Chapter 11: Wanting to Cry, Day 2
The next morning, I woke up and debated going over to Sayid's cell. I wasn't sure how suspicious it would be if I showed up two days in a row to bring him lunch. Rather than risk it, I opted to stay away. Phil and whoever else was on duty would make sure he ate. It wasn't my job. I needed to stay under the radar and avoiding Sayid was the way to do it.
After doing my morning routine, I headed to school, ready for a long day. The early dismissal the day before had messed up my schedule and now I needed to make up for it today. We had projects to do, notes to take and a recorder practice that I wasn't looking forward to.
I assigned their new project and the students spent the better half of their afternoon researching ancient Egypt and hieroglyphics. I walked the classroom, helping if needed or pointing out a source they forgot about. Thankfully, the day passed relatively quickly and soon, it was just about time for dismissal.
I gave them the last ten minutes to chat with their friends or work on their homework. They had been so well behaved; I couldn't force them to work any more. It wasn't fair in my opinion. As they talked, I looked down at my lesson plan book, debating the due date on their project.
"Ms. Carlyle?" One of the students called from the back of the room, shaking me from my reverie.
I quickly shook my head and smiled out to the classroom. "Yes?"
"Did Mr. LeFleur really capture a Hostile? Ben Linus said…" The class grew quiet and they all turned to me, waiting for an answer. All they had to do was ask their parents, but they wouldn't. Asking theteacher was always the easier option.
"Kyle, is that an appropriate question to ask in class?" I frowned at the student in question and he shook his head, his cheeks turning bright pink.
"No ma'am. I'm sorry," Kyle lowered his head and went back to his work. I shook my head and resumed staring down at my lesson plan book while the students went back to chatting, occasionally glancing up at me or over at Kyle.
When the bell rang, the students quickly collected their things and headed out the door. I stood outside for a few minutes, watching students collect their things and walk home. Once I was certain everyone was gone and the building was empty of students, I filed my papers in my briefcase and headed out the door, locking it behind me.
I headed down the sidewalk, waving to a few students as I went. It was a beautiful day and had been for several days now. I kept waiting for the torrential rainstorm to hit, but it hadn't as of yet. Taking in a deep breath, I shut my eyes and smiled. The flowers were in full bloom and it smelled wonderful.
After changing out of my uniform and into jeans and a blouse, I fixed a cup of tea and sat on the front porch. Miles was supposed to come over and I was cooking dinner, but with everything that was going on, I wasn't sure if our plans had stayed the same. He very rarely stood me up, and only when it had been necessary. The last time had been a security breach at the Looking Glass. The people down there had seen a sub nearby and Miles had been sent to investigate. It turned out to be nothing, but it was still inconvenient.
I looked down atthe small diamond on my finger glittered in the sunlight and smiled. It wasn't an engagement ring, but closer along the idea of a promise ring. I wasn't ready to marry him, I was still too young. We were still together, and that was all I cared about at the moment.
Children played Frisbee in the yard and others sat around. The sky grew dark as I waited for Miles and one by one, all the children went inside. I knew it was late, but I wasn't exactly sure what crickets emerged, singing their songs as the lightning bugs blinked in the semi-darkness. I watched James walk up the steps to his house before turning back and heading towards me. "What are you doing here?" I asked, standing up to give him a quick hug.
He leaned against the rail, successfully avoiding my outstretched arms."Kate inside?" No hi, how are you, just down to business.
"Yeah, she's inside." He knocked and avoided looking at me.
The door opened and she glanced at me before looking up at James. "Hi."
"Kalie, do you mind?"
Rolling my eyes, I picked up my teacup and headed into the house. I shouldn't complain, but Kate got on my nerves. She played around with James before, and I wouldn't put it past her to do it again.
I could barely make out their voices, but I knew they were talking. Glancing over at the clock, I sighed when I saw the time. It was nearly nine thirty, much longer after Miles was supposed to show up. He didn't stand me up often, but when he did it hurt.
A loud crashing sound echoed from outside and I ran to the door, pulling it open and stepping out. "What's going on?" I asked, peeking out. Just as I looked, one of our Dharma vans flew passed, its inside alight with flames. "Oh my!" My hands flew to my mouth and I followed James and Kate down the steps. The van crashed into a house and the flames were quickly spreading. Before our very eyes, the house was going up in flames.
I was frozen for a moment, staring at the fire. In the three years we had been here, we'd never had a burning bus. Now that Jack, Kate and Hurley were back, things were already falling apart. I heard James say something similar to Kate before heading off to the water my head, I pulled myself from my thoughts and ran towards the building. People were already climbing from the windows. I helped a girl through, recognizing her as one of my students from the previous year. "Jessie, is anyone else inside?" I asked the girl and she shook her head. Kate helped them walk away while I ran towards the water tower. Just as we made it away from the building, an explosion sounded and the force of it knocked me down.
Standing up and brushing off my pants, I raced over to one of the water towers and joined the group. We grabbed hoses and soon, the water flowed onto the flames. It wasn't enough and the fire kept spreading. More water hoses came and together, we managed to get the fire down. "I'll take that hose," Phil said, jogging up to me. Without waiting for an answer, he took it from me and I stood aside, my hands on my hips.
As the flames died, the commotion died. Slowly, people went back to their houses and the hoses were rolled back up. Horace was surveying the damage and Jessie's family milled about."Kalie!" Turning on my spot, I sighed, not really wanting to see him right now. "What are you doing?"
"Well I was waiting for you when the bus drove through the house. What was I supposed to do, let everyone else fight the fire? Where were you?"
"It's been a long night. Can we go back to your house and I'll tell you all about it?" He placed his hand on my lower back and began leading me towards the house.
Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, I shook my head. "No. I need to go to bed. I'm sorry, but you'll have to tell me tomorrow." I stood on my toes to kiss his cheek before walking away. I didn't want to talk to him now, not after I wanted so long for him. I knew it wasn't his fault when he stood me up, but like is at before, it still hurt.
I left Miles standing on the sidewalk and walked back to my house. Kate was still out there, so I left the door unlocked. Even though we'd had to deal with a terrorist fire, I still trusted the people I lived with. I didn't think anyone would steal from me and if they did, well there wasn't far for us to look.
Even through the closed doors and windows, I could hear Horace talking to the group. I'd find out what he was talking about tomorrow; I wasn't in the mood to go back out there. That was probably the only downfall to living in such a close-knit community. Everyone was all ready to help out, at times ignoring their own obligations. There were times when I needed to be alone and living in Dharmaville wasn't the easiest place to be alone.
I changed into my pajamas and crawled into bed. Outside, I could hear the work crew pulling the van from the house, the metal creaking and groaning. It was noisy and I covered my head with my pillow in a desperate attempt to drown out the noise. No such luck, but I somehow managed to fall asleep.
When I woke up the next morning, the entire town center was buzzing with gossip as everyone discussed the fire from the previous night. School was closed as everyone shifted around duty schedules to help clean up and rebuild the house. I took my coffee out to the porch and leaned against the rail, looking out in to the courtyard. The Motor Pool crew had already removed the bus from the house and set to work cleaning up the spilt fuel and oil. The foul smell filled the air and I wrinkled my nose at it.
"Kalie!" Sighing, I forced a smile and waved at Miles. He jogged towards me and took the steps in one jump. "Hey. Did you sleep well?"
"What do you think?" I side-stepped his kiss and sat in one of the outside chairs. "I spent the beginning of last night fighting a fire after having to deal with James and Kate. I'm exhausted."
"Well then, you're just going to love this. Now, don't kill the messenger." He held up his hands in surrender and I leaned forward, wondering what could be the problem. "Sayid escaped and he shot the kid."
My mouth fell open and I stared at him. "Which kid?" I whispered, placing my coffee cup on the ground before I dropped it. Sayid shot a child.
"Ben Linus. That's what Horace was telling everyone last night, right after you went inside. Someone set the fire in the bus and let your pal out."
"He's not my pal," I whispered. "He's my brother. I thought you knew that."
"Your…" he turned away, shaking his head. In the two years we'd been together, it had never come up, of course he hadn't known.
Picking up my cup, I stood up and headed into the house. Why would Sayid escape? Who would let him out? And furthermore, why would he shoot Ben? Sure, he grew up into an awful person, but right now he's just a kid. He's just a kid with an awful father and home life.
I put the cup in the sink, taking the extra time to rinse it out."Is he okay? Ben?" I asked when I heard Miles enter the kitchen.
Placing my hands on the counter, I stared out the window. "He's in the infirmary right now. Juliet's watching him. I have to get Jack and the others, and keep them confined. Did you want to keep me company?"
"Maybe in an hour. I need to go talk to James."
"About what? There's nothing he can do."
"I just do. Miles…" I shook my head and turned around. "I… I just need to talk to him. Do you know where he is?"
Miles sighed and leaned against the wall. "Last I knew he was in the security office. Whether or not he's still there…"
"Okay, thanks." I slowly crossed the room and slid my arms around his waist. "I'll be back and I'll help you babysit." Standing on my toes, I placed a soft kiss on his cheek, moving slowly so that I brushed his lips. "I love you."
"Love you, too," he said with a sigh. His hands rested on my lower back and he held me close.
Leaning my head down, I rested it against his chest. I could feel his heart beating and it was comforting. It was the only thing that was still constant, that wouldn't change with Kate, Jack and Hurley here. "I'll see you later."
I pulled back and kissed him one last time. "I'll walk you out," he said, taking my hand tightly in his.
After picking my purse up from the table, we headed out the front door, taking a moment to lock it behind me. "I'll be back in a little while."
"Sure." Dropping my hand, he headed off towards the mess hall and I made my way to the Security Office.
I was halfway there when I saw him emerge from the building."James! James!" I yelled as I ran to catch up with him. His steps were three of mine, so it did look like I was running.
"What Kalie?" He stopped suddenly and spun to face me, causing me to nearly run into him.
I stopped a few inches short of him, "where's Sayid?" I tried to keep my voice low so that the people around us wouldn't hear.
"I don't know. Now go away; find something productive to do and leave me alone!" He turned again and walked away while I stood, staring at his back. I don't believe that he yelled at me, he's never yelled at me.
"James," I yelled again and he stopped, his head hung low.
"Look," James said as he turned back to me. His voice had changed and now he was speaking in a softer tone, not the angry one from before. "I don't know where he is. Someone let him out and he's escaped. Right now, I'd be more worried about you than Sayid. I'm sure as hell more worried about how I'm going to keep this all straight. Horace is suspicious of Kate and Jack, little Ben's been shot, and everything's going to hell." He paused and took a deep breath. "Go back to your house; make a cup of tea and wait. I know it's not much, but it's all I can tell you at the moment."
My hand reached up and I held on to the charm of my necklace, twisting it around between my fingers. "All right," I whispered. "If you need any help…"
"I won't. Just do like I asked and you'll be fine. I'm sorry Kalie, I wish there was more I could tell you." He looked visibly worried, and the stress had already taken its toll on his handsome face. His lips were fixed in a frown and his eyes tired, not anything like the James Ford I had know for the past few years.
He turned and walked away, for good this time, but I stayed rooted to the spot, unable to force my legs to walk. Why had Sayid disappeared? Didn't he want to stay here with us?
He must have changed. It'd been three years; he couldn't be the same person he was when he left.
I stood on the sidewalk, my heart pounding in my chest. When James told me they were back, I said things were going to change. I didn't want it to and I hoped it wouldn't, but things were changing. I hated change.
AN: I hope you enjoyed that chapter. I don't have much else to say :)
Thanks so much to everyone who read and reviewed the previous chapter. Please leave a review on the way out! I'd like to know what you thought!
