Paradisal Tragedy (3 page)

“Hey.” A woman’s voice called from the doorway while Travis checked Facebook on his phone. When he looked up, Marissa leaned against the doorjamb. She wore a tank top, which revealed her belly button, and a red, leather mini skirt that completely threw Travis off, and not in the good way. Several months passed by since Travis ended their relationship, yet she didn’t seem to get the clue. She wouldn’t stop calling and dropping by.

“What are you doing here, Marissa?” Travis asked turning all of his attention back to his phone.

“I came to see you. I miss you,” she responded, sitting on the couch next to him.

“Well that’s funny because the feeling isn’t mutual.”

“You don’t mean that Travy,” Marissa said, using the nickname he hated so much. It was the one she’d given him the first time they were ever intimate together. He refused to call it making love because even though he’d cared about her, he never loved her. Even more, it was only to be remembered as decent sex, not that he was sure he could even call it that anymore.

“I do mean that. With every fiber of my being,” he replied just as Marissa ripped the phone from his hand and sat on his lap. She began to kiss him.

He didn’t fight her off at first, in fact he felt like giving in, but then Annabella somehow surfaced in his mind. He couldn’t stand the girl he was kissing.

“Get the hell off me,” Travis said, pulling away.

“What’s the matter with you? You know you want me,” Marissa told him, her tone full of confidence.

“That’s just it: I
don’t
want you. You know exactly why we ended and nothing has changed. Get the fuck out before I throw you out!” He didn’t care that he was being cruel.

“Fine, have it your way. But we both know that you’ll come crying back, on your knees for all of this,” Marissa said, sliding a hand down her body.

“You’re delusional. Goodbye Marissa.” Travis dismissed her with a laugh and shut the door in her face.

“Travis what’s all the screaming about?” When he turned around, his mother was standing at the door that led back to the house.

“Sorry Mom; Marissa was just here,” Travis stated, quite annoyed. He didn’t know what else he could do to make her understand just how little he wanted to do with her. If she understood, maybe she’d vanish from his life for good.

“Yeah, well I hope you told her if she ever comes back here that she’d be arrested for harassment and trespassing,” Casey said in a cold voice. She didn’t like Marissa as far as she could throw her from day one.

“I told her not to come back. What are you doing home so early?”

“I wasn’t feeling well. What do you want for dinner?” she asked, waving for Travis to come into the house.

“I don’t care. Anything you make is fine with me.”

“I checked the balance to the card today, by the way. You’re great at saving, so care to tell me what in the world you spent a hundred and fifty dollars on?” She sounded curious.

“Remember that girl at the restaurant last night?” Travis asked, not sure if he wanted to have this conversation with his mother. She’d just end up saying that what he did proved he was a good kid, but he wasn’t. He was a screw-up and that’s all he’d ever be.

“I do,” she said calmly.

“When I knocked her over last night I spilled soda all over her iPod and it was ruined. I owed her. If you’re worried about the money, I’ll put it back as soon as I get my paycheck,” Travis offered.

“You will do no such thing! I was just curious because it’s not like you to buy things for that much. Baby, I’m a lawyer and I make great money. I don’t want you giving me yours. It’s for you to do with what you wish,” Casey said.

“I know, I just want you to know how much I appreciate you,” he said, his tone serious.

“I do know that. You’re my greatest blessing. Your father and I had never been happier than the day we brought you home,” she said with a smile. Travis could tell she was traipsing down memory lane.

Travis flinched at her statement. If his father had been so happy, where was he now?

Four

When she woke up the next morning, Annabella wanted nothing more than to just hide away and lock the door. She didn’t want to get up and face the day that was waiting for her, but she knew it wasn’t an option. It was like she could feel herself slipping, and the more she slipped away, the less she cared about anything. She was numb and cold, and the warmth of the sun was gone.

Getting out of bed, she made her way to her bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. She hated the person who was looking back at her. She hated everything that she let happen. She should have never stayed late that night; everything would have been fine if she hadn’t been so stupid.

She began to cry as she turned away from the mirror. How did she get to this point; when did she begin to despise her own reflection?

She wanted to forget it all. Oh how she wanted to run away and never look back. She wanted to hop in her Maserati and fly down the road as fast as she could go, but going one hundred miles an hour couldn’t take it away.

It wasn’t temporary; it was a permanent hell, and she’d live in it for the rest of her miserable life. Everything just seemed less important than it all used to be. She rarely cared about anything these days.

A knock on the door distracted her from her depressing thoughts. She wiped away her tears and walked over to the door. After a deep breath, Annabella opened the door, coming face-to-face with her big brother.

“Ryan?” Annabella squeaked in shock.

“Hey baby girl,” Ryan replied, pulling his sister to him for hug. He’d always called her baby girl, for as long as she could remember.

Ryan was eight years older than her, but they were always close. He’d always included her in everything he did while they were growing up until he was eighteen and moved out. Even then, he was always there for his sister.

There wasn’t a moment that went by where Annabella ever doubted that her brother would be there for her. Even with their age difference, Ryan and Annabella were as close as a brother and sister could be. They were best friends, and he’d kill anyone who tried to hurt her, which was another huge reason why she couldn’t tell him.

“What are you doing here Ry?” she asked, still shocked.

“Are you not happy to see your older brother?” Ryan asked playfully, giving her a hug as he pretended to be hurt by her question. It was typical Ryan.

“Of course I’m glad you’re here, but last time I checked you were in Florida,” she stated. With
him,
she added in her head.

“Well mom and dad wanted me to come keep you company when they go to that business thing in California tomorrow. They’ll be gone for a few days and they didn’t want you to be alone. I brought you a surprise,” Ryan told her with a light in his eyes.

Annabella couldn’t help but smile as her brother led her down the stairs. When she got to the kitchen her eyes went wide. The sight that stood before her was the last thing she’d expected to see. Standing in front of her were her three best friends, Aubrey, Chelsea and Maxie.

Next to them stood her most recent boyfriend.

Before they’d dated they were best friends. They’d met growing up, through their parents. She wasn’t sure what to make of any of this. She was happy to see them of course, but seeing them just brought her to that night. She wasn’t ready to see them. She wanted to bolt, to run away for the next week and not come back.

But how could she do that without hinting that something was wrong? Luckily for her, she had a meeting to get to.

“Are you just going to stand there, or you going to say hi?” Aubrey smirked. Her long blonde hair was held up in a ponytail and her green eyes were pinned on Annabella. She was wearing blue jean shorts, flip-flops and a green tank top.

“Why are you here?” she asked, sounding a bit ruder than she intended to.

“We came to see you. We’ve missed you.” Chelsea cut in. Her blonde hair fell to her shoulders and her hazel eyes were sad.

“I’ve missed you too. It’s too bad I have somewhere to be. Mom, have you seen my keys? I have to go. That college fair is today in town, and I really don’t want to miss that,” Annabella said as she turned to her mother.

“I put them up in your room last night, you were asleep,” Jennifer said in an uneasy voice.

“Okay, well I’m going to shower and head out,” Annabella said, turning on her heel. Before anyone could say another word, she was in her room, the door locked behind her.

She leaned against her bedroom door and closed her eyes.

His
face appeared. His hazel eyes, fixated on hers. The curve of his smile. She couldn’t make it go away. Everything was coming back to haunt her. She felt dirty, so she stripped off her clothes and ran to turn on the shower.

Sinking to the floor of the shower, she began to sob. Everything was coming back; it was like the first night all over again. It hurt,
so
bad. Holding her head in her hands, Annabella began to wonder if she should just run away from everything.

She couldn’t deal with the people from her past right now. She couldn’t handle being that close to
him.
Even though he wasn’t physically there, his presence lingered in the air. The only thing she knew was that she had to get the hell out of there. In a daze, she got out of the shower and got dressed before going downstairs and out the door.

 “I’ll be back later,” Annabella called as they all stood in the driveway of her home and watched her drive away.

***

Travis stood in the hallway of the school he’d graduated from, finding the irony of why he was here. He always believed that he’d never go to college, nor would he amount to anything in his life, yet here he was attending a college fair to see what his future could hold, if it was even what he wanted.

He watched as the peers he’d grown up with got excited about everything that were seeing. Some of them had already been accepted to places, several places at that. It confused him as to why they were there to begin with. The fair was typically for the sophomores and juniors, and only a few seniors who hadn’t made up their minds yet.

“I’m incredibly glad to see you here.” Mrs. Spencer’s voice announced her presence beside him. When he turned to look at her, she had a huge grin on her face and her eyes lit up with joy.

“If I’m being honest here, I didn’t think I’d ever be here,” he admitted. “I’ve always thought I was destined to fail; I never imagined college.”

“I always knew you had it in you, Travis. Though, I am curious. You told me that I was wasting my time believing that you would ever amount to anything. What changed your mind?”

“My mother. She believes in me in a way that no other does, and you can try to convince me that it’s what a mother does, but it’s different with her. She sees the best in me when I don’t even deserve it.”

“I’m glad to hear that Travis, and I wish you all the best in whatever it is you do, but please just stay out of trouble.” She smiled.

“I’ll try.” He winked, and Mrs. Spencer placed a hand on his shoulder and parted ways with him. For the first time, he admitted he’d taken a liking to her.

Turning around, he saw the door to the school open A familiar figure walked through, which made him smile. Annabella. What a small world. Moving from his spot, he made his way to her. She stood looking at a poster for Chandler-Gilbert Community College. She was completely oblivious to his presence. He stared at her for the longest time, noticing that she looked upset and confused, but more in pain than anything and in that moment, Travis wanted to help someone other than himself.

“Rough day?” Travis asked her.

She jumped a little and looked up at him. She was obviously surprised. “You could say that.”

“Care to share? I’m a great listener.”

“Not really.” She had an edge to her voice. She was holding on for dear life right now. She was so close to letting it all go and breaking down in the middle of this school.

“Oh come on, what would it hurt?” Travis challenged her with a smile.

“Why do you care, you barely know me,” Annabella asked, curious to what he’d say.

“What if I said I’d like to get to know you?” Travis asked honestly.

“I’d say that would be a big mistake,” Annabella warned. And it was true; she was a lost cause and a guy like him didn’t need to be around someone like her. She wasn’t good for anyone.

“I don’t believe that. You’re interesting, you know. Ever since I knocked you over in that restaurant I knew it. You’re a mystery; you don’t give much of yourself away, and I’d like to get to know you as I previously mentioned.” Every word was true.

Usually when he said things like this to a girl, he was trying to get in her pants, but that wasn’t what he wanted. Sure, she’d probably be great in bed. Under all the baggy clothes she was wearing she’d probably had a beautiful body, but he just wanted to know more about her.

Annabella said nothing, and the silence was never ending. Before she knew it the meeting was over, but rather than feel the relief she thought she’d feel, she felt uneasy to have to go home and face her friends. Walking to her car, she began to shake as all the memories assaulted her. When she reached the car, she dropped her keys, but when she went to pick them up she butted heads with someone else. Travis. God, wouldn’t he just go away?

“What the hell?” Annabella almost screamed.

“Here,” Travis said, rubbing his head with one hand while holding out her keys with the other.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Sorry about bumping into your head.”

“It’s okay.”

“What are you doing right now?” Travis asked hopefully.

“Going home,” she replied regretfully.

“But you don’t want to.” Observant, he was.

“It’s a long story,” she admitted.

“Come with me then, I have time.”

“I don’t even know you,” Annabella said. The whole thing was way too weird. “And you don’t know me, so what the hell is all of this about?”

“The truth is, you look like you could use a friend, and that’s something I lack. I mean I have friends, but no real ones. And I could use one. What do you say? Just a burger. If you never want to see me again after that, I’ll never bother you.”

Every instinct in her body was telling her to walk away, go home. He’s just like every other guy. He’ll pretend to be your friend, and then in the blink of an eye he’ll turn on you. But she had two choices: go with Travis, or go home and face the reality that was her past. And she’d do anything to avoid that.

“Are we taking my car or yours?”

                           ***

 Sitting across from each other at a table, Annabella sipped a cup of coffee while Travis watched her admirably in the small café he took her to. Rather than taking one car, and having one of them with no way to do things the next day, he’d just driven his bike while she followed.

She wasn’t entirely sure what she was even doing here. She was certain that Travis should just leave her alone. Not because there was anything wrong with him, but for his sake. She wasn’t good enough to be anyone’s friend. Deep inside she was empty, and no one wanted a friend who was that empty.

“Where are you from again?” Travis asked after taking a sip of his chocolate milkshake.

“Florida,” she replied sadly.

“You don’t sound happy about that,” Travis observed as he finished off the rest of his meal.

“It’s a long story that I really don’t want to talk about,” Annabella said.

“We don’t have to talk about it then. What do you say we get out of here?” Travis suggested. “How about I take you someplace?”

“What kind of place?” she asked, taking out her wallet so she could pay.

“A nice place, and put your money away; I’ve got this,” Travis insisted.

“But you bought me that iPod, it’s the least I can do,” she argued.

“Your iPod wouldn’t have been ruined if I had been paying attention. Please just don’t fight me on this. You don’t have to pay, it’s really okay. I can afford it,” Travis told her.

And it was true. With his job at the garage and his mom being a lawyer, he didn’t need to worry about money.

“Okay, fine. So, where’s this place?” Annabella as they walked outside.

“How do you feel about heights?” Travis asked.

“I don’t like them very much,” she admitted.

“Come on. We’re not driving, we’re going to walk.” He told her as he led her to a big clearing.

It was beautiful. If you looked straight ahead you could see the sun that sat right above the mountains. He led her further into the field, which held a cliff just above a river. As they stood on the edge looking down, the river began to speed up. The waves flowed fast as the wind blew.

She wondered if she could slow it down by throwing something at it, but decided the river wouldn’t even notice. She wondered what it would be like to jump in. If it would take all her memories away, since nothing else seemed to work.

“It’s pretty cool right?” Travis asked, pulling her back to reality.

“Yeah. It is. Do you come here often?” she asked.

“Only when I need to think. It’s a nice place to dump your thoughts.” Travis told her peacefully, recalling all the times he came out here and got drunk after having a bad day.

“You don’t seem like the kind of person who comes to a place to dump your thoughts,” Annabella admitted.

“Well, maybe you just don’t know me that well. We could change that you know.”

Backing away from the edge, she turned away from him. Why did he want to get to know her so bad? She was nothing special. In fact she wasn’t anything at all. “Look, Travis, I have to go. You don’t want to know me. I’m no one, nothing but a distant memory fading away.”

“I do want to know you though, and I don’t know why or even how it happened, but I feel like I have to know you. You’re different than most girls,” Travis said, making her feel weak.

“Definitely different,” she murmured. Pain ripped at her chest.