Black Waters (Frank Ocean Love Story)

Chapter 十四

“You needed help?”  The girl asked. The difference between her persona and Irene’s was drastic.

“Yeah. I tried calling this number here, but the number is wrong. There’s no address either. Do you know where I could find his current information?” I asked shyly. I felt like, for some reason, the girl could see my secret written all over my face. It was like she could read through me. I didn’t like it, although it was intriguing.

“Come back here.” She said to me. I followed her to the back of the store where Irene was digging into a sandwich. She didn’t even bother to wipe her mouth when I walked in. The girl that had been tending to me, whose nametag read Darcelle, sat down at a computer chair and began typing on a keyboard.

“Okay, so I’ll just type his name into our website’s search bar and see if it gives me some more recent contact information.” She said to me.

“Couldn’t I have just done that at home?”  I asked.

“No. There’s a password that you have to enter to use the search tool.” Darcelle replied. She stared at the computer with squinted eyes, but I couldn’t look at the screen. I didn’t want to see if she’d found him or not. If she didn’t find him, at least I wouldn’t have to see it for myself.

“Hmm, it looks like he’s off the grid. Can’t find him.” Darcelle informed me. I wasn’t surprised. I just nodded, and regretted wasting my time here. “But let me have your number, though. I’ll let my manager take care of it when he gets back. He’s better at this. If he finds it, I’ll call you and let you know.”

Maybe it wasn’t such a waste after all. “Okay.”

I wrote my number down for her and walked toward the door. Before leaving, I asked her, “Hey. Do you know if by any chance there’s a beach somewhere nearby?”

“Yeah, there’s a nearby beach. It’s called Cannon Beach, a few miles down from here, actually. Just keep walking straight until you see a bridge. Go past the bridge, and the beach is right there.” Darcelle explained kindly. I thanked her—not only for the directions, but for everything—and left. 

Next stop, the beach.

My feet feel heavy as I cross the bridge, stomping down on the wary wood. There were many people on the bridge, hanging out and taking pictures. I didn’t want to be around them. But up ahead I could see the big, beautiful beach. There were almost no people over there. The sunset over the horizon filled my heart with a warm feeling. I was hopeful. Things were looking better.

Finally, I was across the bridge. From the damp wooden planks my sneakers fell onto thick, warm sand. Suddenly I felt the urge to take off my shoes, so I quickly did.

It was like all my pores were taking a breath of fresh air, or a sigh of relief. I took off my sweater, leaving me in a T-shirt and jeans. If only I had shorts under these pants…

“Welcome, brother.” A man said to me as he sat on the sand and stared up at the clouds. I just smiled at him. What was this, a beach cult?

I laughed and ran through the beach, kicking up sand behind me. I ran all the way to a far eastern side and didn’t stop until I saw the rocks. There were about three of them, big and bumpy boulders. They sat inside the waters comfortably. I laughed. I laughed louder and louder, until I had to look around to make sure no one was staring. Nothing was funny. It just felt good to let a little air out. I laid myself down on the hot sand and stared up at the pink sky.

Silent moments, meditative poses. You break my focus, you make me laugh…

Breaking my focus, my phone rang in my pocket. I didn’t want to pick it up. But what if it was my mother? What if there was an emergency?

It was just Hodgy.

“Yeah?” I asked, a little annoyance in my voice. But then I remembered that I hadn’t spoken to him in weeks. “What’s up?” I asked, a little nicer this time.

“Hey, Frank. Where you at?” Hodgy asked.

“In Portland. Why?”

“I’m in Portland too. Where exactly are you? I want to talk to you.” He asked me. Why is he in Portland? This is not the time. I need to be alone, by myself. It’s bad enough that I have to work on Tyler’s new album with him soon. This relax time will end in a few weeks. I need to spend it wisely, not with Odd Future.

“Cannon Beach. I’ll be here all night.”

                                                         * * *

Hodgy had some trouble finding me. He probably wasn’t too happy about the fact that I ran all the way to the other end of the beach. I couldn’t care less, though. If he wanted, he could have just turned around and went home. Instead, he chose to keep walking.

When he got to me, we made irrelevant small talk for a while. It was getting darker and I was yawning. I made plans to nap on the beach until I got home. I couldn’t, at least not until Hodgy left.

“Okay, let me just get to why I’m here.” He said suddenly. Finally. “I met a girl,” He started, “and I think you might know her.”

“Continue.” I said, uninterested.

“She’s been looking for you. She has curly hair, and a skinny face, nice big eyes, thin lips, chocolate skin. She’s a big fan, and—”

“Ajahni? Is her name Ajahni?” I interrupted him. His description was perfect.

“No…Her name is Chanel. Anyway, do you know her?” Hodgy asked me. I looked at him funny. How could it not have been Ajahni? No one looks like her. If it’s not her, he described this Chanel girl wrong.

“No, I don’t think so. But I want to meet her.” I told him. Hodgy quickly shook his head.

“Nah, man. She’s…she’s a crazed fan. You wouldn’t like her. She annoys me enough. I was just asking. But since you don’t know her, I guess it’s cool then.” Hodgy assured me. I nodded.

“Okay, I guess.” I said. But for some reason, I felt like he was lying through his teeth.

Soon after, he left, and I got to sleep. But when I woke up, everything was gone. I was the only one left.

And…where’s my phone?