Water of Hell

Chapter Seven - Betrayal

ღNaidaღ

I headed downstairs and slowly entered the kitchen. I was not looking forward to this.

“Aside from the fact that you’ve been acting strange the last couple of days, would you like to tell me what is going on?” Talia questioned as she continued preparing dinner. I wanted to run away but I knew I couldn’t. However, that didn’t mean I had come up with an excuse yet.

“I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather the last couple of days, mom,” I sort of lied. I was desperately trying to think of something else to say to get myself out of this mess.

“That isn’t really an answer, Naida,” she complained with her back still to me. I rolled my eyes and as I stood there, an idea suddenly hit me.

“Mom, I’m entering those teenage years that are just difficult. I can’t truly explain it to you,” I said. I watched as my mother finally stopped chopping and face me.

“Is that the reason you’ve stopped going swimming? Or even telling us about it?” I could tell that she wasn’t happy and although my idea had sounded good in my head, I realized it hadn’t gotten me out of this. “This is more than just acting strange, Naida, or even being just a teenager,”

“What do you want me to say, mom?” I begged. I needed to get out of this sooner rather than later, but most of all I needed my mother to stop being so inquisitive. “I mean, you were a teenager like a million years ago, do you even remember it?” I knew I was out of line but my annoyance with the situation was starting to boil over.

“Excuse me?” Talia exclaimed in surprise. Granted, I never spoke to her like that. In fact, I had never been disrespectful to my parents.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

“Naida, sweetie, we are just worried about you. You’ve always been open with us and right now it feels like you are hiding something,” she wasn’t wrong, but how would I even start to explain it to her? I didn’t even understand it yet. However, it was at this point that I knew I had to give her something good enough for her to leave me alone.

“I am being open with you, mom. I have truly just been feeling under the weather and there is so much going on that I think it’s just stress,” I sighed as I entered the kitchen and sat down at the table. “Between school and swimming, I just felt like I was drowning,”

“Is that why you’ve been lying about swimming?” Talia asked, her voice had changed from scolding to concern and I nodded. It wasn’t all a lie. I knew things had been off lately and it was up to me to figure it out and do something about it.

“With the competition coming up, you know, the coach doesn’t go easy on us and I honestly just think I freaked out,” I sighed once again for effect and when my mother nodded, I knew I was finally off the hook.

“I understand but Naida, please, just talk to us about these things,” she said softly, and I nodded before standing up.

“I promise,” I said as I went over to give her a hug.

“Alright, sweetie, go wash up while I finish making dinner,” I nodded once again and rushed out of the kitchen. Now, on top of everything else that was going on, I had to take the role of being a good actress.

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Waking up the next morning, I knew that I needed to get out of the house. I wasn’t sure that I could face my family again. Not after last night, awkward dinner. My father had questioned me much the same way my mother had, and Dylan kept singing about me having a boyfriend. Triton was not my boyfriend. Of course, I wouldn’t have minded him filling that role but then again having a boyfriend right now wasn’t the best idea. I headed to the bathroom and took a quick shower before getting dressed for the day. I had already texted Abby to meet me at the café in an hour.

“Where do you think you are going?” I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around to face my father.

“I’m going for a walk on the beach,” I said. “And then I’m going to meet Abby at the café for breakfast,”

“Alright, just don’t be too long,” he said before he went on his way. I breathed a sigh of relief and hurried out of the house. That was close. The last thing I needed was my parent's breathing down my neck, again. I jumped into the jeep and headed straight to the beach. I didn’t park too close to the café as I knew I could walk the distance along the beach. As I switched off the engine, I smiled as I welcomed the salty air. It felt good being out here and as I made my way to the sandy beach, I realized that everything could still work out. I could go back to swim practice, take part in the competition, and possibly get a boyfriend. I felt better and I walked towards the café slowly. I still had time and I looked out at the roaring sea as I made sure the water didn’t quite reach my feet. I needed this time with Abby so that we could try and figure out what the hell was going on with me. I missed so much of my everyday life that I needed answers soon. I neared the café and stopped. The wind had picked up a bit, but it was quite a beautiful day. I took out my phone and saw one new message from Abby.

Abby – Hey girl, I’m here

I smiled before heading up to the café and I thought about what I would order. A stack of pancakes? Or should I have their early bird breakfast? I wasn’t sure and as I reached the café, I spotted Abby sitting inside in the corner, but she wasn’t alone. I frowned as I stared at the scene in front of me. Abby and Triton sat across from each other, but it didn’t look as innocent as that. Abby’s loud, weird, laughter could be heard all the way outside and I continued to watch as she reached out and laid her hand on his wrist. On the table stood two milkshakes and Triton was leaning on the table. What were they talking about? I wanted to listen in and find out what was so funny, but my eyes stayed on Abby’s hand that still rested on Triton’s wrist. I didn’t know what to think. What was going on between them? I already knew that they weren’t friends, so why were they sitting together? What was worse was the fact that it was clear they were having a good time. Triton said something and once again Abby laughed. This time she took her hand away as she leaned back. She was laughing rather obnoxiously, and I rolled my eyes. I decided not to let this get to me and made my way inside. However, as I entered the café, I saw Abby flip her hair off her shoulder and lean in. Triton leaned in too and I stepped closer. I wanted to hear what they were saying but the café was busy, and the noise level was quite high. Whatever was said, Abby had found it rather funny as she burst out laughing. The frown had not left my face as I stared at them. Jealousy was an ugly thing and suddenly all the years of friendship started to slip away. Abby was more than aware of my crush on Triton, why would she outrageously flirt with him? I could feel the anger start to bubble up and I quickly left the café and rushed back down to the beach. I suppose I could be overreacting but what I had just witnessed didn’t make me feel good. I ran back to my jeep and hopped in. I was out of breath with tears stinging my eyes as I turned on the engine. I didn’t want to be here anymore and as I backed out; I didn’t have a destination in mind.

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By the time I got back home, it was well after dinner time. I parked the jeep and jumped out. I already knew I was going to be in a world of trouble but this time I had no problem telling my parents why. I was still angry; I was still upset, and I was still jealous. I had seen the number of times my parents had called, and the number of times Abby had called. Although I hadn’t answered any other their calls or texts, I had kept an eye out for a call or message from Triton. He hadn’t tried. Not even a message and that just fueled my jealousy and rage.

“Where the hell have you been?” Talia shouted out the second I entered the house. I couldn’t help it, I just started to cry. All of the pent-up emotions came tumbling out and I ran to her. My mother wrapped her arms around me and hugged me until the tears had stopped. “Oh, sweetie, what is going on?” as she questioned me, Talia gently led me to the sitting room. I didn’t see Dylan anywhere, but my father was sitting on the edge of the sofa and he looked very worried.

“I went to the beach this morning and I was thinking about stuff before I went to the café,” I paused and took a deep breath. “But when I got to the café, Abby was there with Triton,” Talia and Zale stared at me after my declaration, and I frowned when they didn’t say anything. “Abby was with Triton,” I repeated.

“Sweetie, Abby stopped by hours ago,” Talia said slowly. “She said you didn’t show up at the café,”

“Where did you go?” Zale questioned and I threw my hands up in frustration. “Honey, we get that you are upset, but where were you the whole day?”

“I went to Coral Grove,” I finally admitted with a sigh. “I just wandered around there,” I added. Both of my parents nodded, and Talia gently pushed me to sit down on the armchair.

“So, let me get this straight,” my father started. “You went to the beach, had a walk, and then headed to the café?” he looked over at me and I quickly nodded. “But then you saw Abby with Triton and went to Coral Grove instead?”

“Yes,” I confirmed.

“Sweetie, why did you get upset?” my mother asked, and I wanted to laugh in her face. Didn’t they get it?

“They were together!” I shouted. “Laughing and touching and ugh!” I leaned back against the chair and stared at my parents. When neither of them said anything, I knew I would have to explain further. “I like Triton, I’ve had a crush on him like forever and Abby knew that! He took me out, twice!” I held up two fingers before continuing. “Why would she do that to me?”

“Are you sure it was like that?” Zale questioned and I sighed.

“I don’t know, Dad, but it wasn’t nice to see that!” I admitted. “I know I got jealous, and I know I should’ve just gone in there and joined them but…I couldn’t help feeling betrayed,”

“That’s understandable, Naida, but you should’ve called us,” my mother said softly.

“I agree, you should’ve let us know,” my father added. They were right and I lowered my head in shame.

“I am sorry,” I said genuinely.

“Be that as it may, you have left us with no choice,” Zale said sternly, and I sat up straight and frowned. “You are grounded,” he announced. My mouth fell open in shock and I glanced between my parents. I had never been grounded before. Granted I had never done anything worthy to be grounded.

“For how long?” I asked quietly.

“One week,” my mother informed me, and I slowly nodded. One week didn’t sound too bad. “That means, no tv, no phone, no parties, no friends over, and no going out. You are to go to school and swim practice and that is all,” aside from not being allowed to see Abby, it didn’t sound like anything bad. In fact, it was my whole life until recently.

“I understand,”

“Good, and Naida, let me give you a fair warning,” my father said sternly. “If you ever worry us like that again, you’ll be wishing for one week punishment,”

“And in case you didn’t realize, your punishment also includes chores,” I groaned at my mother's words but once again I just nodded. I hadn’t done chores in a long time, but I wasn’t too worried about it. “Now, your dinner is in the oven,” as Talia mentioned dinner, my stomach rumbled loudly as I hadn’t eaten all day. I got up and headed into the kitchen to get my dinner. As I stood in front of the microwave, waiting for it to finish warming my spaghetti, I thought about whether or not I should call Abby before my phone was taken away.

“Oh, one more thing,” I glanced over my shoulder when I heard my father’s voice.

“Yes, Dad?”

“No food in your bedroom,” he said before he left me alone in the kitchen once more. I sighed as the microwave made a loud beeping noise. I didn’t always enjoy eating in the kitchen but now I didn’t have a choice. I placed the plate down on the table before grabbing a fork and sitting down. It was while I was eating that I overheard my parents talking.

“I don’t know what is going on with her,” my father said. “Surely this can't just be the acting out of a rebellious teenager,” I rolled my eyes at that.

“I wish I had the answer, Zale, but right now this is starting to worry me,” my mother whispered. I rolled my eyes at their attempt to speak quietly. I was leaning back in my chair to hear them, but it was clear enough.

“Well, whatever it is, we will get through it,” Zale said with confidence and I once again rolled my eyes. Trust my father to be all cocky about it. I leaned back forward and continued eating. I didn’t know why they were all that worried. Sure, it wasn’t like me to do something like that, but didn’t they trust me? As I finished eating, I stood up to put my empty plate in the dishwasher. However, just as I was about to close the dishwasher door, I heard the strangest thing come out of my mother’s mouth.

“You don’t think she is shifting?” the question hung in the air and I waited for my father’s answer. What on earth did it mean? Shifting?