It was mid-day by the time we emerged from the forest. As we were crossing the bridge, I heard a yell. I looked over to see Julia sprinting towards us at full speed.

"Chelsea!" She screamed, almost tackling Vaughn.

"Watch it." He grumbled.

"Oh, my gosh." She said, ignoring him. "Chelsea, we've been looking for you all night! What happened to you? You look awful."

"I sort of slipped." I said sheepishly.

"Down the freaking mountain." Vaughn added.

Julia gasped. "What? You need to be more careful. You could have died." She shook her head, sighing. "Come on, let's get you back to my place. My mom will be relieved to see that you're alive."

She led us back to her shop, and when we entered I heard Mirabelle before I saw her.

"Oh dear!" She cried, suddenly appearing next to us. "Chelsea, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." I assured her. Vaughn went over to the counter and helped me sit down. "Just a little beat up."

After the commotion died down Mirabelle insisted on cleaning me up. Julia left to let the town know I was safe. As Mirabelle was patching up my arm, I looked around for Vaughn. He disappeared shortly after dropping me off. I wondered where he went.

"Chelsea, honey?" Mirabelle's words cut into my mind. I looked at her, confused. "You seem out of it. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just tired I guess." I told her.

"Let me have a look at you, just to be sure. I'm no doctor, but I've picked up a few things along the way. "

The next half hour consisted of poking and prodding, followed by questions like 'Did that hurt?' and 'How about now?' I was beginning to doubt her level of knowledge about this. Soon enough, she leaned back and sighed.

"Well, it looks like you're okay overall." She tapped her chin. "You ankle is most likely sprained. I can't tell how bad it is, though. You should stay off of it either way."

Something in my mind clicked. "Wait, I can't do that. I have a farm to run. I need to run it."

She frowned. "Honey, you're in no condition to run a farm. At least, not by yourself."

Newfound panic raced through me. I couldn't slow down on my farm work. Not even by a little. I was just starting to make enough to pay a good amount of the debt every month. There was no way I could stop now.

I shook my head. "I'm gonna have to anyway. I have no other choice."

She looked concerned. "But Chelsea-,"

"I need to go now, actually. I need to check on my crops and animals." I attempted to stand, but the pain in my ankle stopped me.

Mirabelle pursed her lips. "If you insist, I have a pair of old crutches you can borrow for the time being. But don't think you're leaving here without a proper meal first."

"That would be great, thank you…"

A few hours later I was standing in the middle of my fields, propped up on the crutches Mirabelle gave me. I scanned the land, making sure I hadn't missed anything. I was drenched in sweat and dirt. In the back of my mind, it dawned on me that I still hadn't fully cleaned up yet. I could only imagine what I looked (and smelled) like.

I spotted a figure approaching me in the distance, and after squinting I could see it was Vaughn. I waited for him to get closer to me before saying, "Hey, what are you doing?"

He pulled on his gloves. "I was just checking to make sure you weren't dead before I left."

"You're leaving?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah." He glanced at me. "I leave every week, remember?"

"Oh, right." I said quietly. I felt pretty dumb.

He looked around. "Mirabelle told me how stupid you were."

"What?" I asked, shocked.

"Well, you know she didn't call you stupid. Those are my words. But she told me you still intend to work on your farm. Full time."

"Of course I am."

He narrowed his eyes. "You aren't fit to do that."

"Well, I have no other choice."

"I'm sure you could get some help from the people who live here."

"I don't want help."

"If you don't want help then drop those crutches." He reached out and started to take one.

"Hey!" I yelled, pulling back. "What's your problem?"

"Those crutches are helping you walk." He glared. "If you don't want any help, then give them back to Mirabelle."

"You know that's not the same thing." I was getting annoyed.

"Stop being so damn proud and accept some help once in a while. You didn't seem to mind when I helped you out of the forest. No one's going to think differently of you for getting the help you need."

I felt silent. Then, finally, I sighed. "Fine. You're right, I guess."

"I know." He grunted, crossing his arms.

"I'll ask some of my friends if they'd be willing to lend me hand during the day…"

"Good." He turned away from me. "Don't go falling down any more mountains while I'm gone."

I smirked. "I won't."

He started walking away, but I called after him.

"Thanks again for everything."

He just waved and continued walking. I watched after him until I was tired of standing, then I made my way home and slept.

…

The next few days I struggled to run my farm, even with the help I got from Julia and Denny. No offense to them, but it was almost harder to get through the chores with their help. Denny couldn't get anything right, and Julia complained about the labor. But they were both intent on helping me, so I never said anything.

As for me, my body seemed to be getting less sore as the days wore on. My ankle remained the biggest obstacle, though. Until it was fully healed, I knew I'd need help getting my chores done.

One morning, as I was getting ready for the day, a knock sounded on my door. I limped over to it and opened it, expecting to find Julia.

But instead I faced a stranger.

"Hi!" The man greeted cheerfully.

I observed him for a moment. He was taller than me, but not by much. His blond hair was covered by a backwards blue baseball hat, although tuffs of it stuck out in random places. He wore overalls and boots, and a red bandana around his neck.

"My names Mark." He told me, his green eyes shining. "I'm a farmer."

My mind went blank. "A…farmer?"

"Yeah!" He grinned. "A woman named Mirabelle contacted me and invited me to come here. I love it here! You're farm is great."

Anger sparked within me. "Well, go back home."

His smiled faltered. "Wha…"

"I don't know what Mirabelle told you, but this island doesn't need a new farmer! I can do this myself. You aren't getting my farm."

I slammed the door in his face, fuming. How could Mirabelle do this to me? Did she think that I couldn't do this anymore?

How could this island just replace me?

Mark knocked on my door again, but I ignored him.

"Hey!" He called. "Can we just talk?"

"Go away!" I yelled after a few more knocks. He fell silent, and after a moment I saw him pass the window, leaving.

I took a shaky breath, trying to calm down. I had to talk to Mirabelle.

A/N: Here's an early update to make up for the wait before! Not much goes on in this chapter, but the ending signals the next part of this story. I just started planning it, so it may be a little shaky at first, but I will do my best to make it awesome.

Thanks for the reivews! And be sure to leave more :D