“I can’t,” I tell her.
She looks over at Kyle and back at me. Her eyes are swollen with heartache when she responds with a sound of finality, “But you have to.”
***
I’m standing on the water’s edge, watching the sun slowly sink in the distance, the waves crashing against the shoreline in a soft rhythm. With each beautiful sunset I watch fall on this island, a piece of me dies because I know I’m reaching the end of my new journey with Kaya.
In the dimness of the fading light, I feel a deep ache in his chest. I think this is what romantics call heartbreak. My gaze is fixed on the horizon, my mind racing with thoughts and emotions I cannot process. All I can think about is her.
My earlier physical confrontation with Kyle had been brief but brutal, and it crushed any hope I had of building something real with Kaya. She saw what kind of violence I’m capable of, or as Dena put it, my toxicity, which is probably part of why she wants nothing to do with me. The tabloids have already labeled me as an abuser, and even though I wasn’t kicking a woman’s ass today, I might as well have. What I did is just as bad if not probably worse in her eyes.
“You’re still here, youngin’?” Kaya’s Uncle Zee approaches.
“There weren’t any flights out tonight. It’s a small island,” I say, staring at my bruised knuckles.
“How long have you been doing the horizontal mambo with my niece?”
I hate how this question diminishes my feelings for Kaya, but I know I need to be respectful to her uncle, so I maintain my composure.
“We startedseeing each otherwhen I came home for the wedding, but I’ve always cared about your niece, Uncle Zee. Always.”
He takes a seat on the sand.
“It’s not cool to date a woman who’s taken. She’s been with her guy for over a year. That’s not something you just disrespect if you call yourself a man.”
I grit my teeth at the insinuation that I’m a relationship wrecker, but I gave Kaya my word that I wouldn’t reveal her secret about Elijah and, even after everything, she’s all that matters.
“I thought those gossip rags got you all wrong, son,” he continues. “But maybe your moral compass is a little off kilter.”
“I meant no disrespect to her or your family.”
“But sometimes the heart wants what it wants, is that it?”
“Yes, sir, I believe that is the case.”
“Well, I wouldn’t dare give you relationship advice because what’s an old, twice-divorced man like me know? All I can say is find your compass, young man, and allow it to guide you toward the right decision.”
He stands again to leave.
“Thanks, Uncle Zee. I’ll try that.”
“Oh, and uh, you’re still paying for the hotel, right? I charged a few drinks to my room and the way my credit card’s set up–”
I raise my hand to interrupt.
“I’ve got it. I know it’s hard to believe now, but I’m a man of my word, and I still love Kyle and Dee Dee. Your stay and everything included with it is still my gift to them.”
Uncle Zee smiles with a look of relief.
“I didn’t want to ask, but thanks, youngin’.”
I plop myself down in the sand and bury my head in my hands. All I want to do is find Kaya and see if she’s okay, then maybe beg her to forgive me. I want to apologize for the pain I’ve caused her, for the broken promise of a pain-free island getaway that is now slipping away from us.
Dee Dee was right about one thing. I am selfish. I guess I get it honestly from my father. I want what I want and I don’t care about whose feelings I hurt sometimes. It’s just that I don’t know how to live any other way.
My cell rings and I desperately I hope that it’s Kaya, but it isn’t. The call is from a New York phone number, so I answer it. It hasn’t even been 24 hours and somehow I bet they already know about the fight. I brace myself for an unpleasant conversation.
“Brick?”
