DAYS LATER
Bradin and his family went out for dinner one night. Bradin looked around the restaurant and saw Kaitlin sitting at a table covering her face. He smiled.
"Hey," he said to everyone he was with, "I'll be right back."
"Okay," his aunt said.
Bradin walked up to Kaitlin and sat across from her. "Hey," he said.
She looked up at him and said, "Hi." Tears were on her face and she tried wiping them away. He noticed that she was wearing a black dress. "I'm sorry about Luke," he said. She looked at him and back at her hands that were folded on the table. He reached and placed his hand on hers. She looked up at him. "I'm here if you need to talk about it," he said looking into her eyes.
She nodded and placed money on the table. She got up and walked out of the restaurant. Bradin got up and walked over to his family.
"Everything okay?" his aunt's co-worker asked.
"I don't know," he said.
Kaitlin walked home slowly thinking about what happened days ago. Luke's gone and she was blaming herself. She hasn't danced since that night. She hasn't talked to his parents since that night. She just kept to herself and didn't say anything to anyone. She began to sob when she thought about how the accident happened. She found a bench and sat on it. She held herself as she sobbed. She rocked back and forth to try to calm herself down. She felt a hand touch her back and make her jump.
"Maybe you should come home," her father said. She nodded and got up with him. They walked over to a car, got in, and went home. Kaitlin's father looked at her and saw how hurt she was. He took her hand and held it in his.
They got home and Kaitlin went straight to her room. She changed out of her dress and into some comfy clothes. She stood in front of her mirror and looked at herself in it. The pictures around it caught her eye. They were of her dancing and the times that she and Luke hung out.
"Kait, someone is here to see you," her mother said. Her door opened and in walked Susan.
"Hi," Susan said softly. Kaitlin half smiled through the mirror. "Are you okay?" Susan asked.
Kaitlin shook her head. She pounded her fist on the dresser and walked over to sit on the bed.
"I'm sorry it happened to him and you," Susan said sitting next to her, "You don't know how bad everyone is feeling about this."
"How everyone else is feeling?" Kaitlin asked. "No one knows what happened that night! No one knows why I keep blaming myself for his death! No one knows what it feels like to say that you hate someone when you really love them more than they know!"
"People do know what that's like!" Susan yelled, "I know what it's like. I said it to Lucas. And, since we both confessed our feelings to each other, we're going out."
"But you two don't have five years between your ages and haven't known each other for sixteen years!"
"You have to calm down," Susan told her friend, "Think of what his family is going through."
The door opened again and Luke's ex-girlfriend walked in.
"Fucking bitch," Kaitlin said.
"Erika?" Susan asked.
"You… fucking… bitch!" Kaitlin said slowly and moving towards Erika, "You dumped him and hurt him so badly. I was right about you. You're someone that uses guys for sex and dump them once you do them. You did that to Luke. You took his heart, drowned it in the ocean, and left it there. You never loved him."
"That's not true," Erika said as tears formed in her eyes, "I loved him."
"Then why did you cheat on him with and dump him for Tanner?" Kaitlin screamed, "Stay away from me for the rest of my life you goddamn slut."
"Kaitlin, let me explain," Erika said.
"Explain what? Why you left Luke, the most amazing guy in the world, for someone who cares about sex and sex only? For breaking his heart? For causing him to come to me and tell me how he actually felt about you? For making him feel like he was your everything and just throwing it all away saying that it was never meant to be when it actually was?"
"Listen to me," Erika said, "I was wrong."
"Oh my god!" Kaitlin yelled, "Someone call channel five news! Erika is actually wrong and admitting it!"
"Shut up!" Susan yelled.
"Fuck off bitch!" Kaitlin screamed to her.
"What has gotten into you? You never acted like this before," Susan said.
"I killed Luke! How do you expect me to act?" Kaitlin hollered.
"You didn't kill him!" the girls yelled.
Kaitlin turned away from them and walked towards her window. She heard someone walking behind her and touch her shoulder. She grabbed the wrist and turned around.
"Leave me alone," she said throwing the wrist of Erika away.
"Can I explain something to you?" she asked.
"No."
Erika sighed and left with Susan following without saying a word.
Bradin was walking home from a party that he went to with some friends. He was on the beach thinking about the night he just had. He sighed and looked out at the water. He saw someone surfing. He looked at his watch. 12:00 A.M. it read. He watched them surf a wave and get out of the water. He walked up to them to find that it was Kaitlin.
"Hi," he said. She looked at him and half smiled. "What are you doing surfing at this time of day?" he asked.
"I should be asking you the same thing."
"I'm coming home from a party where I had a terrible time," he said watching her sit down in the sand beside her surf board. He sat down next to her and looked at her trying to figure out why she was out surfing that late.
"What?" she asked not looking at him.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked hoping she knew what he was talking about.
"No," she said quietly but loud enough for him to hear her.
"I'm sorry I'm saying something about it but you did amazing the other night at the party when you were dancing."
"Thanks," she said.
"The surf team tried to call you earlier," he said, "You weren't home. You haven't been home all day."
"Oh I was home," she said making a fist with her hand. Bradin looked at her hand that was in a fist and saw cuts. He took her hand into his hand examined it before looking at her. "I punched my wall," she said taking her hand back.
"I'd ask you why. But, I don't want to see you cry again," he said.
"Why do you care about what I do?" she asked looking at him.
"You meant everything to Luke," he told her, "He wanted one of the guys from surfing to take care of you if he left like he did days ago. He doesn't want to see you the way you're acting now."
"What do you mean take care of me?" she asked.
"He wanted the guys from the team to watch you and make sure you life your life the way you wanted to."
"I want to live my life by being alone for the time I'm alive. But will that happen? NO!"
"Calm down," he said softly, "All I want to do is be there for you when you need someone. I won't force you to talk to me. I won't force you to do anything."
She looked away from him and out at the waves in the water. "Go home," she said.
"What?"
"Go home," she repeated, "You don't need to be out here."
"I'm not going to go unless I make sure you get home safely."
"I live right there," she said pointing behind her.
"I don't care. I want you to be safe."
She got up, grabbed her board, and walked away. Bradin got up and followed her. They got to the back of her house when she turned around.
"You can go now," she said. She heard glass break. She jumped back and her heart rate sped up. She dropped her surf board and looked around frantically.
"Kaitlin?" Bradin asked.
"No," she said, "Luke!"
"Kaitlin!" Bradin yelled grabbing her arms, "Kaitlin!"
She continued to act weird. She panicked and tried to break free of his grip. Glass broke again. Kaitlin screamed and fell to the ground. Bradin got down beside her and wrapped his arms around her. He saw lights in her house turn on and her parents ran out.
"What's going on?" her father asked, "Who are you?"
"My name is Bradin. I knew Luke," Bradin said, "I saw your daughter surfing and I wanted to see how she was." Bradin explained to her parents everything that happened within the past thirty minutes.
"Thank you," her mother said, "You should get home."
Bradin watched as Kaitlin's mother walked Kaitlin into the house. He could hear Kaitlin saying things about the accident she was in with Luke.
"Go home, Bradin," her father said, "Forget about tonight."
Bradin watched her father leave him alone behind the house. He turned and walked away thinking about Kaitlin.