RIPTIDE | Rafe Cameron

07. 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘢

We found the wreck, but we didn't find the gold.

Seeing the devastation on John B's face when we discovered that the wreck was just that, an empty wreck, was heartbreaking. I know what it means to feel loss, but to have hope torn out from under you, that's an indescribable pain that only a few can articulate.

The rest of us were gutted too of course, but for John B not for ourselves. All he's wanted is to find the gold for his father, and I imagine he feels like he's failing in his ability to do that. I just want him to be happy again, truly happy.

"Sidney."

I snap out of my daydream about the gold, seeing a concerned look on my mother's face as I remember where we are.

Dress shopping.

The midsummer's ball is only a few days away so my dad insisted that my mother and I treat ourselves to new dresses for the event. Mum picked her dress almost instantly, so the sales assistant put it aside for her while I looked through every rack, struggling to find anything I liked, until eventually I picked out about four dresses in different colours. The first two were disasters and made me look ridiculous, whereas the one I'm trying on now shows more promise.

It's lilac with a cowl neck, but it doesn't feel like a dress I would wear, and I'm not entirely sure I'm comfortable in it.

"So do you like this one?" Mum asks as I stand in front of her in the fitting room area, her sitting on the plush pink couch with a cup of tea.

"Not really," I sigh, glancing at myself in the mirror.

"Okay, well you should probably try the last one on, and hope that it's the one, because we don't have time to go shopping on the mainland." She sighs as I return to the fitting cubicle, closing the curtain and slipping out of the third dress before pulling the fourth dress on.

This one is a sage green halter dress. It's a maxi dress, like the other ones, but this one feels perfect, it fits perfectly and the colour looks right against my skin.

I open the curtain and my mum looks up from her magazine, a small smile on her face, "That's the one, I'm not just saying that because it's the last one, you look so beautiful honey."

"It feels like the right one," I nod in agreement, "Maybe with some black or white shoes?"

"Absolutely!" Mum claps her hands together, "Get changed back into your own clothes and I'll tell the cashier we're ready to purchase."

I head back into the cubicle, closing the curtain and slipping out of the dress before putting my own clothes back on, a khaki green vest top and some pale blue denim shorts. If I had the option I'd be most comfortable in these clothes, but it's such a formal event that I'd stick out like a sore thumb in anything except a perfectly chosen dress.

Now that I know what I'm wearing to midsummers I feel more content with the idea of going. It also makes it more bearable that both Kiara and Sarah will be there, so I could probably just stick with them for most of the night.

After putting the dress back on the hanger I exit the cubicle and head over to where my mum is waiting at the till, and from what I can hear she's rambling to the cashier about how excited she is for midsummers.

"Is this the dress?" The cashier asks as I hand it to her.

"Yep." I nod in agreement.

"Perfect, I'll just put it in a bag for you." She tells us, pulling out a branded bag from under the till and slipping the bag into it.

"That's so great, thank you." My mum smiles somewhat overbearingly.

After she's settled the payment we head outside into the intense Outer Banks summer sun, and I'm somewhat regretting not staying home or heading to the beach to surf.