Page 12 of Awake in Cheshire Bay
I caught my breath but continued to climb the path and put a little more distance between us. The hill wasn’t terribly steep and even in fancy shoes, my guest should have no issues ascending the path. Besides, it wasn’t a long uphill stretch.
However, whenever I checked, which was every third or fourth step, Antonio was never more than an arm’s length away.
“Your family, what they be like?”
“Smaller now.” It was meant to come out as a joke, but that was on me.
Antonio didn’t crack a smile.
“My parents live in Victoria, in a nice retirement community, but we don’t keep in touch anymore.”
“No? That’s sad.”
Why was I compelled to tell this stranger my sordid past? What was it about the way he leaned in closer to take in all I said? Why were those eyes so intoxicating to look into and feel at peace with? As if I could share the darkest parts of me without worry? It was all a lie, I was sure. Still, I could tell Antonio the things I was comfortable sharing on social media. Besides, half this town knew anyway.
I inhaled a fresh lungful of ocean air and threw my focus out into the void, refusing to make eye contact. “We drifted apart after my brother died.”
“I am sorry for loss.” He wore a sympathetic smile but if he knew the real reason my brother died, it’s likely his smile would disappear.
My hand flew through the air, dismissing the sweet sentiment. “It was ten years ago. I’ve made my peace with it.”
Even if I never got an explanation, nor an apology, the pain of the memories will live with me forever. On the plus side, at least I no longer had to see the monster and be reminded of his evilness.
“Your parents, did they?”
I shrugged and covered my laugh, finally taking in the interest flickering in the depths of his gaze. “Did they make peace with the whole ordeal? Not likely.”
They had a daughter who charged their own flesh and blood with the most heinous of crimes. No, they never got over that.
“They live there, but they do not communicate with you, correct?”
I nodded.
“They lost two people.”
I no longer cared, and it took many years of therapy to learn to let go of that pain. “It was their choice. It all stemmed from a difference of opinions, and it divided us. They stuck to their beliefs, and I stuck to mine, neither bending.”
More like they thought it was impossible a child they raised could do what he did, although they had implied to a small degree it was my fault, and I should’ve said something to them sooner. But I doubt it would’ve changed their opinion on their all-star, sought-after football player who had just been accepted to a major American University on a full scholarship.
“You hurt.”
“I did.” Shrugging off the dull ache. “I don’t now though.”
And it was true. Mostly.
I no longer allowed myself to be pushed around or trapped in situations I couldn’t get out of. I excelled in self-defense but learned how to calm a rowdy patron before things got physical. Oh, I learned, and I learned the hard way. That was in the past, however, and my future stretched out in front of me like the beach on the sea.
In this moment though, I was tired of dancing around it, and the ache spreading across my chest wasn’t good for me. Time to push it back down and remember why I came up here to begin with.
The view.
The amazing, take your breath away view.
We made it to the top and the canopy of treetops thinned out, revealing a sky dotted with peeks of blue sky among the thick, light-grey clouds. But the best view was the one beyond it as the path leveled out. The grassy trail gave way to rocks covered in a healthy layer of moss, the path more gravel than dirt and it snaked its way through the middle of the tiny embankment of peninsula.
Antonio stopped and stared, his jaw going slack as he scanned the seascape.
I knew the feeling – the first time I saw it, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.