A Piece of My Heart by LostInMySanity

Disclaimer: still own nothing

A/N: Thanks to my reviewer, it means so much to me that someone's interested

Chapter Four:

"You...you ran away?" Will was stunned, he looked like he wanted to strangle Pearl again, "You made me feel sorry for you and offer you a place to stay when in reality you chose to be that way?!"

"Why would you think my father would abandon me?" Pearl asked angrily, in her mind, her father was flawless. He would never do that to his little girl.

"Because when I first met your father, he was scum. I can only assume that he was like that three years before I met him as we-!"

SLAP!

Pearl had slapped Will right across the face, interrupting him in mid-sentence. That look that her mother got in her eye whenever she looked at Jack, after he had stolen her boat, was flashing inside of Pearl's.

"I suppose you didn't deserve that one either?"

"No, that one I deserved."

"YOU'RE WRONG!" Pearl screamed, "MY FATHER WAS NOT SCUM, HE WAS THE BEST DADDY IN THE WORLD! I WAS THE SCUM!" Pearl gave Will a death glare, daring him to say otherwise. You had to fear her; she was one of those scary pirates.

"Why did you run away anyway?" The faint voice came out of nowhere yet another time, only this time in front of his parents. Joseph had found himself in his curiosity. For that, Will and Elizabeth thank Pearl forever.

For now, Will just stared at his son, and then back at Pearl, the fire coming into his eyes, "So this is the secret huh? My son talks to you, a perfect stranger, but he won't talk to his own parents?! TELL ME ELIZABETH, WHAT HAVE WE DONE WRONG?!"

"You don't understand him! You don't know what it's like! To be lost in a world you know nothing of! That's why I ran away! I was lost in the world of a pirate, sure, it was the most fun I'd ever had! But I was determined to know more, about the world around me! The Pearl was supposed to be docked for a few days in Port Royal, so I left my parents perhaps an all-too dramatic note and sailed away to the dock. I planned to learn about it for a few days. Find out if a pirate's life was really a better life. I can only assume that when my father found the note, he went to find me, probably thinking that I'd be on the sea...when really I was here. YES, IT IS ALL MY FAULT THAT I AM HERE! SO KICK ME OUT, WHY DON'T YA? I'VE SURVIVED ON THE STREETS FOR EIGHT YEARS; NO DOUBT I CAN'T DO IT FOR ANOTHER!" Pearl felt as if steam were coming out of her ears, she suddenly felt too much humidity. All was closing in on her, she needed to escape. But this was the closest thing to a normal family that she'd ever had, she didn't want to lose sweet Elizabeth or quiet Joseph or even temperamental Will. So, she didn't move. She sat there and took the heat.

Everyone was silent for a moment or two, obviously at a loss for words. They had just heard the story that went wrong. Why Pearl was still stuck in Port Royal, the poor girl had probably been looking for her father ever since she realized that she wasn't going back on The Black Pearl.

Pearl could remember all the crying she had done on the dock that day. She would not be able to keep her promise to her father. That brought more tears to her eyes then the actual leaving of the Pearl. Her father would hate her forever, thinking she betrayed him. That's why she had been looking for him, all those years.

I'll come back for you.

"You don't have to search any longer Pearl," Joseph's little voice came out of the silence, "I'll help you find your daddy, I'll make everything okay." His face was still expressionless when he talked, but it didn't matter, he was talking.

Will smiled at his son, you could tell he loved to hear his voice, "And I will help also," He whispered.