Break Point

Chapter 14

Zia

"This is not at all like Alex. I agree, he was a bit on the edge with his anger issues. But you know him Mr. Watts, you know how he is, he will never be so irresponsible" I was trying to convince Mr. Watts to let me go search for Alex.

Mr. Watts frowned and looked at me with his brown rimmed glasses, he scratched his dark stubble and looked between me and Raul. We were standing in his room along with Rita, who looked seductive even in her night gown. Alex was missing since morning, it was 10 now and the weather outside was not complying with our tour plans. Every student was questioned this morning, even though we went to visit a site, I was fidgety all day. I know Alex, I know what he is capable of, but more importantly I know what he is not capable of. He can be irresponsible, but to a limit, this time however, the limit was crossed.

Raul spoke up, "Mr. Watts I will be with her all the time. I will not leave her side at all."

"That is all right Raul, but I can't let two unsupervised teenagers roam about in a foreign land, and I can't go with you either, I have a whole class to take care of" Mr. Watts replied.

"I'll go with them" Rita interrupted, we all looked at her with a shocked expression. "I know the place, I can help you track him, if you want". Apart from her skimpy clothes and dark makeup Rita was a good tour guide, she also knew her way around the city.

"I guess that can be arranged." Mr. Watts said. Raul squeezed my hand, I looked at his dark eyes, a shadow playing in them alluring me like always, calling its enchantress to the cave of magic. Raul smiled and we left the room with Rita. I didn't know where to find Alex, but I knew one thing, if Raul was by my side, I could do anything.

Alex

"Are you sure there is no phone that I can use, I know my sister will be worried. I have a whole class to answer too. Mr. Watts would be furious." I asked Preet when she came with me downstairs to show me the room. She shook her head.

"Who is Mr. Watts?"

"My teacher, English teacher. He organised this whole trip."

"He sounds smart. Mr. Watts. Such a heavy name. I bet his first same is Matthew or Andrew or something heavier."

"He is smart. Very smart actually and his first name is Louis."

"Ah, Louis Watts. Ello my naaame is Watts, Louis Watts" She laughed at her impression. A loud crackling noise. It immediately caught my attention.

"I thing you are mixing American and British and Australian."

"Don't go all foreigner on me again. Here, your blanket and pillow. If you need anything else just ask Mira."

"If I need something from you?"

"What would you need from me?"

I could feel my smile, like a fool, I could feel it wide on my face. She was smiling too. Was I flirting? Was she flirting? What is happening? Why isn't anyone blinking or looking away? Is it hot? I feel hot?

Preet's eyes were dark brown, like a Hershey's bar, not the chocolate, the outer cover. Dark and solid. She had a twinkle in her eyes. And her smile was wide, it made her face soft. She looked away then, it felt like a lifetime had passed and I didn't like her looking away I wanted to look in those eyes and read them, I wanted to drown in them, get high on them.

She said a goodnight under her breathe and left abruptly, leaving me hanging in space and time. Preet was not beautiful, she was different. She was nothing like Miranda, or even Zia. I realised what she was. She was an OUTCASTE.

Preet

That was uncomfortable. Was his eyes black? Maybe they were brown like mine? Why am I talking about his eyes?

"I have better things to do in life, like my job" I said out loud to myself when I came to my room. I shook off the feeling I had downstairs and plugged my phone to the laptop, I had to send the pictures that I took before midnight. It was 11 already. I started shuffling through the pictures and choosing the ones good enough to send. I stopped at one picture, I had taken. It was originally a picture of the tree. But Alex had come in the background. He was sitting on what looked like stone slab and he had a pained expression on his face. Like he was regretting coming here. In the next picture, he was looking at the camera, which means he was looking at me. He was beautiful there was no doubt in that, I don't know if you can call a boy beautiful but I don't care I am going to call him beautiful no matter what. Foreigner. His black leather jacket was lazily slung behind his left shoulder, his stubble had grown. It seemed like he was deliberating trying to be cool, but I knew the truth, he wasn't. Men like Alex, were never trying to be cool or handsome, they were born that way. Men like Alex, were also way out of my league.

I sent the good pictures to my supervisor at 12:05 am. And went to bed. I looked outside the window lying in the dark. The storm was bad, but not in killer sort of way, it was more ominous. Something had changed. Something was going to happen soon. Good or bad, I did not know.

Raul

I looked across from the restaurant table and she was there. It still felt like a dream, her being near me. Her soft hand touched mine, and I smiled. She was the moon of my life, no, she was the sun, warm and bright. My whole world came to life when I was around her. Like right now.

Mr. Watts had decided to treat everyone tonight in lieu that our whole day was ruined by the storm. Zia and I will leave in the morning along with Rita. Mr. Watts had decided to give us two days to find him, if we are unsuccessful he will go to the embassy and fill a missing person's report with the police.

Zia had a line between her eyebrows I reached forward and smoothed it with my fingers she caught my hand. She was looking ethereal in her blue cocktail dress, her hair all messed up in a bob. I loved her new look. "Don't worry about me Raul."

"How can I not if you keep worrying like that?"

"Don't or it'll get worse. I just don't understand where he went it's not like Raul."

"I know, he is always so responsible especially around you."

"Something has happened, something bad. I haven't told anyone, but I saw Miranda last night in the ladies room. She was getting ready to go out."

"But we can't just blame her Zia, we have no proof."

"We can always ask her. I can ask her as a friend"

"You think she will be forthcoming?"

"When she was dating Alex, we were friends."

"Friends?"

"Yeah, I mean sort of friends. She was always jealous of me."

"Jealous? Why?"

"She thought Alex cared about me more than her."

I looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "Oh God. Are you jealous Raul?" Was I? She laughed out loud and took my hands in hers.

"You look so cute when you are jealous, I can eat you up."

"I am not jealous" I was.

"I know" she had a sly smile on her face. Like she just read my mind. She did the all the time understood what I felt without my saying it.

Rita walked by our table then. "You kids ready for our little adventure?" I looked over at Zia and she was worried again. I had to find Alex no matter what, I can no longer see Zia like that.