Off Shore

7- The Encounter

I nailed the move I had been trying to master for years. It felt great knowing that I could finally pull it off. I could hear Keoki cheering me on from the beach. I knew that it was getting really dark but I really wanted to catch one last wave.

Surfing at night was starting to become a part of my daily routine. I had just started to bring Keoki when Leila and I started to stay at his house. He was great at just being patient and cheering me on.

I paddled out father. I needed to get a nice long wave. I saw someone up ahead from me. I couldn't quite make out who it was but I knew it was a boy. He looked a few years older than me. I paddled right up to him and sat up, thinking it was a boy from school.

"Kahiki? What are you doing here?" My voice sounded angry and betrayed. It was close to what I was feeling but it just seemed so much more powerful.

He looked up at me, surprised. The moonlight was shining right down on us and I could make out every angle on his face and also every little scar. He looked older than he should. His face was a bit pale but it was probably just because of the light.

It felt like he was trespassing. This was my little beach. I always knew when it would be empty so that it would just be me surfing out on the water. There had never been anyone out with me except for one time when Keoki came to watch.

"Akalei?" He seemed confused and hurt. Heck, he shouldn't be the one feeling hurt. He was the one who had left us and destroyed our family, or as I should say my family. 

I started to lie down and paddle away when Kahiki grabbed hold of my leash. I knew that if I wanted to save my leash, I couldn't paddle away. He would probably be able to hold me back anyway.

"What the heck do you want from me?!" I yelled. I knew he could hear me perfectly fine if I didn't yell but I needed to get some answers. My back was turned to him but I felt him tense up.

"Some things can be left unsaid for now." Kahiki growled. I felt a bit intimidated but I wanted answers and I wanted them now.

"What bullshit that is! If we're freaking family you need to fricking tell me what the hell happened to you!!" I turned around to face the boy I used to be proud to call my brother. 

Kahiki had grown quite a bit since I had seen him five years ago. I never really took the time to look at him but right now I noticed every single change. His face had thinned out and gotten some scars on it. I was assuming they were from fights but I really didn't want to know why he had them. His arms were muscular but looked weak at the same time. His eyes were deep pools of brown and looked wiser than his 20 years.

"I don't need to tell you or anyone a damn thing." Kahiki spit back at me.

What the hell had happened when he left? If he can't tell anyone it must be something really serious. Do I really care? Yes. He's my brother after all. Even if he hasn't been there for me for a long time, I still need to get answers. It would probably help my dad who I haven't seen since the argument.

"Well if you're not going to tell me, I'm going to leave." I said calmly. All the anger had left me and I felt defeated. I needed to go back to Keoki's and rest for a long time. Or at least until we have work in the morning.

I started to paddle towards the shore even though Kahiki was still gripping my leash. As my leash tightened up, he let go. I was able to paddle all the way up to the beach where Keoki was standing without any interruptions.

"What happened out there?!" Keoki whispered while running up to me. He was acting as if Kahiki was going to pop up at any time and beat him up.

"Shit. I don't know why I keep trying." I said miserably. I needed a hug. Not just a friendly hug but a motherly hug. Of course, I'll never be able to experience that again. I haven't known how it is to have a mom around since I was 10.

My mom was always there for us, no matter what the problems was. It ranged from skinned knees to broken bones to help with schoolwork. I admired her and always wanted to be like her when I grew up. Of course, since I was the youngest of the kids, I would always get the most attention from her. She used to comb my hair and tell me how one day, I'll grow up and be able to beat Kahiki in surfing, be a model and a great mom. Her words have stuck with me since the first time she told me. Now, when I look back at those days, I can't see why she would ever want to leave her wonderful family. Something must've changed because close to when she left, she became closed off and hardly talked to us.

"Hey, you zoned out." Keoki tapped my head lightly.

I stared up at Keoki's dark blue eyes. They were so familiar to me yet so mysterious. At this moment, I felt as close to him as the Sun and the Moon. I didn't know if he would ever be able to understand the tension between Kahiki and I. I didn't even know if I could figure it out.

"Sorry, what were we talking about?"  I asked over my should while walking up the cold sandy beach. Keoki shook his head.

"You're a terrible actor. You know what we were talking about. I can see through your bluffing, thus is why I always beat you in poker." Keoki shook his head, grinning. His hair fell into his eyes a bit. I hadn't noticed how his hair was growing out. He was looking more like Mack than ever.

"Well at least I'm not a look alike." I said while reaching the pavement.

"You might want these." Keoki threw my flip flops at me, ignoring my last comment.

We reached my jeep, one of the only vehicles left in the deserted parking lot. The wind was starting to pick up and it was blowing the trash around on the ground. I couldn't believe how people let a beautiful place get destroyed by garbage.

I bent over the hood to pick up a piece of paper that was stuck under my windshield wipers. This couldn't be a piece of paper, how would it have gotten right under the wipers?

My name was on the front, I turned it over to see what it said.

        ~ 808-666-3333    Call Me Maybe? Mack

Was this really Mack who had left me this? The paper looked new and crisp. I opened my door and jumped in before Keoki could ask me what it was. I stuffed the paper in my glove box and started the car to wait for Keoki to finish tying up my surf board.

My window was rolled down and the stereo was blasting music on the way home. The Motto by Drake was playing and I was in a great mood. Not even the encounter with Kahiki would ruin it.

"I never even knew a girl like you would ever listen to music like this!" Keoki told me.

"Whoa, are you saying that this is bad music?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the road.

"No! Not even close but I thought you would be more of a Justin Bieber girl." Keoki said with a laugh.

"Hell nah! This is the shit man." I tried my best to seem gangster.

Keoki looked over at me and laughed. I guess my gangster was a fail.