Page 28 of F*ck You

Shaking the thoughts from my head, I turned around to continue on my walk and clear my mind again, but I was stopped in my tracks before I could get very far. A girl was standing in front of me with a hand on her mouth, which was scrunched to the side, as she looked at me.

“Uh, hi,” I said, racking my brain to figure out why she seemed so familiar. I drank most of my way through this town, so it was likely I’d met her and forgotten already.

She remained silent, and her only response was to tilt her head to the side. Her sunglasses were too dark to see her eyes, so I had no idea what to take this as.

“You’re not very pretty.”

I was taken aback at her blatant observation and had no words to counter it with. My mouth opened and closed with the intent to respond, but nothing came out. What the fuck was happening?

“Why do they like you?”

“Who?” I felt like I should tell her to fuck off. Once my mind came back from the shock over the audacity of this bitch, I would most definitely tell her to fuck off.

“Chase and Larsen. Ever since you showed up, all they do is hang out with you and don’t seem to want to even talk with me. I don’t understand what they could possibly see in you.”

“Well, for one, they probably see someone who isn’t a daft bitch.”

“Even when you were streaking, you weren’t that good-looking.”

“Who the hell even are you?” I remembered her now. She was the first person I’d flipped off here.

She held out a hand as though this was the most normal conversation in the world, and it was time for introductions. “Giana. And you are?”

“Natalee. And you can call me Natalee.”

“That’s stupid.”

“I’m sorry, is there something I can help you with? I’m rather good with rearranging someone’s face. Are you interested in a makeover?”

“No, thank you, I just had a facial.”

I laughed at her clear inability to understand my question, and she looked taken aback at my reaction. This bitch was the epitome of bitchiness. She even made my sailor cursing look quite acceptable for polite society.

“You wouldn’t be laughing if you had one too, which you could clearly use.”

“You’re not very good at making friends, are you?” Sure, I was one to talk, but this was getting ridiculous. No, actually, it passed ridiculous the first time she opened her mouth.

She flipped some stray hair over her shoulder and repositioned her hand on her hip. “I have the friends I want. I see no value in making ones I don’t need.”

“You mean, ones who would benefit you? Who you wouldn’t see as a threat? Because I find it quite hilarious that you would find me as a threat. I’m honored actually.”

“Whatever. My point is, stay away from them. They deserve so much better than you.”

“Funny, I could say the same to you.”

“Good, so we’re in agreement then.” She nodded at the apparent success of this conversation and walked away in a wide arc around me, as though she was afraid she would catch ugly.

Rolling my eyes enough to see the dusty corners of my skull, I continued on. My phone vibrated, and I looked at it to see Cass’s name flash across the screen. If she was asking about the wedding again, I swear I was going to fucking scream. Groaning, I answered it.

“Bitch, where are you?” Her voice was harsh in a way that told me she was frustrated it had taken me this long to talk to her.

“Hello to you too.”

“Look, I need to know what to tell people. I don’t need a long, drawn out explanation, but are you planning on coming back, or should I tell the vendors the wedding has been called off?”

I threw my head back and laughed. “He’s been fucking other girls for the entirety of our relationship, Cass. I’m not going back. The wedding is off, and I don’t even care if I get my deposits back. I want to forget the last four years of my life and move on. I think I already began moving on long ago.” I rubbed my temple, fighting off the incoming headache from the whole situation.

“Okay, that I can do. I’ll start canceling everything and see what money I can get back for you. But, Lee, are you doing alright?”

Sighing, I tossed my head back and turned around. Was I doing alright? I was certainly doing better than I had before, but the conversation I just had with Giana, if you could even call it a conversation, planted another seed of doubt in my mind. What was I even doing here? My life was too fucked up for me to even think I could hang out in a place that was such a paradise, let alone to ever have a chance with someone who wasn’t a total douche.

Then I watched Chase’s dark locks flying around his face as he popped up on his surfboard and caught a wave, riding it toward the shore with a group of people. Larsen was cheering them on from the beach, hollering with excitement as one of the students managed to remain upright on their board for what looked to be the first time. The whole scene made me smile, remembering how alive I’d felt out there for the first time in ages.

“Yeah, Cass, I’m doing alright.” Smiling, I hung up the phone and continued walking along the beach. Suddenly, the glow of the sun on the sand seemed much brighter, and I was looking forward to snorkeling later and discovering more of the magic that seemed to exist in this place, both above and below the water.

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