Fall Out (Against the Tides #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

at the gate.”
    “I don’t know why I came here, Knox.”
    “I do,” I say, remembering all the time we all spent as a group on the boat. “You came to be close to him. That house may hold all of your stuff but we both know that boat is your home.”
    Taking a chance, I grab her hand, tugging her from the truck. Her flip-flop clad feet slap against the ground. Looking her over, I can’t help but notice how much baggier her clothes have gotten since I pulled her out of the road. Ari scrunches her eyebrows together as she tries to figure out what I’m up to. Without saying anything else, I pull her away from the truck and close the door.
    “It’s OK to be sad and shit, Ari, but letting the world pass you by because of it isn’t.”
    Pot, meet kettle.
    She follows silently beside me as I head down the dock toward their slip. When I stop in front of it she pulls her hand away from mine and keeps walking. The sandals on her feet get kicked off as she walks. When she gets to the end of the dock, she sits down, plunging her feet into the water. 
    I follow her lead because it feels natural. The boat may be home for Ari, and I know it was for Brett as well, but the ocean is home for me. The only place I will let myself call home anyway. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore, the smell, the taste of salt in the air… that’s what I love. I am a coast boy through and through and I have salt water running through my veins. I know Ari does too, but sometimes I wonder if she still loves it like I do.
    “You’ve always told me that salt water was the cure for everything,” Ari finally speaks up again.
    I nod and continue looking out over the open water. “Mhm. Sweat, tears, and the sea.”
    “What if it can’t fix this?” She finally turns and looks at me. The sad fear that fills her eyes breaks my heart. Wrapping my arm around her, I pull her into me unable to stop myself from noticing that she fits perfectly as always.
    “What if it does?” I counter.
    Ari sighs, her feet drifting back and forth with the waves as she thinks. My watch beeps, letting me know that I have to get going soon even though I don’t want to.
    “I need to apologize to Emerson for being such an asshole to her too. I haven’t spoken to her since I found out about Brett and she didn’t do anything wrong. I slammed the door in her face a few weeks ago because I didn’t want to deal with it and I knew she was going to want me to talk.”
    Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. I’m not the person that should be telling her this, but it looks like I’m the only one that can. “Ari, you can’t apologize to Emerson right now.” The confusion is clear as day on her face and she doesn’t even have a chance to ask why before I tell her. “The reason she showed up at your house that day wasn’t to try to get you to talk about Brett. It was to tell you she was being deployed. She was deployed last week.”
    Her mouth falls and her body begins to shake. Pushing herself up, she tangles her hands into her hair and starts to cry.
    “I didn’t…I can’t believe…What kind of a fucking friend am I? I didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye because I’m such a bitch.”
    “Stop, Ari.” Pushing off the dock, I step back up to her and grab her hands. “This is Emerson we’re talking about. Nothing is going to happen to her. She’ll be back in a few months and you can apologize then.” I check my watch again and as much as I don’t want to leave her like this I know I have to get to the base. “You’re going to be OK. I’m only a phone call away if you need me.”
    “Where are you going?” she asks when I get a few feet away.
    I hesitate but finally figure I might as well rip the band-aid off. “I have to go to work.”
    She narrows her eyes at me. I know this isn’t going to end well when her gaze finally drops to the logo on my shirt and she storms toward me.
    “Are you fucking kidding me?” she screams, slamming