Don't own Life with Dere. Enjoy chapter two.
xXx
The first night Casey spent in the hotel room with Derek passed without incident.
By the time that Casey had changed into her pajamas and left the bathroom, both Derek and Marti were already fast asleep on the bed. She crawled under the covers next to Marti and soon drifted off.
Morning had seemed to come to fast, the harsh buzzing of the cheap alarm clock waking Casey at the crack of dawn from her deep sleep. She had decided to shower and dress before attempting to try and wake her two step-siblings. She ended up having to enlist Marti's help to get Derek up, which resulted in the two of them jumping up and down on the bed calling his name over and over again.
"Crazy," Derek mumbled, finally rolling out of bed. "You're both completely crazy!"
Half an hour later the three joined the rest of their family outside their hotel rooms before they headed into town.
"What are we doing today," Edwin asked over breakfast, his mouth stuffed full of bacon and scrambled eggs.
"I thought we could visit Mackinac Island," Nora had answered. "And don't eat with your mouth full, Edwin."
"We can bike around the island," George added on, mixing sugar into his coffee.
"Eww," Derek replied. "I thought the whole point of a vacation was to have fun."
"It only takes a couple of hours and it's beautiful scenery. I'm sure you'll love it once we get started," Nora corrected.
"Mom, would you mind if I missed the bike ride? I hate to agree with Derek, but two hours of physical exertion really isn't my idea of a good time," Casey gently asked, pulling out a brochure she had grabbed the previous day. "And I was reading up about the island and there are a few spots I was hoping to check out."
"Only you would do research on vacation," Derek chirped in, "But if Casey's staying in town, so am I."
"I was hoping we would spend this vacation together, as a family," Nora encouraged, looking over at George for support.
"It's only two hours, honey. I don't think it will hurt to let them have a little fun on their own," he replied, before catching her eyes and quickly trying to correct his mistake. "Or they could come with us on the bike ride."
"Come on, Mom. Please?" Casey begged, tilting her head to the side and trying to sound as sweet as possible.
"I suppose," Nora finally caved, and Casey let out a squeal of joy. "But only if you stay with Derek. I don't like the idea of you wandering around the island by yourself."
"I'll stick to her like glue," Derek joked, and Casey eyed him.
"You're voluntarily spending the day with me? Are you feeling okay?" Casey whispered later as they had left the restaurant.
"Trust me, I'm choosing between the lesser of two evils here," he joked, before turning his attention back to Marti who was bouncing excitedly around him.
xXx
Casey wondered what possessed her to think that spending the day with Derek would have worked out. She had spent the rest of that morning marking which attractions she wanted to visit most and figuring out what would be the most effective order to view them in.
But as soon as they had said goodbye to their family, who had gone off to find the nearest bike rental shop after arriving on the island, Derek had taken off down the road without a word to Casey.
"Where do you think you're going?" She called out, running after him. Derek just shrugged in response. "We're suppose to stay together."
"Then be sure to follow closely," Derek smirked, jumping out the way of the horse drawn carriage that was making its way down the road. "Why are there horses?"
"The island doesn't allow cars so they still use horses. Speaking of which, you might want to look down." Casey replied and smiled as Derek jumped away from the pile of horse droppings he was about to step in.
"That is disgusting," Derek groaned, pulling Casey off the road and back onto the sidewalk.
"You're welcome," Casey sarcastically replied, pulling the map of the island out of her pocket. "Now, the fort is to our right so we just take this road…"
"Or we could go here," Derek interrupted, stopping to stare up at the dark building that loomed before them. It would have been eerie if not for the ticket booth and huge sign which read "Haunted Wax Museum"
"You would rather go to a haunted house than see a historical land mark?" Casey asked, staring up at the building in disgust.
"Most teenagers would," Derek sighed, grabbing her wrist and pulling her up the steps. Casey could felt herself pouting as Derek bought them a pair of tickets and unenthusiastically followed him into the dark, slender hallway.
xXx
"I still can't believe how scared you were," Derek laughed forty minutes later, as he sat down on the sandy beach. Casey had completely abandoned any hope of following her plan for the day and reluctantly agreed with Derek to walk several miles out of town to find some vacant sandy beaches.
She had to admit, it was beautiful here.
"I was not scared. Maybe a little startled," Casey protested, kicking off her sandals before joining him.
"Casey, you were so scared. I still have the bruises from your fingernails digging into my arm to prove it," he responded, throwing sand onto her lap.
"Jerk," she protested, trying to hide the smile forming on her lip as she quickly brushed it off herself.
"You know it was fun. I know you need to be reminded what that is every once in awhile," Derek laughed, laying back into the sand. Casey followed his example again, laying down with her hands folded behind her head for a pillow. The waves crashed around her ankles and the cold water sent a shiver through her spine.
"Where would I be without you?" Casey asked, her voice sounding less sarcastic than she had intended.
"Hey, I have to leave my mark before the university. Otherwise we might lose you to library forever," he joked and Casey had been surprised to find herself laughing.
"The Liberian will be so disappointed," she mused, pleased with herself when she heard Derek snicker.
She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, only that each time the waves crashed onto the beach they seemed to come up higher around them. Their jeans were soaking and she felt the bottom of her cotton shirt dampen.
She knew they should stand, there were dark colds rolling above the lake. They want to make it back to town before the storm came in.
But she didn't want to move first, the moment seemed too fragile to break.
It was the piercing sound of her cell phone that brought her back to reality. She reached up to her purse, which had dropped above her head.
"Hello," she answered, sitting up.
"Honey, its Mom. A bad storm is coming in, you need to get back to the ferry docks," her mother informed her.
"What about you guys? Are you going to be okay?" she asked, worried. She knew that they would only be halfway around the island at this point. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Derek propping himself up with his arms, his attention caught.
"We're fine, honey. We just got back into town. We noticed the clouds half an hour ago and decided to turn around. Where are you and Derek? The lines are starting to fill up," he mother inquired.
"We're about twenty minutes outside of town. Why don't you guys go ahead, we'll meet you back at the hotel," Casey suggested, standing up and motioning to Derek to follow.
"You sure you guys are going to be okay?" her mother asked, worried.
"We'll be fine. No need for all of us to get soaked," Casey laughed, before telling her mother that they would see her soon and not to worry anymore.
xXx
An hour and a half later, Derek and Casey finally boarded a ferry to take them to the mainland. They were both soaked to the bone, the first of the rain hitting them when they had only halfway back to town.
"You know, if we had been at the fort when my mother called we'd already be back at the hotel," Casey complained, her head pressed up against the wall of the packed ferry. Everyone had stuffed into the small cabin, ignoring the outside seats due to the storm.
"A little rain never hurt anyone," Derek protested, attempting to fan himself with Casey's water logged brochure as the temperature in the cabin rose. The ferry boat had just pulled away from the dock when Casey felt Derek grasp her hand and pull them from their seats.
Casey had been manhandling her all day and she was starting to get tired of it.
"Derek, what are you doing?" Casey demanded as they reached the door at the front of the cabin which lead to the outside deck.
"Do you really want to sweat to death in her? It's not like we aren't already wet," he asked, stepping out into the pouring rain and letting out a sigh of relief. Casey looked back; their seats had already been re-occupied.
"That a girl,' Derek laughed when Casey joined him in the rain, the heavy rain drops cooling her warm skin.
"I was already wet. But now I'm cold," she pouted, closing her eyes and tilting her head up towards the rain.
She could feel Derek moving next to her but before she could ask him what he was doing she felt him wrap his sweatshirt around her shoulders.
"Thanks," she offered, even though the material was heavy with water and clung to her skin. It had, however, offered some protection from the harsh wind.
"Nora would kill me if I let you freeze to death," he explained, tugging the hood up over her head before turning back to look towards the approaching land ahead.
Ten minutes later, as the boat docked and everyone rushed for the door the two were separated as the piled out on the road.
"Casey!" she heard Derek call out, his voice muffled by the voices and the first crack of thunder.
"Derek?" she responded, looking around desperately for him.
An old woman softly taped her shoulder and Casey turned to face her.
"Isn't that the boy you were with, over there?" she said, pointing towards Derek who was fighting his way through the crowd towards her.
"Yes, it is," Casey answered, thanking the woman with a warm smile.
"No problem, deary. You two make a precious couple, if you don't mind me saying so," the woman mused, leaving Casey speechless. By the time Derek reached her, the woman had already disappeared back into the crowd.
"You okay?" Derek asked, running a hand through his wet hair.
"I'm fine," Casey managed but Derek didn't seem to believe her, his eyes looking in the direction that the woman had disappeared before he gently took her arm and lead her back to their warmth and dryness of their hotel room.
xXx
I'd like to thank everyone who gave me such lovely feedback. Definitely inspired me on getting this chapter done. Keep the reviews coming!
Chapter three should be up sometime tonight or tomorrow. It's actually finished but I want to re-work several scenes before posting it. So look forward to that :)
