At age 12, Maliah's twin brother Malik drowned. Eight years later, she's still coping with the trauma of her loss. Though she visits their favorite beach for fond memories, she is yet to enter the water.
When a familiar stranger offers to help comba...
"I'll finally get to go to the beach today. After almost two weeks I feel terrible."
"I think you are actually changing Mals." Anya said.
"How?"
"Before, if you didn't go to the beach at least once in the week you would have a mental break down. Now look at you."
"Well I guess you're right. In some way. But I do feel a bit weird when I don't."
"Riiiight. I think it's Rion." She smirked.
"Shut up!" I slapped her arm. The car swerved a bit towards the drain but got back on track. "Are you crazy? He's the main reason why I'm stressed majority of the time."
Anya pulled the car in front of my gap and pushed the gear into park. She had a hopeful yet conniving look in her eyes. "I would so love to walk in y'all wedding when that time meets."
She was tripping-- on acid or some sort of thing. Rion would be the last person I would fall in love with. Not even if he was the last man on earth.
"Girl you are crazy!" I sharply pulled the handle on the door but it jammed again.
Anya was out of breath, dying of laughter as I fought with the door. The stupid thing never worked when I wanted it to. Then the door swung open when she leaned over and tugged on it gently. The door hated every essence of me.
"Ugh! Your door hates me!"
Anya just kept laughing. "It's because you can't fight the feeling... of love."
"Shut up Anya!" I stomped off towards my apartment.
She just kept laughing out loud like a crazy person.
"You know I'm right!" She shouted.
Now my own door was playing. I wiggled the keys countless times through the hole but it just stopped short. Breathe Mals breathe. After huffing a breath, the key slid in smoothly unlocking the door.
Anya's laughter still echoed as I entered the apartment. How could she say something so sick like that?
"Am I supposed to be doing something?" I faced the kitchen. The conch shell stared at my clueless face.
Shit! I pulled the curtain to see Anya bopping her head to whatever music she was listening to. She was patiently waiting for me to get ready for the beach.
~~~~~~
"Do you want me to pick you up?" Anya asked as I exited the car.
"Most likely not. If the bus is working, then I should be fine."
"Alright."
Before I could respond, she high tailed it leaving me with my mouth gaped open.
It was just after five and the sun was still high in the sky. The beach had a few bathers and some relaxers. I opened my blanket but it refused to cooperate. It got caught between the wind and my face. Shit!
"Are you ready?" Rion said as he fought to peel the blanket off my face.
He just appeared from nowhere. I should have known he would be on the beach waiting. "Ready for what?"
His hands were intrusive. I batted them away and tried to spit out a loose strand of hair that got caught between my lips.
"For me to teach you how to swim."
Why did I say yes the other day? Maybe If I pretend to be clueless, he would forget. "What? What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb now. I know what you are doing."
I took a seat on my blanket. Some persons were exiting the water while others sat on the sand bathing in it. Rion knelt beside me and picked some blanket fluff from my hair.
"What are you doing? You think I'm okay with you just touching me like that? Don't do that. As a matter of fact, go away. You're disturbing my relaxation."
"Are you serious?"
I stared at him. His face was neatly shaven but some stubble peeked through his top lips. "Yes." I blinked.
"I..." He peered at my newly painted pink toes which were waving the sea.
"You what?"
"I still have the mattress."
I almost choked on my spit. A lump formed in my throat making the spit difficult to go down. He was lying through his teeth. If he had that mattress, it should be near rotten by now.
"Ha! You're lying."
He flipped out his phone and swiped until a photo of the brown and moldy thing appeared mid center of the screen.
"I have it underneath my house. All I could do is just bring it back and rest it in front of your apartment. Just like that." He snapped his ashy fingers.
There it was, the stupid maniacal grin on his stupid looking face. I squinted my eyes at him. "You won't dare."
"I will."
"Argh!!!" I shoved him hard until he tilted over into the sand. I stood up and dusted my hands. It was the last straw. "You asshole! I'm so sick and tired of you. From day one you have made my life a living hell!"
He rose to his feet and met my face. "I don't know what's your problem! You always think everyone is against you. I was just trying to help, but you won't see that."
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"Help? Help? Why would you want to help me? Do I look like if I need saving?! You're just a loser who just won't stop." I poked him in his defined chest.
"Well you're just a pathetic little girl with daddy issues and a friend who feels sorry for your annoying self centered ass."
My heart skipped a beat. Everything around faded into nothing. This was the reason why I kept to myself. This was the reason why I wanted to do everything on my own. Daddy issues? Did I have daddy issues? Was Anya really a pity friend?
"Shit!" Rion mumbled under his breath.
I didn't wait. I grabbed everything I could see through my blurry, tear filled eyes. The sun hadn't set as yet, but I just couldn't stay. The sand crunched under my feet as I ran up the steps with my slippers in hand.
"Maliah!" Rion called in the distance.
I kept running until my feet met the pitch of the car park. The ground was rough underneath my pedicured toes. Through tears, I flung the slippers on the floor and slipped right in.
"Maliah!"
He was gaining on me. I needed to get out. My breaths grew ragged as my feet tried to catch the bus at the bus stop. It had pulled up mere seconds after sprinting towards the main entrance of the facility. The driver was kind enough to wait until my exhausted body met the door.
"Thank... You." I breathed. My voice was groggy from withholding the rest of tears that had already threatened.
Rion stood at the entrance of the facility holding the back of his head as my bus passed. My eyes made contact with his through the foggy window.
