Chapter 67

                                    

                                          
At some point during the night, Clay must have moved off the terrace and removed his button-up shirt, cargo shorts, and shoes before climbing into bed. As a result, the boy woke up the next morning, finding himself in a cozy bed rather than in an adirondack chair out on the small balcony connected to his room. Feeling well-rested, the teenager checked his phone, becoming slightly surprised in the process as he saw that it was barely even 7:00 o'clock. The boy chalked it up to still being used to California time, due to it feeling like it should be later in the morning. Shaking the time zone thing off, the 19-year-old slowly crawled out of bed and decided to get changed into some plain black athletic shorts and a simple light gray t-shirt before making his way downstairs to see who else happened to be up at this hour. 
                          
Upon reaching the bottom of the steps, a pleasant aroma hit the young male as he was quick to spot his grandma and mother in the kitchen, working together to prepare breakfast for the family. As Clay sluggishly walked over and took a seat at the island counter, Amy turned and spotted her grandson. "Good morning, Clay. How did you sleep last night?" The elderly woman asked as she rinsed off some fresh-looking pineapple cubed slices. "I slept really good, actually." The teen said with a sleep-filled voice after letting out a small yawn. "I'm glad to hear that, because we've got a big day ahead of us." Amy said with a bright smile. "Go ahead and help yourself." She added, gesturing to the breakfast foods that were set up in a buffet fashion. The blue-eyed boy nodded in response before standing up, grabbing a plate, and piling some of the delicious food onto his plate.
                          
When Clay's plate was almost full, the 19-year-old made his way out onto the deck where there was an outdoor table with a few chairs surrounding it. As soon as the boy stepped outside, the salty air, light breeze, and sounds of the ocean all hit him at once. "Hey, Pal." A voice greeted, and Clay glanced over to see his dad sitting at one end of the table as he slowly sipped at his cup of coffee. "Hey, Dad." The younger male greeted, deciding not to comment about the disliked nickname - though it was slowly starting to grow on him a little bit. Taking a vacant seat by his father, the two sat in a comfortable silence as they stared out at the awaiting ocean while the blue-eyed boy enjoyed his breakfast, which mainly consisted of some scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and various fruits. 
                          
Pretty soon, everyone had eaten breakfast together and talked a little bit about the day ahead. Right about now, everybody was off in their designated rooms, getting changed so they could all head down to the beach for a little bit. After entering his room and closing the door behind him, Clay changed into a black Shark Zen shortsleeve swim shirt, sporting a white Sea Turtle design on the back of it, and a pair of plain blue boardshorts that had a vertical black stripe on each side. Once he was changed, the blue-eyed teen grabbed his sunglasses and left his room to head back downstairs to wait for everyone else to finish getting changed into their swimwear as well.
                          
Once everyone was changed and ready to hit the beach for a bit, the family of seven left the house together. As soon as they stepped foot outside, Matt let his childish side take over as he challenged his son in a race to see who could get to the ocean first. Clay chuckled a little before accepting his father's challenge, and the two took off through the sand as they tried to beat one another in their race, quickly approaching the awaiting salty water in the process. In a matter of seconds, the 19-year-old began to pull away from his father, and soon felt the salty liquid rush over him. "I wi-" Clay exclaimed, though was cut off when he felt himself fall and become submerged in the ocean. As soon as the boy resurfaced, the sound of his father's laughter filled his ears. "I win!" He restated triumphantly after spitting the ocean water out of his mouth - an action that only made Matt laugh even more. "Oh my god, I can't breathe." The older man said through laughter as his right hand rested over his stomach. The blue-eyed boy rolled his eyes at his dad before smiling a little himself. "Yeah, yeah. Because me falling in the ocean was just so hilarious." The teenager said sarcastically before playfully splashing his father with the cool salty water.