Below the Barrel (Saltwater Springs #2)

– The Breakup –

– THE brEAKUP –

I walk toward the pier, my heart bursting out of my chest as excitement bubbles up inside me like never before. This is it — I know it. Koa’s been acting strange all week, distant and a little off, but I know it’s just pre-proposal nerves. He texted me last night, asking me to meet him on the pier at sunset today. It’s the perfect moment. Everything about this feels right.

I spent the whole day getting ready. My nails and toes are freshly done in a classy French tip, perfect for engagement photos, and my hair has been re-highlighted so that it catches the light just right. I’m even wearing my favorite blue summer dress, the one that Koa always loves, the one that makes me feel beautiful and confident. I even practiced my surprised expressions in the mirror for hours, imagining how I’ll react when he gets down on one knee and asks me to be his forever.

Today is going to be perfect.

I reach the wooden pier and notice him standing there, his back to me, hands in his pockets, staring out at the ocean. My heart skips a beat at the sight of him, and an uncontrollable smile spreads across my face.

Thoughts of all the reasons I love him swirl through my mind: his kindness, humbleness, his strength, the way he makes me feel like the most special person in the world. By the time I’m close enough to touch him, it feels like I’ve already said yes a thousand times in my heart.

I tap his shoulder, my smile widening as I prepare myself for this once in a lifetime moment that I’ve dreamt about ever since we started dating all those years ago. But when Koa turns around, something isn’t right. His face is still, his eyes cold and empty. The warmth and love that I’ve always seen in his eyes are gone. The change in him is so stark that I instinctively take a step back, my smile faltering as confusion grips me. It’s like I’m staring at a completely different person.

This isn’t my Koa.

“Koa?” I whisper, unable to stop my voice from trembling as I search his face for any sign of the man I love.

He stares at me for what feels like an eternity, his eyes scanning my face as if he’s trying to memorize every detail. The silence between us is heavy, suffocating, and I don’t understand why. He finally speaks, his voice flat and devoid of the affection that I’m so used to hearing from him.

“I want to break up.”

Those words hit me like a punch to the gut, knocking the air out of my lungs. My breath catches in my throat, and my entire body goes numb. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. My vision blurs as tears instantly well up in my eyes, and my legs feel like they might give out at any moment.

A cold chill sweeps through me, making it feel like the ground is disappearing beneath my feet. I open my mouth to speak, but no sound comes out. My mind is reeling, trying to make sense of the words that just shattered everything I thought I knew. This has to be a sick joke. It has to be.

“W-why?” I finally manage to choke out, my voice small and broken, barely audible over the roar of the ocean behind us.

Koa doesn’t meet my eyes, looking out at the ocean instead, as if this conversation is nothing more than a tedious chore.

“I don’t love you anymore, Maliah,” he says, his tone cold and detached, slicing through me like a knife. “Let’s not waste each other’s time.”

The world around me starts spinning as my chest tightens painfully, and a sharp, stabbing ache radiates through my heart. The tears I’ve been holding back spill over, blurring my vision until all I can see is the distorted outline of the man I thought I was going to spend my life with.

He doesn’t wait for a response, turning and walking away, his footsteps echoing hollowly on the wooden planks of the pier. I watch him walk away, frozen in place, my mind screaming at me to do something, to say something, but I can’t move. The agony in my chest spreads like wildfire, consuming me from the inside out until I can barely breathe.

My legs finally give out as I collapse to my knees on the deserted pier, the rough wood digging into my skin. The physical pain is nothing compared to the devastation tearing me apart inside. Sobs wrack my body, each one more painful than the last, as I bury my face in my hands, letting the heartbreak consume me completely.

All the dreams I cherished, the future I imagined with him, shattered into a million pieces, leaving me with nothing but the unbearable pain.

He doesn’t love me anymore.

I’m not enough.