“No.”
“Great,” Enrique says, “What do you say we celebrate with a party on the beach? Let’s say at the waterfall. My treat.” The waterfall is one of our favorite spots. It’s part of my parents’ estate, not far from their house.
A party on the beach is a big thing for all of us. One of those important strategies to keep down the demons. Since our homes host private beaches, it’s a safe place to unwind and let out some steam. We usually kick back and do nothing but drink, eat, and have fun.
But I’m not in the mood for any of that. I need to sort things out with Mel.
I shrug, signaling maybe I will be there, maybe not.
“What does that mean?” Ilkay asks Logan.
“I think it’s a maybe,” Logan says.
“Definitely not a yes,” Enrique throws in. Again as if I’m not there.
“I’m tired. I’ll see how I feel later.” The brothers share another look between them.
“He’s going to try and patch things up.” Of course, Jackson won’t miss that. I jump up and grab my stuff.
“See you guys later,” I shout over my shoulder as I rush to my truck. “You go start the party.”
I phone Mel. Still no answer. Fuck. How am I going to find her now?
I drive home first and take a long shower. Try the phone again with the same outcome.
I message Kiara and ask if she knows where Mel might be.
Kiara: Come 2 party. M here.
I send her a thumbs-up.
Kiara: U owe me.
Date = 16 November
Place = San Francisco (Damion’s house)
POV – Melaena
A white, frothy cascade of water falls into a deep blue plunge pool, surrounded by rocky outcroppings lined with lichen and moss, before it roils and bubbles down the beach into the ocean. It’s a breathtakingly stunning little cove, hidden away like a precious gem.
I wiggle my toes, digging my feet into the warm sand as I watch a kingfisher swoop into the water to reappear with a small squirming fish. He finds a spot in one of the tree shrubs overhanging the pool, clinging to the cliff with extended roots, to consume his meal.
I take a deep breath – filled with the smell of deep mossy earth, sweet flowers, and salty water – before I speak.
“Are you sure about that?” My heart is still struggling to recover from getting pulverized this morning. It was like deja vu. There he was, hugging a brunette, right in front of me. I didn’t know one’s heart could take so much abuse and still survive … but somehow I managed to push aside the pain until I convinced my brothers to let me be … lying to them that Alejandro was coming to pick me up.
He did … but only after I called him in a near state of hysteria after they left. Hysteria thanks to the photos displayed all over the internet. Pictures of Damion and the same girl … naked … in his house … where he said he never took anyone but me.
“Yes,” Kiara answers surely.
A butterfly lands on my knee, for a single brief moment, before it flutters away again. As if it’s a sign.
“It’s like I told you. Nothing happened. The girl was drugged. It was all a setup by D to make you doubt Damion. This time the poor guy really didn’t do anything wrong.” Oh, but he did. He almost killed me.
The colorful kingfisher rubs his beak against the branch he’s sitting on, and then he shakes and puffs out his feathers, looking rather satisfied with himself.
“He hugged her,” I wail with a thin voice, the tears I shed still spooning my throat, pushing to overflow again.
“She was scared and panicking. He grabbed her to calm her down.” It’s still hugging. But better I guess. Kiara rolls her eyes and pulls out her phone.
“Look,” she says holding the screen so I can see. It’s one of the photos, the girl’s boobs clearly not covered by anything but skin. I don’t want to look, but Kiara shoves it right into my face.
“He’s fully clothed in his under-riding gear.” For the first time, I actually look at him. This whole time I’ve been staring at the girl’s nipples. She’s right. “He was so tired he passed out on his sofa.” Did I overreact? Probably. But to my defense, I was badly hurt.
“And one more thing -” Kiara locks her brown eyes on me, “He gave up the first place on purpose, to get out of there quickly to go look for you.” He lost a race for me. I feel slightly bad for not answering any of his calls or texts. But I needed time to digest the hurt.
The misty spray from the small waterfall clings to my skin, covering it in a thin salty layer of goosebumps. Laughter rumbles through the drizzling sound, as if from far away.
“Boys,” Kiara sighs looking up. “They just never grow up.” I follow her gaze and Axel waves from the rocky perch above. His mouth moves but his words are lost in the soft roar of the small waterfall. Then he jumps. He hits the cornflower cavernous pond like a thunderclap, sending out waves to splurt over the basalt rocks.
His head bops up and he shakes it, spraying droplets from his black hair like a wet dog.
“Yeeeaaahhh!” he shouts treading water while looking up at the others. Jackson goes next. Then Logan, Enrique, Alejandro, and Noah – in that order.
“Woof-woof-woof,” Jinx barks anxiously from the top of the cliff. He hesitates at the edge and lets out another desperate “Woof”. The puppy seems eager to get to his boss, but he is afraid to jump.
“Jinx, jump!” Alejandro encourages him from below. The dog turns around as if running away, but circles back, runs, and jumps, flapping his paws all the way down. He hits the water and immediately swims to the side. I watch him with a smile as he shakes himself dry.
“Wuf,” he yaps at his master as if looking for praise.
“Good boy, Jinx.” He gets what he deserves.
The sound of an engine drills through the other noises and I notice the black Jeep speeding toward us, hosting three passengers. Jinx sprints down the beach to the vehicle and scares a flock of seagulls into the air. With a cacophony of shrill squeaks, the birds scold the little dog.
“Woof! Woof!” he chases after them. The Jeep parks close to us.
“Hi, girls,” Ilkay greets while helping the brunette get down from the backseat. She’s not the same one as this morning – thank lord.