A/N: Ack, I'm behind a chapter. I was planning on posting one chapter a month… well… it is June and I am posting my sixth chapter, which means I am behind!!! I posted the story in December, if you are confused.
Okay, yes, this is a longer chapter, though still not terribly long.
So, read, review, and enjoy!
T.E.N. – lol. Yes, actually, many parts can be rather sappy (which I, personally, do not really enjoy… but do not ask me why I write them). Thanks!
I – Yes, you have been lazy. :P Well, I am glad that all is forgiven. I do not know if I would be able to live without your forgiveness of my typing blunders! smirks (it's okay, people, I know her. I'm allowed to be sarcastic… aren't I?)
Angel LeeAnn – Glad to say that you did not have to wait as long as usual. Thanks, again, for the review!
Hothunnies16 – Thank you!
Love-angel-89 – I didn't make you wait too long. Aren't you proud of me? I certainly am. wink
What Happened Last?
"Excellent," he said. "All right, then; Kevin and Audrey will be at your apartment around nine AM. I will see you tomorrow?"
I paused just a second before I replied in a firm voice, "Yes."
Chapter Six – Team Mates
"Eric, you cannot do this; this is crazy! And you know it!" Tina exclaimed from the doorway. I ignored her and continued to pack. Kevin and Audrey would be there any second and because of Tina's badgering I was getting nowhere.
"Could you possibly hand my key over to the landlord?" I asked, cutting into her ranting. "I'm kind of short on time."
"If you would stay you wouldn't be!" she yelled, flinging her arms in the air. "Look, Eric, you know what happened last time you had anything to do with that island! Do you want that to happen again?"
"Lane is not going to be there this time," I whispered.
Tina paused. "Nevertheless; you're sure to get somewhat attached to the people you will be in contact with! You could make friends! Then what would you feel like if they-"
"Friends, hey, that's a novel idea. I need some more of those," I commented dryly.
"That is not funny. Look, what if… what if you get attached to this Audrey girl… like you were with Lane? Then what-"
I slammed my suitcase shut and spun around to glare at her. I could feel anger coursing through me. "Don't – say – that."
Tina faltered. "Don't – don't say what?"
"I could never… I would never… just don't talk about her, all right?" I turned back to my suitcase and latched it shut, and then turned and walked past Tina out of my room.
"Eric, she has been dead for six years. You need to lighten up."
"Lighten up?!" I exclaimed, rounding on her. "Don't tell me when to lighten up! You were not the one who watched that T-Red bite through her middle! You were not the one to hear her spine break and the sound of it echoing off the trees! You were not the one who practically caught her once she was dropped! You were not the one who watched her take her dying breath and to hear her last words! SO DON'T TELL ME TO LIGHTEN UP WHEN YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW I COULD POSSIBLY BE FEELING RIGHT NOW, ALL RIGHT?!
Tina stood there, stunned and shaking. "I – I miss her too," she croaked.
"I know you miss her, but you are doing a heck of a job covering up your feelings!" I snapped.
There was a loud knock on the apartment door. Without a second look at Tina, I turned and marched over to it. Upon opening it, I saw a girl with short brown hair, large green eyes, and a small, slightly upturned nose waiting for me. She was wearing tight, corduroy pants, a white tank top, and a beige cap on her head. "Hi…" I said uncertainly.
"Are you Eric?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah, you must be … Audrey?" I asked.
"Ugh, I hate my name," she said, rolling her eyes. "But yes, I am Audrey Roosevelt."
"Um… I'm Eric Kirby," I said.
She laughed. "Yeah, I know. So, are you ready to go? Kevin's waiting for us down in the car."
"Oh, right," I said quickly. "Just… let me say goodbye to my friend really quick."
Audrey nodded. "I'll wait out here."
I smiled at her, and then walked back into my apartment. Tina was sitting on a box and she looked pleadingly at me. "Please don't go, Eric!" she sobbed. "What if something happens to you?"
"I'm not going on the island," I said. "I'll be fine."
"I know, but… please, Eric! I just have a bad feeling about all this!" Tears were streaking down her face.
I walked over to her, knelt down, and pulled her into a hug. "I promise I will come back," I said into her hair. She sobbed again.
After giving her a squeeze, I pulled out of the hug, smiled at her, and then stood and left. At the door I turned and said, "'Bye, Tiny."
She gave me a feeble smile in response.
I gave her a lopsided smirk, and then closed the door. I turned and saw Audrey sitting on the railing, looking out over the rather pathetic view. "I'm ready," I said, picking up my suitcase.
"Okay, follow me." She led me down the stairs and to a waiting red convertible. The man sitting in it had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a rather straight nose. When he grinned, he showed very straight, white teeth. "Just toss it in the trunk," he said.
I put my suitcase in the trunk, closed it, and climbed in the back. Audrey took the front seat. "Take us away, Ern," she said cheerfully.
The man laughed, switched into first gear, and then pulled out of the parking lot.
"So, dude, you must be Eric," the man said, looking at me in the rear view mirror.
"Yep, sure am," I answered.
"I'm Kevin, Kevin Vector," he said. "Do you know what you're going to be doing on the island?"
"I am not going to the island," I said hurriedly. "I'm staying in Costa Rica."
"Ah," Kevin said. He turned right onto the freeway. "What are you going to be doing there?"
"I don't know."
"Really?" Kevin asked, looking at me in the mirror again. "You do know why you're doing this, don't you?"
"Oh come on, Kev," Audrey said. "Stop asking him so many questions."
"I just want to make sure he knows," Kevin answered her. "So that he doesn't walk into the meeting tonight without a clue."
"J.C. will have told him all he could on the phone," Audrey said, "and that was enough to get him to come, so stop hassling him. If there's something he needs to know before the meeting, Knight will tell him."
"I am here, you know," I said, finally butting into their conversation. "You can stop talking about me as though I'm not."
"Sorry, Eric," Audrey said hurriedly. "I just don't want to tell you more than we're authorized to."
"I… understand," I answered. It was rather confusing. What was so important that I needed to know?
The rest of the ride to the airport was very quiet, besides the fact that we were going sixty miles per hour on a freeway in a convertible.
"Look, man, sorry about that," Kevin said later as we pushed our luggage into the overhead compartments of the large airplane.
"Sorry about what?" I questioned, closing the white door with a snap.
"That… argument in the car," Kevin said, looking anywhere but at me.
"Oh, that," I answered. "No problem. I can wait… I guess."
I allowed Audrey to sit in the window seat, then Kevin to sit next to her, which gave me the aisle seat. Kevin and Audrey immediately started up a conversation, discussing something that had happened recently (and it had obviously been amusing… though I had no idea what they were talking about). I looked around the plane, only half listening to their conversation.
"Remember when she fell off the swing?"
"Oh, that was classic!"
The flight attendants were walking down the isle, closing the overhead bins. In a matter of minutes we were taxiing onto the runway. The flight attendants' speech about safety completely washed over me as fear crept into my mind, making me stiff and sweaty.
Isla Sorna.
Where Lane had died.
Where I had been so horrible to her.
Where she had grown to love me… where I had finally admitted to myself that I loved her… where we had kissed…
It all seemed so far away. But that one memory… yes, I still had it.
I sat down on a branch and looked out at the trees. Lane suddenly appeared by my side and sat down. "No luck?" she questioned.
I shook my head. "No," I said. "Now all we can do is hope."
"And pray," she added.
"Yeah, that too," I agreed. I ran my hand through my hair in frustration and leaned against the trunk of the tree. A few seconds later I sat up and leaned over my knees, resting my head in my hands. But after only another few seconds in this position, I sat up and looked at Lane. "Lane …" I said. But I shook my head and looked away. I couldn't say what I wanted to. What if she rejected me? Surely she would find me a freak. Who could blame her?
"What?" she asked. I didn't reply, so she grabbed my hand and gave it a little squeeze. I looked down at our hands, at our interlocked fingers, and then looked up at her. She was so beautiful. Her red hair tumbled down around her face and fell over her shoulders. Her sparkling green eyes were full of concern.
"You can tell me anything, Eric," she said softly. I could tell she was still mad at me.
I looked away and I started talking. "Lane … Do you want to know why I was such a jerk? I mean, the real reason?"
She sat up a little straighter. "Sure," she said simply.
"Well … I was scared. For you … for me … I was just scared. I was afraid … I was getting too attached to you and I knew that if I lost you then it would be too painful to bear. And if you returned my feelings, if you lost me, then it would be too painful for you. That day Hannah died? I almost kissed you; I swear I did. But I knew that you were in pain, so I held back. Then … I thought that if I was a jerk, I could make you hate me so that you wouldn't hurt if I died. But I also tried to pretty much talk my way out of liking you by accusing you of things and getting mad at you all the time.
"But you know … it never worked? I was concentrating so much on trying not to like you; I was making myself like you even more. But that day, when you said you hated me … I realized my plan had worked, but only half way. I liked you so much that seeing my plan unfold and hearing those words I'd wanted to hear for a long time suddenly made me realize how much pain I had put you through and how much I didn't want you to hate me and how much … I … loved you."
She pulled her hand out of mine and brought both of them up to her face.
"I didn't want to hurt you, Lane," I said. "I wanted to save you pain. But then I realized that instead of saving you from it, I placed you in it. And on purpose, too. I'm really sorry. I truly am."
She placed a hand on my shoulder and a couple tears ran down her face.
I looked up at her and felt several tears spill from my own eyes.
"Eric…" she started to say. But I cut her off by leaning in and kissing her softly on the lips.
When I pulled back, tears were running so freely down her face that I thought she was going to flood the forest. The emotions that were running through my head were too jumbled up for even myself to understand. A tight knot was forming in my chest and I felt like crying more… but I felt so happy!
Her face held all of her confusion. One second she looked surprised, then happy, then angry, then back to happy.
She gave me a small smile. I smiled back, and leaned in to kiss her again. She kissed me back.
But she quickly pulled out of the kiss. "I … I …" she stuttered, clearly searching for something to say.
I looked at her questioningly. "Are you ok?" I asked. I reached for her hand, but she pulled back.
She stood up and climbed down the tree. I called after her, but she kept on going, not looking back.
I wrenched my eyes open and realized that the plane was in the air and that I had been sleeping. Kevin and Audrey were both silent, staring off into their own areas of space. I looked down at my watch and saw that it was ten thirty. We had been flying for about forty-five minutes. 'Only around three hours to go,' I thought with a sarcastic cheerfulness. 'Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.'
Author's note: Aren't you proud of how soon I got this chapter out? I know I am… and it is nice in length, isn't it? Much better than my previous ones, I'll say.
Well, please review! Maybe I can get another chapter out this month! Wouldn't that be awesome??
P.S. My sixteenth birthday is on Tuesday! (June 15th) AH! I'm so excited!