Chapter 1
-Current Time-
Chelsea's POV
~~~~~~~~~~~ The phone just sat there, as if saying, "That's right. You don't have the balls to use me." Sadly, I thought, "The phone's right. I'm just a sad little weakling who can't even use the phone."
I sighed, then picked up the phone. I didn't want to break my New Year's resolution (to not be defeated by inanimate objects.)
Dialing the number I felt my heart rate go up. Taking deep breaths and getting up from the table to pace, I heard someone on the other line pick up. As they spoke my pulse shot through the roof.
"Hello? Who is this?" The voice sounded exactly like my fathers. I felt chills run up my spine.
"May I please speak to Mark Gardner?" Goddess, my voice was shaking. Calm down, I thought.
"This is Mark. Who are you?" Wow, I thought, he sounds so grown up. I mentally conjured his picture and tried to make him grow up. It didn't work.
"Umm... This is uh..." Great Chelsea, I think, I'm just oozing intelligent.
"Listen. I don't want whatever you're selling. Just leave me alone, k?"
I took a deep breath, calming my racing heart, "Mark. Don't go. This is Chelsea. Please. Don't go."
Mark's POV
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Mark. Don't go. This is Chelsea. Please. Don't go."
Pictures of my first love came rushing to my head, making me dizzy. And the sudden headache? Yeah, that doesn't help much.
"Prove it. When was your birthday? If you really are Chelsea, you'll know." This was a trick question. Ma FOUND her on Spring 20, so we named that her birthday.
"I was FOUND on Spring 20. No one knows when I was born. Meanwhile, you were born on Winter 27, two days after Christmas," she started to speak a little quieter, "Please believe me. I just want to know what happened five years ago. I really want to know what happened once I left. Just tell me that then you can forget I ever existed if you want."
Shit, I thought, she thinks I can forget the best eight years of my life in the blink of an eye?
Should I be happy that she called or angry that she left in the first place, leaving me alone with our damned father? Maybe excited at the chance that she may actually come back into my life?
"Listen. Chelsea. You can come home. It'll be better if I tell you everything in person. I know exactly what dad did to you. The abuse, the starving, every tiny detail. But you can come back now. He's gone. Please come back to the island, you can start over. We can run the ranch together, just like how mother and father did. If you really are Chelsea, you can come home any day." I hope she understood that I meant to run it like a husband and wife, but I don't get my hopes up. She was oblivious to everything involving stuff like that.
"..." There was a really long pause. I prayed to the Harvest Goddess that she would take me seriously on this.
Chelsea- "SURE! It took me a while to respond, mainly cause I thought that it was a joke. I mean, this is too perfect to be true! I've been dreaming for a long time about coming back and joining you to run the farm with my big brother."
I tuned her out as I remembered that, to her, I would always be her big brother. For as long as she'd been gone, I had missed her presence and dreamed of her return. I dreamt of us making out and, uh, more. Having little blue and green-eyed children. And just being together. All of this shattered when I remembered my place. I wasn't supposed to be at the altar, but the one walking her down the church's aisle. The uncle, not the father of her kids. All I would ever be to her was the brother. She'd never see as a man, but as her friend. Her voice interrupted my thoughts.
"So can I come over tomorrow?"
"Uh sure. I'll tell ya everything once you get here." As I said this I looked around at the pigsty that was my house. Being a single guy, there were various utensils scattered across the room, and clothes everywhere except a small bedside table where there were photos. "See you then, Chels."
Seconds after hanging up I dialed up Denny, my best friend. I can't clean up a house that hasn't been cleaned in three years in sixteen hours. I need help.
"Hey Denny, come over to my house now." And I hung up. It's best to keep things simple with Denny. I was ten minutes into the mess when I heard him knock.
"Dude next time when ya invite me over could you be a little less vague? I only brought Halo 3 cause I didn't know what you wanted and if you think that I'll go back for somethin else-"
"Save it man. Chelsea's coming back. Now help me clean." I watched my dark-skinned friend as his emotions turned from confusion to glee to... something I couldn't quite place.
Denny's POV
~~~~~~~~~~~
WHAT THE HELL?
Why is she coming back? Why now, after all us guys had just gotten over her absence, just recovered over the loss of our first love? And why didn't Mark know about all our crushes? Was he really that much of a retard? Well whatever. Bastard could any single woman on the island (minus Julia and Natalie) they were all head over heels in love with him, but he wasn't showing preferences to anyone.
This left all the rest off us scrambling around to get any female affection. Elliot and Julia hooked up often, and Natalie had Pierre wrapped around her finger. How did the LOSERS get the girls while the hotties stayed single? But maybe I could get Chelsea to fall for me so I could get laid, or have small little boys run around while she made dinner...
I forgot how easy it was to get caught up in old daydreams. Now as I cleaned up three years worth of mess, I thought of something.
"Hey Mark? Where's she gonna sleep?" I could probably get her to stay at my place if I played my cards right. Maybe she would fall for me in less than a week. Note to self: go to Chen's to get condoms, and birth control. Oh yeah.
"My place I guess. I mean, she could stay at the inn, but it's kinda a rough crowd over there, she could get taken advantage of, man." As he said this, I watched his face. That was the look of- Nah never mind.
I decided to put myself out there, "I have an extra bed. Chels could always stay at my place. No rent or anything. She would just have to make dinner. I remember her cooking was the bomb." Trying to stay casual, while actually having my life in the hands of my best friend is probably one of the hardest things to do. Up there with licking your elbow.
"Nah man. You'd rape her too." He knows me too well. Shit. Mark's face show's what I'm pretty sure is... longing? Whatever, I'm the main character in this story. And to say my dreams just died is a very accurate portrayal of what just happened.
"Chelsea'll just have to sleep with me then. I'm probably the only man who won't use her anyway. It'll be easier so she can work on the farm anyway."
Chelsea's POV
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I sang in the shower, I heard Will open the door. He'd been the first person I'd met in the city and had let me stay with him, and work as a maid. I had just finished up in the shower and wrapped the towel around my chest when he walked in.
Blushing madly and clutching my towel for support, I opened my mouth to ask him to leave uh, NOW, when he laid his pointer finger on my mouth.
"Chelsea. Why on earth is there a trunk full of all of your clothes on your bed? Where are you going on such short notice?" The hurt in his pale blue eyes was apparent, although I had no idea why it was there. He removed his finger from my mouth.
"I'm leaving the city to go live with my brother at his ranch. I want answers. I'm tired of not knowing," I looked down in shame, "I'm super sorry for it being short notice. But I just feel so trapped up in your penthouse, I need to go back to the place of my childhood. I have to know who I am, where I belong, and who I belong with." I looked up and noticed he had closed the distance between us. His breath smelled of mint, and I unconsciously took a step back, while he took another one towards me.
When I felt strong arms wrap around me, I instantly tensed up and blushed deeper. It didn't help that I was in my towel, but Will either didn't care or didn't notice. I felt his voice through my body as he spoke.
"You are the one person who can make me smile. That's who you are. You belong by my side every second of the day. That's where you belong." He gripped me tighter, and I could feel my wet hair bleeding into his suit. "Chels, you belong with me. I love you so much damn it. Don't go."
I waited in silence for him to burst out laughing, or declare that this was a trick. After what seemed like hours, all I could do was pull away from the bear hug, look into his eyes, furrow my brow, and manage a, "Whaaat?"
He let me go and walked out of the bathroom leaving me just staring at nothing in particular.
Looks like I can't leave as easily as I thought I could.
As I lay in my bed looking up at my ceiling, I try to make sense of what the hell just happened. It sounded to me like Will just confessed his love. I looked at the clock on my beside table.
2:00 am. Seven hours from now I'd get on a ship and leave Will forever. I wasn't leaving any friends behind except Will. That's all he was; a friend. I couldn't return his feelings no matter how hard I tried.
This was a brand new feeling to me, seeing as no one had ever loved me like that before. I had never felt so angry at myself. Will deserved to be with the one he loved. Oh well. He would get over me, maybe even fall for his secretary, Lily.
I heard my door creak open. Feigning sleep in case it was a robber, I felt someone climb into bed with me.
Okay, really Will? Really?
Opening my eyes just a crack, I saw his face as he watched me "sleep." I watched as he picked me up gently to move me onto his chest and wrapped his arms around me. I heard him mumble something about the last night.
His heart beat slowly like a drum, and I tried to fight the instant wave of drowsiness. It didn't work.
I watched as Will shrank into the distance. This was it. Rolling my suitcase into the lobby of the ship, I took a look around. Minus some guy in cowboy attire, I was the only passenger. As I sat down, I let out a big sigh. I could finally go home.
Humming the Daughtry song "I'm Comin Home," I watched out the corner of my eye as the cowboy stared at me.
Turning my head to stare back menacingly at him, I realized he looked really familiar. With his silver hair framing his masculine features, he looked like a superhero with violet eyes staring at full intensity. He knows me too. Huh?
I turned away from him to dig "Gone With the Wind" out of my suitcase to read. My ADD didn't allow me to focus on things for long periods of time.