This was my fault.
Alistair’s discovery of a weak spot to exploit and utilize had been my best friend. There was no way to know everything she’d told him. Perhaps, she’d told him nothing at all. If she’d been valuable, he never would have locked her in a room and set the entire place on fire just to escape.
He couldn’t love.
Naomi had died never knowing love.
Trey, Carmen and I sat around a small table outside. There was a fire roaring in the fire pit near where we were sitting and we could see the Mediterranean beyond our seats. Sophia, the housekeeper had made us coffee and we were drinking deeply trying to reflect on our loss.
“Who’s going to tell her parents?” Carmen asked.
Dabbing at tears, I replied. “They’ve been notified. Ahh….”
Deep breaths.
“Thierry had them notified last night,” I finished.
“This Alistair motherfucker…what do we do?” Carmen shook her head starring off. I could see she had rage building up inside of her.
“Nothing we can do,” Trey bit her lip.
Adjusting the fuzzy blanket around me, I gazed off. Slipping into my memories of Naomi, melancholy overtook my mind. I had no choice but to think back on her white coat ceremony.
She had texted Carmen and I in a group message because Trey couldn’t make it. We were both so excited for her that we could’ve burst. Carmen and I had driven overnight and gotten a hotel room in Durham for this event.
We couldn’t believe our Naomi was graduating from Duke University, School of Medicine. This had been Naomi’s dream school for years because her great grandfather had also attended.
Are you sure you’re going to be here on time? I’m so nervous. My mom and dad got in two days ago. They’re still not happy about the route I decided to go.
The text had come in with a flurry.
Who cares what Maya and Jake think, I’d replied.
Me, she’d answered.
You’ve gotta stop. You are about to get your white coat. You worked your ass off for this. No one can take your shine, Carmen chose to remind her of her greatness.
Students had been piling onto the stage as the head of the medical program called their names. One by one they’d all excitedly gotten closer. Their footsteps were literally setting every single man and woman up there onto a new path. Finally, it had been Naomi’s turn. Her name was called and she’d stepped forward with the biggest smile on her face I’d ever seen. The moment she slipped the white coat onto her shoulders, the loudest whistle ever had escaped from between my lips and fingers.
“Go Nay-Nay!” Carmen had cheered from beside me.
She’d winked at us and exited from the stage.
“I can’t believe this vacation has turned into a nightmare,” Carmen whispered.
“I know,” I sipped the coffee and agreed.
“This feels entirely surreal,” Trey was rubbing at her temples.
She got up and walked to the balcony and peered over. The waves were still crashing down below. It felt as though all the joy had been sucked out of the world.
“I’m going to take Jesse for a walk,” Carmen stood up then too. “We’re going to start packing so that we can head back. Oh, and by the way, thank Thierry for me.”
Her words registered with me, “Thank him?”
Carmen paused in her attempts to leave. “Yeah, thank him for me.”
“I’m confused,” starring up at her, she realized that I didn’t understand.
