Chapter 19

Elizabeth

I had woken up and had a rough morning. I had no time to think of Charles and was on a tight schedule. Chip had called, and he was desperate for some help at his office. One of his nurses had called in sick, and the temp agency had no one available. I had hoped for a relaxing day at the beach to just let all my worries flood away from me, yet it wasn’t destined to be.

“Elizabeth, you have any luck with getting the rent?” Nancy asked as I grabbed my things.

“Not yet. My dad stopped that ten grand he promised me, and my card has been put on hold. It was all his fault, and he goes and welches on his deal. Fuck, what a two-faced bastard he is,” I said as I picked up my bag and cell.

I headed to Chip’s office. I would only have to work until two, as his afternoon staff would be arriving then. So I could still grab a couple of hours at the beach later. When I parked at the office, I grabbed my bag from my car. The car was not as good looking as the Jaguar, yet the old classic VW Beetles were such fun to drive.

I entered the office and found Chip busy trying to man the phones. “Here, let me,” I said as I took the phone from him.

Chip gave me a thumbs-up sign and went to grab his next patient. I sat behind the counter and answered the phone and did all his filings. This wasn’t what I wanted to do when I finally left college, not for Chip or anyone.

I hit a quiet spell and continued to think about the past couple of days. I had released all my frustration on my worthless dad, and with a bit of luck, he may just realize what he had done and get his shit together. But I doubted it very much. He’d had a love affair with the bottoms of his bottles for a few years now, so there was no way he would recover that quickly, unfortunately.

Nancy, my dear Nancy, had been sympathetic when I told my tale of the island, even though I omitted quite a few details. I had no idea what she would call me if I told her everything. After I had brought her up to speed on all that, she had started to give me a hard time. I had said I would cover the rent for three months, and now with my ten grand not showing up, there was no way I could keep my promise. The joys of normal life. I could see why all I’d wanted was to bum around for three months. If I’d done that, I would not have been to the island, I would still have accessible cash on my credit card, and the rent would be paid. And I would have no thoughts of Charles popping up in my head all the time.

Life sucked balls, big time, and I had done enough sucking over the last couple of days to give that saying justice. I giggled.

Chip came out of the office and sat down on one of the waiting room chairs.

“Finally, a chance to sit for a while,” Chip said as he rested his head.

“Well, you did want your own business!” I said with a chuckle.

“So then, Lizzy, how was your weekend?” he asked.

“I don’t really want to talk about it. Let’s just say, in a way you were right, and I should have listened. Yep, that is the main thing, and that is all I want to say about the whole thing,” I said.

“Okay, Lizzy. No pressure. As long as you know you should have listened to your big brother, that is fine with me,” he replied as he smiled.

“Well, I better get going. Your other staff members will be here soon, and then you have to start all over again.” I chuckled and grabbed my bag.

“Thanks for the assistance, Lizzy. It was much appreciated. I’ll know who to call next time,” Chip said as I walked out the door.

I walked slowly across the parking lot and was just about to reach my car.

“Hey, Elizabeth, wait up,” I heard from behind me. I turned, and jogging across the car park was Trent.

“I thought it was you. I recognized the car,” he said as he recovered his breath.

“How you been doing?” I asked.

“Not bad. I have a job in the arcade. I’m working in the sports shop.”

“That’s not that impressive, Trent. Your dad owns the store,” I said with a laugh.

I had dated Trent for a couple of months earlier in the year. He was an okay guy and pretty decent in bed. I couldn’t really remember why we had split up, but I did remember it was me who had decided that. And it was probably for no reason apart from me being bored, which seemed to be the trend.

“So, Elizabeth, you fancy grabbing a few drinks later once I get off work?” he asked.

I was not overly bothered, but it would be a good way to stop thinking about Charles, for a few hours at least.

“Yep. Why not? It could be good for a few laughs if nothing else,” I said as I grabbed my keys.

“Cool. I’ll meet you later. Murphy’s Bar on the boulevard,” he said.

“Okay, then. I’ll see you later. I have to run home anyway and do a few things,” I said as I climbed into my trusty Beetle.

I looked from the window as I left the parking lot and saw Trent waving before he turned to go back to his dad’s store. I had to go home and take a nap. I’d had a crappy night’s sleep and had just thought about Charles as I’d lain awake in bed, alone.

I returned home and jumped straight on the bed. I lay there and grabbed my pillow and placed it between my legs for comfort. I tried to sleep, and my body ached from the lack of it, but thoughts of the weekend prevented me from reaching it. I relived all the episodes I had experienced, from Charles pinning me to the wall and telling me he loved to fuck to the last night when he had taken me from behind and filled me with his hot cum, all yummy before we curled up together and fell asleep.

I tried to figure out what had happened between our last night and the writing of that note in the morning. I had not been a bad girl at all. I may have cursed a few times, but I had done nothing physically wrong. I had been more receptive than I should have been; I could have put up more restraint or not played along with some of his games.

I decided to ignore it all and forget about it. It would just bring me down, and I would become even more miserable. I closed my eyes, thought about my date later with Trent, and slowly fell into a light sleep.

I heard a noise and called out. “Charles, is that you?”

I opened my eyes and realized I had fallen asleep. I was back home. I had just called out his name in my semi-sleep, and I hoped Nancy had not heard me. I swung my legs to the floor and shuffled into the lounge.

“Was that you calling for your lover boy?” Nancy asked with a smile.

“I must have been dreaming,” I said.

“I think you were doing more than that. I popped my head around the door earlier, and you were saying all sorts of stuff,” Nancy said.

“Shit, it wasn’t embarrassing, was it?” I asked.

“I think you need to talk about it. It sounded like you have a little bit of something built up inside you that you need to get out of your system,” Nancy said as she sat on the couch.

“I would love to sit and chat, but it will take too much time to explain everything, and I have a date in a while,” I said.

“Ah, I see. Something happened, and you are going on a date to forget it, or nothing happened, and you are dying to get someone into bed?” Nancy said, laughing.

“Nancy, you know me too well, but there is more to it than that. I’ll explain it to you one day, but for now I must have a shower and get ready,” I said.

I stumbled into the bathroom and let the water flood over me in the shower, and again my mind cast itself back to the weekend. I realized today was the first day I had not had any form of sexual interaction. On many days, I just masturbated, but I knew if I did that now, my dream guy would be Charles. It had always been him, and since yesterday it was always going to be him in my dreams.

I got dressed and said my farewell to Nancy.

“Have you seen my phone anywhere?” I asked.

“Nah. I haven’t noticed it anywhere.”

“I must have left it at Chip’s office when I rushed out the door,” I said.

Nancy called my number, and we heard nothing, so it must have been at the office. I would just have to go and get it in the morning. I headed down the stairs and crossed the parking lot. The bar was only about a fifteen minutes’ walk. It wasn’t worth taking the car. I felt I could do with the fresh air on the way.

I slowly walked down the promenade and looked at all the bars serving cocktails and thought of the beach hut on the island and the cocktail bar Charles had built into the sea. He had taken me and pleasured me in the ocean right at the start of our weekend, and I had never experienced anything like it. It seemed everything I looked at reminded me of him, from the bars to the beaches to the boats. God, it was like everything was screaming his name at me, and I had no idea how long this feeling would haunt me.

I finally reached Murphy’s Bar and could hear the music from outside. This was a traditional Irish bar and was owned by, of course, a Murphy. Or is his first name Murphy? I had forgotten, but it was irrelevant.

I walked through the door and looked around to see if I could see Trent. I spotted him over by the wall in one of the alcoves. Ah, the alcoves. On a few occasions, I had let my hand slip where it shouldn’t have once the lights had gone down, and that had certainly surprised a few guys.

“I thought you wouldn’t show,” Trent said as I slid up next to him.

“Of course. I wouldn’t stand you up. You should know that,” I said.

“Why not? You did it the last time we dated,” he said as he laughed.

“Did I? I thought that was someone else,” I said with a grin.

I glanced around the bar. It was full of kids my age, all the students who were not going home or had decided to stay and work for the summer.

The bar was typically Irish, as you would expect for it to remain authentic. The walls were lined with Irish instruments and old Irish decorations. The music they tried to keep traditional with a weekly Irish music fest from some of the locals, and the jukebox had a full range of music from the Corrs to the Pogues, and everything in between.

We chatted for a while, and I felt kind of strange. I felt out of place. I realized that I was not interested in materialistic things anymore. I had just given the gift of the Jaguar back to my dad, and who wouldn’t die for that opportunity?

We had a few beers, and Trent sidled up closer to me. He was going to make a move. Why wouldn’t he?

I sipped my beer and cast my gaze over the bar. From the jukebox I could hear, “I can’t live with or without you.” Shit, I thought. How appropriate to my situation. I thought of Charles, as I couldn’t live with him or without him.

“Through the storm, we reach the shore. You give it all, but I want more. And I'm waiting for you…”

The lyrics just went on and on, and they all related to my situation. I was not sure if it was giving me a sign. I was not one for believing in all that mumbo jumbo, yet there were enough signs for me to make up my mind. I turned toward Trent to say something, and I felt his hand on my leg. I looked at him and brushed away his hand.

“I’m sorry, Trent, but I can’t. I have found someone,” I said in an apologetic tone.

“Well, where’s the lucky man?” Trent replied.

“That is the tricky thing. I just have to make him realize, and to make him love me,” I said.

“Well, if he doesn’t realize it, he’s a fucking idiot. You, Elizabeth, are one of a kind.”

“Trent, I’m sorry. I should go. I don’t feel up to this all of a sudden,” I said apologetically.

“No worries. Take care, Elizabeth. It was good to see you again,” he replied as I stood from the table.

“Take care, Trent, and thanks for being understanding.” I waved and headed for the exit.

I walked home and was crossing the parking lot when I saw a light in my car and I heard my phone ringing. I quickly ran to the car and opened the door. I grabbed the phone.

“Hello,” I said.

“Hi. It's Charles,” he said. “It’s nine thirty. I texted you to be here at eight.”

“I had lost my phone. I just found it now,” I said.

“That is your problem, not mine,” he said, and then he hung up the phone.