Well this is my new fic, hope you enjoy. I do have to warn you that at times this will not be an easy read. Just to give you more of an idea about the story, Shannon is the main female OC in this, she travels to Dutch Harbour to reunite with an old flame but not to win him back. She has a secret to confess and once you've read this chapter, you will know what the secret is so I won't spoil it for you.
WARNING - This story WILL be upsetting and distressing at times. I apologise in advance if that offends anyone but I want to tackle difficult issues in my writing. It's a challenge and I like challenges. If you don't want to read something dark and at times upsetting, please do not read. For those of you that do, I hope I can do this story justice and I would love to have some feedback so PLEASE review! Thanks :) xx
Chapter One
'Ladies and gentleman we have now arrived in Dutch Harbour, the time is now 17.00, we hope you had a great flight….'
The Pilot's words blared out through the sound system on the tiny little plane as it shuddered to a halt but she wasn't listening, she was too busy thinking.
She'd never been here before, she'd never WANTED to come here and she was half tempted to just get on the first plane back to Anchorage so she could go home. But she couldn't go home, she was here for a reason, a very important reason.
The trip here meant life or death for the person she cared most about in the entire world and she had to fight for her, she had to do everything she could to save her. She remained in her seat as the other passengers began to push and shove each other to get off the plane. She pulled out her purse and opened it to reveal a photograph of her beautiful little girl Caitlin.
She was her whole world and right now she was lying in a hospital fighting for her life back in California. She had gone from being a perfectly healthy, happy, normal 10 year old girl to a very frail and sick little girl in the space of just a few months.
Caitlin had never been one to tire easily or catch colds but some months back, she suddenly started to pick up every little bug or virus that was going around in school. She would tire out so quickly after doing little things and Shannon knew straight away that something was wrong with her daughter.
She'd taken her to the doctor who'd given her a blood test. When the results of the test came back, her world pretty much shattered. The doctor had called her while she was at work to give her the news that he suspected that Caitlin, her beautiful Caitlin, was suffering from Leukaemia.
Caitlin was taken straight to the hospital where even more tests could be run on her so the cancer could be officially diagnosed. After the spinal tap and the chest x-rays came back, the doctors confirmed the diagnosis.
Time had stood still ever since she'd known about her illness. She'd quit her job to be with Caitlin full time, she never missed any of her hospital appointments, she had rarely left her side and now here she was thousands of miles away from her. She hoped and prayed that nothing would happen to her whilst she was gone but she HAD to be here, seeing him would be her last hope, Caitlin's last hope.
'Excuse me Miss, you can leave now,' the petite stewardess who'd flirted her way through the entire flight abruptly interrupted Shannon's train of thought.
She looked around the plane to find it empty, she hadn't even noticed that everyone had left except her. She quickly jumped out of her seat and grabbed her rucksack from the shelf above her before she left the plane.
By the time her feet hit the tarmac everyone had gone, she was now on her own in a strange town and she had no idea where she could find him. She had meant to ask someone on the flight where she could find the boat that she was looking for but it had slipped her mind. The only person that she could think about was Caitlin.
She walked straight ahead and entered the warmth of the tiny little airport terminal which was virtually empty except for a few members of staff manning information desks. She hoped that one of the staff would help her and not class her as a Deadliest Catch groupie coming her to act as a sperm bucket for one of the shows so called 'stars'.
'How may I help you?'
She chose to go to the oldest and nicest looking person available, hopefully she would be more helpful than some of the young, snooty looking staff caked in make-up so thick that a chisel would be required to remove it from their stuck up faces.
'Um well I've come here to find someone and the only information I have about him is what boat he's on, I was hoping that you could give me some directions….'
'Honey, if it's a fisherman you're after right now, there's only one place they'll be and it won't be on a boat!' The lady laughed as Shannon looked at her suspiciously. 'There's a bar called the Unisea about a fifteen minute walk from here. Just leave the airport and keep walking straight ahead, it'll be on your right hand side. You won't miss it, the noise will guide you there! Good luck honey, if I were thirty years younger I'd be joining ya!'
She grinned as Shannon said thank you and quickly made her exit from the building. She really did not want their first meeting to be in a packed bar full of his friends but what choice did she have? If he was there, she'd have to try and take him outside to explain things, she wasn't prepared to divulge such private information in a room full of drunken fisherman and their groupies.
Instead of worrying about what he would do or say, she pushed her fears to the back of her mind and started walking. She'd thought about coming here years ago to tell him her secret but she'd never had the money or the guts to do it. From what she had read about him online, he seemed to be doing alright for himself and he was definitely a hit with the women. Then again, he always had been, even in Middle and High school.
Back then, so many girls had been jealous of her. She wasn't really all that pretty, not compared to some of the really 'popular' girls anyway but somehow, she managed to win him. She'd fallen for him hard and fast, he was everything she had ever wanted in a man but now she could see how stupid she had been. She could and should have played it safe and not got involved with someone who got into trouble nearly every day, she should have picked someone who was more responsible but no, it was the danger that attracted her and the thought that she could 'tame' him.
Her mother had warned her that things would end badly, that he would use her and spit her out when he was done but she'd never believed her. She'd been left broken hearted when her mother's words had come true, he had meant so much to her and she'd been so fucking stupid to not see what an asshole he was. The only good thing to come out of their relationship was Caitlin and for that, she would be forever grateful to him.
As she continued to walk, she could hear music and laughter ringing out in the distance. The noises made her quicken her pace, she wanted to get this meeting out of the way as soon as possible because the more she thought about it, the more she would worry.
She was breathless by the time she reached the bar. There were a few people hanging around outside and as soon as they saw her they began to look at her like she was an alien or something. She felt uncomfortable under their gaze so instead of waiting around to make an entrance she decided to just go into the bar and try to find him in the crowd.
As soon as she opened the creaky door, the smell of smoke and hard liquor nearly knocked her out. She wasn't used to visiting places like this, it was rare that she had a night out because she always wanted to be there for Caitlin. She didn't want her growing up and having memories of a drunken mother stumbling home at three in the morning so her nights out were few and far between but that didn't bother her, she would rather be anywhere else in the world but here right now but this was her last hope, he was her last hope, she had to do this for her daughter.
She pushed past some burly men as she tried to fight her way to the front of the crowded bar. She looked around at the crowded faces that were packed like sardines in a tin around the place but she didn't recognise anyone, the only hope she had of finding him was asking the barmaid if he was here, she would probably know who he was.
After getting some dirty looks and some swear words directed her way, she managed to squeeze herself in-between two guys who looked pretty pissed off with her presence.
'Not very ladylike to shove people around like that is it?' One of the men slurred as she wrinkled her nose up at his funky breathe.
'I'm no lady so go fuck yourself,' she snapped back, she was in no mood to fuck around today and anyone that stepped in her path was going to feel the full force of her wrath.
'Honey, if you're looking to hook up with someone here, I wouldn't talk to them quite like that!' The barmaid smirked as she looked at Shannon, at least her attitude had managed to attract her attention.
'I'm looking for someone actually. Do you know if Josh Harris is here?'
