, but take pictures of and send to your friends. It had oceans bigger than life that no one really swam in but stood where the waves sputtered on the sand and pretended to play.

He supposed, for a lot of people, that was enough.

The thought had preoccupied him as he mechanically took orders and served them to their respective tables in Jah-Jah's Jamaican Jerk Foods. It was always the same people who called themselves explorers and adventurers that ordered the same thing every day and scrunched their faces up at the mention of oxtail or callaloo. They think going to the beach is adventure? They should try dipping under the harsh ends of waterfalls or lighting coal stoves among trees, watching the smoke join the baby blue sky.

Once, a very long time ago, Marley found their ignorance adorable, like a puppy just learning to walk. But to consider them as a puppy was to expect them to grow and come to terms. These people were more like stationed rottweilers at a front door, chained to the house they knew all their lives and angry at everyone who attempted to get inside.

But Marley Mason did not feel that looking at Ava DeLoughery. Everything about her reminded him of home, like an open door with a soft mat sitting by the verandah and, if he could for a moment stop the slamming of his heart against its ribcage, he would walk directly over to where he saw her sitting in the restaurant and enter her familiarity. But, alas, Marley's feet were sealed to the floor with the same brand of glue that had permanently closed his throat.

Ava wasn't too far either. She was slouched in the boothe she had unofficially claimed in the past few days, swiping through her phone without the slightest clue of how she made the loc-haired waiter behind her feel. Right then, Marley began to think of the ways he could snatch her attention and hold on to it the way a moth urged to graze unfiltered light. He pushed his locs out of his face and downed what was left in his water bottle.

*

When his lunch break finally arrived, Marley walked over to Ava's table and plopped a tray directly in front of her. She jumped and Marley quickly caught her close the app on her phone and switch the screen off.

"Jesus, Marley," she breathed, "You scared me."

He smiled and sat across from her.

When his gaze mocked her for a few more seconds, she added, "What? I'm a little jumpy, okay? Is that a crime?"

Her attention then snapped to the tray in front of her and the steaming festivals sticking out from it. Her face lit up and she snatched one.

Scribbling quickly on his notepad, Marley held up the page for her to see. I thought you were a badass.

"Oh, I am," she said quickly, her left cheek stuffed with the other half of the festival she was waving in her hand, "Badasses can be jumpy too. Ten bucks Rihanna pees herself a little every time a balloon pops."

Marley laughed proudly.

"So," Ava began, "what does it take for you to start talking to someone? Can I ask that?"

Marley shrugged.

"Is it a trust thing or like fear or—"

Marley's eyes skittered to his right to look out out the window next to them.

Ava tucked her bottom lip into her mouth and forced the sentence back down like vomit. Following his gaze, she saw him watch a palm tree bend and twist at the pressure of the Bayside winds. She faced him again and sat her palms flat on the table. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to push you," she said slowly.

Marley didn't quite smile but he looked back at her and swiped up a cooled festival sitting in the space between them. In the back of his mind, he wondered what it would take for the wind to completely uproot that tree outside. How much force until the tall and perfect could no longer hold its grip and be ripped away from the earth? He bit into the festival but the taste was sour on his tongue.

Grabbing his pen, he scribbled a new message on his notepad.

Ava watched him closely, trying to read the words turned upside down to her as he wrote them out, but had no luck. It wasn't until he held it up to her that she could read it just fine. "Let's make a deal," she read aloud, "Okay, I love deals," she answered.

Marley scratched something down again. She read it, "As long as we're at this table, let's forget the things we cannot change."

Dropping the notepad, Marley felt the full force of the girl's gaze on him and he gulped. He pleaded with his eyes to stay exactly where they were, on her, despite every bone in his body wanting to run in the other direction.

Ava DeLoughery thought on it. She took another festival in the meantime and her eyes briefly flickered to her phone. Then she asked him, "Why don't we just forget everything?"

She took a purposeful bite out of the snack and chewed it nonchalantly.

Marley smiled, bits of his teeth gleaming in exhilaration. He nodded once. Deal.

Just then, Tafari Marley joined them, wiping the sweat off his brow. "Hi, Ava, sorry to interrupt but Marley needs to get back to work."

"That's okay, Mister Mason," she smiled up at him. "Duty calls."

Marley exhaled and his shoulders fell. He looked up at his father but perhaps his expression wasn't clear enough because the man continued unaffected, "Have you guys heard the news?" When Marley and Ava shared a confused glance he told them, "Riverside's under a storm watch now. They say it might be a hurricane and we should expect flooding."

Ava made a sound. "That's horrible," she said, "How soon?"

Tafari Mason shook his head. "A week maybe. They say it's picking up speed. We just can't seem to catch a break, huh?"

Ava nodded. "Guess not," she muttered, her mind already miles away.

Tafari rested his hands on Marley's shoulders and the boy jumped at his touch. "Let's go, Marley," he told him.

But everything they had said just now registered in his ears and as Marley stood up, he felt dizzy. Realization tumbled down on him right then and he spun around to look out the window at the palm tree again. It was bending and bending and bending, and for a split second Marley swore it looked as if it was about to snap in two.

Guys, I genuinely think my writing is improving. Wow.

This week's dedication has got to go to because not only did she dedicate a chapter from her newest book, "Orphans" to me, but one of her readers is actually reading and commenting! The love is real! Thank you for supporting me and this book! I'm glad you like my writing and I've become one of your favourite authors on Wattpad! Remember, readers, if you vote and the next dedication could be YOU!

Y'all I missed uploading so much! Last week I moved into University and my life has just been a rollercoaster ever since. Anyway, I literally have to get back to studying because I'm already on reading but I love you guys.