One More Time

Ana and I dipped into shops and looked at all the beautiful sights. Their jewelry shops had pearl earrings and necklaces made from the beautiful stone found naturally all along the coast. We feasted on fresh seafood cooked in kiosks on the side of the streets. It was the most succulent thing I had ever tasted in my life, and the letters quickly receded from my mind.

Until Ana tapped me on the arm.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“I don’t mean to be the party pooper, but we have a visitor,” she said.

She pointed her finger, and I followed her gaze. Luke was walking around with a couple of guys I recognized from our football team, but his eyes were staring straight at us. I sighed and rolled my eyes as I hooked my arm in Ana's. Then, I pulled her across the road and into the next shop. It was a quaint little store with summer dresses and tiered skirts the locals wore on a regular basis. I tried to distract myself with trying on ridiculous outfits, making Ana laugh whenever I came out of the dressing room.

But when we emerged from the shop, Luke was standing on the corner.

“Seriously?” I asked. “He never used to be this creepy. What the hell happened to him, Ana? Did all that success go to his head?”

Ana shook her head. “Beats the shit out of me, but I don’t want him anywhere near you. Let’s go check out the stores on the other side.”

We threw away our food and made our way out t

o the main road. We dipped into one of the shops selling alcoholic drinks and emerged with pineapple shells filled with alcoholic spiked pineapple slushies. We were sipping on them as we strolled around the area, taking in the beautiful rays of the sun. Anna and I chatted about nonsense as we window-shopped, looking at the cute little trinkets made from shark teeth and animal bones that were native to the island.

Halfway through our journey to the other side of the island, I turned my head to look over my shoulder. I sighed with relief when I didn't see Luke. Maybe he hadn’t been following us at all. Maybe I had been projecting those feelings onto him because he was overly affectionate, and I wasn’t interested.

The sun was bright, and without sunglasses, it was hard to see. I allowed everything to drift from my mind again as I fell into a rhythm with Ana. She was going on and on about Tommy, wondering what he was doing and where “the boys” were heading for the day. I shook my head as I listened to her drone on, trying to bite my tongue against any snarky comments.

I was having fun exploring the island with my best friend, thankful for the distraction, but it didn’t last long. We turned a corner to get to a local shoe shop that was advertised a few shops back, and Luke was standing there.

His eyes trained right on us.

“There any way he could’ve beaten us here?” I asked.

“Not unless that bitch ran, and he doesn’t look sweaty to me,” Ana said.

“What time is our snorkeling adventure?” I asked as I turned us around.

“In an hour. Ready to head back for the bus? Because this shit’s getting weird, and I’m over it,” she said.

“Yep. Let’s head back and wait for the bus.”

Ana and I linked arms again and started walking in the direction of the bus that would take us to the snorkeling spot. I fought the urge to look over my shoulder again to see if he was following us. I wanted to stay as far away from him as possible, but I also didn’t want to give him the satisfaction that he was frightening me. I didn’t want him to have that power over me.

The two of us made our way back to the bus stop to wait for our transportation to the beach. I was sitting there with Ana watching the clock tick down, but I found myself looking out for Luke, despite my best efforts to ignore him. Ana was droning on about something Tommy had said when she’d seen him earlier, but I was only half listening. I was too wrapped up in my own stupid drama. First, my reconnecting with Rhett and what it might possibly mean, and now all this scary shit with Luke.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” I said.

“Want me to go with you?” Ana asked.

“Nah. It’ll be quick. I know the bus’ll be here soon. I’ll be right back.”

The truth was, I was feeling sick. I wanted to get to a bathroom, so I could splash some water on my face. I jogged across the road, darted into the public restroom, and then made my way to a sink. The cool water on my face felt fantastic, and I resisted the urge to drink some from the faucet before I looked up into the mirror.

My breath caught in my throat, and my eyes widened when I saw Luke behind me.

His arm came across my neck before I even registered what was happening, and he threw me into one of the stalls. I braced myself against the toilet, opening my mouth to scream, but his hand clamped down around my lips, rendering me silent before he pinned my back to the stall door with his body.

“Have you read my letters?” he asked. “You shouldn’t have brushed me off at dinner.”

I felt my head swirling with a thousand different things as he pinned me to the door of the bathroom stall.

“You’re more beautiful than ever, Chanel. So delicate and fragile.”