A Known Stranger

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

                I watched the waves of the ocean roll in and out as I titled back my glass of grapefruit juice and Vodka. It was around eleven at night and the beach was absolutely empty, except for me and my thoughts.

                School was a drag, tests every other day, I had essays due from one day to the next, I would start work soon, even though my parents were around the house more, they were never really there. Usually they’d be out with Aunt Paisley and Uncle Nick, doing whatever they did for fun. My parents were happier, which was a good thing, but now more than ever, I felt neglected. Zoe was becoming more and more distant as the days passed, I had basically put Kimberly in the hospital and even though my relationship with Ryder hadn’t changed, it felt sort of old.

                The constant feeling of something missing kept nagging more often lately and it was starting to get on my nerves. I had everything I wanted, more in fact and yet I felt empty in a way, and that thought pissed me off so much I resulted in drinking. I hardly ever drank but when it did is wasn’t excessively, or frequently. In fact, the last time I had drank alcohol it was the night of Cole’s end of summer bonfire, and that was a little over a month ago.

                I sighed and took another sip, the sour taste of the grapefruit along with the smoothness of the Vodka, sliding down my throat in a freshening mix. Some people didn’t like it the taste of the ‘Salty Dog’ as most people called it, but I did; actually I preferred it if I was going to be drinking Vodka.

                Today, after I had left the hospital, I had come back home, changed into my workout clothes and took off running down the beach, headphones in, music blasting. It had been a workout long overdue, one that left me dripping in my own perspiration and breathing as if I were an asthmatic child without my inhaler. Not a pretty sight, but I felt amazing, so it was a plus. The stress from the last couple of days had melted away and left me with this feeling of hollowness- something I was trying to numb away with alcohol.

                “Hey,” a familiar voice said bringing me out of my trance that the ocean waters had me in as I downed my emotions out with Vodka. Turning around, I saw Noah slowly making his way towards me, wearing a pair of plaid pajama bottoms along with a plain white T-Shirt that was slightly wrinkled. His blonde hair all over the place like it usually was. He was lighting the ground in front of him with his phone, making sure he didn’t step on anything as he walked over towards the more rocky part of the beach where I sat on top of a rock.

                “Hey,” I replied turning back towards the vast Pacific Ocean before me. Along with my other depressing thoughts, came one of Noah. The time when I overheard him and his parents arguing because they caught him with a baggie of weed; they mentioned that it hadn’t been his first time being caught and that struck me as a big unusual. The other thing that caught my attention was the fact that they had said they had left New York for a reason. Now what reason, I wasn’t sure. My mother had told me it was because Nick had gotten a better offer here in California working at the same hospital that she worked at so I never questioned it much, until now.

                Sitting down next to me, Noah shut the flashlight app on his phone off and exhaled deeply, resting his arms on his knees that were slightly bent. “What are you doing out here?” he asked. “It’s midnight.”

                Shrugging I downed the last of my drink and set the glass cup down on the flat rock besides me. “Enjoying the scenery,” I mumbled wiping my chin with the sleeve of my sweater as a few drops escaped from my lips.