Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing!!!!! ;)
So here it is….I hope it didn't suck…I think it's decent, but it's okay if you guys don't like it :)
And also…I'm probably not accurate on my knowledge of this kind of stuff, so if I get something wrong, please let me know, and I'll seriously fix it!
Chapter 1
Dutch Harbor Alaska was cold this time of year, heck, it was cold every time of the year, but it was colder now. It was the beginning of January, which marked the start of opilio crab season. Boats were lined up along the dock, each of them eagerly waiting to get the 'all clear' from Fish and Game and the Coast Guard.
Ava pulled her jacket closer to her frame as the frigid Alaskan air blew through it. She bounced on the heels of her feet, looking up and down the dock, hoping someone she knew would just happen to pass her on their way to their boat. But of course, that didn't happen. She trained her eyes until she finally spotted the 125 foot vessel. She smiled, that single blue boat was what gave her most of what she owned. She could see the crew diligently working, preparing for departure. She slowly made her way over to the old fishing boat. Once she got there she placed two hands on the rail then jumped over it, gracefully landing on both feet on the deck of the boat. She heard a whistle behind her,
"Man, you do that so perfectly. You'd think you were one of us." Ava turned around and smiled at Dave,
"Well, you know, technically I am." She replied. He chuckled and walked over to her.
"What are you doing here Ava?" he asked, suddenly serious. She smiled sadly,
"I need to have a word with my dad, you know where he is?" she asked. Dave nodded,
"Wheelhouse." She nodded thanks and then headed across the deck. She met eyes with Josh, who looked slightly concerned, but she quickly looked away. She didn't want to deal with that now. She quickly opened the door and ignored the looks she was getting from the rest of the crew. She was glad when she reached the stairs for the wheelhouse. She made her way quickly up the stairs, her deck boots making tiny thuds on each one. By the time she reached the top, her dad had already stood up, meeting her half way.
"What are you doing here? Where's your mother?" Phil asked, wondering what his daughter was even doing here. Ava sighed,
"Nice to see you too, dad." She said. Phil rolled his eyes,
"Don't gimme that Ava, why are you here?" Ava laughed,
"It's your turn." She said. Phil looked at her like she was crazy,
"What?" he asked. Ava looked at him,
"Kate said it was your turn, she dropped me off here this morning…You know it's really not that bad, she was starting to get boring, her parental decisions were actually starting to get predictable, this one totally threw me off." She stated, leaning against a chair.
"Is she insane? She left a 15 year old girl alone in Dutch Harbor? In this weather?" Phil yelled, obviously angry.
"I'm 16." Ava corrected, not taking note of anything else he had said. Phil paused, but pretended like he didn't care,
"I'm about to leave port, I cant deal with you right now." He said, starting to head down the stairs.
"Oh and the love just keeps gettin better!" she shouted as she followed him down the stairs. Phil's fists clenched but he kept on moving until he was standing on the deck. He immediately saw Josh and Jake standing together watching him walk on deck followed by Ava. The rest of the crew knew this was a family matter, so they kept to themselves, most of them walking out of hearing range. They knew there would be arguing. Phil turned around and faced Ava, she was shivering. He took that moment to see what she was wearing, dark blue skinny jeans, deck boots pulled on over them, and Alaskan Fish Supply sweatshirt, and a small black jacket. She didn't have any gloves.
"You cold?" he asked. Ava gave him a look, then glanced away, noticing all the snow and ice that surrounded her.
"You know dad, I really shouldn't have come here, I don't know what I was thinking you would do." She said looking back at him. "I mean, I'm not really your daughter, because in order to be that, I would actually have to be loved by you, and you would actually have to know my age." Phil looked like he was about to explode. Ava looked away, not wanting to see him, she saw the Northwestern a couple boats down.
"Now you listen here Ava—"
"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come. Hey, I'm 16, I should be able to figure something out, I'm sure I can find a couple nice boozers down at the Elbow Room that are willing to help me out…great environment you've got here." She said.
"Ava" Phil said,
"No, you know, I always knew that I'd be disappointed by my dead beet mom, but I always figured that maybe one day my dead beet dad would step in, guess not, now I'm disappointed by both of them." She said, as she carefully and perfectly hoped back off the boat and onto the dock. "It was nice seeing you Captain." She said as she mock saluted him. And with that, Ava walked away, afraid that Captain Phil Harris would see the tears that were forming in her eyes.
