Island.

Chapter 13

Thirteen.

The sun made its way high into the sky, lighting up every grain of sand, making it burn my feet as I walked back to the others. Maika tried to make conversation with me, but it didn’t feel the same with Phoebe and Keanu right behind us.

There was a more heavy, almost suffocating feeling around us. And I was sure that anyone within a three-foot radius could have sensed that. And the worst part of it all, was that bimbo never stopped talking. Her fake laughs rang through my ears, increasing the pounding in my head. I wasn’t totally recovered from the events of the night before. The slightly nauseated feeling was still there.

I leaned into Maika’s side, trying to keep myself from falling over. All this thinking was making me exhausted. And he did what any normal person would do. He put his arm around my waist and helped me to walk the rest of the way there. I knew it wasn’t going to work with me and Keanu. And the thought only saddened me.

“Hey Lee!” Maika called out with the slightest undertone of relief. I looked up at him and smirked. His eyes were fixed on the comfortable position Leia and Mikale were in. Leia looked up at first with a sheepish grin. But it slowly faded as she saw who was with us, and her eyes narrowed at bimbo and her tight grip around Keanu’s waist.

“Maika, please help me get to the sand before I fall.” I barely managed to whisper. I was feeling dizzy now and lightheaded.

“Are you okay Ava?” Maika placed me on the beach towel that was under the parasol, and my eyes immediately closed.

“Remind me to never drink beer again.” I said, as I was drifting off into a sleep. With the image of the bimbo and Keanu behind my eyelids.

 ~

I woke up to the sound of laughter coming from somewhere close by. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw Maika sitting beside me, reading a book. He looked over at me as soon as I woke up.

“Hey, feel better?” he asked softly. Actually, I was feeling a lot better. And hungry too. But I only nodded and asked,

“Why did you stay?”

It was the only question I could muster. And thinking back on what happened earlier, I really hoped it was all a dream. But sadly hope was a waste, because all of it was true.
Sitting up, and taking a swig of the water Maika handed to me, he answered
“It was getting too crowded over there.” I looked over to where he was pointing and sure enough, a game of volleyball was going on, with Leia, Mikale, Weirdo and Bimbo. Could this day get any worse?

“And besides,” he continued,

“I didn’t want to leave you by yourself. You looked awful before you fell asleep.” He was really the sweetest person I had ever met. Just as I was about to say thanks, a loud cheer erupted from the bimbo’s team and I looked up just in time to see her kiss Keanu full on his mouth. My stomach turned, and I looked away.

“Wanna go get something to eat?” Although I wasn’t very hungry anymore, I said yes. I would have given anything to get away from this awkward scenario.

“I’m just gonna tell the rest of them where we are going to be. You know, incase they get worried.” He said with the softest of smiles.

When he came back, I saw the everyone else following him too. I was never going to get away.

We walked back to the burger spot that Weirdo’s aunt owned. I pulled out a chair, and was about to sit when bimbo sat down. In my chair.

“Thank you Anna. You‘re just the sweetest thing.” she sneered. I didn’t bother correcting her. I only looked at Keanu, who shot me an apologetic look. I was beyond hurt at this point. I wanted to glare at him.

Turning around I saw that Maika held out a chair for me, and he was smiling. But his eyes were grim. Like he could see right through me and know exactly what I was feeling. I took my seat and he sat next to me.

“So what would you like?” After a few minutes of just staring at the menu, and not even bothering to read it, Maika whispered in my ear.

 “I’ll tell you what, you cheer up right now, and I promise I wont tell anyone that you snore in your sleep. Deal?” I pulled back and laughed at him. He wasn’t even trying to be funny, and he had me giggling like an idiot.

I barely noticed the slight frown on Keanu’s face before he composed himself. It may have looked like we were flirting, to an outsider. But I knew Maika was just trying to get me to cheer up.

“Deal.” I replied, and we shook on it.

Lunch dragged on. We were all sat at one table. And Weirdo and Bimbo was sat right across from me. It was bad enough I had to listen to her the whole time. But she just couldn’t help but rub it in my face. Every once in a while, she would glance over at me, with a glare. And I never looked at Keanu. It was just too hard. I couldn’t help but feel hurt.

I put my head on the table, suppressing a groan. My headache never really went away. And honestly, this was all too much

“Hey is she okay?” I heard Weirdo ask. I heard the sound of chairs screeching against the floor and someone walking towards me. But before they could get to me Maika spoke up.

“She’s fine. She doesn’t need your help. I’ll take her home.” His tone was harsh, and I could just picture his liquid green eyes hardening to match his tone.

He put his arm around me and pulled me to him and started rubbing soothing circles on my back. I finally opened my eyes to see him peering down at me, a tight smile on his lips and a worried look in his eyes.

“I’m fine. Just a headache. Lets go back to the beach.” The last thing I wanted was a fight to break out. I mean seriously, who did Keanu think he was? He definitely squashed any hope of us being together when he decided to let Phoebe tag along. Its not like anyone wanted her here anyway. Leia, Mikale and Maika were all giving her the cold shoulder and the vague, occasional nod. Was Keanu that dense that he couldn’t see how much her presence bothered all of us?

The sun was beginning to set on the horizon. It was breezy and the wind made it seem like the palm trees were swaying. The sand was a light golden color, almost ivory. And the water was a clear blue, that mirrored the small fishing boats that were docked off to the side. Leia walked over to me for the first time since she went off to Mikale.

“You look like hell, Ava.” Way to be blunt. I turned to look at her, her cheeks tinted with a glow from being in the sun all day.

“I feel like that too.” She nodded with understanding.

“Its so weird,” she started to say. I noticed that Maika was with his brother, each mirroring the other’s reaction. They were identical twins.

“Maika looks at you, the same way you look at Keanu.” I turned slowly to look at her.

She suddenly had this wise aura about her. Like she’s witnessed everything in the world, and knows about it from experience. But what she said was shocking. I had no idea that Maika even thought of me that way.

“It wouldn’t be fair to him, if you’re going to string him along.” She looked at me with serious eyes.

I finally spoke up, not meeting her gaze.

“What happened at that party, seemed so real. Like we were supposed to meet each other, and be together. It felt right.” I finally looked up, with a single tear rolling down my cheek.

“But all of it changes, with this Phoebe. Who is she anyway?” I asked angrily and looked to Leia, like she had all the answers. She only nodded her head, and said,

“She’s a mainlander. Her dad owns some company over here so they moved here. I had no idea, until today that they were seeing each other.” Her sympathetic eyes swept over to where Keanu and Phoebe were sitting, her against his shoulder.

“For the record, I’m not stringing Maika along. He’s really sweet. And I feel… good around him. Happy.” I finished with a small smile. It was the truth. I looked over at him, and he turned meeting my eyes with a smile. I returned it looking back at Leia.

“But I could tell that he feels for you too. Keanu I mean.” she said. Somehow I found that hard to believe.

We walked back to the others in silence. My mind racing, thoughts clouded and so many questions building up. But I let it all drown in the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. I was tired of letting myself get so worked up over what would turn out to be nothing.

We got back to the others, just as the first stars appeared in the sky.