After All This Time: Breaking Point

by Brown, Brittainy

  She looked at the couple next to her. They were both asleep, facing each other, holding hands. Emily smiled weakly and looked out the window. The road melted into the darkness of the night and the headlights of each car that passed reflected in the water that lay over the road’s surface.

  This moment was one of those times she wished she had friends to talk to, but most of the girls she had ever been friends with all proved to be backstabbers.

  She had never been one with friends, right from Kingston College. Liam had been of her few trusted friends then. She remembered when she used to have a crush on him. It was a normal thing in colleges. He was cute, rich and popular, being the football team captain.

  When Emily got transferred to the college, it was difficult for her, being a newbie. Almost every girl in the class picked on her, but Liam had always had her back, he always defended her and it was one of the reasons she had grown to like him so much.

  She remembered the time her foster mother had forgotten to pick her from school. She had to trek until Liam drove by in his shiny car, by his side was a girl, one of those that had always given Emily problems in the class. She had thought Liam didn’t see her but surprisingly, he reversed.

  “Hey, what happened?”

  Like always, she was shy when it came to him.

  “My mum forgot to pick me.” She had replied.

  “So, why don’t you hop in?” Liam suggested. “We live quite close, I can give you a ride.”

  “You’ve gotta be kidding me, Liam!” The lady snapped at him and he faced her.

  “What is it, Lara? Can’t I help her?”

  “No, not when I’m in this car,” the girl snapped.

  “This is my car, you know that?” Liam snapped back and the lady was quiet.

  Emily chuckled silently as all the drama went on but hopped in eventually when Liam opened the door for her.

  So many times when she remembered this moment, she always found herself blushing but now, she only sighed and slowly, she drifted off to sleep.

  * * *

  A few hours later, the bus stopped as they reached their desEmilytion, it was still very early in the morning. Their guides were already waiting for them at the park.

  “Outer Banks Beach House no 7 please?” One of the guides asked each of the passengers as they stepped out of the bus. A young man all suited up as well.

  “Yes please, that’s me,” Emily shouted and the guide looked up at her excitedly, helping her with the bag.

  “You are welcome, ma’am.” The man said, please call me Taylor, I am here to give you all the help you need throughout your stay.

  Emily smiled with gratitude. “Thanks, Taylor. So where is the house?”

  “Please follow me. I have a car that will take us there, it’s not far at all but we don’t want our customers to stress themselves. I believe you are very tired.” Taylor stated and she followed him.

  “I hope you will be glad to know that your partner is around as well.”

  Emily thought she heard wrong. “My partner?”

  “Yes. Remember you said in your E-mail that you were coming with someone.”

  “Yes but...”

  “Yea, he’s here as well, in fact, he just got here some minutes ago. I was surprised you didn’t come together, but he said he had taken the flight. I had to tell him to wait so I could come to pick you and we can all go together.”

  Emily could feel the anger boiling inside her again as they walked to a red Toyota Camry, standing beside the car and looking extremely cute in the blue shirt she had bought him on his last birthday and, a pair of Fendi sunglasses, was Liam.

  Setting The Rules

  “Hi babe,” Liam said, leaning against the red car as he spotted her with the guide. She was still in the same clothing she had worn the night before… that would mean that she had gone home and then straight to get a bus down there.

  She stared at him, looking displeased as her brows bustled together.

  “What are you doing here?” she demanded, with a hand on her waist.

  He sighed. “Baby, we both paid for the house remember?”

  The guide looked lost as he watched the drama before him, there was a major tension between these two and he wouldn’t want to get in between.

  “Okay guys, please, let’s just quickly go to the house, settle down and you can thrash out whatever you need to thrash out?” he shrugged, with a wide grin. The couple looked at him and then shrugged as well.

  “No problem,” Emily said, opening the back passenger door and climbing in, taking her big travel bag with her. Meanwhile, Liam took the front seat beside the guide who was also going to be their driver and in a few seconds, they were on the move.

  * * *

  Emily put her bag comfortably on the seat beside her as she looked out the window. She needed to focus on something beside the man who was sitting in front of her. She wasn’t going to allow him to mess up her vacation. What was he doing here, anyway? Did he think he could just show up and act like nothing happened? He even had the guts to come up with the idea that they both paid the rent together! What guts!

  “Okay Emily, you need to calm down!” She said to herself as she breathed in slowly and then exhaled sharply.

  That minute the guide turned up the radio in the car...

  “So how far before we reach our desEmilytion?” Liam asked the driver.

  “We are almost there, Mr. Liam, less than one minute,” the lad replied with a smile.

  “Are you okay there, Miss?” he asked Emily, looking at her in the front mirror but Emily already tucked a pair of earphones in her ears. She just didn’t want to hear Liam’s voice ever again.

  She wasn’t listening to anything in particular but she wanted to create the impression that she wanted to be left alone. As far as she could tell, they both seemed to have understood that part as they were both quiet. Now she was looking out the window.

  The road spread before them like a tarmac ribbon with a white line running down the center unbroken, unlike the potholed concrete.

  There were many trees by the side of the road, moving fast behind them as they drove quietly.

  For a minute, she forgot that Liam was in the car with her. They were approaching the beach, she could already feel the dense atmosphere. Shortly after, the car made a right turn.

  As she stepped out of the car, she could feel the sands shifting under the pressure of her boots. Even though she had not seen it, she could feel it. A few meters away from them was the ocean, alive with millions of sea dwellers and constant motion. She spread out her arms excitedly to smell the salty breeze... she wanted to soak it all in. She could hear the movement of the waves as they shifted with force like an overflowing bathtub and then died down immediately as they started all over again.

  “Urm...I don’t want to interrupt your magical moment miss but you need to see your house,” the lad said quietly into Emily’s ear, and she snapped her eyes open at once, blushing slightly but with a smile.

  “Sorry, I got caught in the moment,” she said apologetically as she followed the lad. That was when she found Liam again and her countenance changed. She had simply forgotten about him.

  The house was like all the beach houses she had seen online, it was small but cute with walls brilliantly painted in white. There were coconut trees all around the house, forming a kind of prodigious pattern.

  Emily watched as they climbed the steps that were made of beautifully carved stone and on getting to the entrance door, the guide inserted his key into the lock and then pushed the door open.

  They stepped into what Emily could have termed the most beautiful beach house she had ever seen. Everywhere was white and completely flawless. The room was warm, a fireplace was definitely somewhere close. The chandelier was low enough to be touched. Velvet drapes framed the window while the lace inner curtains remained drawn, allowing the morning light a sort of path into the room.

  “This is beautiful,” Emily said.


  “I couldn’t agree more,” Liam added as he looked around the room, unaware of the look Emily had just shot him.

  “Well, I’m glad we are now on the same page,” Taylor said with a satisfied look.

  “Just out of curiosity, how many rooms are here?” Emily asked. She wasn't ready to spend the 14 days ina room with Liam.

  “Well, there is a single king-sized room like you requested...”

  “What?” Emily shouted but Taylor continued.

  “However, there is another room which is quite a bit smaller.”

  “Well, thank you, Taylor. That will do. So how about the keys?” she continued and Taylor brought out a bundle of keys from which he removed one and handed it to her.

  “You mean there is just one key?”

  “Yea,” he replied with a nod. “This is supposed to be a couple’s thing and it doesn’t matter who gets the key.”

  “It’s okay Taylor, you have been so helpful, you can go now,” Liam quickly dropped in.

  “Okay, thank you. Have fun,” Taylor managed to say. “If there are any problems, please, I will just be a call away.”

  “Thank you,” Emily said firmly as the lad left.

  “So...babe I...” Liam started but Emily hushed him.

  “Shh!” she started. “For the next 14 days, you don’t exist to me. I broke up with you remember and even though I have no idea what game you think you are playing showing up here, I want you to understand some things clearly.”

  Liam sighed as he listened.

  “You must not talk to me. You must not look at me. You must mind your own business and I will mind mine. Stay at your own end and I will stay at mine. Got it? Good.” With this, she carried her bag further into what looked like a passageway.

  Liam watched her disappear and sighed again. Emily was going to make things more difficult with her stubborn attitude. But this could be fun, both of them staying under one roof without talking? Well, they’d would see how that would work out.

  A minute later, she came out again. She must have found the bedroom as she was now in a bikini and a brown pair of sunglasses.

  “Baby, seriously, we don’t need this drama...”

  Without saying a single word, she left the house and slammed the door behind her.

  Liam dropped the bag in his hand and sat on the leather couch for a while. Then on an impulse, he brought out his phone and dialled a number.

  “Hello, yea, it’s Liam. I[m there, at the beach house. Yes, she’s here too... She’s not talking to me, gave me a bunch of rules, not to talk to her, not to be all up in her business, for the 14 days... Okay. Should I go with the flow? Alright, I will do that. Thanks.” He put the phone back in his pocket.

  “Emily, you want to play? Well, it’s game on,” he said to himself, before standing up. He needed to go find his own room. There was no doubt that the small room was going to be his.

  A Friend To Have

  Day 1

  It wasn’t difficult for Emily to find the beach. The sound of the waves was enough to lure her. It was located behind their beach house. As she approached the beach, she realized there were more people than she had thought. They were lying on towels and in chairs. Others were sitting on the warm sand, enjoying tanning.

  Emily walked closer and found an empty chair...

  “Hi, are you new here?”

  She faced the direction of the voice and realized it was coming from a woman lying in the sand next to her chair, she was a redhead, in a greenish-blue bikini and her head slightly raised as she spoke to her.

  “Yea, I just got here. I’m Emily,” she replied, giving the redhead a warm smile as she sat on the chair.

  “Daisy,” the lady replied, now sitting up. “Are you here with someone?”

  Emily nodded and then shook her head. “No, no, I’m not, I came here on my own.”

  “Wow, that’s good. Me too. Maybe we can both meet cute boys uhn?”

  Emily laughed. “Yea, totally. I’m looking forward to it.”

  Some seconds later, they were both quiet like the rest of the people on the beach. Emily was lost in her own thought. She kept thinking how Liam wouldn’t mess up her plans for the vacation. She had come here to get away from him and now he was here. What exactly was he planning, What kind of a nerve was that?

  “Hey Emily, do you stay close to this area?”

  “No,” Emily replied. “East End.”

  “Wow! That’s really a long distance. I’m from South Carolina but moved to the North last week.”

  “Really cool,” Emily replied. At least she was able to achieve one thing: get a friend. “Have you been here before?”

  “More than once,” Daisy replied. “You know sometimes you want to get away from life drama...”

  Emily smiled. She totally got it. “Yes, I do.”

  “So, I often spend some time here to have fun and reflect on my life you know… and to find a cute boy,” she said with a chuckle, now sitting up again.

  “It’s good. I came here to do just that too,” Emily started, “except the boy part.”

  This made Daisy laugh. “Come on, it would be fun, except that I haven’t seen any cute boy that meets my taste, now that we’re friends I guess we can have a lot of fun together. Like, check out that dude coming.”

  Emily straightened up and faced the direction Daisy was pointing.

  The dude emerged from the water, water dripped from every part of him down to his torso and his tight black swimming pants which clung seductively to his hips, making his endowment more obvious to the least interested eyes. His wet blonde hair stuck to his forehead, framing his face. His eyes glinted from afar and his full lips were pressed together in a flustered expression. Emily looked away quickly as she was beginning to feel uncomfortable after recognizing the dude, Liam.

  “Oh my God! That guy is so hot,” Daisy said, her mouth, wide-opened. “Oh crap! Those vultures have beaten me to it.”

  Emily looked at what she was talking about and was surprised to see three to four ladies all over Liam who was now out of the water. They were all giggling excitedly, all trying to dry him up with their towel and he seemed to be enjoying the attention and that instant, he turned slightly towards her direction and caught her staring. Emily felt as if someone just slapped her across the cheeks as she quickly looked away, shutting her eyes. That was so stupid and reckless!

  “So Emily, don’t you think he’s cute?”

  “No I don’t think so Daisy, besides; I really need to get a nap. Do you mind?”

  “Sorry, maybe later,” Daisy replied, now standing up and walking towards the water.

  Emily felt a churn in her tummy, it was guilt, and she felt bad. She didn’t mean to snap, but at least she finally got the quietness she wanted.

  She hissed a sigh of relief as the picture she had seen earlier replayed itself in her memory. What was Liam planning? How dare he just decide to show up where he was and trying to make her feel jealous. Who did he think he was? If he thought he could make her feel jealous by looking so hot and flirting all around, he would need to think twice. He was dead to her and she wasn’t going to leave this vacation for him. Never! She had contributed as well, he could flirt as much as he wanted but she wasn’t going to allow that get to her.

  * * *

  Liam took another glance at where Emily was lying and realized her eyes were closed. He smiled. Maybe it was working after all.

  “So, you haven’t told us your name yet,” said one of the ladies as he sat on a chair and they floated around him like seaweed. She looked like all those models, cute nose, green eyes and overly thin body. The bikini she wore covered nothing.

  “Oh! I think my name is pretty boring, I love it when beautiful ladies like Y'all could give me a fine name. But I don’t mind hearing your name first.” He replied, smiling as seductively as he could while taking another look at Emily who was now standing up.

  “I’m Monica.” One of the ladies said but he wasn’t paying any att
ention again, he was looking at Emily who was now walking away. This wasn’t what he had expected. He stood up abruptly.

  He looked at the ladies again and forced a smile. “Excuse me, ladies. I will join you later,” he said in a rush, and quickly stood up to go after Emily who was now out of sight.

  “I am so sorry about the way I spoke earlier, Dee,” Emily said softly to her new friend. They were still around the beach but now under one of the coconut trees and there happened to be many people there. It was like a secluded area where people could sit, eat or drink, like a little café. Daisy was sipping one of the cocktails which the waiter had just served both of them.

  * * *

  “Look, Emily, I’m good okay, we are different people and I admit I can be quite a pain in the ass at times so it’s okay. I usually get carried away so it’s fine.” Daisy replied, taking the cherry out of her glass and putting it in her mouth.

  “It’s been a while since I had a friend, like a girlfriend, and I don’t want to ruin things. I shouldn’t have snapped like that, it was really rude.”

  Daisy scoffed and gaped at her. “I said it’s okay, come on!” Then she lifted the remaining drink to her lips and gulped it down, afterward she said, “You wanna talk about it?”

  Emily eyed Daisy and thought for a while. Was she really ready to discuss her stuff with a stranger? But Daisy seemed really cool and she seemed like the kind of girl you could tell anything.

  “It’s okay if you don’t want to share. I get it, I’m a stranger but for what its worth, I came here because I caught my boyfriend cheating on me with my sister.”

  Emily gasped as she stared at her in horror, but Daisy seemed unperturbed.