Chapter 23

White

I walk down this long hallway

Searching for something

That I can't quite remember

I open each door as I pass

Looking at the contents as if

I'm an outsider, a third-party

Observer in this maze of my own heart

I wonder what is waiting

On the other side of the door

At the end of this white, white

Hallway that continues on and on

That door is the only one that

Faces me directly and I'm afraid

Afraid that I'll be disappointed.

Molly felt as if time was being fast-forwarded. One moment she was clutching her sweatshirt, standing between Toby and Chase and the next she was being ushered onto a small wagon pulled by one of Cain's horses, no doubt. She barely noticed Gill who took up the reins or Chase who rushed onto the wagon at the last moment, carrying his food supplies from earlier.

The next few minutes were a blur. The only sounds that could be heard were the clip-clopping of the horse's hooves and the periodic burst of a firework that grew dimmer and dimmer as they approached her farmhouse.

Molly was vaguely aware that Chase and Gill were talking to each other and when they arrived at her place Gill's voice sounded far away as he told her he'd be back soon with the wagon. She nodded and got off, stepping into her home and closing the door slowly behind her as she heard the wagon fade into the distance.

She stood still for a moment and didn't hear when Finn called out her name.

"Molly?" he repeated, waving his tiny hand in front of her face.

She blinked and everything came back into perspective. She then had to blink several times to get rid of the stinging feeling in her eyes.

"Finn. I-I have to leave tonight," she said, quickly putting down her stuff and running into her bedroom to grab her suitcase. Thankfully, she was already mostly packed and she only needed to gather her toiletries and change her clothes to be ready.

"Why? Did something happen?" Finn asked worriedly, following behind her as she rushed around.

"M-my dad was in an accident. Gill just told me my mom called town hall to let me know. I-I need to leave on the boat tonight."

"An accident?! Is he alright, do you know what happened?" Finn asked, frowning and fluttering about.

"I don't know. I don't know anything, that's why I need to leave as soon as I can!" Molly said, a note of panic making it's way in. Was her dad okay? Was he in critical condition? What kind of accident was he in and how long ago? Molly's palms grew sweaty as she rushed around, putting everything in place and going over her list of necessities in her head for the third time.

"I think that's everything. Finn, I'm sorry, I might be gone for more than a week, I don't know. C-can you take care of things here?" Molly turned around with a pleading look on her face.

Finn smiled as best as he could and raised a hand in salute to his forehead.

"You don't need to worry about a thing Molly, I'll take care of it! Plus, Craig and Cain will be here to look after the farm, too. Take as long as you need, I understand. I'll go to the spring if I get lonely, so you don't need to worry about me!"

Molly drew Finn in close and rubbed her cheek against his small body. "Thanks, Finn," she whispered and threw her backpack on, suitcase in hand.

She rushed out the door, looking behind her and said goodbye to Finn. She glanced in the direction of her barns, sad that she couldn't say goodbye to her animals. She didn't have much time to think about it though because just then Gill came quickly up the path in the wagon, Chase still sitting on the bench in the back.

Gill reached for her suitcase and placed it next to his leg, making sure Molly was securely sitting in the back before taking off towards town again.

"Pascal is on standby, ready to take you to East Shore. I wrote down the information your mom provided on this paper. He's at Beckford hospital, I have a taxi that will be waiting for you at the port. It should be fairly obvious where he's at but I wrote down the taxi's number just in case."

Gill quickly handed her the piece of paper, not making eye contact as he kept his eyes on the path in front of them.

"T-thanks. You didn't have to do so much for me…," Molly said packing the paper safely away in her wallet, amazed at how much he organized in such a short amount of time.

"Of course. You're a part of this community now and you'll learn, if you haven't already, that we take care of each other here."

Molly's eyes got watery again, touched by his kindness and she tried to will her tears away, focusing on the lighthouse's torch blazing in the distance.

"It'll be fine," said Chase, speaking up for the first time. "If things were really bad, I'm sure your mom would've said something."

Molly made a noise, not sure what to say and noticed that Chase had a large backpack sitting at his feet as well. She looked up at him questionably.

"Ah, this...well, I was planning on going to pick up some cooking supplies in the city tomorrow per Yolanda's request but if there's a boat leaving tonight…," he said trailing off and rubbing the back of his neck with one hand – something Molly noticed he did whenever he seemed to be embarrassed.

"Chase..."

He shrugged in response and didn't say anything the rest of their ride into town.

Gill stopped in front of town hall and hopped out, taking Molly's suitcase and tying the horse down before jogging to catch up with the both of them who had already started towards the docks.

"My father will make sure everything is fine with your farm while you're away, although I've been told that you're already having Cain and Craig take care of it. Ah, there he is," Gill said, awkwardly maneuvering her rolling suitcase as Mayor Hamilton came into sight.

"Molly, my dear, I've heard from Gill about everything. Don't worry about a thing on this end, your farm is in good hands. Give us a call when you can and keep me updated, the villagers will surely want to know how everything is going. Don't worry, I'm sure everything will be alright," said the mayor as he patted her on the shoulder.

Molly didn't know how to respond and just gave him a strained smile in return. Pascal walked towards them, saying something to the mayor and Gill, but Molly didn't pay attention as she had caught sight of some silver hair coming out from behind a post, it's owner smiling lightly in her direction.

"Toby?"

"Hey. I wasn't sure when I'd ever use this boat ticket, but it turns out that it came in pretty handy. I hope you don't mind some company?" he said, raising his boat ticket that he won today and giving her another comforting smile.

"Toby, you...you guys don't need to come with me. What about work?" she asked, looking around at Chase as well.

"I told you, this is work," said Chase.

"Ozzie can go a day without me," responded Toby, handing his ticket to Pascal and taking Molly's suitcase from Gill, his own bag flung over his shoulder. Chase followed suit, and Molly was left standing in front of Gill, Hamilton having already left to go back to Town Hall in case there were any other phone calls that came in.

"Molly, I'm sorry, I can't-," Gill started, a heavy weight in his chest.

"I know. You have to stay here and handle things. It's fine, you don't need to worry about me," Molly said and thanked him again for taking care of things. He replied that it wasn't a problem and watched her jog up onto the boat, Toby and Chase waiting for her at the entrance.

He waved as the boat's horn sounded and they took off, standing there until he could just barely see the blinking navigation light in the middle of the pitch-black waters.

The frantic, concerned voice of Molly's mother tugged at his conscience as he slowly made his way back to Town Hall. He sighed as he remembered the same tone of voice from his father as he led Irene and the, then apprenticing, Jin into their house to his mother who had collapsed onto the floor.

He sent a silent prayer to the Harvest Goddess, hoping that Molly's father would be okay. It was then when a small voice came out from the shadows, causing him to stumble.

"It'll be fine, you don't have to blame yourself for not going. I think Molly understands that you have a job that you can't just abandon all of a sudden."

Luna took a small step forward, pulling her shawl tighter around her shoulders in the cool night air.

"Luna? What're you doing out so late, everyone's already at home. You should hurry up and go inside."

Not bothering to address her words, he continued towards Town Hall, hands in pockets.

"Don't feel bad, your job is important, too. You can't do everything," she said, somewhat sadly and went back into her home, Gill sighing as he heard her door lock.

The boat ride lasted a little over an hour, Molly and company riding in silence the entire time. Not being able to sit still, Molly spent most of the ride pacing back and forth, trying not to think about the worst case scenario and pausing only to silently pray.

Please, Goddess, she asked, squeezing her eyes shut, keep my dad safe. If another person died in the family, I don't…I don't know what I'd do.

She wiped away a couple of tears that escaped and took a shaky breath. The only thing she could do now was pray that her dad would be alright and get there as soon as possible. Making sure her face was rid of any evidence, she made her way back in to where Toby and Chase were sitting, both looking in opposite directions. She couldn't really smile at the moment but the sight of them sitting there, stifling yawns, clearly tired but tagging along nonetheless was beyond touching. She didn't know how she'd ever be able to pay them back for accompanying her.

She looked out the window and saw the city lights getting closer and closer. Soon, an announcement came from Pascal and they docked at shore.

Entrusting her suitcase to Toby again, Molly said a quick thank you to Pascal hoping he could tell how appreciative she was and jogged up above the docks, looking at the car park for the signature yellow of a taxi cab. She saw one that looked like it was idle and took out her piece of paper from Gill, making sure the numbers matched. She walked up to the Taxi, Chase and Toby right behind her.

The Taxi driver, who was on his phone leaning against the car, looked up as they drew near and asked if her name was Molly.

She confirmed and they all got into the cab, Molly ushered into the back with Toby and Chase taking the front seat. Thankfully the hospital was close by and within 20 minutes they were being dropped off at the main doors. Molly started to dig for her wallet in order to pay the tab but the driver waved her away, stating that it had been paid for in advance, including tip.

"O-oh, I see. Well, thank you then," she stammered, caught off guard. She knew Gill had said everything had been taken care of but she didn't know he had paid for the taxi as well. Her heart trembled as she thought of how caring everyone was and she squeezed the straps of her backpack, taking another deep breath as she got ahead of Toby and Chase and made her way into the front reception.

She almost ran to the counter and asked the receptionist where the ICU ward was. She tried to listen carefully but would've gotten lost had Toby and Chase not led the way, grabbing her when she was about to make a wrong turn and making her follow behind them.

Molly's palms were getting sweaty again as she had trouble taking in the sights around her. She could hear moaning from some hospital rooms and tried not to stare in at their inhabitants. She saw nurses bustling about and could hear the distant buzz of television sets coming from patient's rooms despite the late hour. But most unsettling of all was the blinding fluorescent lights and the strong, omnipotent smell of antiseptic that she breathed in with each quick and shallow breath. The last time she had been in a hospital was when her grandma had passed away several years ago. She couldn't remember much but she knew it wasn't pleasant experience.

They finally reached the waiting area for the ICU and Molly looked around, trying to spot her mom's familiar reddish brown hair. There weren't many people so she quickly located her, head hanging a bit low in one of the patterned armchairs facing the doors of the ICU operating rooms.

"Mom!" Molly half-yelled, running up to her and flinging her backpack onto one of the chairs nearby.

"Molly!" her mom replied, voice cracking as she got up from her seat and embraced her youngest daughter.

Molly gave her a tight squeeze and held her at arm's length. "How's dad, what's going on now? Where's Angela?"

Her mom sighed and sat down, patting the seat next to her for Molly to sit down.

"Your dad's currently in surgery right now. It seems like he got hit by a car that ran a red light downtown and experienced some blunt force trauma to his liver from being forced against the steering wheel. After doing some CT scans the doctors found out that there was internal bleeding and took him in for an operation. He should be finished soon. Angela is on her way, she should be here within the hour."

"The person who hit him ran a red light?! T-thats-, I can't believe-, of all the stupid things!" Molly said, clenching her first. Her mom covered her hand and shushed her, patting her on the shoulder with her other hand.

"I know, I know. Your father should be fine though, the doctor was hopeful when I spoke to him earlier. It'll be okay."

Molly sniffled weakly, all of her previous rage at the foolish driver disappearing as she slouched forward, suddenly very tired.

Chase and Toby, who had been listening to the conversation from afar, took a step forward at that moment and was noticed by Molly's mom.

"Oh my, I didn't even see you two back there. Did you come all the way here with Molly? If I remember correctly you're Toby and you're Chase, right?" she asked, nodding to each of them as she said their names.

"That's right," Toby said, taking a seat opposite Molly and placing her suitcase out of the way. Chase grunted and sat down one seat away from Toby, leaning back.

Molly's mom smiled as she looked at the two boys and back at her daughter who was purposely looking at the ground at this point. She knew what her mom must be thinking but she certainly wasn't going to give her any encouragement to ask any questions.

"Thank you so much for taking care of my daughter. I'm in your debt."

"You don't have to thank us, you just take it easy and let us know if you guys need anything," Chase replied, not directly looking at her mom but at some point above her shoulder.

"That's right. We're here to help," Toby said with his signature smile.

Molly smiled at them both and blushed a bit when she saw the sideways glances coming from her mom.

"How about I go get us some drinks?" Toby asked, noticing the empty water bottle on the small side table by her mom.

"Oh, you don't have to worry-," Molly's mom started to say but was cut off by Toby insisting that it was no big deal and soon he was off in search of drinks.

Chase, not wanting to intrude on their family time, got up saying that we was going to go search for a bathroom and something to eat and took his leave.

Molly's mom turned towards her with a knowing look the second they were out of sight.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say those two boys are sweet on you," she whispered, smiling when she noticed her daughter's neck getting red from embarrassment.

"Mom, can we not talk about this right now? Dad's in an operating room!" Molly said, crossing her arms in frustration. While it put her at ease to finally be with her mom she was still extremely worried about how the operation was going.

"I know, I know. I'm just teasing you a little bit. Your dad will be fine, try not to get so worried."

Molly pouted a bit but didn't say anything. She knew that right now her mom was the probably the most worried about her dad but was putting a strong front on, as always, for her children. Molly knew that her mom still cared for her dad even though they were divorced. It's not like they had a bad relationship, in fact, whenever she saw them together they seemed to get along very well. Molly sighed. Even though she was an adult she still didn't understand why they had decided to call it quits. After they divorced they both threw themselves into their work and, as far as she knew, didn't have much of a social life.

Molly put her hand over her mother's and squeezed a bit, wanting to let her know that she was here for her. Her mom smiled in return and they both glanced up at the clock, watching as the minute-hand ticked by.

Chase had found a bathroom relatively quickly and was currently slowly walking down the halls to the cafeteria near the front reception area which, according to the directory, had a café that was open 24 hours. He wasn't particularly hungry but figured he would buy some snacks to give to Molly and her mom in hopes that it might distract them from their situation for at least a few minutes.

Chase knew he was bad at comforting people and frankly found the entire situation very awkward. It was certainly out of his normal comfort zone and yet...here he was, buying crackers and cheese at a hospital while someone who he couldn't even confidently call a friend waited for their dad to get out of surgery.

He paid the lady at the counter and took his change rather mechanically, wondering what on earth his relationship with Molly could be classified as, when he heard a familiar voice coming from just a few meters away.

"I'm looking for the ICU ward, my dad was taken there earlier in the evening."

He looked and saw Angela, Molly's sister, nodding her head as she listened to the receptionist and suddenly turn in his direction, her facial expression changing from troubled to surprised as she laid eyes on him.

Holding his bag of snacks, Chase met her halfway.

"You...you're...Chase, was it?" Angela asked, hiking a very large backpack further up her shoulders. "What're you doing here?"

Chase opened his mouth once and then closed it before responding to her question.

"I came here with Molly."

"Yes, I know you did, but you see, I'm asking why," Angela said, raising one eyebrow. When she met Chase on the island she didn't have the greatest impression of him. It didn't really bug her that he was unsociable but rather that when he did speak he seemed to always be making excuses or defending himself. She didn't see him as a very reliable person and when she thought about how he could potentially end up with Molly (she was always hopeful that Molly would meet someone nice) it kind of irked her.

"I don't really think it's any of your business? I was already planning on coming to the city for some work related things. It just worked out well for me that the boat was going to depart earlier than planned," Chase said, feigning aloofness. Even he could tell that it was a pretty weak reason, but he would never admit that he came because he was worried about Molly.

Angela narrowed her eyes at him and then shook her head, sighing. "I don't see why you have to lie."

"Who said I was lying?" Chase retorted. Technically, it wasn't a lie. He did come for work, it's just that it wasn't his main reason.

"You're going to hurt her if you keep this up, you know."

"W-what do you mean?" Chase asked, off-guard.

"Dodging the main issue, not being honest, making excuses, covering up for yourself...what are you so afraid of?" Angela asked, suddenly bent on getting an honest reaction out of him.

Chase stared at her, perturbed. Why did he have to be grilled by Molly's sister all of a sudden?

"I'm not afraid and I'm not making excuses. You don't even know me."

Angela smirked. "I know that you like my sister."

"I don't recall ever saying anything of the sort?" Chase said innocently. "Besides, what's it to y-"

Angela stopped him mid-sentence, raising her hand for him to stop.

"Hold on, I take that back," she said, crossing her arms.

"Oh, have you finally realized how foolish this conversation is?" Chase asked, rolling his eyes. This is why he didn't like girls, why did they always have to meddle in other people's business?

"Oh, I've realized how foolish someone is," she said, pointedly. Chase was going to retort but she cut him off again. "You're right, you don't like my sister. You love her."

She didn't say it as a question, but rather as a statement. No one would come to a hospital so late just to accompany someone they liked. No one would be wandering the hospital with the sort of face he had on when buying his food for a crush. She watched as he opened his mouth, eyes slightly wide as if he was only figuring it out for the first time himself.

Chase closed his mouth and swallowed. Love? He loved Molly? Her face, her multiple expressions popped up in his mind and his throat suddenly felt tight.

Angela, apparently pleased by his inability to speak, shook her head, hiding a small smile. "I'll let you off the hook this time. You know where my mom and Molly are waiting, right? I'm sure those snacks are for them. Show me the way, will you?"

Chase, recovering his voice, turned slightly red and turned away, starting to head back towards the ICU. "Molly's my...friend. I don't think of her that way. And yes, I do know where they are, so just follow me."

Angela didn't bother replying and just shrugged her shoulders. Chase may not be her preferred choice for Molly, but she wasn't about to get in their way and decided to leave things as is for the time being.

Soon enough they reached the waiting area for the ICU and Angela went running over to her family. The three women hugged each other briefly and sat down. Angela noticed Toby at that point and almost burst out laughing. Normally, she would have but even she couldn't be so lighthearted in this type of situation.

"Dad's in surgery right now," Molly said, taking a drink of water from the bottle Toby had handed her.

"I know, mom's been texting me," Angela said, holding up her phone.

They passed the next half an hour catching up, Toby occasionally joining in and Chase not saying much but listening regardless.

Around 11 pm the doctor came out looking considerably worn-out but with a smiling face as he notified them that their dad was going to be alright.

Upon hearing this, Molly's mom burst into tears and Angela and Molly patted her on the shoulder, exchanging watery smiles.

"Thank the Goddess," Toby said, smiling at Molly, genuinely relieved. Chase let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding and smiled at Molly as well.

Molly thanked them for their help and got up, saying that she needed to use the restroom and get some air. She quietly left and purposely took the long way to the women's restroom, wanting to be by herself for a moment.

Her heart was beating fast, chest tight as she wiped away a tear that leaked out. She had been so scared that her dad would die and couldn't help imagining the worst-case scenario the entire way here and waiting for as long as they did was agony. She didn't say much so as not to worry her mom but now that she was away from them she could finally let out a shaky breath.

She turned the corner and looked around, making sure no one was there and slumped against the wall, hugging herself. She held one hand to her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut as one, two, three sobs shook her body. She fought to take in deep breaths and calm herself, repeating inside her head that everything was okay. Everything is okay.

She took her hand away from her mouth and took one very deep breath, blinking to clear her vision when she felt a hand lay gently, hesitantly on her shoulder.

"Molly?"

She started, gasped and turned around to see Chase's face, eyebrows turned up in concern. She blushed, quickly turning away as she saw his eyes go wide with shock.

"S-sorry, I-I'm fine. I just, I wanted to be alone for a minute, but I'm okay." Molly raised a hand to her face, hoping to hide her embarrassment and hastily wiped away her tears with the other, sniffling a bit.

"Molly…," Chase whispered, conflicted. What was the best course of action in this type of situation? How was he supposed to comfort her?

"I-it's okay. Sorry you had to see me like this. I know he's okay and yet I'm acting like this."

"Don't apologize," Chase said, grabbing her wrist and moving her hand away from her face.

"Chase, stop. I-I'm a mess right now. Plus, I know you're not good with this kind of thing, you don't need to force yourself," said Molly, trying to turn away. She hated to have people seeing her cry, it made her feel weak, it made her feel desperate and most of all she felt so vulnerable and exposed – it was frightening.

Chase's heart felt like it was being squeezed as he stared at her face, eyes watery and avoiding his, cheeks damp and blotchy, mouth shaking as she forced herself to stop crying. Angela's words rang in his head once more.

You love her.

He looked down, realizing again how much shorter she was than him and gripped her wrist, feeling how small it was, his hand wrapping entirely around it.

Almost by instinct, he pulled her towards him and embraced her, hand letting go of her wrist and pulling her in by her shoulders, chin stretching up to rest near her forehead.

Molly gasped as she grabbed onto his shirt for balance.

"Chase?!" she said, voice muffled against his chest.

"I'm not forcing myself," he said, giving her a squeeze. "You can cry."

She gripped his shirt harder, feeling his warm arms encircling her torso and leaned into his chest.

"That's not fair," she said, her voice breaking and body starting to shake as all the tension left her. He held her as he felt her trembling beneath his hands, heart aching alongside her.

He felt relief, he felt afraid, he felt excited, he felt nervous and he felt...defeated. It was in that moment that he knew.

He loved Molly.

Helllooo. I'm not entirely sure what to say here. I forgot to say some stuff last time though so I suppose I'll start with that. First of all, I've picked this story up from where I left off almost two years ago. I haven't written anything since so my writing is rather rusty and I apologize if the style or flow is very different from earlier chapters. Of course I want to write this well, but I also want to update often and finally finish this story off! So, I hope you'll forgive any mistakes or awkward sentences you may come across. I'm sorry! Also, let me know if there are any discrepancies you may notice...I kept a notebook of some facts/info about the characters and story so far but...I may still screw up, haha! Thank you so much for the reviews and follows/favs, I can't believe there are people who came back that were reading from the beginning: I almost teared up when I read that! Molly will be interacting with even more people from now on and things are really going to heat up so look forward to it :) I'll try not to be too slow about it...I have a bad tendency to write too much detail, whoops!