"Life is like surfing a good wave. We have those moments where you feel as though you are on the top of the world and those where your life comes crashing down all around you."
Ainsley Matthews, ex-pro surfer, has been though a lot in the past. From...
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C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - S E V E N Breathless
caught inside: when you are caught between the shoreline and the breaking zone of a wave.
Breakfast with Dawson was a thousand times better than the encounter I had with my parents earlier in the morning.
It allowed me to almost escape reality for a while. To just focus on him and I, as oppose to the thoughts about my parents as well as the upcoming tournament.
Currently we were on the way back to my house. The ride has been filled with small talk and singing outbursts as I have been trying to distract myself from what is to come.
"Dad" I shouted at him as he threw a duffel bag down the stairs. "Stop Dad! You can't leave" I plea while standing in my parents bedroom.
Clothes were flying from the closet and the drawers onto the floor as I stood there in shock. My dad was swearing, yelling at me to leave him alone.
I knew the reason why he wanted me to leave, it was because he didn't want me to see him cry. He was on the verge of a breakdown and was scared it was going to trigger one of my own.
"Ainsley please" he screams at me causing my body to wrack with shakes. "Don't make this any harder than it has to be".
His voice cracks as he barely manages to complete that sentence. "I love you pumpkin, I'm still going to be here for you even if I am not physically here".
He drops the clothes in his hand as he crosses the room and wraps me in his arms in an attempt to control my shaking.
"Dad" I whimper as my tears soak his black tee shirt. "Please don't go".
"Ainsley I have to. I made mistakes and I have to deal with the consequences. This has to happen and it has to happen now, it's for the better".
"But what about mom? She won't even get to say goodbye" I sob as he releases me and takes a step back, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes as he quickly turns away from me.
"That's why it has to be now. It would break my heart even more to have her watch me walk away" he zips up the last of his suitcases and walks towards me again pressing a kiss against my forehead and ruffling my hair as he always did before stepping into the hallway. "I love you".
He looks over me one last time before grabbing his suitcases and walking down the stairs. I stood frozen in place, tears blurring my vision as I watched the shadow of my father walk away.
The slamming of the door snapped me out of my trance as I ran to my bedroom and threw open my blinds as I watched my father pack his bags into his old yellow Ford pickup truck.
I watched as he jumped into the front seat, the sputtering sound of the engine echoing through the house before he backed down the driveway.
He stopped for a moment, his eyes meeting mine as he gave a wave before disappearing down the road and out of my life.
