Shattering Me

27~ the Introspective Rain

Coming up with these titles has me cringing every time, but I keep going because I can't stop <3

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Classes were cancelled on account of the weather.

While heavy rains were characteristic of the colder season on this side of the island, it was coming down exceptionally hard this time. The skies were dark with thick rolling storm clouds and traffic had come to a standstill due to potential flood warnings.

It was an all-around gloomy day to say the least, but Ryan was perfectly content with it. He sat on the couch with his notebook and lost himself in his art. He drew a wide range of palm trees and grass with blue skies and a setting sun in intense detail. A nice little outdoor dining table and a woman with a bright hat. He was just about to splash the image with red streaks when a whole body hurled itself onto his lap.

"I'm so bored! I hate this rain so much," he groaned and flailed all over.

Ryan shoved him off his lap and smirked as the Hawaiian rolled onto the floor. "How is that even possible? You barely go outside when it's bright and sunny anyway, and I have to drag you to school every day. What difference does that rain make?"

Kyle sat up and pouted. "Didn't you hear? There's an old Hawaiian legend that states the gods become furious whenever it rains. They curse the most talented teenagers with intense boredom as a punishment for—"

Ryan threw a couch cushion at Kyle's head to shut him up. "Seriously, Kai. What is up with you and the weather? We've spent the entire weekend inside a bunch of times and you never complained."

Kyle pulled himself up onto the chair next to his friend and stared out at the tall windows on the opposite wall. It had been a royal pain to replace them and fix all the damage done by that surprise explosive, but it paid off in the end. The home looked a bit nicer and felt a lot more like an actual home now. The large sofa and the two couches were arranged in a ring around a new polished wood table. The interior wall was now made up of a few large floor-to-ceiling windows instead of a bunch of small ones.

As he watched the wind and rain siege the palm trees on the other side of the window, Kyle became somber. "I used to love the rain. To be honest, the rainy season was my favorite. It just seemed so cool, ya know?"

Ryan set aside his notebook and directed his full attention to his roommate. "So, what happened?"

"The night after I auditioned for Julliard was just like this. It was dark and cold, the wind was howling, and the roads were soaked, but I didn't care. I was so happy and proud after walking out of that audition that I just didn't care.

"I saw the sky coming down and thought, 'this is my kind of weather. Nature must have been rooting for me too.' So, when my dad got home, I begged him to take us out to eat. I did the full pleading routine and everything to convince him.

"He was tired and stressed out from work, but he was so proud of me that...he said yes.

"Emma and my mom weren't too psyched to go out in the rain either, but I guess they knew how much I loved it. We got in the car with my dad at the wheel and I couldn't have been happier, Rye. We were going all the way up to the top of Waikiki for dinner. Just for me.

"But the roads get pretty tight on the route he chose. It's not a good place to drive at night and even worse during a rainstorm."

Kyle's eyes had taken on that distant glassy look that Ryan hated to see. Except, this time actual tears slowly rolled down to break the tension. He continued the story anyway.

"There was another car on the road. It must have had broken headlights or something because we never saw it coming. We were up pretty high and it came right at us fast. My dad tried moving to the side and the next thing I knew we were spinning off the road. We crashed a few times, but didn't stop falling. The car door on my side came loose and when the car flipped over in the air, I was ripped out by the wind.

"I ended up getting snagged on a tree or something, but the car kept rolling until it landed in the water. Apparently, the sea was so angry that night that it pulled the car right under without giving anyone else a chance to climb out. My entire family died because I convinced them to take me out that night," he said finally. "The rain is just a reminder of how I destroyed my entire family."

Ryan struggled within himself for a moment before coming to a decision. "Kai, you should know that it wasn't you that caused that accident."

"Ryan, please. I've heard that e—"

"Kai...the Helix killed your parents."