The moon was at its magical best, giving a soft glow on everything it touched. As the sea came into view I just stopped for a second and looked around, drinking in the view.

I took a long soul-cleansing breath and closed my eyes, to soak it all in.

During the day, you can see the waves. You can see them coming from a distance. But at night, you only realize them when they hit against the uncomplaining shore. The cool wind blew against my face and ruffled my hair. I slipped off my sandals and let my feet sink into the soft sand.

"You must have come here a lot of times already. But still, every single time you come here, your face lights up like a Christmas tree, " Tyler commented with an amused smile on his face. "It's cute."

I smiled at his comment and we started walking closer to the water.

"Since the first time I came here, it felt like it had cast a spell on me." I sighed, "And in the night it only gets better. The sound of waves crashing and the wind in the quiet stillness of the night is something I can fall asleep to every night." I smiled to myself and continued, "It calms me, grounds me and makes me feel alive."

I turned to look at him and found him already staring at me in awe.

"What?" I asked.

He smiled and shook his head, "You are something else."

"Um, thank you?" I said awkwardly and he chuckled.

"I can see why you love it here so much. It's beautiful."

"Is it your first late-night walk on the beach?"

"Yes."

"You should do it more often. You know, the smell of the first rain, watching sunsets, star gazing, or long walks on the beach, these may seem small and silly, but they are so important and have their own way of making you feel better," I said as we stepped into the chilly water. "Sometimes you just need to stop and appreciate the little things in life."

"True. I guess, I just needed someone to show me how," he said, just when a new wave crashed onto our feet.

We started walking alongside the shore in silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts. After a while, Tyler broke the silence.

"I never really had a perfect family. With my parents constantly fighting and screaming at each other, I had no idea what a normal home felt like. Nothing ever made my father happy, no matter how hard my mom tried. Having a happy family was a dream I had long forgotten. I always tried my best to make my parents happy in every way I can. I did my best to top in my exams and give my best play in football. But it never worked, nothing ever worked." He sighed, slowly coming to a stop and he turned to face me, "I used to come home after winning a game or topping an exam, all happy and proud of myself. Only to find my parents at each other's throats, and it made me feel like...like..."

"Like you had no right to be happy when your own family was falling apart, " I said when I saw him fumbling for words.

"Exactly. But...how? How did you know that?" he asked.

"Let's just say, that I find it relatable." I shrugged. "What happened then?"

He studied me for a second and continued, "Last year, my mom had a major cardiac arrest and she barely made it out alive. Things were quiet at home for a while after that. It had me hoping that maybe, just maybe things would be alright. Maybe there was hope. But if anything it just got worse."

"How?" I quietly asked.

"One fine day, my parents suddenly break the news to me that they are planning to file for a divorce. I should have seen it coming. I should have seen that the reason they never fought anymore was not that they got along, but because they had just given up on each other. I knew my mom wasn't happy with it. Because despite the tough front she put up, I often found her crying alone in the night when my dad wasn't home. She did everything she could to save this marriage, to keep this family together. Everything. But it was never enough for my father. Both my mom and I were ready to put everything behind us to rebuild our family. Stay together. Even after he cheated on my mom," he said and buried his head in his hands.

I was at a loss for words. Now that he had opened up to me, I didn't know what to say to comfort him. Fuck. I hated this. I hated seeing him like this.

"And you know what's the worst part?" He suddenly raised his head.

"What?" I asked thinking how can any of this possibly get worse.

"That bastard Max knows about my dad cheating on my mom and he is using it to blackmail me and I don't know what to do. I don't care about my dad's reputation, all I care about is my mom. I don't want her personal life to be out in public, it will kill her. She is still recovering, and I can't put this stress on her. "

Okay, I was wrong. This definitely could get worse.

"MAX!? How does he know about all this?" I asked, utterly shocked.

"Max's dad and my dad have been business partners for long. He has his connections."

"Shit," I whispered.

"Yeah. Shit." He let out a grim chuckle.

"Since how long is this going on for?"

"You remember seeing me close to the woods near your house, a few days ago...?" He trailed off. 

"Yeah...oh, okay," I murmured, recalling that day when I was out for a walk had spotted Tyler. The busted knuckles, the anger, and anguish on his face now made sense.  

"What is he blackmailing you for?" I asked after a few seconds. 

"He just wants me to make his bitch," he spat out, bitterly. "He wants that control. No doubt, he was pretty pissed that day when I beat him up at the cafe. He didn't expect me to react, because he had this against me. But I couldn't just sit there and watch him act like a jerk towards you," he said.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, scared that he'd have some trouble just because he had tried to protect me.

"Don't be. I don't regret it. No girl deserves to be spoken to or treated like that," he said and looked at me with a small smile. "Especially if that girl is you."

His words made a strange warmth spread through my chest, something I had never felt before. And I reached out and squeezed his hand, "Thank you," I whispered.

"You're welcome," he said and intertwined his fingers with mine.

"What are you going to do now? How do we deal with this?"

"We?" He asked raising an amused eyebrow.

"Yes. We. We are in this together."

"As much as I like the sound of that, I don't want you anywhere near him. Besides, I do have something in my mind, I'll have to just wait and see if it pans out well."

Huh. That was very vague.

"Is there something I can do? Someway I can help?" I asked.

"Not really. But you sitting here and listening to me, is enough for now." He smiled.

And at that moment, I knew that he had quickly become one of the important people in my life, and I would do anything to help him out of this mess.

We sat there for a long time, speaking of everything and nothing until we got back to the beach house close to dawn. Both of us feeling much lighter and happier. Before I got into the bed, I took out my journal and scribbled down a small note.

***

October first:-

A silent seashore, in a moonlit night.
Where the two hearts spoke and the stars witnessed the sight.