Happy New Year! :D

Ahhh, the drama. Me gusta. A bit short, but it's filled with... stuff. Enjoy!

CHAPTER STATS

Word Count (excluding A/N): 1468

Date Updated: 1-2-12

Current Review Count: 588

Vaughn led Chelsea up the dark stairs of his apartment building. His hands were placed gingerly on her shoulders because he wasn't sure that she would stay upright if he didn't help her along. She had stopped crying—or, at least, stopped crying loudly—and had fallen eerily silent.

Vaughn's mind was still reeling with questions. He wasn't sure of anything at this point. He couldn't even think up a hypothetical situation that would warrant his finding Chelsea like that.

He felt his face twitch as he played through the events again in his mind. He wanted to kill that drunken son of a bitch that had his hands all over Chelsea.

Exhaling, Vaughn stopped the two of them in front of his apartment. He unlocked the door and pushed it open, reaching in and flicking on the lights. They shuffled in, Vaughn shedding his soaked coat and getting a few dusty spare towels from a closet that was never opened. He handed one to Chelsea.

She took it, not moving from her place near the door. Her whole body seemed to sag with a sad mixture of the weight of her waterlogged clothes and the stress of her situation.

Vaughn wondered again what that situation might actually be.

Ooo

Chelsea splashed water on her face and watched the mud swirl down the sink basin of Vaughn's small bathroom. His apartment was not exactly what Chelsea had expected. The surfaces were all dusty and the air was too still. It wasn't lived in.

Of course, he was only there two days out of the week.

Sighing, Chelsea met her own gaze in the dull mirror hanging on the wall. She cringed at how red her cheek was, and how stringy her hair was, and how absolutely broken she looked. She hated this. She hated always having to be saved.

A small part of her almost wished that Vaughn hadn't found her. She hated to think of how much trouble she was.

But a much larger part of her was having trouble figuring out a way to properly thank her cowboy savior. He'd really saved her this time.

She brought her gaze off of her face and down to the large black T-shirt that hung on her frame. Vaughn had given it to her, mumbling something about catching a cold if she stayed in her wet clothes. She assumed that the dark cotton shorts he'd given her were his boxers, and after she made that assumption, she tried not to think about it but put them on anyway.

Her face pink, Chelsea opened the door and left the bathroom. Vaughn was leaning against the side of his couch, wearing a dry T-shirt and his usual jeans, also dry. His hair was wet and stuck to his head and his hat was nowhere to be seen. His purple gaze pierced her.

"Well?" He asked gruffly. He hesitated slightly as he surveyed her appearance. With a sigh, he walked over to the kitchenette and started putting ice cubes into a plastic bag.

Chelsea frowned down at it when he handed it to her. She gave him a questioning look. "What…?"

He nodded to her swollen cheek. "It'll bring down the swelling."

She nodded, bringing the bag up to her tender wound. She winced slightly as the ice bit her skin.

The room was filled with a thick silence, the only sound the light rain against the window.

"So," Vaughn started, leaning against the wall. "Are you gonna tell me what you're doin' here?"

Chelsea pursed her lips, blinking back the tears that suddenly threatened to spill. Her whole body burned with shame. She felt like such a loser for just giving up and running away again—especially since she couldn't even do that without failing miserably. She didn't want to tell that to Vaughn. After the bad terms they'd left off on, she was sure that this foolish demonstration would lose her all of his respect.

Vaughn's gaze never left her face, even when she looked down to the floor. She felt like he was reading everything that had happened in the last week. Like he was trying to analyze her.

Chelsea bit down on the insides of her cheeks. It was no use lying. Lying never made a situation better. She took a deep, shaky breath, wiping away the tears that had managed to make it onto her cheeks.

"I—" her voice hitched, "I… ran away."

"You ran away?" Vaughn repeated, his eyebrows lowering. "What d'you mean, ran away?"

"My passage got delayed until later today," Chelsea explained pitifully, wiping furiously at her face. "I don't have any more money. I had to wait out there."

"Wait for—what?" Vaughn frowned. His eyes narrowed. "A boat? To where?"

"Mineral Town," Chelsea hiccupped.

Vaughn stared at her, his expression blank.

"Vaughn, I—I couldn't take it," Chelsea blinked, not even trying to wipe away the tears now. "My crops all failed—all of them, and I missed my parents, and Julia and Mirabelle were gone, and—and—and you probably hate me because of how stupid I was being, and—Vaughn, Daisy—she—she's dead—and I didn't know what to do, and—"

"Daisy's dead?" Vaughn interrupted, blinking in confusion. "What happened?"

Chelsea hiccupped, trying to compose herself enough to speak without squeaking pathetically. She gasped in a breath and hurried into the story, trying not to think about it. "I was checking on her—it was late, and I'd already given her food in the morning and she was fine, but—I don't know. I went in and she hadn't touched the fodder and she was just—just—"

Vaughn nodded, mumbling something to himself that Chelsea couldn't quite catch—something about some sort of disease. He met her gaze again. "So you were going to Mineral Town to get your parents' advice?"

Chelsea blinked once before shaking her head. "No…"

Vaughn frowned. "Then, what—?"

"I ran away," Chelsea repeated, her lower lip quivering. She couldn't meet Vaughn's confused gaze.

"You… ran away," he repeated again, like he was turning the words over and over in his head, trying to figure out what they meant. A few long seconds passed. "You mean… you gave up."

Chelsea couldn't bring herself to take her gaze off the floor.

"You were going back," Vaughn said. His tone surprised Chelsea—he sounded like he didn't believe it. Like he was almost hurt by it. "Just taking a boat back to Mineral Town without tellin' anyone?"

Chelsea forced herself to look up at him, confused at this reaction. She was expecting something more like a pitying disappointment—not disbelieving betrayal. She definitely wasn't expecting the angry look on his face.

"Was that it?" He spat. "You were just gonna leave? Just like that? Disappear?"

"I—I—" Chelsea started, taken aback. Vaughn interrupted her.

"Did you tell anyone? Leave a note?"

Chelsea shook her head, frowning. Looking back, she probably should have done that.

"So what was gonna happen when people wondered where you were?" He scowled, no longer leaning against the wall. "Was the whole island gonna search for you and never find you? What would they all think?"

"I didn't know what to do!" Chelsea exploded, scowling back up at Vaughn. "Everything was going wrong!"

"So you were gonna let everyone think you were dead," Vaughn glared. "Is that it?"

"No, I didn't—I mean, I—ugh!" Chelsea stamped her foot, glowering up at him with as much malice as she could muster up. "Why do you care, anyway?"

"Why do I care?" He replied heatedly, returning her livid look with one even more angry. "Damn it, Chelsea! I care because I lo—"

The loud ringing of the phone made Vaughn fall silent. The two of them exchanged one last glare, their breathing quickened from the heat of the argument.

Vaughn looked away, picking up the phone. "Hello?"

"Vaughn, hey, it's me."

"What d'you want, Riley?"

"Whoa, someone's in a testy mood. Did I wake you up or something? You're usually already awake by now, so I figured it'd be okay to call."

Vaughn glanced at the clock. It was already past five o'clock. "What is it?"

"I wanted to know if the boats are going out today. I don't want to walk all the way out there only to find out that—"

"I don't think so. Hey, I gotta go."

"Hm. What's going on over there? You're never this… urgent in the morning."

"Nothin'. I gotta go."

"Hm. Okay, sure. Whatever you say. I'll see you later."

Vaughn hung up, sighing through his nose and bringing his fingers up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Riley and his perfect timing.

Vaughn had almost said something he'd regret.

Hmmm. Someone doesn't like the thought of Chelsea just up and leaving, hm? Hmmm, indeed.

Here's to more updates in the new year! :D