Page 5 of My Revenant
I kept going. I knew this place from my childhood. Vague memories of Mom telling me and Adaline not to go too far away from where she was sunbathing. Not that she actually paid attention, immediately getting lost in one of her romance novels and trying to forget the fact that she, or us, or my father existed. We were disappointing to her. She’d always dreamed of a bigger life than what we could afford. She hated that she had to work and couldn’t just stay home and be a well-kept trophy wife. Now Richard gave that to her.I hope she loses it all.
Despite knowing I shouldn’t go too far, I couldn’t actually bring myself to care as I continued onward. The hem of my jeans got damp, like my shoes, as I walked through some shallow water, and when the rocks inclined, I climbed.
The top of the cliff wasn’t all that high. Tall enough that a fall would cause some nasty injuries but probably not kill me, unless I landed on my head or something. Would that be an instant death? Just the feeling of wind and then nothing? Or would it not kill me right away? Maybe I’d die slowly from my injuries, waiting for the tide to come in and drown me. Again, I wondered how long it would even take for someone to find me if that happened. Would they think it was an accident? Or would they think I’d done it on purpose?
Would it matter to them?
I kicked a small rock and stood too close to the edge as I watched it fall. Listened as it tumbled down and disappeared into the foamy ocean crashing below.
It was mostly flat up here. A few rocks covered in dirt stuck up above the others, one of which had a curved shape to it, making italmost look like a bench seat. I wondered if it had formed like that naturally or if someone had carved it out for that purpose. Then I decided I didn’t care and plopped myself down on it, facing toward the raging ocean and the storm that brewed in dark heavy clouds over the horizon.
The shuffle of feet across dirt and rocks caught my attention over the sound of the waves crashing on the shore below. My jaw clenched in irritation that I was no longer alone. The best I could hope for was that whoever was approaching would see this particular area was already occupied and promptly move along.
No such luck.
The footsteps got louder.Keep moving. Leave me the fuck alone.I attempted to mentally project my thoughts onto the person. To make my aura and vibes as unwelcoming as possible.
They got closer.
Fucking seriously?
Closer and closer until the bastard literally plopped down right beside me on the rock, so fucking close they might as well have sat in my lap. Without looking at them, I shuffled over to give myself some more space until I was right on the edge of the rock seat.
“Do you fucking mind?” I said when a more appropriate distance had been established.
“Nope,” replied a soft voice, popping thep. They sounded entirely too casual. Clearly, they hadn’t picked up on the venom in my tone, and I needed to try a bit harder.
“Beach not fucking big enough for you?”
“I mean… it’s not very big.” That was true. This was a very small beach. However, it was large enough that sharing a rock was entirely avoidable. Before I could point that out, they continued. “Besides, this is like the best place to sit and watch the water. This rock is shaped—”
“Like a chair,” I interrupted. “I know. But it’s occupied right now, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“No shit, Sherlock. But there’s still enough room. Besides, you seem like someone who shouldn’t be alone right now.”
I tensed up even further. My chest and throat snapped tight, my ribs ached, and the urge to lash out bubbled within me, turning the core of me molten and explosive. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”
“Yeah you do.”
“No I fucking don’t.” I snapped in indignation. “What do you know, anyway? You don’t fucking know me.”
“No, I don’t know you, but I recognize it in you anyway. You’re like me.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I’m someone who shouldn’t be alone right now too.”
The verbal vitriol bubbling up my esophagus came to an abrupt halt. I risked a slight glance toward them and caught a feminine profile with neon-orange, shoulder-length hair. Her eyes turned to look back at me, so I quickly snapped my attention back to the ocean in front of us.
I wasn’t sure what to say in response to that. I wasn’t here to fucking comfort anyone, especially not this random stranger. But knowing thatshewas hurting, thatshedidn’t want to be alone, made me feel better. Because apparently I was an asshole like that. I didn’t care about a stranger’s feelings, I really didn’t, but the tension inside me eased knowing she wasn’t speaking from a place of judgment or pity.
“So this is becauseyouneed someone, then?” I said after a beat of silence.
“If I say yes, will you let me keep sitting here?”
“Yes.” My voice sounded softer than I intended it to.
“Then yes.”
