I pushed my hair back as I hurried around the coffee shop. This was most definitely not my day. So far I’d been bitched out by a customer for someone else's mistake, twisted my ankle while I was in the stock room, and had a coffee spilled on me, which left the front of my shirt stained, and I hadn't even had my first break yet.

I glanced at my watch after giving a woman her drink and bidding her a good day. I had four more hours left to go. This was definitely going to be a long day. I tried not to think about the time as I busied myself with waiting on the customers. Most of the time I didn't mind work, but on days like this, I just felt like marching up to my manager and telling her I quit. I knew that wouldn't be a wise thing to do, though. I needed the job for the money, and besides that, I'd been working there ever since I'd turned 16. Most of my co-workers were also my friends. As much as I often hated work, I knew I’d miss my co-workers too much.

"Ana, are you okay?" Tara asked as I began cleaning up a little bit. Things were beginning to wind down now the morning rush was over.

I glanced at her as I wiped down the counter and sighed. "Yeah, it's just been one of those days," I replied.

"Well, in a few more hours you'll be out of here and won't have to worry about coming back for a week. Lucky duck," Tara grinned as she patted my shoulder gently as she walked around and disappeared into the back room.

As I was finishing up cleaning some stuff, Laura, my manager came up front and told me I could go on break while things were slow. I gave her a weak smile and hobbled outside to get some fresh air.

"What did you do to your ankle?" I heard as I started to walk towards the front of the building. I turned around slowly and closed my eyes briefly. Sitting at one of the tables was my ex-boyfriend.

"What are you doing here, Embry?" I asked.

He held up his cup. "Having some coffee," he replied.

"I didn't see you inside," I commented.

"I went through the drive thru," he replied as he motioned for me to have a seat. I hobbled over to the table and sat down none too graciously in the seat across from him.

"So, what did you do to your ankle?" he asked again.

"Twisted it," I frowned as I sat back with a sigh.

"Looks like you aren't having a very good day," he commented as he motioned toward the front of my shirt.

"I think that's an understatement," I replied.

"How much longer are you stuck here?" he asked.

"Until four," I yawned. "Then I'm out of here for a week."

"Vacation at your cousin's place?" he asked.

I nodded. I was surprised he remembered. Embry and I had been together for two years, but I broke it off six months earlier. The last year of our relationship had been really hard mainly because of Cat's death. However, Embry stuck it out with me - even when I tried to push him away. Finally I couldn't handle it anymore and broke it off for good. Embry and I were still on speaking terms. I might even go as far as to say we were friends, but I knew he still had feelings for me so that put a bit of a strain on our friendship.

"When are you leaving?" he asked.

"Tonight," I replied.

"I hope you have fun," he smiled.

"Thanks," I replied. "So, how's your summer been so far?"

He shrugged. "It's been alright. I've been working a lot, but I'm going down to my cousin Levi's next month. I'll get to lay back and hang out. Maybe catch a few waves."

"Sounds like fun," I smiled.

"Maybe you could come up one day. It's only a couple of hours away. You could stay overnight. Hang out like old times," he said.

"Em … I don't know …" I began. I didn't want to flat out tell him no and hurt his feelings, but I knew he still thought we might get back together, and as far as I could see, that wasn't going to happen. "I'll have to see."

"Okay, no pressure," he smiled. "Just think about it, okay?"

"Okay," I agreed. "I'll think about it."

"So, have you been okay?" he asked curiously.

I shrugged. "I suppose so. Why do you ask?"

"I know a few weeks ago would have been a year since Cat …" he trailed off.

"Oh, yeah," I nodded. "It was okay. I mean, it was hard, but I'm alright now. I went to the cemetery. Put some flowers on her grave. Hung around for a while." I paused and cracked a smile and looked up at Embry. "Wow, I just realized how weird that sounds. I was hanging out at the cemetery."

"That's not weird," Embry shrugged. "My mom always goes to her cousin's grave on her birthday and holidays. She'll sit out there for hours talking. I used to think it was odd, but it seems to help, so who cares if it sounds weird?"

"Yeah," I nodded as Tara stuck her head out the door and told me that my break was almost over.

"Well," I sighed as I turned back to Embry. "I guess I should get back in and finish this day from hell," I commented.

He gave me a sympathetic smile. "I hope the rest of your day goes better. And have fun on vacation, okay?"

"Okay," I nodded. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," he smiled. "And let me know about going up to Levi's, alright?"

I nodded. "I think about it," I answered as I stood and headed inside.

The rest of the day at work went much better and before long I was clocking out and heading for home. During the drive there, I realized how excited I was about going to my aunt and uncle's house for the next week. I realized I really needed this vacation. However, I was still nervous about meeting with Zac the following afternoon to tell him about Cat, and I wasn't looking forward to seeing my father the day after that, but I figured it was better to get those two less than desirable situations out of the way at the beginning of the week so I could enjoy the rest of my vacation without any interruptions.

When I got home, uncle Alden's white escalade and aunt Hadley's red blazer were sitting in the driveway. I jumped out of the car and hurried up the driveway as fast I could - considering my ankle was killing me.

I walked into the house and said, "Hello?"

Melanie and Carissa appeared at the entrance to the kitchen. Carissa smiled widely when she saw me and ran down the hallway and enveloped me in a hug.

"Ana! I've missed you so much!" she squealed.

"I've missed you too," I giggled.

"Wow, your hair is so long!" she observed.

"And yours is so short!" I replied. "When did you cut it?"

"A couple of weeks ago. Right before we got out of school," she replied as she ran her fingers through her hair as Melanie walked over to us.

"It looks great," I smiled.

"Thank you," she grinned.

"So, how was work?" Melanie asked.

"Not so great," I answered. I explained about my morning and my ankle.

"Then you should be sitting down if your ankle hurts," Carissa commented as she grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the kitchen. I hobbled over to a chair and plopped down.

"What's wrong with you?" aunt Hadley asked after observing my hobbling.

"Twisted my ankle at work," I sighed.

"Oh, you should probably wrap that," uncle Alden commented as he walked over and pulled up a chair beside mine and lifted my foot up onto his lap. "It looks a little swollen," he observed as he glanced over his shoulder at my mom. "Do you have any ace bandages, Sash?"

"Let me check," she said as she left the room.

"Hey, Alden, why don't you and the girls take Ana and Mel's stuff out to the car?" Hadley suggested. "I'll wrap Ana's ankle for her."

"Okay," Alden nodded as he carefully placed my foot on the chair and headed down the hallway with Carissa and Melanie following close behind.

"My suitcase and book bag are by the door," I called after them.

"Okay," Melanie said over her shoulder before she and Carissa went upstairs.

"So, how have you been?" Hadley asked as she slid into the chair where Alden had been sitting.

"Alright," I shrugged.

"Melanie said your dad called the other day while she was here," she commented.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I'm going with him to visit my grandma on Monday."

"Did you tell your mom he called?" Hadley asked.

I shook my head. "I didn't want to upset her," I replied. "You know how she gets whenever dad calls."

"Yeah, I know," Hadley nodded.

Every time my dad called it seemed to upset my mom. Not because he was calling, but because of the lack thereof. I felt the same way, actually. I hated how he could go for months without a call, and then out of the blue, he'd call and act as if everything were okay.

"What about you?" she asked.

"What about me?" I replied.

"Ana …" she began knowingly.

"I don't even want to see him," I replied honestly. "I don't want to see my own father. Is that bad?"

"No," she replied with a soft smile. "You've been through a lot this past year, and your father hasn't been the best about being there for you. I know you're upset with him, and you have every right to feel that way."

"I just wish he wouldn't do this. I mean, the last time I saw him was my birthday and that was about four months ago," I commented. "I get used to not hearing from him and quit worrying about it, and then he calls and wants to see me. He acts like everything's normal, and expects me to drop whatever I'm doing to see him."

"Ana, have you tried telling him how you feel?" Hadley asked.

"It wouldn't matter," I sighed as my mom walked into the room holding an ace bandage.

"Found it," she declared with a smile. I looked at Hadley and I knew this conversation was over for now.

After my ankle was all bandaged up, Alden announced it was time to head out. Melanie and Carissa were busy chattering on about anything from guys to movies to clothes. I was half listening, but my mind kept drifting back to what Hadley said. Maybe she was right. Maybe I should just tell my dad how much I hated it he wouldn't call for months at a time and then come back and think that we could pick up where we left off. I wished I had enough nerve to tell him that, but I knew I probably never would.

"So, what do you say, Ana?" Carissa asked suddenly.

"Huh? About what?" I asked.

"You weren't listening to a word we said, were you?" Melanie accused.

I gave them a sheepish look and shrugged. "Sorry, guys," I replied. "What were you talking about?"

"There's a party on the beach tonight," Carissa replied. "Are you up to going?"

"Sure," I nodded. "I'll probably have to sit in the same place all night, but I'm up for it."

"Okay," Carissa smiled. "We don't have to stay too long anyway since you have to meet Zac tomorrow."

"How did you know …" I began to ask.

"I told her about him," Melanie cut in. "I hope you don't mind."

I shrugged. "I don't care."

"I know you don't want me and Cari to tag along, but we thought we might go hang out at the beach by Cleo's while you talk to Zac," Melanie commented.

"That's fine," I replied.

Honestly, I was beginning to not even care. Melanie wanted to check out Zac, and far be it from me to keep her from doing so, but I was also beginning to realize it might not be a bad idea to have them nearby just in case I couldn't handle telling Zac about Cat. I thought I could handle it, but as our meeting got closer, the more my anxiety began to grow.

When arrived at my aunt and uncle’s house, Aunt Tessa was cooking dinner.

"You arrived just in time," she smiled as she hugged Melanie and I. "You girls look more grown up every time I see you," she commented.

"Thanks, Aunt Tess," Melanie smiled as our five-year-old cousin, Gavin, rushed into the room.

"Mellie! Anie!" he smiled as he tried to hug us both at the same time, but his arms wouldn't quite reach.

"Hey, Gav," I smiled as I picked him up and gave him a quick hug before I handed him over to Melanie.

"So, how was the drive here?" Tessa asked.

"It was nice," I replied.

"Well, we're going to take Mel and Ana's stuff upstairs and get settled in," Carissa commented. "We'll be back down to eat in a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay," Tessa nodded as Melanie put Gavin down and we followed Carissa back down the hallway and picked up our stuff from by the door and headed upstairs.

"So, what time is the beach party?" I asked as we stepped into the guestroom, which was where Melanie and I would be sleeping.

"Around seven thirty or eight," Carissa replied as I sat my suitcase on one of the beds and unzipped it and began to put my clothes in one of the dressers. "We could probably start getting ready after we eat and head down to the beach."

"Sounds good," Melanie smiled.

"Yeah, but I need to take a shower before we go because I feel so icky," I commented.

Melanie and Carissa both smiled. "Well, we wouldn't want you to go out feeling icky and smelling yucky," Carissa commented.

"I do not smell yucky!" I scoffed as I threw a pillow at her head.

After we ate and freshened up, we headed down to the beach. "Are you sure you can walk there?" Carissa asked uncertainly. "Because I can drive us there …"

"Cari, I'm fine," I replied as we started down the road to the beach.

"I just don't want you to hurt yourself," she commented.

"I won't," I replied. "You sound like you're my mom or something."

"Well, I just don't want to be the one that gets blamed if you end up seriously hurt," she commented.

"Oh, hush," I said and I tucked a damp piece of hair behind my ear. "It's just a twisted ankle. I don't know why everyone's making such a big deal about it anyway."

"Fine, I'll drop it," Carissa replied as she held her hands up in surrender.

"Good, so are you still seeing Robby?" I asked curiously.

"Heaven's no!" she replied. "I dumped his sorry ass a couple of months ago."

"Why? What happened?" Melanie asked.

"Well, let's just say that he can be a huge prick when he can't have what he wants," Carissa replied.

"Well, Brent's the same way," Melanie commented. "It must be a guy thing."

"Yeah, well, I got sick of his crap," Carissa said. "Especially when the arguments were about sex. I told him I wasn't going to let him pressure me into doing something I didn't want to do, and if he couldn't handle that, then he could take his sorry ass and leave, and he did. Haven't talked to him since."

"What an ass," I commented as I followed Carissa down to the sandy beach.

"Oh, well, his loss. Not mine," Carissa shrugged. "Are you seeing anyone now?"

"Nah," I replied.

"And why not?" Carissa asked. "It's been how long since you broke up with Embry?"

"Six months," I sighed. "I'm just not ready to start seeing anyone right now."

"Oh, come on girl! You need to start dating again!"

"I know. I just … I don’t know … I hate dating," I replied with a pout.

"Ana, how can you hate dating?" Melanie asked. "The only guy you ever actually dated was Embry!"

"Okay - let me rephrase - I hate the idea of dating," I replied.

"Oh, Ana," Carissa said as she put her arm around my shoulder. "Maybe we can find you a cutie to cuddle with tonight."

"Cari, don't even think about it! I don't want you to try to set me up with one of your beach bum friends," I replied.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be singing a different tune after you see some of these 'beach bums,'" she grinned as she we walked up the beach where there was already a rather large group of people hanging around.

Carissa introduced Melanie and I to a few of her friends. We’d already met a few of them before, but for the most part, I didn't know very many people that were there, so while Cari was talking with some friends and Mel went to find something to drink, I planted myself in a beach chair away from everybody and watched the water quietly.

It wasn't that I didn't want to be there. I just didn't feel like talking to a lot of people. Over the last couple of months I'd come to realize my social skills were definitely lacking. I hadn't gone out with friends much, and if it weren't for Melanie, I probably wouldn't have gone out at all.

I jumped when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around expecting to see Melanie or Carissa, but instead there stood a tall guy with short curly brown hair and the blue eyes.

"Yeah?" I said.

"You stole my seat," he grinned.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry," I said as I started to stand up.

He laughed. "Don't worry about it," he said as he sat down on the sand beside the chair as and patted the seat where I had been sitting. "Have a seat."

I contemplated walking away, but my ankle was still sore, so I sat back down.

"I'm Logan," he smiled.

"Ana," I replied.