/I shook my head at my drunken friend, before helping her up the stairs to the lounge. I smiled awkwardly to the personal, embarrassed about my friend's drunken behaviour.
"Alice!" a voice sounded.
We both turned around to see a friendly looking guy with a huge smile and dimples come closer to us.
"Lionel!" Alice yelled happily, breaking free from my hold on her arm, stumbling over to the guy. Lionel. "I am so happy to see you! I missed you!"
"Alice, I missed you too! What happened, since you didn't come earlier this week?" Lionel asked, giving Alice a quick hug, before turning around to face me. "And who have we here?"
"Ophelia," I introduced myself as, offering my hand for a handshake.
"No handshake," Lionel said, a looped smile on his lips. "We hug each other here!"
Before I know I am pulled in a tight embrace.
"Lionel, this is my new friend, Ophelia," Alice introduced me, before letting out a hiccup. "She arrived earlier this week and this is why I haven't been here yet. I am introducing her to all the great places."
"And you came first now?" Lionel asked, sounding affronted. "I am disappointed in you, Alice!"
Alice giggled and leaned up against Lionel, her hand on his chest. I cringed slightly at my friend's behaviour. "No, silly! I am saving the best place for last!" Alice looked up at Lionel, a flirtish smile in place, while she batted her long eyelashes. "Anyway," she said, standing on her own again, "where is this cute shisha guy?"
"Shisha?" I asked, not remembering Alice giving any indication she liked it. "I thought you didn't like it."
"Not normally, but they have the best right here," Alice explained, hiccupping again. "Lionel, where is he?"
"I thought I was the cute one, Alice! No more discounts for you!" Lionel said, fake hurt in his voice.
"Well, you are the cute one, but not the cute shisha guy," Alice told him, a loop sided smile on her face.
Lionel grins."That's better! Well, he is here, maybe out back. I will go check. Take a seat while you wait, we will come soon."
Alice nods and before long we are seated with the shisha menu in hand.
"So, the one I usually get they don't have on the menu. I just get the Lionel special, I call it," Alice explained quickly. "We can try another one if you like."
"What does it taste off?" I asked.
"It is good. Fruit. Some mint. Fresh flavour, but sweet," Alice explained.
"Are you ready, girls?" a new voice sounded.
I looked up, a guy with tanned skin, short black hair, with extra length on the top pulled in a small bun, friendly brown eyes and a friendly smile are standing with pen and paper in his hand, seemingly ready to take our order.
"Ahmet!" it sounded happily from Alice. "How are you?"
"I am good, Alice. How are you?" the guy, Ahmet, answered.
"I am good! Look who came and joined me on this beautiful island! Ophelia!" Alice introduced me. "She is amazing, sober and would like to have a sisha. Can we get the Lionel special?"
I felt my cheeks grow red and shook my head slowly in embarrassment at my drunken friend.
"And you are not, I see," Ahmet said, directed to Alice, chuckling slightly. "Yeah, a few minutes and it will be there."
"So, what do you think?" Alice asked, looking directly at me. "Is he cute or is he cute?"
I shrugged, a small nervous smile was on my lips. "Well, he is cute. Kinda."
"He is so your type! And he is single!"
I nodded. I felt my cheeks grow red under the scrutiny eyes of Alice./
I wake up with a gasp. I look around. I hear a shrill ringing. I locate my phone. It is on the floor. How?
"Ophelia," I says.
My throat hurts. It feels burned. Raw.
"Hey," I hear the voice of Alice sound over the phone. "Lionel just broke the news too me. How are you holding up?"
I feel a sob making its way up my throat. My eyes gets wet again. The burning starts again. "Not good."
"I know," I heard Alice mutter quietly. "If I can do anything to take away your pain, I would do that, you know that, right?"
I nod. "Yeah."
"Are you at home?"
"No."
"What about I fly up to England and spend some time with you?" Alice propose. Her voice is sincere and soft.
"I don't know." My voice is dull. Flat. Lifeless.
"Okay."
We sit in silence. Everything is drowned out to a muffle.
Everything continues to burn. It is worse than yesterday. Or was it two days ago?
"Listen, I have a week off in a couple of weeks. I know it is long time out in the future, but I will book tickets and come. Okay?" It is Alice who breaks the silence first.
"Yeah."
"What happened was a tragedy, but none of it could you or I have prevented, you know that right?"
"Okay."
"Ophelia," I hear Alice sigh over the phone. "You are strong. You can get through this. Lionel is here. I am here. If you tell your parents I am sure they will understand."
"Understand?" I ask, anger running through me suddenly. The fire flares up, worse than ever. "Understand? No! They will call him a terrorist! They will say it was for the better! They will disown me! They hate every non-British!" I scream at Alice.
Silence.
"I am so sorry, Alice," I whisper, my whole body shaking, as sobs starts to escape my lips and tears starts to fall once again. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean to yell. I am so sorry."
I sob and wail. Hot tears on my cheeks. The fire is burning out.
"Hey! Baby girl," Alice whispers in between my sobs. "Sweetheart, it is alright. You can yell and scream all you want. I will even allow you to hit me. Hell, anyone who can reach me from England will be allowed to hit me, because someone needs to hit some sense in me, if it is possible."
I let out a chuckle. "Knock some sense in you."
"What was that?"
"What was what?" I asks, falling over my words, chuckling a bit more.
"Hey! Was that a chuckle I just heard?" Alice coo's, a smile appearing on my lips once again.
"Yeah."
"Good."
We fall back in silence. My body has stopped shaking. My eyes are no longer producing tears and the sobs have stopped.
"He loves you," Alice says finally.
"Loved. He loved me. He is dead," I state, trying to block out my feelings. "He loved me."
"I am pretty sure he still loves you. I know you are not a religious person, but I am a firm believer he can see down on you and wish to see you happy."
"But I can't be happy. Not without him."
Alice sighs. "I know. It is hard. I believe -"
She pauses. "What Alice? What do you believe?"
"Nothing. Forget what I said."
"Okay."
Silence.
"What time is it?"
"At yours?" Alice asks.
"Yeah."
A heartbeat. "Around 3 in the afternoon."
"Okay."
Silence.
"Listen, I gotta go. Dinner is soon served, but we will talk. Alright?"
"Yeah. Talk," I agree. "Bye."
I cast my phone away from me, starring up in the roof.
My eyelids go heavy.
My breaths gets deeper.
Everything goes blank.