The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks Page A

while, a larger group had gathered at Bower’s Point, but one by one, they’d taken off until only the five regulars remained. Some of the others had been okay, a couple were even kind of interesting, but then the liquor and beer started taking effect, and everyone but Ronnie thought they were a lot funnier than they really were. After a while, it got kind of boring and familiar.
    She was standing alone at the water’s edge. Behind her, near the bonfire, Teddy and Lance were smoking, drinking, and occasionally throwing fireballs at each other, Blaze was slurring her words and hanging all over Marcus. It was getting late, too. Not by New York standards—back home, she didn’t show up at the clubs until midnight—but considering what time she’d gotten up, it had been a long day. She was tired.
    Tomorrow, she was going to sleep in. When she got home, she was going to hang towels or a blanket over the curtain rod; hell, she’d nail them to the wall if she had to. She had no intention of spending the whole summer rising with the farmers, even if she was going to spend the day at the beach with Blaze. Blaze had surprised her with the suggestion, and it actually sounded kind of appealing. Besides, there wasn’t much to do otherwise. Earlier, after they’d left the diner, they’d walked through most of the nearby shops—including the music store, which was very cool—and afterward, they’d gone to Blaze’s house to watch The Breakfast Club while her mom was at work. Sure, it was an eighties movie, but Ronnie still loved it and had seen it at least a dozen times. Even though it was dated, it felt surprisingly real to her. More real than what was going on here tonight—especially since the more Blaze drank, the more she ignored Ronnie and clung to Marcus.
    Ronnie already neither liked nor trusted Marcus. She had pretty good radar when it came to guys, and she sensed there was something “off” about him. It was like there was something missing in Marcus’s eyes when he talked to her. He said the right things—no more crazy suggestions about heading to Florida, at least, and by the way, how weird was that?—but the more time she spent with him, the more he creeped her out. She didn’t like Teddy or Lance, either, but Marcus… she got the vibe that acting normal was simply a game he played so he could manipulate people.
    And Blaze…
    It was strange being in her house earlier, because it seemed so normal. It stood in a quiet cul-de-sac and had bright blue shutters and an American flag that fluttered from the porch. Inside, the walls were painted cheery colors, and a vase of fresh flowers stood on the dining room table. The place was clean, but not neurotically so. In the kitchen, there was some money on the table, along with a note addressed to Blaze. When Ronnie caught Blaze sliding a few bills into her pocket and reading the note, Blaze mentioned that her mom always left money for her. It was how she knew Blaze was okay when she didn’t come home.
    Odd.
    What she really wanted was to talk to Blaze about Marcus, but she knew that wouldn’t do any good. Lord knows she’d learned that from Kayla—Kayla lived in denial—but even so, it didn’t make sense. Marcus was bad news, and Blaze was clearly better off without him. She wondered why Blaze couldn’t see that. Maybe tomorrow they’d talk about it at the beach.
    “Are we boring you?”
    Turning, she saw Marcus standing behind her. He was holding a fireball, letting it roll across the back of his hand.
    “I just wanted to come down to the water.”
    “Do you want me to bring you a beer?”
    By the way he asked, she could tell he already knew what she was going to say.
    “I don’t drink.”
    “Why?”
    Because it makes people act stupid, she could have said. But she didn’t. She knew that any explanation she offered would only prolong the conversation. “I just don’t. That’s all.”
    “Just say no?” he taunted.
    “If you say so.”
    In the