Amalia's POV
Once the old car had completely disappeared from my sight, I took a deep breath and attempted to pull myself together before coming face to face with my family and Riley again. Although it looked like they were mostly oblivious to what had happened, I didn't doubt that someone would take the chance to grill me over my whereabouts and as usual, I was unprepared to answer their questions.
I skimmed my fingers through my hair and tucked it behind my ears as I stepped onto the sand, fighting against the slight breeze that had begun to pick up. The further I walked, the faster my heart began beating, and soon enough, I came to stand beside the deck chair my best friend was lounging on. The shadow I cast over her was all it took to gain her attention.
"Lia?" She asked, lifting her sunglasses to look up at me. "There you are! I thought you'd abandoned us again." The tone of her voice paired with her slight smirk made it clear she was only teasing me, and yet I couldn't help feeling guilty. "Where'd you go this time?"
From the corner of my eye, I saw my mom and Yuna had both sat up to look at me, causing my throat to become dry. "I just went to a nearby cafe... it was a little too bright out here and I wanted to read my book... the coffee was nice."
It was difficult to tell from their expressions whether any of them believed me, though I did my best to be convincing.
"I wish you'd told me. I waited for you for half an hour before I got bored and came over to get you myself." Riley motioned to the chair next to her, instructing me to take a seat. "Buuut, then you weren't here, and nobody knew where you were... I tried texting you."
"You did?" As she nodded, I slid my phone out of my back pocket and saw three missed messages, all sent at different times. Was I really that caught up with Taemin that I'd completely missed my phone going off? "Oh, I— I'm sorry. I really didn't hear it."
After a moment of silence, my mom finally sighed and said, "Amalia, you know better than that. If you're going somewhere else, you let people know. We were worried you'd been kidnapped or something!"
The way she spoke sounded familiar; it was the way she'd scolded us, ever since we were kids. I hadn't heard it in a long time, at least not directed at me, and so it was surprising to hear it so suddenly. She may have gotten a little more lenient over the years, but she still became overly protective from time to time when she felt the need.
"I know, mom, I'm sorry. I'll remember that next time, I promise." My gaze fell and my voice lowered to a mumble. "...if there is a next time."
"What?"
I blinked and glanced back up to see my mom staring at me with narrowed eyes. "Nothing, nothing."
"Are you alright, Lia?" Yuna sounded concerned as she reached a hand out and placed it on my arm. "You seem stressed."
I slowly nodded in response and flexed my back and shoulders, wincing as a twinge of pain shot through my muscles; I hadn't realised how tense I was until that moment. If it was so obvious to my family, I could only imagine what they were thinking, especially since everyone else seemed to be enjoying the change of scenery.
"I'm fine, just— not feeling my best today. That's all."
"You know what'll help you feel better?" Riley asked, quickly climbing out of her chair and holding a hand out in my direction. "A swim! Trust me, the water's amazing today."
"But you've already done that—" Despite my protest, my hand found its way into hers and I was pulled to my feet, my bag simply falling out of my lap and onto the chair.
"Yeah, but not with you, dummy," she teased, tugging at one of the belt loops on my shorts as if telling me to strip down to my bikini like she had. I obeyed with only a moment's hesitation and watched as she motioned to my sister as well. "Come on, Yuna! You've gotta come, too."
"I do?" Her response made me chuckle, along with the surprised expression on her face.
"Yes! Now, come on!"
Riley's focus quickly fell back on me as I folded my clothes up into my backpack, leaving my mom to give Yuna a nudge with her foot to encourage her to stand up and join us.
"Go on. Go and enjoy yourselves."
Without wasting a second, Riley turned and began sprinting across the sand towards the ocean, pure excitement radiating from her. I rolled my eyes with a smile, choosing to wait for my sister to put her clothes away before jogging after Riley, just about catching up in time to hear her call out to our little brother.
"Come on, Tao!"
Tao, who had been sat relatively nearby with a couple of other children building sandcastles, seemed a little hesitant to leave his new group of friends. Even so, after a moment's thought, he clambered to his feet and ran after us, moving so fast that he nearly fell over a few steps from the water; with the way he was grinning from ear to ear, you wouldn't think he did.
The moment my feet touched the clear, crystal waves, I finally felt as though I could relax. The water was warm yet refreshing, to the point I considered sitting down in the shallows or even wading all the way out until my head was the only thing above water. I decided not to, though, and stayed where the water was around waist heigh so we could all stick together and Tao would be safe.
Riley quickly took the opportunity to splash me, causing me to freeze in place with my hands raised; I wasn't fast enough to protect my face, and she found my reaction hilarious. Brushing a now wet clump of hair behind my ear, I narrowed my eyes in her direction and prepared to get my revenge, bending down to scoop as much water into my hands as possible before throwing it at her.
"Hey!" She whined, pouting slightly as she shook off some of the water.
I couldn't fight back the smirk pulling at my lips. "Don't dish out what you can't take, Riles." Although she continued to sulk, I could see a hint of a smile hidden behind her scowl.
The two of us were so caught up in messing around with each other that we didn't notice Tao smile mischievously before jumping onto Yuna's back; only when she screamed and stumbled did we actually turn towards them. Just as we did, however, Yuna regained her footing and wrapped her arms around the legs of our little brother, who held on tightly and giggled. It was sweet, seeing him enjoying himself as he was swayed up, down, and side to side, like some kind of amusement park ride. His happiness was intoxicating.
Eyes glued to my siblings, I smiled to myself and let out a soft sigh. The tension in my upper body had almost fully dissipated, and my heart rate had returned to normal for the first time in two days. I wanted to take a moment to stretch, though I could barely raise my arms above my waist before hands were placed on my shoulders, and a weight was suddenly launched onto my own back.
"Ah!" I squealed, feeling my legs wobble beneath me as I staggered forward. It was immediately obvious who it was, but the familiar laughter in my ear confirmed for certain that it was Riley. "Are you trying to break my back?"
"Amalia Hyun, are you making a comment about my weight?"
"I'm making a comment about your strength! You threw yourself onto my back so hard, I swear I heard it crack!"
"Oh, now you're just being silly~."
"Maybe..." I hummed, placing my hands on the underneath of her thighs and reaffirming my grip so I could stand up properly. "Do you happen to know a good chiropractor?"
Riley scoffed. "Pfft." She rolled her hand into a fist and gently nudged my jaw, though quickly brushed away some loose strands of hair that had fallen in front of my face during the chaos. "I'll give you a massage later to make up for it."
"I'll hold you to that."