Chapter 12
Later that night when we got home, I had greeted a lot of familiar faces. My parents had decided to throw me a party in honor of my homecoming, so we were at the beach around 11, horsing around like we've never seen each other in years. Caitlin and I along with BJ and her new boyfriend were wrestling in the sand. {Author's Note: Remember Caitlin's parents went away for their anniversary? Well, Caitlin is staying at the Carters}
"There! I gotcha!" Caitlin said as she pinned me in the sand.
"Not for long!" I retorted. I had reversed positions so that I had pinned her now when I heard my mother call us. I felt Caitlin squirm out of my grip, but something felt different about my hand. I looked at my left hand: Nothing felt different about that one. I looked at my right hand and that's when I noticed what was different. My promise ring. It was gone.
"Oh no!" I cried and began searching frantically for it in the sand.
"What's the matter?" Caitlin asked me.
"My ring is gone!" I cried, close to tears. That ring meant so much to me.]
"Nick! Where did you lose it?" she asked me.
"I don't know, It's as good as gone, anyway," I replied sadly, looking at the mounds of sand on the beach that lay before me.
"Don't worry about it, Nick," she told me when I was setting her bed up that night.
"Since I don't have one, its not worth it" I said in disregard.
"Oh, no Nick. You have it all wrong. Once a promise, always a promise," she said.
"OK." I whispered.
"Here," she said and took off her ring and placed it in her jewelry box. "It will stay here until the day that you find yours."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Home run!" I yelled the next day. Me, Caitlin, BJ, Aaron and Angel were playing wiffle ball in the backyard. I had just hit the ball into the garden, which counted as a home run.
"Yea!" Aaron screamed and gave me a high five. It was Aaron and I against the girls.
"That's it! I quit!" Angel exclaimed.
"No, Angel! You can't quit now!" Caitlin cried.
"Caitlin! They are beating us 21-10!" BJ said. I was about to say something when I saw my parents come out of the house. My father had a forlorn look on his face and my mother held her head in her hands.
"What? What's the matter?" Caitlin asked when my parents stood in front of us.
"I'm afraid we have some terrible news," my dad said. He sat us all down at our picnic table. I felt Caitlin grab my hand like she always did when she was scared.
"Caitlin, sweetie..." my dad began and took her hands.
"What..."she said. I noticed her bottom lip was trembling.
"Caitlin, your parents were killed in a fire last night," my dad said. My eyes widened when he spoke those words. I heard Caitlin let out a sob and my mom ran over and they cried together. A small tear trickled down my cheek and I didn't bother to brush it away. Jenny and Dave were the nicest people I have ever met in my life. They were a second family to me. As to Caitlin, they were her world. Just then Caitlin stormed inside the house and slammed the door shut. I started to run after her, but my Dad stepped in the way.
"Nick, let her be." He said.
"But--"
"Let her be."