Oh my gosh you guys, I can't believe this is the last chapter. It seems like only yesterday that I posted this, giving all of you Summerland lovers out there their very first fan fiction (if you check the publish dates on all the Summerland stories you'll see that mine was actually the very first one posted on this site). Marie and Bradin have become such a part of my life that it's hard to say good-bye to them. But have hope, there just might be a sequel in their future. I have the idea floating around in my brain right now, but I'm not certain when I will actually sit down and give that idea a home. If I do end up writing the sequel, do not expect it to be posted until Summerland returns in the summer.
At this time, I would like to thank all of you how have taken the time to reviewed this story. You all have been so important to me and very fundamental in helping me get my butt in gear and update this story whenever I slacked off. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart and would like to thank:
Keionna, Samantha, Ally B, Cailtin, Charliechaz, Summerland Chick, Chelsey, chadslover, closetwriter, Jmarocks, Bella, jessesfan0409, chanelbabe202, Mel, MrsJesseMac13, SoupSkittles, tinydancers17, grullo-cowgirl, Haylie, Mike Rules 2003, kandykane33, darkdestiney2000, Shelby, Dramagrl, peanutbutterrocks, flutesrtooty, Beauey, sadlovepoet17, n/a, beautyqueen321, atruwriter, Salsa Devil, Kelly, m, Alex, blue-eyes, Ammanda, Scrabble Goddess, Ms Vaughn, JesseFanAlways, chocolateluvr, Taryn Moran, andi, Chloe, summerlandgirl, gpotter, #1Summerland Fan, Banana Belle, beAchbuMxX, melodie568, Hebrew-Freak, ashleyhampton2004, whoopiepiez, theresa, someone, -l0st drEamS, Alexis, OTHlover04, Katie, Danielle, oRgAnIzEd cHaOs, the different person, Dani, indieemmo-gurl21, ILoveMisterCohen, xohugsndkissesox, x buttercup, TwinkleTot 69, kploz, y0urs x truly, jessemccartneysgrl727, VampWriter88, sweet as candy321, Shelly, Spork Princess, B, Charlie, mixie21, Sprite Sweetheart, sweater monkey, Kitty-Kat4life, flamesflyer, theshyone, rachel, ChocolateBubbles, and Laura.
If I left anyone out I am very sorry. There was just so many of you who reviewed this story that it's kinda hard to make sure that I mentioned all of you.
It's been a great ride folks. And now, without further ado, the final chapter of The Sea Calls My Name.
Chapter Seventeen
For five days Marie had lain in the hospital, comatose. Bradin sat with her whenever he could, forced from her side every day by his aunt to attend school and sleep for a few hours. He moved through that week in a dreamlike state, never really seeing the people around him nor hearing what they said. His mind was constantly on Marie, wondering how she was, if she had woken up or still lay in a coma?
Marie was the focus of gossip around Playa Linda High, and people constantly approached Bradin, asking for conformation about her story. He never said anything to them, too wrapped in his cloud of sorrow and worry to truly hear them. He'd started to lose weight, not caring for food that turned to dust whenever it entered his mouth.
Her condition never changed. Neither worsening nor improving. It was touch and go, the doctors never knowing if that day would be her last. Her injuries were extensive. Two broken ribs, a broken nose, broken collar bone, a dislocated shoulder, head lacerations, and internal bleeding. The list was endless.
It was nearing seven days. The doctors weren't holding out much hope that she would ever wake up. Bradin sat in a chair beside Marie's hospital bed, holding her hand in his, careful not to get too close to her IV line. There were tubes sticking from her nose to help her breath, and a feeding tube down her throat. It killed him to see her like this, so helpless, her face covered with bruises that were a sickly yellow-black color as they began to fade.
Marie's mother sat across from him, dressed in a hospital gown, her hair pulled back in a thin ponytail. She looked much better from the first time Bradin had seen her. The special diet the doctor had put her own helped to put some weight onto her thin body, and she had washed and her hair scrubbed until it shone.
"Go home Bradin." Marie's mother said, taking in the bags beneath the young man's eyes. "Wearing yourself out is not going to make Marie better."
Bradin shook his head.
"I'm not going anywhere." He said. During their vigil over the comatose girl, Bradin and the older woman had gotten to know each other and had gained the respect of the other.
"Marie would want you to get some rest." Her mother said, "She'll want you all rested and healthy when she finally wakes up." The older woman grinned impishly. Bradin would have laughed had he not been so exhausted from keeping a constant watch over the girl he loved. He gripped Marie's hand tightly, willing her to open her eyes.
Marie's eyes felt weighted down. She could hear the voices around her, the people pleading with her to open her eyes and join the world once more. But she couldn't. Shadowy hands gripped her, holding her in the world between life and death, never releasing her from its unrelenting hold. She could feel both the hands of life, those belonging to those who gathered around her bedside, and the hands of sweet death gripping her, both pulling on her with such force that she felt as if she were going to be torn apart. She struggled, wanting to rejoin those who loved her, but her father stood over the threshold of death, beckoning her with his charming smile. Her father had been her best friend, the only person to ever understand her, until Bradin. How could she choose between the two most important men in her life? How could she decide which one to return to?
Bradin shifted in the narrow chair, rubbing the crick out of his neck that had settled there whilst he had slept. He looked down at Marie, her chest rising and falling with each labored breath. Even with the help of a ventilator, she could barely breathe around her slowly healing ribs. On the other side of Marie's bed, the chair that her mother occupied was empty.
She probably went to get something to eat or something, Bradin thought, not really caring where she was, as long as he got a few minutes alone with Marie.
He scooted his chair closer to the side of her bed until his legs were underneath the bed and his arms rested on top of the white sheets. Squeezing Marie's hand in his, Bradin gently brushed strands of hair out of her face. It had been a week now, and Marie still hadn't so much as wiggled her finger or uttered even a sigh or groan of pain. She remained as still and lifeless as a corpse.
"Marie," Bradin whispered in her ear, his lips lightly brushing against her ear. "The doctor said that you might be able to hear us if we spoke to you. I don't know if that's really true, but I hope it is." He felt silly doing this, talking to someone who couldn't talk back, but he needed to go on, to tell her what he was feeling.
"I want you to come back Marie. I need you," he was quickly becoming choked by tears. "I need you so badly. Your mom needs you too. She's trying to seem strong, but she's not. The doctor said she suffered from depression and that it was a miracle she's making such a strong recovery, but she's still really weak. You're coming back to us is the only thing that can really save her." He bit his lip, trying to gain control of his emotions.
"Nikki's been coming by after school and reading to you. She says you need to get off your Little Women kick and read something with more substance." He chuckled softly, quickly growing serious once more.
"The cops arrested your stepfather. He's gonna be on trial soon. Your mom's gonna testify. The judge said she wanted to take this case to court as quickly as possible. She, the judge, she was abused as a child and she wants to see justice done for you and your mom. And your mom's lawyer says that your stepdad could get thirty years to life, you know, for satutory rape, abuse, and attempted murder." A tear trickled down Bradin's cheek, unsolicited.
"Please Marie," he cried, burying his face in the crook of her bruised neck, "please come back to me. I can't lose you, I just can't. I love you so much, please, don't leave me."
She could feel a tear slide down her neck, quickly followed by another and another. She heard Bradin's pleads, they resounded in her head, loosening the grip the shadowy hands had on her.
Don't give up Bradin, she cried, please don't give up on me.
Marie tried desperately to open her eyes, to move her mouth and assure Bradin that she was alright. But she couldn't.
Marie stood on a precipice, somewhere between life and death, light and dark. She saw her father standing across the dark threshold of death, summoning her, calling his daughter to join him in a world without pain and suffering, a world where they could be reunited, happy, and free.
Marie looked over her shoulder, Bradin stood behind her, light surrounding him, her mother at his side. There were tears in their eyes as they reached out to her, trying desperately to grab hold of her and draw her back to them. She tried to reach them, but their hands were only just out of her reach. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to take hold of them.
On her other side, her father gripped her hand, his hold tight on her fingers. His touch burned her, searing her flesh. Fearfully, Marie looked down at her hand. The skin there was black, burnt to a crisp by the hand of death. One by one, pieces of flesh fell from her hand until her hand was nothing more than stark white bones.
A scream filled Marie's throat, but it wouldn't come free. Instead, it festered inside of her, tearing apart her throat as she tried to force it out. Her father reached out for her once more, this time his hand wrapping around her arm. Once more the flesh burned, falling off until only the bone remained. But it didn't stop there. She could see the skin falling off of her other hand, the one stretched towards life and Bradin and her mother. The looks of horror on the faces of the two who stood in the light pierced Marie's heart. All over her body the flesh fell to the ground, leaving only the bone.
No, no, she said, bringing her hands in front of her to stare at the bones that seemed to mock her. This can't be happening, this can't happen. NO!
Across from her, her father laughed, mocking her with the same cheery smile that he used to bestow upon her when they shared some secret joke. She looked back at Bradin and her mother. They were weeping openly, their still flesh covered bodies, shaking with tremendous sobs.
Marie buried her face, which was the only part of her that still held its skin, in her hands and wept.
I want to go home, she cried, I want to go home.
I want to go home,I want to go home.Bradin was still laying with his head buried in Marie's hair five minutes later when a soft hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up at Marie's mother. She smiled down at him gently then looked at her daughter.
"No change?" She asked. Unable to speak, Bradin merely shook his head. The older woman sighed and returned to her chair, tenderly taking Marie's other hand.
Bradin's eyes traveled over Marie's face. Her lips, dry and cracked, were parted, the side of her mouth still slightly swollen. Her skin was marred with cuts and bruises, and one eye was still swollen. But god was she beautiful. Bradin squeezed her hand, careful of the IV line, and brought her fingers up to his lips, kissing the tip of each finger softly.
Her eyelids fluttered, something that Bradin dismissed. After all, he was tired and had been staring at Marie for the past seven days with barely a break, his eyes had to be playing tricks on him. But her soft sigh, something that Bradin couldn't have tricked himself into hearing even if he wanted to, sounded loud in his ears and instantly caught his attention.
"Marie?" He stood quickly, bending over her, beseeching her with the tight hold of his hand around hers. She groaned, her eyes opening slowly. Bradin's heart pounded inside his chest and he grinned, tears spilling from his eyes in a happy flood.
Four more days Marie stayed in the hospital, Bradin and her mother never leaving her side. The lawyer had come to visit a day after Marie had regained consciousness to work on the case and get Marie's testimony. The date of the trial was set for the week after Marie was released, so that she could testify, along with her mother, against her stepfather.
The trial came and, with Bradin to support her, Marie was able to tell the court her story. She had broken down more than once, the judge gently urging her on. The trial lasted three days, a fifty year sentence, without parole, given to her stepfather. Marie had wept happily at the thought that no longer would her life be haunted by the monster. She and her mother had held onto each other tightly, crying, as they realized that they were now free of him, and able to go on with their lives.
It had been almost a week since the trial. Marie wandered down to Spanish Cove, inhaling the scent of the ocean and feeling the wind on her face. She stood on the same spot where she had first met Bradin and wrapped her arms around herself. Her hair, caught by the breeze, flew about her face, caressing the now pale yellow bruises. Marie licked her lips, tasting the salt on them and looked out over the white crest of the waves.
A pair of strong arms wrapped around Marie's waist. Sighing happily, she leaned back into Bradin's hold, savoring the feelings of love and security. He kissed her temple lightly, his lips nothing more than a soft brush against her skin. She tilted her head so that she could look at him and smiled contentedly before his lips descended on hers. Marie gave herself over to the kiss, allowing herself to melt into his hold for only a few moments before pulling away.
She had come here on a mission, one that she would not be deterred from. Unwillingly, she pulled from his hold and turned to face him. Her arms found their way around his neck and Bradin once more gripped her waist.
"I have something to tell you." She whispered, hoping that if she didn't say the words aloud that they wouldn't be true.
"What?" He smiled down at her sweetly. Marie felt her heart break as she looked into his eyes, so loving, hopeful, and joyous. She ducked her head, allowing the curtain of auburn curls to hide her face from his view. Bradin's finger slipped beneath her chin and forced her head up.
"What is it Marie?" He asked, his smile faltering slightly. Marie inhaled deeply, silently praying for the strength to continue.
"I'm moving." She said simply.
"What?" Bradin looked down at her, his eyes wide, not understanding.
"I'm moving." Marie repeated.
"Why?" The heartbreak was clear in his eyes.
"Mom wants a fresh start." She shrugged. A tear slid down her cheek as she looked at Bradin. "She says that here, everywhere she looks, she's reminded of him." Both teens knew the him she was referring to. "She doesn't want to be constantly remembering the hurt he caused us." She ducked her head once more, biting her lip in an attempt to control her emotions. She didn't want to cry, not now, not when she had to be strong. Drawing in a deep breath, she looked back up.
"We're moving to North Carolina. My grandmother lives there and she wants us to come out and live with her for awhile."
"I don't want you to go." Bradin said, his own eyes becoming watery.
"And you think I do?" Marie cried, "I don't want to leave you." She caressed Bradin's cheek. "But I have no choice in the matter. When Mom has her mind set on something, there's no changing it."
"How long are you going to be gone?" His voice was low and husky as he too fought against tears.
"I don't know." She shook her head sadly, then smiled weakly up at him. "But I will be back, someday. After all, you still owe me that surfing lesson." Bradin returned her smile with one of his own and wrapped his arms tightly around her, pulling Marie tight against him.
THE END
