"You've been here… all along…"
"I never left."
His eyes were fixated upon her burning fiery eyes. She was beautiful. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. He breathed out; the waves of the shoreline touching his bare feet and making him almost believe that he were in paradise.
Almost.
"I have waited so long for you to get here…"
"I know you have… I haven't seen you in so long…"
She took his hand lovingly, their fingers nestled in the tiny grains of sand that washed over them and made him shiver. His heart beat with joy as she gazed at him with that look of hers… that look that she would give him when she knew she wanted something… that look she gave him when she wanted him so bad she couldn't hold herself.
"Come with me."
"What?"
"We can get out of here… leave this place… restart."
"But… I can't just… Tyson he…"
"You can bring your friends." She added, gazing at him. "You have money, they do as well. We can all live together. You can finally introduce me to them."
His memories spawned, his eyes closing to feel her lips upon him, caressing his moist tongue as she dug deep into him. She knew how to turn him on.
His back was eventually on the sand, his breaths coming in fast and hot as she lay on top of him, her body warming him even more.
He loved her.
She was all he ever wanted.
Her fiery red hair and her fiery red eyes; everything about her screamed flames and passion. His love for her ignited the single day he met her, out on the morning. He remembered that morning all so well.
He remembered being late for a business appointment, and got caught in the rain. He had held the local newspaper over his head for a little dry, and made his way towards his car and eventually to work, where he parked and then headed inside but not before hearing the cries of a victim.
He remembered pulling out his pistol and heading towards the sound, the poor woman on her knees and begging for mercy. She pleaded for her life, and he remembered how the rapist stood above her, his dick up and out like he had the glory of the world. He remembered how upset he was over seeing her like that, and how enraged he became. He was a Wildman, taking the man's life and escaping with her in one piece.
He drove her to where she lived, she didn't ask any questions. Her mouth was shut the entire time coming and going, her eyes coated with tears and fear.
He recalled pulling up to her steps, the small apartment building seeming like just enough room for two. She pulled away from him, told him that he didn't need to save her. He had to, he replied. He had to save someone innocent. That was what his friends taught him.
She smiled at him.
"I'm sure you have someone waiting for you upstairs…"
"On the contrary I do not… I have this… phobia… this fear of men."
"And why is that?"
"… After today… do I really need to elaborate?"
He spoke with her about menial things, and how they would not call the police, seeing as he did not want to become a criminal. Not yet anyways.
She was dressed that day in red and orange, her passion showing through her clothing. His eyes were always locked upon her lips however, her deep red lipstick making him believe that there was more behind this woman than he would ever understand.
The rain began to pour again, as the skies had cleared but decided to drain them again. She insisted that he come inside, for some tea or perhaps coffee if he were the type.
He suggested whiskey.
She spoke with him at first very delicately, like a flower. He knew that she was sensitive, and rather fragile. Her way about her was very placed, very poised. Her movements were graceful, yet sophisticated and carefully arranged, as if she wanted to maintain control over her very existence, and yet knowing that simple things like that were out of her control. Her hands were always placed upon her lap, her legs crossed. The rain pitter pattered on the window, and as they spoke more he recalled her becoming agitated and eventually falling into a tearing fit. Her words came out like vomit.
Her father always had a bottle in his hand.
Mother loved taking her medication.
Grandma was never seen, nor heard from after her second birthday.
The neighbors never asked any questions, and they always seemed to get new people moving in day in and out.
He listened to her, and he listened carefully. Her words were not so delicate as she was, for he learned in a short amount of time that she was a business woman, coming to his company for an interview for one of the social branches.
She had worked hard.
Gotten all A's.
She didn't like going home.
"I love having dreams."
"Why's that?"
"They're so real… you forget that they're dreams."
"But then don't you miss reality? Dreams are just…"
"Imagination? Wishes of the mind? Of course… but one can never be too certain about dreams… perhaps they are more than what they seem…"
"Why do you say that?"
"Because you can live forever in a dream… but then you wake up… and only a few minutes have passed…"
Their drinking led to more intimate talk, for now he spilled to her. How his father left, his mother he never heard from, and his abusive childhood.
In fact they were not at all that different.
He remembered how he had felt that day, hot and sticky. The fans in the room didn't do much help as the AC wasn't working properly either. She lived in a dump but refused to admit so. Her apartment was kept tidy, but she was in pieces internally. He recalled how she got up and suddenly took off her jacket, saying that the job was stupid and didn't really want to go back. his hands touched her side as he cooed to her, telling her that perhaps she should have considered the fact that he owned the company.
The look on her face never escaped his mind, and after that they fell into talking once again. She exposed herself, telling him that she was silly for having put all her faith in him… but then again never really letting anyone in but her best girlfriend, who happened to be away on vacation and was out of the country for a while. She had no one else.
Slowly but surely he felt his heart beat with compassion, and soon he found himself unable to leave her side. He had left that day feeling rather empty, not knowing her fate. He promised he would return, but did not leave a name.
The days went by and he saw her again and again, making his way to her apartment to see her and make sure she was alright. His body knew the route, and his heart led him there. He had no other reason to drive anywhere.
Her thoughts intrigued him.
She always spoke about dreams and of the future, the future she longed to have, and the time she would spend with her potential husband.
Dates became more common.
Holding hands was commonplace.
They were almost never apart.
Months went by, and eventually she accepted his offer of becoming a couple. She had resisted the idea, stating that her idea of a couple was so tormented and even skewed that she had no idea what to really look for in such a relationship. Slowly she began to lean in towards him though, he pulled her in tenderly. His hands would line her waist, his lips would graze her neck, and she would fall into him. She would always hug him.
Their lips never met, but he always kissed her neck, lining her and making her feel like a real woman (he thought). She would always tease him as well, she would line her lips to his and then pull back, almost too scared to do more.
A year passed, and he felt more love for her than any other woman in the world. Her body was perfect… she loved him he felt. He felt her love. She had fallen in love with him, and he had long fallen in love with her. Their life together would be simple.
He remembered those nights sleeping on a mattress on the floor. Having a mini fridge and talking about dreams late at night, contemplating the universe's secrets. He drove her around in a red Cadillac, a dream of hers, and let her shout to the world over a cliff, wearing stilettos and a mini skirt while holding a beer bottle.
He was never happier.
"I want to."
"… What?"
"I want to. Right now. I feel that way."
"You… right now? But I thought-"
"I feel this way… right now. I don't want to lose this feeling… I never want to lose this feeling."
"… Neither do I."
She had resisted him for so long… and when he tasted her lips he nearly came in his pants. He pushed her down gently; he knew her limits and her weaknesses. She had never loved any other man besides him, she confessed, and never even dated. He could understand. He had given into her as well, saying that many women had come after him, but he had saved all his love for her.
His love was placed in her on a warm summer night, the sticky hot making their love seem fierier than her eyes. Her hips were delicate, her body warm, and even as he caressed her breasts he felt like he wanted more. He wanted to melt into her, and make her a part of him forever.
"Do you remember that night?"
"Like it was just yesterday."
She held his hand, his memories eventually fading. Her fiery eyes dug into his heart, carving out her name. He licked his lips and knew that she had control over him, no matter how much he wanted to make her think that she had none. She always had the control.
He brushed up against her, kissing her neck.
"I've missed you…"
"I missed you so much…."
He loved her Russian accent.
Carefully, he looked up, and realized that they were sitting up now, her fiery hair becoming a blaze against the twilight sky. Gulls flew overhead and he whispered in her ear how much he loved her.
"My love… I never left."
His heart twisted, making him cry aloud. Something was tugging at the edge of his mind, something telling him that this was not right.
She gazed at him more, the sky behind her turning black and almost devilish. He breathed out, seeing the sand beneath him turn into mud and gunk. He screamed, pushing her off and trying to upright himself.
The woman seemed to back away from him, her eyes beginning to fill with tears.
"My love…"
He began to move towards her now, the muck dragging him deeper and deeper into the core of the Earth. He cried out to her, screaming her name. His hands reached, but muck pulled him down, his body struggling to stay afloat.
His vision blurred as the spray of the ocean covered his eyes, stinging him. He hollered in pain, but opened his eyes long enough to see that a wave the size of a mountain rushed at them. His heart leapt into his throat, his eyes widening in fear. He struggled more, crying out loud.
"Don't take her! Don't take her from me!"
He wanted her. He wanted those days back. He wanted everything back.
The wave crashed down upon them, and as he shut his eyes he could feel the cold ocean sting his bones.
Julia…
"Julia!"
"Kai!"
"JULIA!"
"KAI!"
A smack across his face woke him from his screaming, Kai bolting up in his bed. He breathed aloud, hard. He could feel sweat beading down his forehead, his body tensing and then relaxing as he realized where he was. Tyson came into his view and he swallowed, holding his forehead. His friends breathed out in relief, speaking.
"Kai… who's Julia?"
The sunlight poured in through the windows above him, and Kai looked up. He remained silent, his mind wandering and his lips pursing.
He missed her fiery red eyes.