Life After You

Chapter 9

A normal person would describe a good day or a good feeling with the word 'happiness'. At least most of them do. But I? The word 'happy' hasn't been in my vocabulary since-wait-I-don't-even-know-when. I never thought I'd have to remember the word until now. I'm going to go with joy. Joy. That's exactly what I feel right now.

"Want to go for a swim?"

"But I'm winning here. I don't want to stop yet." I smile teasingly and drop a wild card. "Changing the colour to blue" I giggle. Jeremiah groans. This is probably the third time I'm changing the colour in the last fifteen minutes.

"Again?" he whines. I was expecting it.

"Told you I'd win" I playfully wink. "Do you want to keep playing or?"

"Or. I want to see you winning" he smirks.

"Game's on Remy!" I cheer. Jeremiah laughs.

"Look at you giving me a nickname," Jeremiah smirks, and then drops a four-plus card.

"Whoa. Was that a thank you?" I huff, taking four cards and then arranging it in an order on my hand.

"Do you have any two's?" he asks casually.

"You can't ask that." I quickly say. He laughs, shaking his head.

The game goes on with us managing to drain our cards, competition increasing with every card that we drop. When I have only two cards in my hand and his three, I smile.

"UNO!" I almost yelled. Jeremiah smirks.

"Finally!" He groans and then throws his cards in a pile and then sprints to the beach. I laugh, a little surprised by his actions but nonetheless run behind him to keep up.

"Oh Isabelle!" Jeremiah yells just a second before pouncing on the water, soaking me too because I was right behind him.

"Thanks for the heads up!" I say, wiping the salt water from my face.

"You were going to get soaked anyway" Jeremiah shrugs as he walks deeper into the water, the water already up to his chest. I follow but don't go that deep.

"I love this... It's beautiful isn't it?" I say when trying to get myself to float on the water.

"Indeed it is." Jeremiah says, moving his hands in waves under the water. I wonder if he purposely got himself wet with his shirt on because of me. And my possible distractions.

"I don't know what it is with beaches and me. It's like it does something to me." I mumble, playing with the water.

"You know what they say about beaches. It's the best therapy." he smiles and in less than two seconds he dives down, disappearing for a couple of seconds. I laugh when I think maybe he wants to go coral collecting or whatever but I was proved wrong when a minute later I got pulled under water.

-

"Sing something. Please" I hate that his gentle-toned request makes me want to obey him. I shake my head with a shy smile. I think I even sigh a couple of times but he waits, he just waits with a smile. A gentle one.

"I've been listening to this song like on and on and it's all in my head.. I don't think it's a song that'll suit the environment or the mood today.. It's different but I think.. I think it's a beautiful song." I say with a nervous breath. I can't even believe I'm considering singing to him. If this was a month ago, I wouldn't even be considering doing it but here I am, about to sing. To him, when I barely sing to myself.

"Okay" he gives me an encouraging smile.

"Okay." I breathe.

"And boy, you know I've tried to pray.

I've bruised my knees

I've tried to bring you back to me

I've tried my best to find some kind of peace

Don't you see?

There's a big black hole where my heart used to be

And I've tried my best to fill it up with things I don't need

It don't work like that, no, it's not easy

To fill this gap that you left in me

There's a big black hole where my heart used to be

And I wish that you would realise I'm all that you need

It don't work like that, no, it's not easy

To fill this gap that you left in me

Oh, that you left in me..

There's such a big black hole...

Oh-oooooh...

Oh that you left in me"

All I can think about right now is what a fool I've made out of myself. Apart from how the silence is so loud and killing me as every second passes with him being silent. He probably is coming up with a 'nice' compliment to say for my horri-

"That was-"

"Horrible, I know." I mumble, knowing he heard me.

"It was beautiful"

"The song, yeah." I agree. He chuckles.

"Isabelle, why?" I look at him, more than confused. First he says the song is beautiful and then he chuckles and now he's asking me why? Why what? As if he read my thoughts he answers, "why wouldn't you take a compliment when it's for you? I didn't mean the song, I meant you. Your voice was beautiful."

It's unbelievable how many times my mind keeps echoing those words over and over again for several seconds, minutes even until it sinks.

I can't even find my voice to say 'thank you' or anything. Words keep piling up and right at the tip of my tongue but nothing comes out. I know for sure I'd write a whole page once we go back to our rooms about this very moment. I already see myself doing it.