The tang of salt overwhelmed the air while an indolent breeze whistled over the ship’s deck. Zoe watched the ocean tide rock the one hundred and fifty thousand ton ship as if it were a baby’s cradle. The Scenery was beyond beautiful, nevertheless she could not find it within herself to enjoy this so-called vacation.
Zoe tried to block out all of her painful thoughts and memories as she Leaned cross-armed against the ship’s railing, the only thing keeping her from falling into the ocean. But no matter how hard she tried, those thoughts began to seep into her mind like smoke making its way through the crevices of a door. Zoe began thinking of her hometown and how, although she despised it, she’d rather be there than on this cruise with her mother and Trevor, her mother’s nauseating boyfriend. Her life had actually been fairly good before he crawled out of the depths of hell and into her mothers heart.
Zoe had always been the type of person who could withstand a lot and even if she were breaking apart on inside she wouldn’t let anyone witness it. But, as she looked around at the surrounding beauty of the world, she couldn’t help but realize that the shimmering oceans and the beautiful mountains were all just a masquerade covering up the pain and wretchedness the world was actually capable of. At the thought of how hopeless life was and how there was no way of escaping it without seeming cowardly, her eyes began too fill with tears.
Zoe looked around in embarrassment as she brushed away the tears. It was the first time she noticed the sky was growing dark. Zoe began to run back to room 220 were her mom and Trevor would be waiting impatiently for her so they could eat dinner. Running through the halls of the hotel portion of the ship Zoe disregarded the curses and warnings being thrown at her. She was Twenty minutes late and Trevor would have her head for it.
190…200…210…SMACK! Zoe’s head hit the ground with a heavy thud, and for a second everything went black. She opened her eyes to an outraged face staring dawn at her and an unfriendly hand offering to help her up. Trevor yanked Zoe to her feet and began to rub the spot where she’d ran into him with exaggeration. Zoes eyes began to fill up with tears again, not because of the blow to her head, but because his face was the last she wanted to see right now.
Any Stranger would probably think Trevor looked as if he‘d just came from a Hollywood fashion shoot. He wore a tight button-down shirt with rolled sleeves, to show off his lean muscles. Along with that, his square jaw, high cheek bones and ruffled hair all made him look much younger than he really was. She remembered the drooling mouths of her friends when she’d introduced them to Trevor and how they’d constantly talk about him. But to Zoe, Trevor was just a sleaze wrapped in a pretty package.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Zoe?” Trevor yelled, his voice filled with disgust. Zoe dropped her head, staring at the ground. No one, except Trevor, could ever make Zoe feel so incompetent, so unsure of herself.
“I’m sorry.” She whispered.
“Damn right you are. You’re such an inconsiderate-”
“Trevor!” Zoe’s mom cried cutting him off, “It was an accident, calm down.” She put a hand on his shoulder then looked at Zoe, “Oh my god, are you alright?” Her mom’s voice was drenched with sympathy. Zoe reached up and felt the tears that were streaming from her own eyes. No, I’m not all right, and I’ll never be alright she considered saying. But, instead, she just nodded.
“Now Trevor, if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you’d apologize to my daughter for being a jerk,” Her mom continued. Trevor sighed and in a fake voice said, “Zoe, I‘m truly sorry for being an ***.” He then pulled her into him for a hug. A kind gesture, any bystander would think; but it wasn’t a kind gesture at all. He hugged her a little too tight for a little to long. She felt his breath on her skin, sending shivers down her spine. She wanted to stab him.
any advice/criticism?
please and thanks.
–Kara