* So I am really struggling with my Boondock story and needed a break. I saw Norman Reedus' movie, Floating on youtube and just fell in love with Van. I started writing this story and have seven chapters done. Thank you to the betas that helped me through this first chapter! Please Review!*
Slowly, Van's legs swung back and forth as he sat on the dock over the lake he had grown up on. His lips were pressed tightly together but he was biting in the inside of them on the left side. He was mad and needed some time alone. It was the end of May and he knew all his friends would be coming back from college and he didn't want to see them. Well, he wanted to see Julie. He was, at least, excited to see her. They had kind of been a couple during the end of their high school years and had plans to go off to college together until Van realized that he couldn't leave. Not yet. He just couldn't leave his dad yet. Now it was two years later, and he still wasn't ready to go.
A noise a few yards ahead of him caught Van's attention and brought his head up. A small boat was slowly gliding across the water with a young girl sitting in it alone. She had rowed out to the spot and he could see that she was crying. Over the slight slaps of the water against the boat, he could hear her sobs. Van frowned and watched as she stood up with yellow thin nylon rope in her hands. She quickly tied the end of it around her right wrist, giving it a few tugs to make sure it was good and tight. When she was satisfied with her job, she bend down and picked up a small metal object. She struggled slightly with the weight, tilting to the side before straightening herself again. Van's frown deepen when he noticed the rope around her wrist was also around the metal object.
" What the fuck?" He whispered as he pulled his legs up and started to stand. To his horror, she tossed the metal object into the lake...then jumped in after it. " What the fuck!" He yelled. The part of the lake she had placed her small boat wasn't deep but it was deep enough that the water would be over her head and she would drown. He jumped into the water after her.
Van pushed himself towards the area she had disappeared in. The coolness of the water sliced across his skin as his legs propelled him forward. He ducked his head under the surface and started swimming down into the depths. It didn't take long before he felt silky strands of hair touch his fingers. His hands moved down until he touched a face, neck, then shoulders.
He felt down her arms until he felt the rope around her wrist. He held on tight to her with one hand while his other one went to his back pocket, where he kept his pocket knife. He yanked it out of the pocket, struggled to bring the knife out then tugged on the rope. He brought her hand through the water, knowing every second she had without air was critical. His own lungs were starting to burn and he hadn't been in the water as long as she had.
The slice of his knife freed the girl from the metal weight. Van started kicking as hard as he could, gripping her wrist with one hand and pushed them through the water with the other. Seconds later, the much needed air hit his face. Van inhaled as deeply as he could, coughing a few seconds later. He lost his hold on his knife as he grabbed at her with both hands. He yanked her up and against his chest.
" Hey!" Van yelled as her back hit his chest. Her head lobbed back against his shoulder but her hair was covering her face so he couldn't tell if she was breathing. " Hey you!" Van yelled as he started swimming on his back.
He slipped one arm under her arms and across her chest while his other arm worked to bring him towards the shore. He continued to call out to her, giving her a shake and a squeeze as best as he could with his one arm but she never responded to him. Van started to swear and kick his legs harder. Slower and slower the shore was coming and soon Van felt the muddy bottom of the lake. He turned slightly to his side and yanked on her harder.
" Girl!" Van yelled. His hand sank into the bank of the lake so he turned again and pulled her forward. He pushed the strands of her dark and blond hair from her face then pressed his fingertips to her throat. "Shit!" Van yelled when he couldn't feel a heartbeat. He dropped his head to her chest and held his breath. " Shit." He whispered.
Thankfully, Van knew how to give CPR. He had been taught how to do the technique years ago and always made sure he kept up with it every year. He linked his hands together, placed them over her heart as he sat up on his knees, and started to pump. He worked the compressions, counting out loud as he had been taught to do then dropped down to her face. He tilted her head back, plugged her nose and fastened his mouth against her. He blew into her mouth as hard as he could before pulling away again.
Another round of compressions, two more breaths into her body had Van begging her to breath. His work and words seemed to start to work. Her chest shot up slightly, her eyes opened and she gave a short inhale before water bubbled out of her mouth and she started to cough. Van rolled her to her side with her face away from him. He started to rub her back quickly.
" That's it!" He said quickly while she gasp for breath and coughed. " Get it out! Good job!" Van coached.
One of her hands came up and through the mud. She pushed herself up slightly and rolled onto her stomach more. She wretched but only water came out of her. He patted her back a little more forcefully and continued to encourage her to breath. She coughed, gagged then coughed. A few minutes went by before she almost collapsed onto her side with her eyes shut, panting as she did so.
" You're alright. It's okay now." Van was saying over and over again. She opened her eyes and turned onto her back. She brought her hands up and rubbed at her eyes as she coughed again. She wiped some mud across her forehead before she looked up at him.
" Who are you?" She asked with her voice raspy.
" Who am I? That's all you have to say? You just tried to kill yourself!" Van explained. She brought her hands to the ground and pushed herself up, forcing Van to sit back.
" You saw that?" She asked. In disbelief, Van's hands dropped to his thighs. His heart was racing and was in his throat while she seemed almost calm.
" Fuck yeah I did! I was sitting on the dock when you jumped in!" He explained.
" I should go." The girl said as she started to rise. Van's mouth dropped open while he watched her stand. She staggered slightly, making Van shoot up and grab at her arm. " I'm okay. I'm okay." She said.
" Like hell you are!" Van explained.
" No, really, I am." She said, taking her arm back from him. " Thank you." She said, looking up at him with bright green eyes.
" What the hell?" Van asked. She started backing up on shaky legs while gathering up her tangled hair in her hands.
" Thank you, really. I mean it. Wow. I can't even...express my thanks enough to you." She said with a nod. Van watched, unable to move or speak as she turned and hurried away from him.
NRNRNR
Van sighed as he strolled through the small store later that day. He needed beer and smokes and lucky for him, one of his old friends that didn't go to college was working that night so he knew he'd get to buy the beer. A few short months and he'd turn twenty one and not have to worry about when his friend was working. For now, getting John's schedule was a must, and today he was more thankful than usual. His mind was still spinning around and it hadn't slowed since he had saved the strange girl from suicide.
" Dad, you know you can't drink that shit." Van's steps faltered at the sound of the voice in the next aisle. He heart started to pound harder. That was her voice. He knew because he had spent the afternoon going over the events and had her voice memorize.
" I can drink what I want. I'm a grown ass man." An older voice snapped.
Van started walking again, needing to see if it was the same girl. He reached the end of his aisle at the same time she reached hers. Shock rolled through him and echoed in her eyes. She looked different than he last saw her, cleaner. Her clothes were dry, her hair was pulled up in a very messy bun style with strands framing her face. He could see that it was colored, with alternating blond and dark brown colors through it. She had a piercing on the right side of her bottom lip that she was chewing out slightly.
" Oh...hi." She said when she released the piercing.
" Hey." Van said.
She looked down the aisle way, making Van turned his head to see what she was looking at. An older man, about the same age of his own dad was standing a few yards away, looking up at the shelves of booze. Van looked back at the girl as she looked at him. She was wearing a long sleeve, tight white shirt and a pair of loose fitting black cargo pants. Small black converses, much like his, were peaking out from her pants. Her fingers were working quickly inside her sleeves, he knew because he could see movement flash every so often.
" So...are you okay?" Van asked. Her hands shot out of her sleeves suddenly. She grabbed his arm and started forward, forcing him to walk backwards.
" Can we not talk about that right now? That's my dad." She whispered quickly. He glanced over her head then back at her again.
" Yeah, okay." Van said with a small nod. She visually relaxed as her hands slipped from his arm.
" Thanks." She said.
" So are you?" Van asked.
" Am I what?" She asked.
" Okay? Are you okay?" He asked.
" Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. That was stupid of me and I'm really thankful you saw it." She said with a smile. Van frowned at how lighthearted she seemed about trying to drown herself. If he hadn't seen her, she'd be dead right now but instead, she was smiling up at him.
" Yeah." He said slowly. " I'm glad I saw it too."
" I'm Avalon, by the way." She said, sticking one of her hands out for him to shake. One of Van's eyebrows went up but he slowly took her hand and shook it.
" Van." He said.
" Avalon, I'm ready." She looked over her shoulder at the same time Van did. The older man had come out of the aisle and was staring at them.
" Okay, Dad." She looked back at Van, dropped his hand and shrugged. " It was nice to see you again, and actually meet you." She said while she walked backwards.
" You too." Van said. She sucked in her piercing and smiled again before she turned around and jogged back to her dad.
" Who is that?" Van heard her dad ask. She placed a hand on the man's arm and started leading him towards the check out.
" Just a friend I met when I was out earlier. Come on, Daddy, I'm hungry." Avalon said.
NRNRNR
Van snuck out of his house as soon as his dad was sleeping. He crossed through his darkened yard, slipping one of his cigarettes into his mouth. The warm night air surrounded him, licking against the bare skin of his arms. He had bought his beer, tied it to a string then tied the other end of the string to the dock, to keep it cool. And now he was ready to have some drinks. He needed something to relax him. In just a few short days, his crew would be rolling back into town and Van was both excited and nervous.
Van hit the well worn path that would take him from his house to the dock he always went too. It was deep in the woods, resting on a little known spot on the lake. It was private and alone, just like he wanted to be. Alone. He needed to be alone to think, to get his head on straight. He wanted to see Julie, didn't he? Yeah, he did because Van knew to see Julie would mean getting laid. Before she left, they had had a very sexual relationship and Van hadn't seen anyone since.
Light slashing got Van's attention again. He squinted his eyes and bend down behind some bushes when he neared the dock. He cursed quietly when he noticed someone was sitting on the dock with their legs dangling over the edge. He didn't want to see anyone. He wanted to be alone to think, something he couldn't do in the shit hole house he shared with his dad. Van frowned and straighten up. He would just go and get his beer than leave.
And that was his plan. He was sure it was a solid one until he reached the door, stepped on a stick and attracted the stranger's attention. To his surprise, Avalon sat up straight and turned to look at him. Van slowed his steps and put his hands in his pockets. She smiled at him as he stepped onto the dock, feeling unsure of what he should say to her.
" Hi again." Avalon said.
" Ah, hey." Van's voice was softer than usual and he knew it. But how was one supposed to act when one saves the life of a girl who wanted to kill herself. " What are you doing?"
" Don't worry. I'm not trying to kill myself. I tried once and failed so I'm giving it up." She said. Her light attitude towards the events shocked Van so he started to rub the back of his neck.
" Good." He said. He reached the middle of the dock and stopped walking. " So...um...you want a beer?" He heard himself asking.
" Sure." Avalon said. Van nodded then slowly sank down to his knees. He leaned over the side of the dock and grabbed at the string. He pulled the beer out of the water then quickly untied the six pack. " You keep your beer in the lake?" He nodded as he straighten up, hearing the laughter in her voice.
" Yeah. it keeps them cool." He said, walking over towards her.
She turned to the face the lake again, linking her ankles together and making room for Van at the edge. He sat down beside her, pulled off two beers then sat the rest aside. He handed one over to her before wiping off the top of his own. While they readied their beers, Van quickly gave her a once over. Sitting in between them were her black converse shoes, one of top of the other. She had changed from her pants to a pair of soft looking shorts. The tip of her small toes were dancing over the water's surface as she slowly swung her legs.
" So where did you move into?" Van asked as he turned his attention out to the lake.
" That empty house on Mac's Lane." Avalon answered as she popped the tad on her beer. That was just one street over from Van's old house.
" The old Rowe place?" Van asked.
" I guess so but now it's the new Weathervane place." The two looked at each other at the same time. Avalon smiled again. " That's my last name." Van found himself smiling before he chuckled and looked away to take a drink.
" So why did you do it?" Van asked.
" And that is a question who's answer will come when I know you better." Avalon said, making him look back at her quickly before looking away. Silence settled over them. Van bit into his bottom lip, left side again, his favorite side. She took a few drinks while he squinted his eyes. Finally, he took a deep breath,
" Where did you come from?" He asked after swallowing.
" Pennsylvania." Avalon said, taking her own drink.
" You move here with your parents?" Van asked.
" No, just me and my dad." She said. She brought the beer back to her pale pink lips and closed her eyes to take another drink.
" Where's your mom? Did she die?" Van asked.
" No. She's out there." Avalon said. Van gave her a sideways glance to find her drinking again.
" She left?" He asked her in surprise. Avalon smiled in the darkness before she laughed, making him look at her again.
" And yet another question that will have to wait on it's answer." She said. She looked at him with her smile still in place. " I need to go. Thanks for the beer, Van. And saving my life. You're cute. I hope I see you around." She placed a hand on his shoulder, leaned in and kissed his cheek before she snatched up her shoes. She pulled her legs up, stood up and walked away from him. Van turned and placed one hand on the dock to watch her disappear into the darkness.
Maybe this summer won't be so boring after all.