Today is the day I die. Either from Noah's long and hard stare, or mob beaten by hungry guests.
Despite my job now hanging on the line between me getting fired, which I don't really care about because I'm not getting a dime out of this, I'm more concerned on the monstrous assumptions Noah already has in his head.
Did he really hear everything? I can't tell. His bushy eyebrows are slightly furrowed, and his mouth is set into a line as thin as paper. A well known scowl.
He should know very well by now that my mouth works without a zipper and everything that comes out of it shouldn't be taken too seriously. Mom had always told me my mouth diarrhea would get me into trouble one day, and today is definitely looking like that day.
Sharp heels click themselves to our direction as I see Miss Renee stomping towards us, looking like she's about to shove a stick up someone's ass.
Point of correction, that ass would be mine.
Woe
I keep my feet planted on the surfboard, knees bent, arms loose, and my eyes looking in the direction I'm going. My dampened hair sticks to the side of my face as the rush of the wind kicks the sea into into a huge wave. I almost lose my balance from the force of the wave but Cory's grip on my arms has me pull myself back to my perfect position.It's a perfect Tuesday afternoon for a surf date with Cory— that's what I call it, sue me— and we both sneaked out of kitchen duties to hang out with dolphins instead. They seem friendlier than actual humans these days.I opted for a wetsuit, and I'm glad I did because it's keeping my body warm in the cold water, preventing chills. Cory's figure becomes distorted as the water separates and comes between us. We connect our hands through the water as he unexpectedly drags me away from my surfboard and lands me on his hands, carrying me bridal style."I didn't plan for this!" I yell over the lo
"Butter or Mayonnaise?" He asks. I'm confused for a moment before my head tells me he's talking about making me a sandwich."Mayonnaise."Noah spreads Mayonnaise on bread. "So what's it?""What?""Your tattoo."I lower my eyelashes and fiddle with the pendant on my neck, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "It's a unicorn."He makes a sound at the back of his throat and shifts the sandwich towards me. I take a greedy bite out of it as I hear loud voices approaching our table from behind me."Get ready to meet the lousiest group of people ever.""GALLAGHER!" A voice booms. "Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you." The four lousy shenanigans appear on our table and noisily drags out seats.Seeing more of the Kingston boys up close now makes my previous impression of them dissipate. True, they might look like they just came out from a teen model magazine, but I feel less bothered now at
Simone and I are currently laid out on the beach chairs, having a beautiful view of the crystal clear ocean.We're both laying out in the sun, my eyes closed and headphones tucked in, working on my tan, and Simone's beside me solving a crossword puzzle— something Mabel's very fond of doing too. We don't talk anymore after our mini argument which is weird. She's not the type to go on a no talking spree for this long. I don't even get daily memes from her anymore, and that means one thing; either she's still mad at me, or got hit by a bus.Simone went ahead to give me this pep talk about how I should've handled the situation differently, and I've searched high, I've searched low, but no matter how hard I look, I can't find where I asked for her opinion.Someone's presence blocks my view from the sun as I tear my eyes open to see who had the nerve to obstruct my tan process.Lacey stands there, looking displeased as ever."What do yo
There's so many kind of buildings, I notice, as I stare out of the Jeep Wrangler that has no doors. The seatbelt I'm wearing is the only thing preventing me from flying out the vehicle. Noah's one heck of a driver.Old buildings, new ones, crumbling row houses and refurbished homes. Tall office buildings and squat store fronts all fills the scenery.The trees takes over this time, tall and stately, lining both sides of the road, so that it seems we are driving through a park, rather than the middle of a crowded city."It's so beautiful," I murmur. "So ethereal, so magnificent, so...""It's just trees, Allie. Get over it."Kill joy.We pass gracious old homes, brick and granite, then another strips of shops, smart and trendy. Noah circles around, then pulls into a narrow lot that fronts several upscale shops.He climbs out of the Jeep on his own and begins to walk into one of the shops. Noah stops on his t
"A young boy is sleeping in his bed on a usual night. He hears footsteps outside his door, and peeks open an eye to see what is happening," Everyone is dead silent, making Simone's voice audible enough to the little crowd that forms a circle. We're all sitting on chunks of wood."His door swings open quietly to reveal a murderer carrying the corpses of his parents. After silently propping them on a chair, he writes something on the wall in the blood of the dead bodies. He then hides under the child's bed." My fingers digs in tightly to whoever's arms I'm gripping on in fear."The child is scared beyond belief. He can't read the writing on the wall and he knows the man is under his bed. Like any child, he pretends that he slept through the whole thing and hasn't awoken yet. He lays still as the bodies, quietly hearing the breaths from under his bed.""An hour passes, and his eyes are adjusting more to the darkness. He tries to make out the words, but
The next day, Cory completely acts as if I don't exist."And you stood him up? Do you know what that means?" Lacey says for the sixth time, obviously adding to my guilt."I think you explained that already pretty much. I suck, and I'm a pile of poop." I repeat her words."Louder.""Fuck you, Simone."We're in the hotel's lounge room, which is a simple way of putting the cramped up, rectangular shaped room that the management provided for us. If I take a shot anytime our table has been bumped into and spilling half of our French fries to the floor, I'd probably have alcohol poisoning.I'm not only stressed out about the fact that Cory is intentionally ignoring me, which mind you, is already becoming insufferable for me. We've been appealing for a new room because our current one already has too many issues that the hotel's management turned a blind eye on.Why our toilet keeps getting clogged up is still a mystery. Th
It's the Statehood Day soon. And it's all everyone can talk about. The hotel walls are alive with squeals and chatter. Everyone's trying out their colorful Aloha shirts; They're usually collared and button dress shirts, mainly short sleeved and cut from printed fabric.In order to commemorate the day Hawaii joined the U.S of A as state fifty, the hotel is hosting a concert in it's premises, mainly for their customers. We the 'workers' aren't allowed. But that's not stopping us from sneaking in, though.Lacey's sitting Indian style on her bed, making a phone call when I step out of the bathroom in my robe. It's five hours till midnight. Also eight hours from now to Cory's and I little adventure by 3am, and it's all I've been thinking about since he brought it up. My stomach instantly forms a tight knot as I remember what I have in mind for tonight.There's only two things that can happen. Acceptance or Rejection.And even if I get rejected, it'
"Honey, I think your Dad's seeing another woman."Mom's voice is tiny through the phone, which is on speaker mode because Lacey is doing my makeup. But she keeps stabbing me in the damn eye."Stay put!" She hisses, as if having a sharp pencil millimeters from my eyes isn't nerve-wrecking enough."He doesn't call like he used to," Mom continues. "Last week, we were having a conversation on the phone, and I heard a woman's voice at the background. Giggling. That sound has been stuck to my head."They both had similar issues like this when they were still married. Mom always feared Dad's grinding on some woman whenever she's not home because let's face it, it's hard having a ladies man for a husband. It almost seems like Mabel got all the family's good looks, and I fell from the sky."Don't you get the signals?" I say. "He's trying to move on. Sooner or later, he's going to find someone else. And you will, too."There's a pause, as
I've always suffered from this horrible disadvantageous condition— it's called waking late on days I'm supposed to have early flight schedules. I'm starting to think it's an actual thing, so I'm not surprised it's less than an hour for my flight and I'm still on bed, feeling something fat and fluffy on my face. "Whiskers?" Its Mabel's voice that wakes me up. Not the fluffy stuff on my face. Whatever it is. Gradually, I open my eyes, and I'm face to face with a white feline. It brings out its tongue to lick my nose before purring with pleasure. Last time I checked, we didn't have a cat. "Whiskers! There you are." I hear footsteps approach my bed as Mabel carries the feline off my face. "Sorry. I thought I left her downstairs." I ask the obvious question. "When did we get a cat?" "Last night. I found her outside beside our waste bin. She seemed so lost. Is it okay if I keep her?" I ease out of my bed. "Just make s
Five years later."Fuck out of my room.""It tastes good, you should try it.""You know I hate pineapple toppings on pizzas."Mabel dumps the box of pizza on my bed. "Have you ever wondered why pizzas come in rectangular boxes, shaped in a circle, and eaten in triangles?""I guess we'll never know."With a sigh, Mabel folds her arms across her chests. "Could you at least act like you're happy to be home for thanksgiving?"I point towards the door. "Leave. I have work to do and I won't get it done if you're going to stand there all day and talk about pizzas.""Work?" She scoffs. "The only work you do is sit behind your laptop and stalk your boyfriend on Instagram.""He's not my boyfriend! MOM," I call out. "Mabel's bullying me!""Real mature."Zack, Simone's brother, walks into the room and hugs her from behind. "Hey babe."Even now that Mabel's much old
It feels like the first week of summer all over again where we hosted this Welcome party. Now we're hosting another, and this time it's a send-off party. The kind of gathering where we say goodbyes to the friends we made over the holidays.I overhear a couple promising each other to call and text everyday, some breaking up because they can't commit to a long distance relationship. I can't even find Noah anywhere, and I'm nervous about how we'll end up after this summer. I don't want to be remembered as some random girl he hooked up with during a summer vacation in Hawaii. Yes, I want to be remembered, but not that way."Hey, lover girl." I holler at Simone, signaling for her to come over. The sun went down hours ago and it's a beach party with bonfires lighting up the whole place."Hey to you too." She downs a bottle of beer in one gulp and throws the empty bottle to the sand. "So, this summer ended, and so did my relationship.""W
It's 2' O clock Pm on Thursday, and I won't stop pacing my room.I'm already dressed in a maroon dress, the skirt flowing smoothly below my knees with a pink cardigan on top of my shoulders to make it look a bit more casual, and my black flats are beside the door, ready to wear. I leave my hair falling loose to my shoulders, its waves free from the hairband I'd used on it almost everyday."Would you chill? It's not like it's your first date with a boy." Lacey lays upside down on my bed. "Or is it?""It's not. Last date with a boy was just before this vacation.""How'd it go?""We were in a fancy restaurant. He left for the restroom halfway into our meal and never came back.""At least he paid the bill before he left." I give her a look. "Oh, he didn't.""I just want tonight to be perfect, but I'm scared I'm going to mess things up.""Relax. I'm sure Noah's as nervous as you are right now.""You th
I wake up with Noah braced on his elbows and gazing down at me, idly playing with my hair. The sheets are covering my body up to my bare chests, and his is just above his waist."Hey," I murmur."You sleep with your eyes open, do you know that?" He says it with a smile. "It's quite mesmerizing."I glance towards the window and see it's still night out. "How long was I gone for?""A little over an hour. It's 10' pm.""I'm sorry I feel asleep.""It's alright." He rubs a thumb between my eyes. "I liked watching you sleep."I stretch, then shift so that I'm cradled by the pillows. Experimentally, I lay a hand on my breast. My heart is bumping along at a normal rate now rather than with that snare drum riff it had reached when he nuzzled just there. It's an odd feeling, to have someone suckling you, to have him pull you inside him. And to experience those mirror tugs in the womb.Everything he did makes my body feel diff
Noah's clicking away on his phone when I meet him in the private room and my stomach jumps again.I could always change my mind, I remind myself. There is no obligation there. But his head shoots up from his phone to study me before I can turn back and run away.Like I always do."Sorry I'm late," I say.He waves it off. "Lacey told me to meet you here.""Yes, that was the idea."He doesn't ask any more questions like I thought he would, just steps forward. "You look great.""I feel great." I smile. "Lacey and Simone get a charge out of going through my closet and criticizing my wardrobe. I'm told this is about the only decent thing I own." I pluck at the skirt. "They've threatened to take me shopping."Stop babbling! I order myself, moving behind the mini bar. "Want a drink?""I'm driving.""Actually, I was thinking we could just stay in." There, now I'd done it.
Every night for three days, I wake in the grip of a nightmare, drenched in sweat, with screams locked in my throat. Always the same: I'd be in Noah's house again from two years ago, and everything would play out accordingly the way it did that same night, except it's Clarke aiming the gun at Noah and pulling the trigger.Night after night, just before I pull myself awake, I'd watch him whimper and writhe as the bullet bites into his flesh, draining all life from his eyes.But this night, it gets too intense that I wake up with a scream, my whole body trembling with fear and terror. I pull the sheets off my body and head out the door, walking straight down to his room to see if he's okay.I know he is, but the dreams are beginning to get out of hand that I now fear for his safety. What do the dreams mean? Should I be worried? Or is my head just playing tricks on me?It's midnight and the halls are empty. The door to his room creaks open w
It's not until I'm back at the hotel and unpacking that I realize that through the last twenty-four hours of my stay at the spa, I hadn't thought of my troubles, my responsibilities at all. And now that I do realize it, there's a quick wash of guilt that it should have been so easy to leave it all behind, to immerse myself in pampering and pleasure.Like walking into an alternate reality, I suppose, and grimace as I tumble pretty gold boxes onto my bed. Which might explain why I'd barely put up a struggle when Lacey and Simone had urged me to buy creams, lotions, scents, shampoo.Christ Almighty, hundreds of dollars worth of female foolishness that I'm unlikely to remember to use.I tug my jeans on, trailing my shirt from my fingers as I walk to the window. The air swooping down from Oahu is bitter. There's no sun in the sky, and I'm grateful for that.I study the scatter of gold boxes over the simple quilt on my bed which looks li
"Oh. My." Is all I can say. Almost all I'd managed to say since we'd driven to the Mountain King Spa and Resort. And by 'we' I mean Lacey, Simone and I.The main lodge of the Spa spreads for acres, glass and wood and clever pebbled paths through evergreens and heated pools where steam curls in dreamy mists.I clutch the strap of my purse tightly as we check in, my head swiveling in wonder around the plush lobby with it's double fireplace, atrium ceiling, and lush plants.They somehow managed to drag me down here for a proper clean-up after I told them about my not so official date with Noah. I wasn't even half as excited about it as they were, and it's almost as if they've been planning this for a long time.Lacey greets the desk clerk with a friendly smile, calls him by name, and chats easily about how much she and her companion had enjoyed their stay earlier in the season.He all but simpers over her, calling up a bellman