Page 96 of Beyond The Break

“Eliana?” His sleepy voice says from the other end. “I was waiting for you, but I must have fallen asleep on the couch.”

“Hey handsome,” I slur into the phone, my words feeling jumbled and heavy. “It’s meee, your girlfriend, HAHA, can you come pick us up.”

There’s silence on the other end for a minute before he clears his throat. “Sunshine,” he says, “are you drunk?”

I giggle, the sound sloshy and weird. Maliah and Kairi join me at the stool giggling too. We sound like a pack of hyenas as we hold on to each other, legs crossed.

“I’m going to pee myself,” Maliah shrieks before running in zig zags toward the ladies’ room.

“Nooo, we’re not drunk. We’re, like, just ready to go home now,” I pause, eyeing Kairi as I gently sway, “Kairi, do you have a twin sister? Because I see two of you right now.”

Griffin sighs and chuckles on the other end of the line. “Stay inside until I get there, I’ll be there in five minutes.”

I lean against the stool, the room spinning around me. I clutch my phone tight, like it might anchor me to my spot.

“Yeah, okay.” I say before hanging up.

A loud crash causes Kairi and I to jump into each other’s arms. We look over our shoulders and find Maliah sprawled on the ground in a starfish formation. When she groans, Kairi andI drop to the ground in a fit of giggles as tears stream down our faces.

Our laughing grows louder when Griffin and Koa walk through the front door of the empty bar five minutes later.

“Finally,” the bartender sighs from behind the counter, “please pay their tabs and get them out of here.”

Koa helps Maliah to her feet and in her drunkenness, she wraps her arms around him and presses her face to his chest as he walks them over to the bartender, pulling out his wallet to pay. Griffin walks over to me and Kairi, helping us to our feet.

“Let’s get you ladies home,” he says, wrapping an arm around my waist.

“I love you,” I mumble, smiling up at him.

He tenses as he looks down at me. “Tell me that when you’re sober, sunshine.” He kisses the top of my head and walks us out of the bar.

TWENTY-EIGHT

GRIFFIN

Birds chirpoutside of Eliana’s window as the sun rises. Her breathing is soft as she lays asleep beside me in her bed. Last night she told me she loved me, but she was drunk. I don’t know for sure whether she really meant it.

Why would she be leaving if she loves you?

All week I waited for her to tell me about the threatening messages and about her past, but today is the day of her flight and she hasn’t said a word about it. From how much fun she was having with the girls last night, I doubt she told them either. I’m not letting her leave though because I have a plan. Gabriel and I have been busy figuring out the best way to confront Meghan about her message and today is the day.

We want to make sure that we’re not only getting her to admit what she did but also to admit who gave her that article. It’s the only way to stop this from happening to Eliana again.

I slowly unwrap her limbs from mine and slide off her bed, removing my phone from the charger on her nightstand, closing her door behind me as I leave. I make my way down to the kitchen, finding Colton up and eating breakfast as he reads a book.

A book?

I approach him and pluck it out of his hands, turning it over so I can see the cover.

How to get the girl.

“You must be fucking kidding me right now.”

He rolls his eyes before he snatches it back. “Why are you even up this early? The Youth Surf program doesn’t start for another week, you should be sleeping in right now.”

He closes the book and flips it onto its face before sliding it away. I take a seat beside him as he sips his tea.

“I’m seeing Meghan in thirty minutes.”

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