Starter for: @selinyilmazLocation: Briar Ridge Pier
Now that the weather was warming up for summer, Alara was savoring every moment she could spend outside. Free time was scarce—between extra shifts at the station and new clients at the gym, she’d buried herself in work as a way to cope.
But this Friday night, instead of dulling her loneliness at a local bar, she opted for something different: a cone of her favorite ice cream and a walk to the pier. It had taken a while—weeks of wallowing at rock bottom after the disaster that was New Year’s Eve—but she was finally clawing her way to a better emotional place. And she was doing her best to make choices that would help her stay there.
Still, this outing was also a little masochistic.
At the very end of the pier, on the less frequented side, sat a weathered picnic table that she and Selin had long ago claimed as their own. They’d spent countless evenings there—ignoring curfews, sneaking beers they were too young to drink, talking shit about the mean girls at school, and so much more together. Now, with Selin no longer in her life, sitting at that same table alone felt sharp-edged with nostalgia and sadness.
She sat watching the waves crash beneath her, the ice cream practically tasteless given how distracted with memories her mind felt, when footsteps echoed behind her.
“Lemme save you some trouble, asshole,” she called over her shoulder, not even bothering to look. She figured it was just another guy who couldn’t take a hint—ignoring the very clear message that she’d picked the most secluded spot on the pier because she wanted to be alone. “I’m not interested.”
