The Night That Changed Everything

Chapter Twenty Nine

“Let’s sit here,” Damion suggests as he leads me towards two deck chairs that are a couple meters away from the shore

“It’s been a while since I’ve actually been down to the beach,” I explain, “I haven’t really down here since the move,” I continue whilst carefully positioning myself in the deck chair. Oh damn, I better not break this thing.

“I love it out here, like ever since I was a kid the beach has been my second home,” he says, looking out at the horizon as he leans back into his chair. “It was kind of my escape when my Dad was sick. Like when things got too much or everybody was breaking down or walking on eggshells and I just needed to get away for a while, I’d just come down here and take a walk for sometimes hours just to clear my mind, or go swimming in the sea or surfing.”

I bring my knees to my stomach and curl up in the chair as comfortably as I can as I turn to face him, listening as he continues. “When he was having a good day, he’d come out for a walk with me, or watch me as I surfed,” he pauses before saying in a hushed voice, “Those were the good days.”

He sits in silence gazing out at the ocean as the sunsets behind it and I look at him with compassionate eyes, trying to figure out what he’s thinking before looking out at the water. The whispering waves move in unison towards the shore in a steady ripple. Every now and again the water climbs high along the shore, leaving slightly different patterns in the sand each time. I watch the water as it retreats back into ocean, sucking back a layer of sand with it on every occasion before bringing it back again. I then look back at Damion and he’s still looking on; he’s always smiling and does his best to make everyone around him happy and that’s what I love about him, but he’s so vulnerable whenever he speaks about his father. He rarely does but when he does, it’s like he experiences this wave of emotion. I mean, he doesn’t break down crying, but it’s as if he’s hurting inside but at the same time so peaceful, and I just want to hug him and tell him that it’s okay.

“Is that why you decided to stay out here when everybody else moved back to Ohio?” I finally ask, breaking the silence and breaking his gaze as he turns to look at me.

“I guess so,” he says as he looks up to the sky, “I wanted to stay at this beach, work here, and make everybody else enjoy it as much as I did. I didn’t want to go back to Ohio and look for some proxy job and listen to my mother explain how important it is to get into Dad’s kind of work. Before he died he told me to do what I love and being here in California is what I love,” he explains, “I didn’t care about the money, I mean it pays decent cash but Dad worked his whole life for his kids and he left us every single cent he ever earned which was a ridiculous amount. And besides, I wanted to grow up and be independent and have some fun, nobody wants to stay with their parents and sisters forever.”

I smile, “I love you,” I then say.

He turns to smile at me and then asks, “What did I do to deserve that?”

“Nothing.”

“Well, I love you too,” he says as he extends his arm and takes hold of mine and gives it a light squeeze. I then let out a sleepy yawn before rubbing my eyes and he asks, “You tired?”

I nod before saying, “It’s been a long day.”          

“Alright, come on then, let’s go home.”

As we’re walking back towards the car, Damion says, “I’m going to quickly call to some of the guys at the headquarters, do you want to come?”

“I’m tired, baby,” I explain, “I’ll just wait for you in the car.”

He hands me the car keys and jogs off in the opposite direction towards the large, white lifeguard station as I continue my journey towards the car. My scalp prickles and I stop in my steps as Damion’s black Range Rover comes into sight, but it’s not his car that I’m fixated in on, as to cars behind is a recognizable silver Chevy Malibu, that looks exactly like Derek’s.