Chapter 9 — The Last Ferry Home
We caught the first ferry home that morning.
"Yah, Seth! Where were you yesterday?" Sonnie called, concern etched across his face. Everyone had been worried—especially when I had suddenly run off after what happened the night before.
"Nowhere," I replied, my eyes still fixed on the sea.
Yesterday, I had told Belle I'd be taking this ferry home. But she didn't come to see me off.
Did that really happen yesterday?
The memory of our kiss drifted back, hazy and unreal, like something from a dream.
Then I reached into my pocket.
No… it wasn't a dream.
Inside was the small shell she had given me, along with a folded piece of paper—her phone number, written in her neat, careful handwriting. She had slipped it into my pocket just before we said goodbye.
I smiled softly, heart still fluttering.
"I'm never coming back to this island. Girls are scary," Scott muttered beside me.
"This was the worst trip ever," Sonnie grumbled.
"Let's just hurry home," Wayde added.
Their voices grounded me. For all their complaining and teasing, I knew I had friends I could count on—friends who would worry about me no matter what.
As the ferry pulled farther from the southern island, I looked back at the fading shoreline. The beach where Belle and I had shared that quiet night beneath the stars slowly disappeared from view.
But I knew one thing for certain: I would never forget this summer.
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