Thank you all for your reviews! I now have twenty five, just like I asked you! I actually wore my grandpa's coybow hat while writing this chapter. I felt so in character! ;D I need my own cowboy hat. Can we try for thirty review guys?
Distance
The days pass by slowly, even painfully for me. But eventually, the week is up and I'm leaving to go back to my job. Hopefully the animals hadn't forgotten me.
I crack my back as I wait by the dock. There was still about an hour until the boat came, but I didn't have anything better to do. I'd had nightmares every single day for the past week, and they got worse every time. Without looking, I knew I had bags under my eyes.
Heavily, I sigh as I stare out into the ocean. I was leaning against one of the dock poles so I wouldn't get tired; which I found was happening a lot lately. And being nice was harder than I thought. Sometimes I would just snap and yell and someone for bothering me. Though, I didn't really talk much. I just waved at people when they walked by.
Footsteps echo on the dock. A girl with bright pink hair comes to stand beside me. Natalie and I had become pretty okay friends over the past week. She knew not to talk too much to me, and I greatly appreciated it. At the very least she understood my tough guy appearance, because she was that way too.
"You staring at the boat again?" Natalie asks me as her gaze follows mine to Will's ship moored out on the water.
I nod silently. If Natalie didn't know how I felt about Chelsea, she'd probably guessed it by now. I knew I was losing my poker face, but I didn't care. Let me wallow in my misery for a little longer, I don't care who knows it.
Natalie sighs and takes my hand. "I'm sorry."
I nod again and pull my hat closer over my eyes. Natalie knows not to push me, and we just stand there, her holding my hand in comfort.
For how long we stand there, I don't know. I must have zoned out, but it was comforting have another person around. Without the mindless chatter. The silence was enjoyable with someone else.
Suddenly I hear a boy's laughter and the sound of two more people approaching. I turn around to look, and wish that I hadn't.
Chelsea is talking with Will and it's obvious that he's laughing at whatever she said. He has his arm draped around her and when he looks up to see me, he purposely turns her and kisses her passionately on the lips.
I turn back around, my jaw clenching in anger. Unconsciously, my hands clench like they always do when I'm trying to control myself. Natalie lets out a small whimper, and I notice that was crushing her hand. Automatically I release it.
She rubs her sore hand and glances behind me. I keep my eyes trained on the water where the boat would appear and take me away from this cursed island.
Natalie looks back and her eyes are sparkling. She leans in close to me, so close that her body brushes mine. Then she stands on her tippy toes and whispers in my ear. "I think I know how to make her jealous."
"What? I don't want to make anyone jealous." I whisper back fiercely at her.
Natalie laughs and wraps an arm around my waist. I'm about to remove her hand when she whispers again. "It's pretty obvious you have a thing for Chelsea. If I'm your friend, you'll let me help you. I promise I won't go too far, but it will defiantly make Chelsea jealous."
I sigh. "I don't want to make her jealous. If she's happy with him, I'm not going to be the one to mess it up."
She snorts. "Bullshit. I can see in your eyes that you hate that she's with him. Let me try this. If it doesn't work, you can continue pitying yourself while you feel like killing yourself every time you see them."
Wow. Was all that really portrayed in my eyes? Normal people are weird, giving their emotions away like that; I didn't like it too much. Maybe I'd worm off the nice guy act more.
I grunt in agreement and nod my head. Natalie smile and wraps both her arms around me. Detached, I wrap my arms back around her.
Then she releases me and calls out in a louder voice than necessary so that Will and Chelsea were sure to hear. "Bye Vaughn! I'll miss you so much until you come back!"
I don't look back to see if they were buying it. My face was burning a scarlet red so I pull my hat down farther. Then Natalie gives me another hug to whisper again to me.
"She was looking. When you come back next week, we'll try something again." Then she releases me and walks back home.
I'm shocked to notice that the boat is docking. A deep sigh comes out of my mouth. What on earth had I just agreed to?
As the sailors on the ship anchor to the dock, two people walk up to me. I don't glance at them. I know it's Chelsea and Will.
"Well is it not a pleasant surprise to find you here Vaughn." Will smiles and I frown at his stupid British accent. "It is most wonderful that you are well."
My eyes narrow at him. "I would be better if you would crawl in a hole and die." I mutter under my breath.
He doesn't hear, but I kind of wish he did. "Well, we were just off to go dine on my ship. I do so hope you enjoy your stay in the city."
Then he takes a step forward to go to a small rowboat and mutter something so only I can hear. "Maybe we shall be fortunate enough that you shall stay there."
I don't say anything, but as he walks by I stick out my foot slightly and he trips over it. Will gathers himself coolly and lowers himself onto the small boat.
Chelsea moves to follow him, her eyes looking up at me. I see anger, sadness, and a tiny bit of something else all portrayed in her face.
Just because I'm still mad at rich boy, I mutter something at her. "Have fun with the fake prince."
She visibly flinches and for a second I think I see something in her eyes, but the sailors call for me and I leave on the boat before she can say a word.
The boat sails off and Sunshine Island soon becomes nothing more than a speck in the distance. I sigh and go over to one of the sailors, and ask to borrow his cell phone. He gives it to me, and I use it for a minute to order a new shipment of pills sent to my apartment. After a minute I give it back to him.
Then head down to the cabins and begin the long wait back to the city.
A couple hours later, we've docked in port back in the city. I thank the captain of the boat, who seems surprised by the move of kindness. Then I leave.
As I make my way through the city people bump into me everywhere. The loud sounds from the traffic and people nearly shock me. I was so used to the calm and serenity of the island. It suprises me that I miss it more than usual.
My head begins to throb dully as I finally catch a taxi and drive off to my work site. When I arrive, the sounds are quieter because the building is on the edge of the city. I thank the cab driver and pay him, and then he speeds off.
My usual stoic face finds its way back to me as I walk inside to begin my job again.
Two weeks later, I'm at home in my apartment. It was a Monday night, which meant I'd have to go back to the island tomorrow. I'd been back once already, but thankfully I hadn't run into Chelsea once. Natalie was still nice to me, but she didn't touch me. For that I was thankful.
It's about five in the afternoon; my boss let me off of work early because my headaches were becoming more frequent. I head into the kitchen and pop an Advil with a glass of warm milk. I yawn after the drink. I was still barely getting any sleep. If I thought my nightmares were bad before, it was nothing compared to this.
Every single night, nightmare that would wake me up in a cold sweat, haunted me. They were a little different every time, but were mostly the same. I would always nearly die at the end, and Chelsea was always in the dream.
The milk is done and I scowl at it as I go for something stronger. Just as I'm about to drown a shot of whiskey, the phone rings.
Surprised, I put the little glass down and pick up the phone. "Hello?"
Julia's worried voice comes on the line. "Vaughn? I need you to do me a favor."
She really sounded worried. "What?"
"I need you to look for Chelsea."
"What?"
"Please? She left to go visit her family a little over a week ago because she got a telegram saying her mother was sick, and she said she wouldn't be gone more than three or four days. It's been more than twice that! She's been gone ever since Friday; ten days ago! I'm really worried something might have happened to her. Can you please go to her parent's house and find out if she's there?"
I block the speaker with my hand and groan loudly. I already knew what my answer would be. No matter how much distance I kept trying to put between myself and that girl, I knew I couldn't stay away.
"What's the address?"
Julia gives me the address and then hangs up with a huge thank you. I sigh and pop another Advil before leaving my apartment.
I catch a taxi and give the driver the address I had written down. To my surprise, we eventually pull up to the biggest house I've ever seen, in the richest part of the city. As I hand the driver his money, I can't help but gasp in amazement.
The house was indeed three stories high, and I shudder to think the pain Chelsea must have gone through when she jumped off there. It was a solid white house, and it looked like an extremely elegant mansion. There were many glass windows, and inside I could see a golden spiral staircase and many expensive decorations and furniture.
The cab drives away and leaves me staring at the house. After a couple seconds, I get over my amazement. I pull my hat down and march up to the front door as best as I can while trudging through snow.
Of course there's a huge knocker for a doorbell. I slam it into the door and wait for someone to open the door.
When no one comes, I smash the knocker into the door again. After a few minutes, no one answers. Annoyed, I continuously mash the door with the knocker until it's sprung open.
A lady with icy blue eyes is glaring at me. She has a regal air about her, and her fancy clothes show it. Her nose rises in distaste at the sight of me. A wave of pity rolls over me when I realize that this woman is Chelsea's mother. She doesn't look sick to me.
"What do you want?" Her voice is filled with the disgust that her look shows. She defiantly does not sound sick.
"Is Chelsea here?" I growl at her. I didn't like this woman very much.
"I don't know anyone named Chelsea." It's obvious she thinks I'm scum. Now I'm starting to become a little worried.
"Look lady. Chelsea is a friend of mine. She's been gone from her ranch too long, and everyone on the island is worried about her." Well, that's what Julia told me. And Chelsea being Chelsea, it was probably true.
She scoffs at me. "I told you, I don't know a Chelsea."
"Then you wouldn't mind if I came in and looked, would you?" I shoot her icy glare right back at her as I brush past her into the house.
It was just as elegant as the outside would have suggested. But I don't spend much time gazing at the furniture. Quickly I speed through the house, trying to find Chelsea. There are a lot of rooms though, and I begin to lose hope as I head up to the third floor.
Suddenly I hear a mangled cry and a noise that sounds like a baseball bat breaking something. My eyes widen and I run towards the sound. The noise becomes louder as I head down the hall. A loud slap echoes in the hallway and I hear another stifled cry.
I come to the closed door that the sounds were coming from. I turn the knob, but the door was locked. I rattle the knob a few more times, but to no avail.
"Chelsea?" I yell at the door.
I hear a mumble that sounds like my name but muffled. Then I hear another loud slap. My eyes light up in anger. I had a pretty good idea what was happening.
Angrily, I kick at the door. Then I throw myself at it, to try and break it down. Time and time again, I try and break the door down, but it won't budge. Suddenly I remember that I knew how to pick locks.
I slap myself for being so idiotic. Quietly I take out my lock picker and begin to work away at the lock. As I do, I can hear a voice coming from the room.
"You think your little friend is going to rescue you, don't you? Well you hear that? He stopped banging on the door. Looks like he gave up on you missy." The voice is gruff and harsh.
"Not in this lifetime." I mutter under my breath as I hear another slap.
"How could you?" The mean voice yells again. "Why the hell would you run away? We were always nice to you, weren't we?" Another hard slap and I hear quiet sobbing as well. My fingers fumble as I pick the lock.
"We gave you everything you ever wanted, and what do we get in return? An ungrateful little brat that tries to kill herself and then runs away!" There's a movement in the room, but I don't know what it was. There's no noise but then there's a stifled high pitched scream.
Finally the lock is undone and I kick the door down, breaking it in the process. My eyes widen in horror at the sight in front of me.
Chelsea was tied up in a chair, duct tape on her mouth. There were tears flowing steadily down her face. Her entire body was bruised and cut, and her clothes were a mess. Her hair was tangled and parts of it were cut off.
There's a man standing above her. He has short brown hair like Chelsea's, and when he turns around I see that he was blue eyes, just like his wife and daughter. He had a bit of a shadow on his face, and off all things he was wearing a suit; like he was going out to supper in a minute. There's a knife in one of his hands, and the one has blood on it.
I lose it. I charge the man, who must be Chelsea's father, and tackle him to the ground. He doesn't put up much of a fight; he must be one of those guys who only fight when they're sure they can win. One punch sends him to unconsciousness.
I get off of him in disgust. I don't spare a second glance for him as I walk back over to Chelsea.
Her eyes are wide as she looks at me. My heart contracts, squeezing my emotions as I fully see the damage he'd done to her. Wordlessly, I take the tape off her mouth. Slowly, so it wouldn't hurt as much. Then I untie her from the chair and she practically falls on the floor.
I catch her in time, but it's obvious that she's fainted. I look over her again. It was obvious she need medical attention. I pick her up bridal style and then grab a suitcase that had her name on it. That must have been her bedroom.
She's extremely light and her heart flutters erratically in her chest. It makes me worried that I can carry her and the suitcase easily.
Her mother is nowhere to be seen as I rush out of the house, through the winter snow and hail another taxi.
I jump in the taxi, throw the suitcase on the floor and buckle up. Chelsea is strewn across my lap, but at the moment I don't mind.
"Hospital, step on it!" I yell at the driver who takes one look at Chelsea and then spins the tires of the car.
As we speed through the city, I look down at the girl I hold securely in my arms. There was a long cut down the side of her face that was bleeding heavily, only to be washed down the rest of her body by her tears. The other side of her face was heavily bruised with a rainbow of colours like purple, yellow, green and brown.
The rest of her body, from what I could see of it, looked exactly the same way. Cuts that had been sliced over and over again. Bruises that had been bruised repeatedly. Some cuts were beginning to scab, and that was the good news.
I gaze at her face. Her eyes were closed, but they looked peaceful. Gently, I take a hand and softly stroke the side of her face with the cut. I'm careful not to touch the actual injury, not wanting to cause her more pain. In dismay, I find that a couple patches of her head were now bald, from either being ripped out or cut off. Closely I examine her head, and I'm relieved to see that it should grow back fine. Until then, she'd want to wear a hat.
She was unconscious, that much was clear. Not once had she stirred since getting in the cab almost ten minutes ago.
Angrily I yell at the cab driver. "Can't we get here any faster?"
"We're almost there!" He yells back. "There's a stupid traffic jam…" He trails off and honks the horn.
I look back at Chelsea. She looked stable, but I wasn't a doctor couldn't trust myself with a medical decision. Suddenly she sighs leans her head contentedly into my hand.
Honestly, I don't know what possessed me. Maybe it was the way her skin felt on my hand. Or the way a slight smile was now on her face. Or maybe it was my own longing for her finally coming out.
I lean down towards her and softly press my lips to hers. It only last a second, and then I sit up. But that one second had made me feel alive again. I swear I had felt sparks going off in my body, and I just wanted to sit there and soak up the pleasure of it.
But as my luck would have it, the taxi stops. "We're here." I thank him, toss him the change and then bolt out of the car with Chelsea and her suitcase.
I run for the emergency room. People get out of my way when they see the injured girl lying in my arms. Before I know it, I'm at the front desk. "I need someone to help her!" I cry at the lady at the desk.
Quickly a team comes in and wheels her away to a room. I follow but they stop me outside of the room. One of the nurses tells me that I have to wait outside.
Reluctantly, I find a chair outside that room and sit down. And so begins the longest wait of my life…
Ooooh! What's going to happen? Is Chelsea going to be all right? Why had her dad beat her up? What's going on with Vaughn's headache's and nightmare? Where the hell was Will and why does he seem to hate Vaughn so much? Will Sabrina try something again? To find out, all you have to do is press the little review button below and leave me a message!