Chapter 3: Don't Walk Away
How can I begin again
How am I to understand
When there's nothing left to do but walk away.
See now why,
all my dreams've been broken.
I don't know where we're going.
Everything we said and all we done now.
Don't let go, I don't wanna walk away.
~ Michael Jackson, "Don't Walk Away
Rikki walked inside her trailer, and saw her dad sitting on the kitchen table.
"Dad, what are you doing in here, it's beautiful outside?!" She smiled but he turned to look at her and she saw his eyes were water. Her smile disappeared.
"Dad? Is everything alright?!"
Suddenly she noticed the white envelope in his hands and her face darkened.
"You've found it."
He nodded. She tried to take it away, but he pulled it back.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I think you already know the answer."
He dropped the envelope and wrapped his hands around her. The tears he was holding back started rolling down his cheeks.
"How much time?" He whispered in her ear.
"Six months." She whispered back.
He was now crying heavier and hugged her even tighter. She wrapped her hands around him, but she didn't let the tears beat her. She didn't cry. When they released she helped her father sit in the nearest chair.
"Dad, now that you know, I want to ask you a favor."
"Anything!" He said still sobbing.
"My friends and Zane...they can never know. Not until the very end. Promise me you won't tell them."
"Ok, I promise you."
"And dad, please don't be sad. I love you so much, and I don't want you to suffer. That's why I didn't tell you. I have you, I have the most amazing friends, I have Zane, I'm the happiest girl in the world. So be happy for me. Be happy that I'm happy."
She gave him a smile. He was looking at her, crying, and couldn't believe his ears.
"My beautiful little girl had turned into the bravest young woman I've ever known! And I'm so proud of you!"
He hugged her, bursting into tears again.
She comforted him and decide to give him a few moments alone.
Rikki went out of her trailer with a thought in her head. She had yet another secret from her friends. A secret that was beautiful and Rikki decided that it was time to finally share it with them.
She smiled to herself. In the following weeks she was going to prepare everything. Rikki Chadwick was going to give the people closest to her heart a night they would never forget!
{ * }
Cleo was walking along the beach, the wind gently waving her hair.
She had finally stopped crying and staring into the ocean she was deep in her thoughts. Thoughts about Lewis and how soon he would be gone again. Thoughts about her three best friends and their ruined friendship. A tear threatened to fall, but she brushed it off.
She was tired of crying. She was tired of being the weak one in the group. She was tired of always depending on everyone and especially Lewis. She was tired of always being the one in the middle when her friends were fighting.
She sighed slightly. The waves were really tempting, but she wasn't in a mood for a swim right now. Cleo moved her eyes from the ocean to the beach and spotted a feminine figure not too far away. She quickly ran to her.
"Bella!" She called her and the other girl turned around.
"What do you want?" She asked her, and Cleo felt the distance in her voice.
She wasn't angry or shouting, but the distance was there.
Bella noticed that around her neck the brunette was wearing the locket with the blue gem stone she once used to wear before the crystal necklace.
"I'm sorry." Cleo said looking right into her eyes.
"Whatever."
"Bella, please-"
"Save it, Cleo." The other girl stopped her with her hand. "I'm not mad at you. I understand. In fact I'd probably do the same if I were you. You can relax." And she started to walk away, but Cleo grabbed her hand.
"You're one of the best friends I'll ever have, and I hate that I had to choose between the two of you!" And she hugged the blond.
After Cleo released her, Bella walked away. The brunette looked after her until she disappeared completely.
"I'm going to fix this!" Cleo muttered to herself. "I have to fix it!"
And she turned to walk away, but bumped in someone.
"Cleo?"
"Lewis?"
"I was looking for you."
"Congratulations, you found me."
He sensed the bitterness in her voice.
"What is it?"
"Nothing."
"You're not fooling me. I know you better than anyone else and I know when something's bothering you."
"Damn it, Lewis! Can't you just let it go?" She looked at her her feet ashamed of snapping at him like that.
"Sorry." He muttered, shocked by her sudden outburst.
"No, I'm sorry." She said and raised her head looking right into his eyes. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. You were trying to help me and I-"
"It's ok." He stopped her putting his finger on her lips and then moved his hand to lift her chin. "Just remember I love you and I'm always here to listen."
And he kissed her gently. Her eyes filled with tears.
"I can't stand this Lewis." She whispered quietly to him when they released from the kiss. "It's too hard. My friendship with two of my best friends is broken and you're leaving in a few days. It's just too much to handle."
She curled her hands around him and he kissed her head. They started walking, her head on his shoulder and her hands around his waist. His arm was curled around her shoulders and the other was in his pocket.
"Cleo, may I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"If I'd asked you to come with me in America what'd you say?"
She looked at him.
"Are you serious?"
"Absolutely."
She thought about it for a few minutes.
"Well, I guess I would say yes."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I mean I could really use an opportunity like this to to get out of that whole mess for a while. One trip would definitely take my mind off things, but still there's a lot to consider though."
"Well, in that case, will you come with me?"
"I thought we were talking only hypothetically."
"We were...kind of."
She bit her lip.
"I don't know, Lewis. Maybe next time."
"Ok." And he kissed her head absent-mindedly.
{ * }
Emma came running into Rikki's.
She knew she was the one who made the girls choose between her and Bella and the one who pushed Rikki away, but she really wanted to talk to her. She looked around and when she didn't see her, she walked straight to the office and knocked on the door.
"Come in." She heard Rikki's response.
Emma pushed the door open and entered in.
Rikki was on the couch filling some papers and when Emma came in she lifted her head and froze.
"What are you doing here?" She asked her firmly. "Leave."
"I need to talk to you about something really important."
"I thought you made it pretty clear you didn't want anything to do with-"
"He's back." Emma said, her eyes filling with tears.
"He?" Rikki asked lifting her eyebrows in confusion. "He who?"
"You know who I am talking about." Emma said. "He's back and he came to my place last night." She started shaking. "I don't know what to do. I don't want to go through this nightmare again. I'm scared Rikki."
Rikki stared at her for a moment, than pulled her towards the sofa making her sit down and started pacing around the room.
"Did he do something to you last night?"
Emma shook her head.
"No. Ash was at home, so when I answered the door he asked me who was it. I turned to look at him and when I looked back he was gone."
"So you have no idea what he's up to and what he wants from you?"
Emma shook her head again.
"Ok, so here's an option - we let the things go on their own and if he comes back again we confront him."
"And that's it?" Emma asked her.
Rikki nodded.
"Yeah, that's it."
She then opened the door.
"You should go now. You wouldn't want Cleo and Lewis know about our little conversation."
Emma stood up and made a step towards the door when Rikki's phone beeped. Rikki quickly turned it off, hiding it from the other girl's sight and looked back to see Emma staring at her.
"What?"
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
Emma sighed and turned to walk away when she heard a quiet thud behind her.
She turned in a flash to see Rikki on the ground.
Emma ran to her and tried to help her sit on the couch, then started picking up the things that had fallen out of Rikki's bag.
She noticed something and picked it up. Rikki tried to grab it from her hands but Emma pulled it away so she couldn't reach it. After seeing what it is she looked at Rikki with eyes wide open.
"Rikki, are you...sick?"
Rikki finally managed to grab it back from Emma's hands and put it in her purse again, not caring to answer the blond's question.
"Please, talk to me." Emma begged her.
"Oh, so you want me to talk to you now? What happened with your ultimatum?" Rikki shot her a look. "Leave, Emma."
Tears were visible in the other girl's eyes. She stood up and left the office speechless.
{ * }
Bella went to Will's boat shed and knocked on the door. There was no answer so she opened the door and looked around.
"Will? Anybody home?"
But he wasn't there. She decided to stay and wait for him.
She started walking around and exploring some of his shells. Passing near his cupboard she looked inside and something caught her eye. At the far back behind all the shells was hidden a small black box. Bella gasped covering her mouth with her hands.
"Oh, Will!" She whispered.
Suddenly she heard two different voices outside. Two people were talking and laughing.
"Can I ask you for a favor?" One of the voices asked.
"Of course." The other one responded.
"I'm really nervous about asking the big question."
"So?"
"So...I was wondering if you could...you know...help me practice?"
"Did you already forget the trouble this got us into, last time?!"
"Well, no, but this time she's not around, besides she knows how much I care about her."
Bella smiled to herself and thought how much she loved Will and how stupid she's been to think he might feel something else for Rikki than brother's love.
The voices were now really close and Bella managed to hide at exactly the same spot Rikki did when she came to destroy her shell.
Seconds after that the door burst open and Will and Rikki went inside. He was with his usual clothes and she was wearing black shorts and a dark red top, her blond curls locked in a beautiful messy bun. They both had smiles on their faces.
"Ok." Rikki said. "Let's get over with this."
He nodded and went to the cupboard to take the small box. He stood in front of Rikki on one knee and tried to stay calm.
"Bella Hartley, I really care so much about you and...I...wanted to ask you...if you wanted to become Mrs Bella Benjamin?"
"No, you sound too nervous." Rikki shook her head. "Relax and try to stay as calm as possible. You're proposing, you're not dumping her!"
"I'm nervous because...because I don't want to blow my chance. I love you so much and I want you to be my wife."
"That was...pretty good." Rikki said and Will smiled at her.
Bella saw everything and heard every word. She saw the way Will looked at Rikki when he was "proposing" her. She tried to forget it, but she couldn't. Then Will's voice brought her back on earth.
"Rikki? Rikki are you ok?"
She was holding her head one hand and the other was on the door trying to help her stand. But in the next moment she was lying unconscious on the ground.
Bella's heart dropped in her stomach.
"Rikki!" Will shouted and kneeled next to her, taking her in his arms. "Rikki, look at me! Rikki!"
But her eyes remained closed. He quickly put her on the couch and called an ambulance.
Still hidden in the corner, quiet tear was rolling down Bella's cheeks.
She took out her phone to type a quiet message to Cleo, when she heard something that made her look up from the screen and her heart fell hearing the three single words that could either give you life or kill you.
"I love you!"