Betrayal

Kuki awoke to the bright morning rays poking through the partially closed wooden blinds on the bedroom window. As the warm light touched her face, she slowly opened her eyes. Feeling a slight throbbing sensation in her skull, she pinched the side of her head. It wasn't unbearable. She'd definitely had worse hangovers before. More than likely, she was just dehydrated. Wondering what time it was, she glanced over at the clock.

8:24AM

She groggily sat up in surprise. Usually she was already up and about due to the time difference. Still, she didn't regret it. Last night had easily been the best sleep she'd had in years. Letting out a yawn, she stretched and looked around the room. It was mostly barren except for the mattress and wooden dresser, and there were posters of surfers lining some of the walls. She realized that she was definitely not in her hotel room. And...she was naked.

The events from the previous night started flooding back to her. Instead of feeling upset or embarrassed, a warm fuzzy sensation bubbled up inside her. She blushed gleefully and clenched some of the soft sheets closer to her like they were some of her stuffed animals. The thought of their encounter from the previous day filled her with emotional bliss. She looked around for her clothes and realized they were scattered around the floor along with some of Wally's.

Wally.

Her heart skipped a beat. Something was amiss. She looked over her shoulder to his side of the bed. Where he had been sleeping peacefully next to her the night before, now only a faint, empty indentation remained.

He's gone already? she wondered. But why would he leave so early? He never gets up early. Panicking, she started to assume the worst. He couldn't have been that drunk could he? She could have sworn he had the same amount as she did. Did he wake up and not remember sleeping with her? Or worse, if he did remember, did he regret it and left as soon as he could?

Thinking she had made a horrible mistake, Kuki threw on her clothes and hurried toward the front door. On her way down the hall, she looked around for any sign of him, but he was nowhere to be found. She reached the front door and was just about to turn the handle when it hastily swung open in front of her.

"Oh hey! Mornin' Kuki," greeted Wally joyfully. She jumped back in surprise. He was in a cheerful mood and his hands were full with several large brown grocery bags. As he stepped inside, he couldn't help but notice the troubled look on her face. "Somethin' wrong?"

Realizing her expression was worrying him, Kuki snapped out of her trance. "Oh no I...I just thought you um...I thought you...well, you were gone and I was just...you know...leaving."

There was a pause between them.

"Leaving?" asked Wally, puzzled. He had noticed the worried tone in her voice. Did that mean she regretted what happened? He walked past her and set the bags on the counter, his throat tightening a little. "You mean wanted to leave before I got back?"

"Well...yeah," she answered as if it was what he was expecting.

Wally's heart sank. So she was too drunk after all. Way to go idiot. Now you've probably gone and screwed everything up between you. He slowly turned to face her. "So...you regret it then? Last night I mean?"

Kuki's grew wide. What!? What had given him that idea? She shook her head vigorously. "No, no, no it's not that," she insisted, waving her hands in front of her. "I just figured...you know...since you left early, maybe you expected me to be gone by the time you got back."

Wally blinked in astonishment. In what universe would he possibly be stupid enough to treat her as a one night stand? He breathed a sigh of relief. It did pain him a little thinking she thought so little of him, but he was more than grateful she didn't regret being with him. "Come on. Give me a little credit Kooks. I just went out to get us breakfast." He turned around and fished out a couple of Styrofoam containers from one of the bags. "Lilikoi pancakes with a side of eggs! The old lady at the diner always gives me extra. And I've also got some guava juice in the fridge! Whaddya say? You hungry?"

He dangled the food in front of her as gesture for her to stay. Kuki smiled. How could she refuse?

"Very," she answered cheerfully.

After making quick work of their breakfast, Wally offered to give her a ride back to the hotel. It was a good distance away since it was on the other side of the island, but it did allow her plenty of time to think. The reality of the situation was beginning to sink in and she was having a hard time coming to terms with it. How was she going to explain everything to Mark? Had she cheated on him? Was it technically cheating if you weren't officially together in the first place? Did she even like the guy enough to officially date him? She knew her mother would be very displeased to learn she turned away another 'perfectly good suitor' only to get involved with a guy who hardly had a dime to his name. Even when they were kids, Mrs. Sanban had hardly ever acknowledged Wally or given his family the time of day.

Wally glanced over at her. He desperately wanted to ask what was bothering her, even if he already had a pretty good idea. Respectfully he remained quiet and left her to sort out her thoughts. He had already complicated her life enough and hoped to avoid making things even worse. She insisted that she hadn't regretted being with him, but he still wasn't completely convinced. She had never openly said those three magic words to him to make him absolutely sure. Shoving the gloomy thoughts from his mind, he shifted his focus back to the road and they continued to ride together in silence.

Wally pulled up to the entrance of the hotel and Kuki clicked open her seat belt. Wally watched her intently. It seemed like she was about to hop out without so much as a goodbye. She reached over and grasped the door handle, but hesitated.

"Listen Numbuh Four," she sighed. He noted how she had purposely used his operative title over his name. "Thank you for everything. Last night was probably one of the best nights of my entire life, but I...I just..."

Wally frowned sadly and looked away from her. He had an idea of what she was getting at. "No worries Kuki," he said wistfully, choking back the heart ache. He realized he was gripping the steering wheel harder than normal. "If you need to sort things out on your own, I...I'll understand."

He felt her hand rest on his thigh and looked over at her. Their eyes met again and he could see how hers were full of sorrow. His heart broke even further. He always hated seeing her miserable. "Will I see you again?" he asked, desperately hoping the answer would be anything but no.

Kuki smiled sadly. "Of course. We're still friends aren't we?"

Wally frowned slightly. "Yeah...sure," he said trying to force a fake smile.

She stared at him solemnly. She wished more than anything she could tell him how she really felt. Couldn't he see how much it was killing her inside to do this to him? Feeling guilty, Kuki tried leaving on a positive note. "Maybe we can meet for lunch tomorrow? With Abby and the others?"

Cheering up a bit he smiled and nodded. At least he hadn't completely lost her. She gave him a soft peck on the cheek as thanks and hopped out of the passenger seat. She closed the door behind her and waved as he drove away. After watching him go, she decided to head up to the hotel room to change into some fresh clothes. She had almost made it to the elevators when she was stopped by a devilishly smiling Abby.

"Ok girl, spill."

Kuki, not prepared for an unexpected interrogation, fumbled nervously trying to remove her card key from her phone wallet. "W...what do you mean? We just had dinner."

Abby held out a hand and stopped her with a mischievous grin. "Uh uh. Numbuh Five can see what's going on. You show up at nearly eleven in the mornin' in the same clothes you left in yesterday and expect me not to notice what you been up to? You even heard of the walk o' shame girl?"

Kuki rubbed the back of her neck, blushing. "Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a walk of shame."

Abby giggled and slapped her on the back. "Now that's what Numbuh Five likes to hear!" she said playfully. "It's about time you two hooked up. So was it everything you expected?"

Kuki gave an expression that only another female could decipher.

"I'll take that as a yes," chuckled Abby, still smiling mischievously. She was truly happy for the headstrong couple, even if she did find their embarrassment to be highly entertaining. She had noticed however, that something seemed to be bothering her old friend. "So why the long face then?"

Kuki bowed her head. "You know my mom would never accept him Abby," she said hopelessly. "She's made her views pretty clear. And besides, it wouldn't be fair to avoid Mark the whole trip just to spend time with him. I agreed on a whole month remember?"

"But you DO want to spend time more with him," pointed out Abby. "And you only have less than a week! Comon girl. It's written all ova yo face!"

Kuki said nothing. The elevator finally arrived with a bing and she strolled past Abby, purposely avoiding eye contact. Abby's glare tracked her with crossed arms as the doors closed. Once the elevator departed, she loosened her posture and sighed. "Whateva. Numbuh Five's gonna go grab some grub. Hopefully Numbuh Two hasn't eaten up the whole cafeteria yet."

She strolled off, completely oblivious that Mark, who was picking up his suit from the clothing store, had been eavesdropping from around the corner. Just after paying the cashier, he had heard Kuki's voice in the hallway. From the tone of her voice, he could tell something was going on. He decided to hide behind a nearby pillar to listen in.

And he had heard the whole conversation.

Mark clenched his fists bitterly. How could she do this to him? After the great lengths he had gone to to impress her, not once had she ever appreciated anything he had done. He had taken her on a private helicopter tour, treated her to the fanciest restaurant on the island, got front row seats and a private table for their whole party at the luau. What was he doing wrong? Never in his life had he had a problem holding a woman's attention. Most of the time they were practically lining up on his door step. So why now? What made this other guy so god damned special?

In his fit of outrage, an idea struck him. He fished out his phone and opened up the social media application. He typed in Wally's name on the search bar. Luckily for him, Wally had kept his page open in order to easily show off his surf videos to the public. Unfortunately, all of the photos and posts he had made in the past were also easily accessible. Mark spent several minutes scrolling down the timeline of posts until he found what he was looking for.

From the pictures taken together, he could conclude that a few years ago Wally had been dating a blond haired, green-eyed girl called Amber. Her posts were all over his webpage and consisted of lovey-dovey remarks and kissy faces. They seemed to be very happy together for quite some time. Eventually, however, the posts abruptly ended along with their relationship status. From the number of her comments he had deleted, it was obvious things had not ended well between them.

Mark clicked on Amber's profile. It was set to private. She did however have her phone number listed in her contacts. He figured that meant she was probably single or currently looking for a new boyfriend. He dialed the number into his phone. It started ringing. To his surprise, a female on the other end picked up.

"Hi is this Amber?" he asked in a rather condescending tone. The girl on the other end answered. He continued. "Hi there Amber. How would you like to make a quick $500?"

There was some squabbling on the other end of the line and he chuckled at her misunderstanding. "No no, not to worry. It's not an offer of that nature. You see, I am a business man and I need someone to take care of a little personal business. After all, I'm sure you like to get back at your ex, Wallabee Beatles?"

Wally waited patiently on a bench overlooking the shoreline, the events from the previous day still on his mind. He hadn't been able to sleep more than a wink that night and was starting to feel the weight of sleep deprivation catch up with him. The bench he was sitting on was surrounded by grass and palm trees, providing an adequate amount of shade. Closer to the parking lot, a shrimp truck was parked and serving a long line of customers. True to her word, Kuki and the rest of his friends had promised to meet him there for lunch. Shrimp trucks were a big deal on the island and even though it wasn't a big fancy restaurant, she had been more than happy to try one when he offered it as a suggestion.

Being more than anxious, he had arrived early to get his mind straight. What will she say to me, he wondered. Will we even be able to continue to go on as friends after what happened? Would it be too weird between us? Part of him didn't even know if he could handle keeping his distance with her now that his secret was out. She had to have known how he felt about her right? Even if he hadn't explicitly said it out loud?

He buried his face in his hands. Maybe that was the mistake he had made all along. Maybe she didn't really know how he felt about her. Everything had just sort of all happened in the heat of the moment. He continued to drown in depressing thoughts when suddenly he felt a presence standing above him.

"Well well, if it isn't Wallabee Beatles. How's it going handsome?"

He looked up. "Amber!? What the hell are you doing here?"

She was dressed in running clothes, wearing only skin tight running shorts and a sports top that exposed her flat stomach and evenly tanned skin tone. She proceeded to take her headphones out of her ears. "Working out silly. I live on this island too," she said innocently. She went to wipe the sweat from her forehead, making a show for him to notice her exposed abdomen. "Things going well? Hope there's still no hard feelings," she said with a smile.

Wally leaned back on the bench and grumbled. "I broke up with you remember? You mentioned something about not wanting to be with a dirt broke loser like me any longer?"

Amber crossed her arms innocently and stood in a way to better show off her figure. "Yeah, but that's old news right? I mean it was over two years ago. You've really started making a name for yourself around here you know. Speaking of which, what have you been up to lately?"

Wally sighed. He really didn't have the energy to fight with her. "Eh, not much, just reconnecting with some old friends."

"Old friends huh?" she said, her voice suddenly full of curiosity. She leaned in closer so that they were almost face to face. "And would any of these old friends be a girl by any chance?" she teased.

"What's it to you?" he scoffed, a little more rudely than intended.

Amber giggled and shrugged it off. "I'm just curious to know if you are dating someone is all."

Wally blushed. "Well, not...exactly," he said apprehensively.

"Oh?" she said playfully. She leaned in even closer, her body coming dangerously close to his thigh. She was practically holding herself on top of him. "So you're single then?" she asked mischievously.

Wally, feeling a bit uncomfortable, was having difficulty explaining his situation. "Well...technically yes, I guess, but- Hey! What are you-?"

She had positioned herself so that she was sitting directly on top of his lap and leaning against him seductively. "Oh come on," she said bewitchingly. "You can't tell me you don't remember that night in my dad's hot tub. It started out a lot like this didn't it?"

"Well, yeah but I-"

She ran a hand along his thigh and he felt a small groan escape his throat. She smiled at the effect she was having on him. He felt ashamed. It had just been a reaction, even if had always been an expert at pleasing him. In fact, she was the only other woman whom he had ever come close to loving, right up until the moment she had let him know how much of a loser she thought he was.

She whispered in his ear. "I'm really sorry for leaving by the way. It was my fault," she said, playing around his zipper. "Maybe we can fix that?"

Wally, starting to feel uncomfortable she wasn't taking no for an answer, shoved all dirty thoughts aside and moved her hand away. "Eh, listen Amber, there's something you should-"

He was immediately cut off as she forcefully covered his lips with her own and slipped her tongue to meet his. Shocked from her impulsive gesture, Wally remained stunned as she kissed him passionately. Nearly half a minute passed before he fully regained his senses and shoved her off of him. "What the hell!? Whaddya think you're do-"

He froze.

There standing next to them, was Kuki.

The rest of his friends were behind her, all equally shocked. He looked up at her, the reflection of pain and betrayal obvious in her eyes, tears already threatening to stream down her cheeks.

He felt his heart shatter into a million pieces.

Pleased with herself, Amber stood up and put her earphones back in her ears. "Well I gotta run. Give me a call sometime hunny bun!"

After her quick departure, Wally turned back to face the group. It was clear they were more than displeased. He glanced over at Kuki again, her eyes coated with a thin sheet of tears. He couldn't begin to describe how sorry he was for what just happened. He took a small step forward.

"Kuki I-"

Before he could explain anything, she quickly turned and sprinted back toward the parking lot.

He scrambled up to go after her. "Kuki, wait! It's not what you-"

"Save it," said Nigel, quickly stepping in and shoving him back down to the bench. His tone was serious. "We caught you red handed Numbuh Four. That girl was all over you before we showed up. We saw the whole thing."

Wally dropped his head in shame. He didn't have any words to defend himself and somehow getting scolded by his former leader managed to make him feel even more like an insect.

"I'm...sorry guys. I didn't mean..."

"No, you're just sorry you got caught." Hoagie glared at him with his arms crossed. "I know you've been mean to her before, but how could you do that to her, Wally? Her? Out of all people?"

"But I didn't mean...it wasn't my fault-"

"I advise you stay away from her for the rest of the trip," suggested Nigel firmly. "If you know what's good for you." And with that, he walked away to comfort Numbuh Three. Hoagie following close behind.

Abby watched them go and then turned back toward Wally. She glared at him and shook her head in disgust. "And to think, I expected better from you," she added coldly before disappearing to join the others.

Wally watched as all of his friends deserted him one by one, leaving him alone on the bench. He wanted more than anything to run over and apologize to Kuki, to pour his heart out and explain how it had all been a big misunderstanding. But he knew better than to ignore a direct order from Numbuh One. Nigel may have no longer had a schoolboy crush on Kuki, but she was still his former comrade and he was still protective of her.

Wally wished he could explain that there was nothing going on between him and Amber. Sure his ex girlfriend knew how to push his buttons, she always had been good at it, but she didn't even come close to how he felt about Kuki. He had never stopped loving her. If he was honest with himself, every girl he had ever been with had only been a distraction to get him to stop thinking about her.

And now, he had lost her too.

He lowered his head and buried his face in his hands. He was at a loss. Two days ago, everything was going his way and he was on top of the world. Now, he felt like his heart had been torn from his rib cage, leaving a gaping aching hole where it once was. He felt the burning tears run freely, for once in his life not caring if anyone saw him. The pain in his chest couldn't compare to anything a stranger might think or say of him. He had lost the most important person in the world to him and what made it even worse was the pain he knew he had caused her. He remained there, quietly sobbing, long after Kuki and the others drove away.

Over the course of the next three days, Kuki continued to ignore his calls. She never picked up, not once. He must have left over a hundred voicemails, but she never called back. He attempted to reach out to his friends, but they ignored him as well. Even Hoagie wanted nothing to do with him. Everyone was giving him the cold shoulder, and he felt he rightfully deserved it.

He stared up at the ceiling from his large bean bag chair in exhaustion. He felt terrible, like his insides were ripping him apart. He hadn't slept in days. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was her pained expression before running off. He barely had the drive to eat. The thought of her seeing Amber with him like that made him sick to his stomach. All he could think about was how much he desperately wanted to make it right. But how could he?

She was leaving in a few days and he was rapidly running out of both time and options. He knew he did not want to lose her again. It was clear he was going to need to take action, no matter the cost. He pondered the thought for a moment. At this point, what did he have to lose? Anxious and desperate, he hopped up from the bean bag chair, grabbed his truck keys, and headed over to the hotel.

He parked in the closest parking garage, not caring about the hourly rate. It was almost breakfast time and he knew there was a good chance Numbuh Five would be down in the cafe enjoying her morning cup of coffee. Wally parked the truck and rushed inside. He made his way to the entrance of the cafe and peered inside. Sure enough, Abby was relaxing over by one of the windows looking out at the ocean. He rushed over to her.

She noticed him as he approached. "Oh it's you," she said, as if sickened by his presence. "What do you want?"

Wally held out his hands defensively. "I know what you're going to say, but please. Just hear me out."

Abby glared at him. "For what? I think you're actions a few days ago spoke loud enough. You think I have time for your excuses fool?"

"Please," he begged. "I need your help to fix it Numbuh Five. I can't go on living like this. No one else will listen."

"And what makes you think I will!?" she said rather harshly.

Wally looked at her pitifully. His last hope was vanishing and he didn't know where else to turn. Out of all the members of sector V, he had always gone to her for advice or when he was in trouble. Like an older sister, she had always been there to help him out, be it homework or personal matters. She had never turned him down, not once.

"Because, you're the only one I can count on," he said miserably. "Please Abby."

Her posture softened a little. She took a good hard look at him. He was without a doubt, a complete mess. His hair was scruffy and unkempt, his clothes were dirty and wrinkled, and there were deep, dark circles sagging under his baggy eyes as if he hadn't slept in weeks. She leaned back in her chair and sighed. "Alright."

Wally anxiously pulled up a chair next to her.. He knew he was on thin ice and only had one chance to explain himself. He included every detail to the fullest, making sure to not to leave anything important out. Abby patiently sat and listened to the whole story without interrupting, occasionally sipping her coffee. After nearly thirty minutes of pleading his case, he sat quiet.

He waited patiently for her to respond, but all she did was continue to sip her cup. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she spoke. "Well, I believe you Numbuh Four."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "You do?"

"Yeah, I do." She looked at him doubtfully. "But you're gonna have ta find some way to get Kuki to believe you, and she still wants nothin' to do with you."

Wally sank in his chair, the slimy feeling of guilt returning. "What should I do?" he asked.

Abby brought her hand to her chin. "Hmmm. Well, I do find it suspicious that this Amber girl knew right where you were gonna be when all of us were about to show up. And you say she didn't seem to know much about your relationship with Numbuh Three in the first place. But how could she have known about it at all if no one told her?"

Suddenly the thought hit her like a ton of bricks. She growled. "Oh, that son of a-"

Wally looked over at her confused. "What is it?"

"Never mind," hushed Abby. "Tell you what, meet me outside the Starbucks down the street at eight tonight. I'll instruct you where to go from there."

"Eh, alright," answered Wally, still confused. He wasn't sure what she was planning, but as long as she was willing to help, he wasn't about to argue.

Wally went about his day doing life guard duty as usual. After his shift was over, he rushed back to the meeting place and impatiently waited outside the coffee shop. He checked his phone. It was almost 8:00. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar shadow walking up to him. It was Abby.

She approached him silently, her expression solemn, and instructed him to hold his hand out. "Here," she said, dropping a small flash drive in his hand.

'What's this?"

"I tapped into Mark's phone earlier to see if he had contacted Amber. My suspicions were correct. He paid her to set the whole thing up. The audio recordings are stored on there if you want to listen to them."

Wally stared at her in disbelief. "But, how did he find out?"

Numbuh Five chuckled. "And you're supposed to be the dumb one," she said jokingly. Her expression quickly changed back to sorrow. "I was talking with Kuki in the hallway after you dropped her off at the hotel a few days ago. I figured everything out pretty fast, so I started asking her questions about it and Mark must have overheard us." She hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry Numbuh Four."

Wally looked back at the flash drive in his hand. He wasn't all that angry with her. It had been an honest mistake. Plus, Mark was really the one to blame, and maybe Amber.

"Anyway," said Abby, causally placing her hands in her pockets and hiding her eyes under her old hat, "If you give that flash drive to Numbuh Three I'm sure she will forgive you." She turned and began heading back to the hotel, but stopped when he spoke up after her.

"No," he muttered quietly.

Abby turned back around to face him. "Say again?" she asked puzzled. She wasn't sure she had heard him correctly. He was standing upright as if he had made a final decision about something.

"I'm not going to give her the flash drive."

Abby walked back up to him. "Did you smash yo' head on a rock or somethin'? That thing is the key to fixing this mess fool!"

"I'm not a coward," he said sharply. "If I did that, I'd be no better than him." He looked down at the ground in front of them. "But more importantly, after our meeting this mornin' I got to thinkin'. Maybe...maybe it's better this way."

Abby stared at him in disbelief. "What are you talking about Numbuh Four?" she asked, rhetorically. "You've loved that girl since you were in the first grade!"

Wally stared at the concrete. "Let's be honest Numbuh Five, her mother would never approve of me. I'm just a broke loser who's got nothing to offer her. And if she hates me, she...she may just be able to move on and be happy with a proper suitor, even if it means I get left behind. I just want her to have the life she deserves."

He tossed the recording back to Abby. She caught it and looked back at him sympathetically. "Nothing to offer huh?" she said softly with a smile. She walked past him casually. "Guess I was right," she said stopping briefly to make her point, "you really are the dumbest member of the team."

He listed his gaze from the ground and stared at her, dumbfounded. Satisfied, she flashed her all-knowing grin and walked away, continuously tossing and catching the tiny piece of plastic and metal in the air. Wally watched her go as she disappeared without another word.

Author's note: Oh man, I can't believe I cranked out this chapter in a whole day. I just couldn't help it. The ideas kept flowing one after another and it the conflict made it just so much fun to write. And yes, you can probably guess what social media app I was referring to when Mark looks up Wally's info. MAKE YOUR PROFILES PRIVATE PEOPLE! Hopefully you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I did! Don't forget to review!

Songs for this chapter:

"I hope You're Happy" by Blue October

"Listen to Your Heart" by Roxette