"Oh, that couldn't be me," Alise muttered, shaking her head as she reflected on her past declarations. She had once been so confident, so sure she'd never find herself in such a situation.
Embarrassment and shame overcame her as she considered the irony of her current predicament. Her emotions had shifted away from sadness, and now she felt a mix of comical amusement. She believed this was karma serving her a slice of humble pie, a lesson she needed to learn.
A sigh escaped her lips as she thought of the people she had chosen to surround herself with back then. "Ugh," she muttered as she inhaled and exhaled. The waves came in, followed by a gust of wind that carried stinging grains of sand, pricking her face and even getting into her mouth.
Her response was swift. She coughed and spat out the sand, feeling its gritty sensation in her mouth. She promptly got to her feet and walked away from the source of the abrasive wind, her eyes rolling from what had just happened.
Mumbling cuss words under her breath, she walked along the beach, her face contorted with irritation. The frustration in her voice was clear as day.
As she continued to speak out loud, her tone carried the weight of emotions, as if someone was there to share her feelings. Yet, it was just her and the solitude, offering a haven.
She rambled on, unburdened by the fear of judgment, sympathy, or the humiliation she despised, delving into her emotions and thoughts.
"I hate sympathy and pity from others," she declared, her voice steady. These emotions always reminded her of everything she didn't want to feel or discuss, so she had learned to keep most things to herself.
Walking back and forth along the beach, she continued her reflections.
"It's not the fact that my ex cheated on me that hurts," she said, frustration lacing her voice.
"It's about who he cheated on me with. Of course, cheating is cheating, but it wasn't just anyone. It was my best friend. Nobody would've thought their best friend would do that to them. Nobody. And that struck at the very core of my being."
As Alise paced along the shore, she clenched her fists as if she were squeezing out the hurt of the betrayal Ines had left behind. The waves crashed at her feet as if trying to console her with their rhythmic, soothing sounds.
She continued to spill her thoughts to the vast, open sea. "I thought I knew her, you know? We shared countless memories, tears, and laughter. And then, one day, I discovered she had betrayed me in the worst possible way."
As Alise paced along the shore, she couldn't help but mutter an old saying she'd heard throughout the years, "The same way you got them is the same way you'll lose them." She chuckled, finding wisdom in those words, realizing that whatever they had wouldn't last long, and soon, they'd be on the other end receiving karma.
She stopped in her tracks, taking a moment to look around. The grains of sand adhered to her toes, grounding her in the present. As she breathed in the beach air, the profound solitude of the moment triggered her to release her pent-up emotions, and with a powerful inhale, she let out a piercing scream.
In that primal scream, Alise discovered an unexpected sense of relief. It was as if someone absorbed her feelings without judgment.
As she gasped for breath, Alise realized that despite Ines's and Aaron's betrayal, her faith in love and friendship remained unshaken.
She had always been a steadfast believer in love and authentic connections, and if anything, this ordeal had only fortified her determination to pursue and treasure those genuine bonds.
After all of this, she found closure, and with it, the weight of her past no longer burdened her as much. The growing sense of readiness and sudden thirst prompted her decision to leave.
She looked back one last time at the beach, where she had found catharsis and clarity, and then turned away, walking towards her car.
As she got into the car, she connected her Bluetooth to the radio and turned on her playlist. The familiar tunes of Lana Del Rey's "Born to Die" filled the car. As she drove away, she sang along with all her heart:
"Don't make me sad, don't make me cry, Sometimes love is not enough. And the road gets tough, I don't know why."
She sang as loud as she could. It felt like Lana Del Rey's music reached the depths of her soul, soothing her in a way that only certain songs could.
The song ended, and another track began to play. Alise continued to blast the music as she drove, singing along to Billie Eilish's "What Was I Made For.
"What was I made for?
'Cause I, I don't know how to feel
But I wanna try I don't know how to feel
But someday, I might."
She felt that in every fiber of her body as she pulled up to the nearest gas station. She felt sad not being able to finish the song.
As Alise turned her car off and stepped out, she headed towards the entrance doors of the gas station. Inside, she quickly found her favorite drink, an Arizona, and made her way to the counter to make the purchase.
After paying, she walked out of the store, went back to her car, and retrieved a napkin and a Lysol wipe. She meticulously wiped down the can before taking a refreshing sip.
Alise savored a satisfying gulp of her drink, extinguishing her thirst. With a contented sigh, a wave of relief washed over her. "That hit the spot," she acknowledged in a hushed tone. After a few more measured sips, she gingerly returned the drink to the cup holder, taking extra care to avoid accidental spills, as was her customary habit.
Setting off in silence, a sense of tranquility enveloped her. Yet, after a short while, she instinctively reached for the radio, anticipating the familiar tunes of her preferred music. Her hopes dwindled when she discovered that only podcasts were playing. Alise's initial response was blunt, "Podcasts, seriously?"
However, as she continued to drive for a few more minutes, her frustration subsided, replaced by an unexpected fascination with the podcast. "This is quite good," she admitted, her disbelief growing as she listened to the astonishing story – her husband secretly labeling her as "ugly" to her friends. "That's utterly crazy," she muttered, shaking her head.
Immersed in the podcast, she carried on her as time ticked away. Upon finally arriving at her residential area, her attention was captivated by a large van adorned with an logo. Though her current distance prevented a clear view of the details, curiosity took hold, prompting her to lean in for a closer examination.