Status: Yep, this is back.
The Day I Met You
009
Why can’t you face it? I growled at my own stupidity. I couldn’t face my fear because I just wasn’t ready to face it. Six years might be long enough for some people, but not for me. I was nineteen; how was I supposed to know when I stepped foot on the scalding sand to greet the peaceful ocean that it was going to be the death of me? I, Reylyn Knight, survived that day. The brave outgoing girl without a care in the world, Rey, died on the hospital due to lack of oxygen.
The cab driver pulled over in front of the bar; I handed him twenty dollars, and he gave me my change before driving away. My body felt worn down while my mind felt depressed. The tension in my muscles screamed for some sort of relaxer, so I unlocked the bar. The bottle of Johnny Walker Red was already sitting on the counter. I grabbed it before turning to see about a dozen faces staring at me.
“Hello.” I tipped the bottle towards them as I walked out of the bar, up the stars, and into my apartment.
Footsteps followed me through my apartment into my bedroom; I didn’t bother closing any doors behind me. I flopped down on my bed as I turned the bottle of whiskey up. The amber colored liquid burned at first, but it was slowly numbing the pain. “Uh, are you okay?” someone asked. I didn’t bother to open my eyes to see who I wasn’t answering.
“Rey?”
I kept funneling the liquid from the bottle. “Reylyn Summer Knight, what in the hell do you think you are doing?”
“Getting drunk so I don’t hate my life as much,” I answered.
“Reylyn.”
I shot out of bed and opened my eyes a little too quickly causing my body to fall backwards. “I don’t need this from you! I don’t even know who you people are!”
“Rey, it’s Sally. You have to relax.”
“I AM RELAXED.”
“Don’t make me…” She trailed off. I laughed knowing full well what she was thinking.
“Call him. He’s in Fiji.”
“Call who,” a male voice asked in curiosity. A chorus of voices began to whisper in the background.
“I won’t call your dad, I’m going to call your uncle,” Sally threatened. I tried to wrap my head around what she was talking about. I didn’t have an uncle. My dad was an only child.
“What uncle,” I asked sitting up slower this time.
“Danny.”
“He’s in Kauai enjoying his peace and quiet,” I argued.
“He’s in town this week for the games. Didn’t you hear?” She asks while snubbing a laugh.
“Fine, call Uncle Danny. Let’s see what he’ll do.”
“Who the hell is Danny,” Deegan yelled getting frustrated with the whole situation.
“Danny Way, he’s this guy that ended up being really good friends with my parents before my mom died and he was really good to me before…” I trailed off not wanting to tell them any more about my life.
“Stop,” some guy in the corner I hadn’t been introduced to started as everyone’s mouths dropped open. “Danny Way, the Danny Way, is your uncle.”
“Not really, he’s just a really close family friend.”
“What’s next,” the guy wearing the backwards baseball cap scoffed, “she’s going to tell us how she used to spend summers at Ricky Carmichael’s house?”
“No,” I laughed, “We spent winters there. He didn’t live near the ocean.”
Mouths dropped open further. Eyes glazed over. I shrugged not understanding why. I mean, the two men who influenced me to go for my dreams were amazing, but did these guys really have to act like idiots. I sighed as I stood up. “Get me coffee,” I stated randomly. The ten people standing in my bedroom rushed out to get coffee. Sally went to the kitcken.
“Where’s Jamie?” she questioned.
“I left her in the middle of the workout.”
“Why,” she hissed.
“Because she wanted me to go near the ocean. She wanted me to go near the sand.”
“She wants to help you, Reylyn!”
“I don’t need help.”
“You take two anti-depressants a day, you refuse to do what you love, and you’re turning into an alcoholic. Not to mention you let complete strangers follow you into your bedroom while you drink hard liquor,” Sally yelled.
“I don’t want to go back, Sal.”
“You were the best, Reylyn. I wanted to be like you. Sam always made sure you looked perfect in all your photos, and you were brilliant!”
“He is my father, he had to make me look good, and I was nowhere near the best.”
“You were, you just made a bad decision.”
“I drowned, Sally.” I sighed.
“You survived,” she retorted as she stared into my chocolate eyes. She took my face into her hands as she whispered the words again.
“Call Danny and tell him I want to skate again. We’ll start slow. No water, no beaches, and most importantly no reporters.”
“Now, let’s go find Jamie.”
The cab driver pulled over in front of the bar; I handed him twenty dollars, and he gave me my change before driving away. My body felt worn down while my mind felt depressed. The tension in my muscles screamed for some sort of relaxer, so I unlocked the bar. The bottle of Johnny Walker Red was already sitting on the counter. I grabbed it before turning to see about a dozen faces staring at me.
“Hello.” I tipped the bottle towards them as I walked out of the bar, up the stars, and into my apartment.
Footsteps followed me through my apartment into my bedroom; I didn’t bother closing any doors behind me. I flopped down on my bed as I turned the bottle of whiskey up. The amber colored liquid burned at first, but it was slowly numbing the pain. “Uh, are you okay?” someone asked. I didn’t bother to open my eyes to see who I wasn’t answering.
“Rey?”
I kept funneling the liquid from the bottle. “Reylyn Summer Knight, what in the hell do you think you are doing?”
“Getting drunk so I don’t hate my life as much,” I answered.
“Reylyn.”
I shot out of bed and opened my eyes a little too quickly causing my body to fall backwards. “I don’t need this from you! I don’t even know who you people are!”
“Rey, it’s Sally. You have to relax.”
“I AM RELAXED.”
“Don’t make me…” She trailed off. I laughed knowing full well what she was thinking.
“Call him. He’s in Fiji.”
“Call who,” a male voice asked in curiosity. A chorus of voices began to whisper in the background.
“I won’t call your dad, I’m going to call your uncle,” Sally threatened. I tried to wrap my head around what she was talking about. I didn’t have an uncle. My dad was an only child.
“What uncle,” I asked sitting up slower this time.
“Danny.”
“He’s in Kauai enjoying his peace and quiet,” I argued.
“He’s in town this week for the games. Didn’t you hear?” She asks while snubbing a laugh.
“Fine, call Uncle Danny. Let’s see what he’ll do.”
“Who the hell is Danny,” Deegan yelled getting frustrated with the whole situation.
“Danny Way, he’s this guy that ended up being really good friends with my parents before my mom died and he was really good to me before…” I trailed off not wanting to tell them any more about my life.
“Stop,” some guy in the corner I hadn’t been introduced to started as everyone’s mouths dropped open. “Danny Way, the Danny Way, is your uncle.”
“Not really, he’s just a really close family friend.”
“What’s next,” the guy wearing the backwards baseball cap scoffed, “she’s going to tell us how she used to spend summers at Ricky Carmichael’s house?”
“No,” I laughed, “We spent winters there. He didn’t live near the ocean.”
Mouths dropped open further. Eyes glazed over. I shrugged not understanding why. I mean, the two men who influenced me to go for my dreams were amazing, but did these guys really have to act like idiots. I sighed as I stood up. “Get me coffee,” I stated randomly. The ten people standing in my bedroom rushed out to get coffee. Sally went to the kitcken.
“Where’s Jamie?” she questioned.
“I left her in the middle of the workout.”
“Why,” she hissed.
“Because she wanted me to go near the ocean. She wanted me to go near the sand.”
“She wants to help you, Reylyn!”
“I don’t need help.”
“You take two anti-depressants a day, you refuse to do what you love, and you’re turning into an alcoholic. Not to mention you let complete strangers follow you into your bedroom while you drink hard liquor,” Sally yelled.
“I don’t want to go back, Sal.”
“You were the best, Reylyn. I wanted to be like you. Sam always made sure you looked perfect in all your photos, and you were brilliant!”
“He is my father, he had to make me look good, and I was nowhere near the best.”
“You were, you just made a bad decision.”
“I drowned, Sally.” I sighed.
“You survived,” she retorted as she stared into my chocolate eyes. She took my face into her hands as she whispered the words again.
“Call Danny and tell him I want to skate again. We’ll start slow. No water, no beaches, and most importantly no reporters.”
“Now, let’s go find Jamie.”