Adore Me

I’ve seen the movie before. A few years ago. But I don’t really remember all that much of it, and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. I need to study this movie. I need to understand the script. I need to try to figure out what Vincent has in mind.

“A Day at the Lake,” I say, sounding too eager. “I mean, I definitely don’t want to have bad dreams about being attacked by a shark.”

“Have you ever seen it before?” he asks me.

“A few years ago, I kinda watched it on TV. But it was one of those things where it was on, but I wasn’t really watching. So I’ve never seen the whole thing. I just remember the girl in the bikini screaming a lot.”

“Perfect,” he says. “We’ll watch it and then go dancing.”

I snuggle up on the big padded couch next to him, sip my wine, and press play.

The movie starts out showing my mom’s character in her everyday world. Hanging out with her hot frat boyfriend. Her friends hanging out and pla

We watch, drink more wine, and then Aiden starts kissing me.

Saturday, November 26th

A dangerous journey.

9am

I wake up, wondering where I am.

I squint my eyes, seeing only darkness and feeling Aiden’s arm across my shoulder. I remember that we were in the theater room, watching Mom’s movie, drinking wine, and kissing.

We must’ve both fallen asleep.

Aiden is still breathing heavily, and I sadly realize that I’m down to my last twenty-four hours with him. That it’s our last night together.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

I get up and go find Inga. I need to see if she’ll make us a special di

The moonlight.

I suppose that will be a fitting place to tell him I'm leaving, since it's the damn moon’s fault. It's like rubbing a dog’s nose down by where they peed on the carpet.

I want the moon to see what it did.

I shake my head. It sucks. But I have to do it.

“Inga, since it’s our last night here, I’d like to do a special di

“Of course. What would you like on the menu? I have some filets and some fresh mahi mahi.”

“That sounds yummy. Could we have a little of both?”

“Absolutely.” She glances around her kitchen and then grabs my palm. “May I have a closer look?”

“Um, sure.”

She looks at one palm and then studies the other, shaking her head. “I had a dream about you last night.”

“You did?”

“Well, about your palm. I dreamed that the line, here, moved. And now I look at it and see that it was not just a dream, but more of a prophecy.” She shakes her head. “I’ve never had something like that happen before.”

“What do you mean?”

She holds up my left hand. “This hand is what could be.” Then she holds up my right hand. “This hand is what is. This line. The one ru

“Does that, like, mean something important?”

She nods solemnly. “This line breaks your life line. Remember this one, up here, where I said you had cheated death?”

I swallow hard. “Um, yes.”

“I believe death is coming back for you.”

“Oh,” I say.

She stares at me. “You’re not surprised by this. You are about to embark on a dangerous journey, yes?”

I can’t do anything but nod in agreement.

“And you know that you may not survive?”

I nod again. “Yes.”

She wipes her reading glasses off on her apron, puts them back on, and studies my palm some more. “Maybe you should consider canceling this journey?”

I shake my head. “I can’t. It’s something I have to do.”

“It is about getting your life back?”

I nod again.

“You love him, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Inga will cook you an amazing di

I nod and give her a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

I walk to the great room window and look out at the ocean, so many thoughts going through my head, when Aiden leans his chin on my shoulder.

“You ditched me.”

“I was coming back for you.”

“You better always come back for me.”

I reach down and grasp his hand, giving it a squeeze and praying that will even be an option.

“So what’s on tap for today? We haven’t done yoga in the sand yet. Or built a sand village.”

“We’re surfing and snorkeling today,” I hear Damian say.

“And going to get tattoos,” Peyton adds.

“Tattoos, really?” Aiden says excitedly. I want a tattoo.”

“Really? What do you want?”

He grins at me. “I want a four leaf clover, right here.” He flips my hand over and shows me a spot on his wrist.

“That’s cool. What about you, Damian?”

“I’m getting the tribal tattoo I’ve always wanted around my bicep. So grab some food and let’s get out there. Did you see the waves this morning, Keats? They’re the best since we’ve been here.”

“Awesome,” I say, happy for something to keep my mind off the inevitable.

We surf and build a sand village, but decided to skip yoga and go snorkeling instead.

“Be sure to put lots of sunblock on before we leave,” I tell everyone when we’re in the toy shed getting flippers and snorkel masks.

Aiden grabs a can of sunblock and sprays our backs.

We swim out a ways and enjoy all the cool marine life for a couple hours.

Then we head back in for lunch.

In the kitchen, I notice Aiden’s back. “Oh, your back is pretty sunburned.”

“Yeah, it feels hot. I sprayed everyone else’s but forgot to do my own.”

“I’m sorry,” I tell him, giving him gentle hug.

He wraps me up tighter. “It doesn’t hurt that bad.”

We all sit down, eat, and talk.

“The fish were so amazing!” Peyton says excitedly. “So many cool colors!”

“I loved the turtles we saw.”

“They were pretty cool, but I think those blue fish with the little yellow spots were my favorite,” Aiden says.

“I saw a shark,” Damian says coolly, “but I didn’t wa

We all laugh, knowing that Damian is teasing us.

“I’m thinking about getting shark tattoo, as a matter of fact.”

“No, you’re not,” I say. “You’ve never wanted a shark tattoo until just now. If you’re going to get a tattoo, it should mean something to you.”

“Yeah, like the band I’m getting means I’m a badass.”

“And my clover will bring me even more luck. You should get one too.”

“I already have a tattoo. What are you getting, Peyton?”

“I’m getting a butterfly. They symbolize transformation and this last week has sort of changed my life. You know, all that went on at school, what I’ve realized, and then coming here. I feel new and happy.”

“That’s amazing,” I tell her as Damian snuggles with her.

After lunch, Damian says, “Okay, everyone get cleaned up and then we’ll head into town for tattoos!”

“I’m go

“Okay, I’m go