Chapter 6: Fresh Starts

Salene was still recovering from Pride's death. It had come as a shock to her, and just knowing that he was gone and never coming back damaged her heart. She had lost so much; she figured she wasn't cut out for love. Ryan and her son had both died, Pride too. Her life had to be destined for dark, lonely times that's why it bothered her to see couples like Lex and Taisan, and Bray and Amber beating around the bush about their reconciliation. She wanted them to hook up already, though Lex and Taisan were working at it, Amber and Bray needed advice. She smirked to herself when she seen Amber coming towards her, it would give her a chance to "preach" as she liked to call it.

"What's on your mind?" Amber joined her on the beach.

"I was just thinking about all we've lost and left behind."

"Pride?" Amber asked as if she could read Sal's mind.

"Not just Pride, but Ryan and my son too. And though I have high hopes that Mouse is alive she isn't here either."

"Well we did leave a lot behind. But we also gained a lot. The virus killed our parents, but taught us to be adults and face each new day no matter what. We survived the virus mark two, we left our home in fear, but we landed here in paradise. We have room to leave the pain behind Sal; it's time for a fresh start."

"Right, where is Bray Jr.?" Salene asked.

"I have decided to give Bray joint custody."

"What about you two? You were still madly in love with him before you finally moved on with Jay."

"I don't know…I don't think we could ever get back to the way things used to be."

Salene stood up, her moment had come to give advice, "You never know until you try."

Bray watched Ebony pick at her nails and study Baby Bray from his spot in the sand. The boy was playing with Brady; the two were giggling and speaking gibberish.

"You are scared aren't you?"

Ebony looked up at him oddly, "Excuse me?"

"Come on Ebony, I knew you pre-virus. I can read you like a book some days. Today I read fear."

"Stop it Bray, stop analyzing me, this isn't the time."

"I was scared too you know?" Bray went on ignoring her pleas for him to stop, "Amber's pregnancy was unexpected. We weren't prepared to be parents, but we're pulling it off."

"Good for you," Ebony clapped in a sarcastic manner, "Now you should pull off hooking up with her again so you can analyze her and leave me alone!"

Bray shook his head, "Same old Ebony," he sighed as she got up and walked off. She was the same old Ebony, even after receiving a bump on the head.

The island had once been a resort of some kind because the huts were built like hotel rooms. The house Bray, Cloe, Ved, and Taisan shared was the main building with thousands of tiki-type huts surrounding them, room numbers on doors, and there was a drained pool off to the far right side behind the main building.

Lottie sat playing with her doll outside Ebony and Slade's hut. She was telling her doll that maybe the pool would get full and they'd both learn to swim.

Ebony smiled at the child's ability to occupy herself with just a doll, but quickly turned on the mean, "You're in the way."

Lottie jumped up, "I didn't take anything I swear. Slade told me to stay here until he got back, honest."

"Whatever," Ebony sighed sitting next to the child who seemed to tense up. "Why do you run from me all the time, I'm not the big bad wolf you know?"

"The big bad wolf?" Lottie asked with curiosity written on her face.

"Oh wait a minute; you've never heard the story of the three little pigs?"

Lottie shook her head no.

Ebony sighed; the kids of today had never heard many of the fairytales and folktales the adults used to tell.

"If I tell you the story, do you promise not to run when it gets a little scary?"

"I don't run from you Ebony, it's just sometimes you give me gooserbumps cause' you get really scary."

"Yeah, I get that a lot," she muttered under her breath and began telling Lottie about the Three Little Pigs.

Amber thought about exactly what Salene had said. She'd never know if the "fire" was still burning unless she gave bray another chance. She hadn't expected to go back to Bray, but Jay had dumped her, a blow she didn't see coming.

"There you two are, how's my baby boy?" she asked the baby, and sat down next to his father. Bray jr. and Brady were enjoying a light snack.

"He's such a happy child, you've done well raising him so far," Bray said to her.

"Well I wasn't alone, I had Trudy, and Salene, we all know she's the mother of the tribe."

Bray laughed, "Right."

Amber smiled at the silence between them, "We used have a lot to say to one another."

"That was before the Technos tore us apart."

"I thought you left me. I didn't know we were being invaded. Trudy found me and told me the truth. If Ebony hadn't of banned us from the city we might of had a fighting chance."

"Maybe, but think about all the people that were taken from the mall, Alice, KC, Taisan, May, and others. There was no way we could have known who would be taken and who wouldn't. They even had the Guardian."

Amber sat silently for a moment. "Bray I looked for you. I even made Jay look for you, when I saw deleted on that screen, my heart broke. I still loved you, even after that, I still love you now."

Her confession came as a shock to Bray. He hadn't expected the truth so soon. "I love you too."

"Can we start over fresh Bray?" Amber asked getting choked on the tears that were working their way to the surface.

"I thought you'd never ask," he stood up and walked a few feet away from her. He turned around and walked back to her, his arm outstretched, "Hi, I'm Bray."

Amber smiled, "Hello, I'm Amber, mother of your son."

They both laughed, each saying in unison, "It's nice to meet you."

Amber stood, "Well I feel silly."

"Don't," Bray said wiping at a few tears on her face. He went to kiss her cheek, but she turned her face so that their lips met. Soon they were caught in a fiery, passionate kiss.

They pulled apart as someone cleared their throat asking, "In front of the kids?"

"Cloe, we were…"

"Save it, no explanation needed. But if you two are done playing tonsil hockey, maybe you'd like to join the rest of the tribe for lunch?"

They gathered the kids together and went inside, Bray and Amber hand in hand.

Once Ebony was done telling Lottie a story she felt good about herself. She was able to sit down with a child and be nice, not getting annoyed. The only other child she had sat down with like that had been Mouse, and that was when Java had made her crazy by drugging her.

"That story was silly, who's ever heard of pigs building houses?" Lottie asked.

Ebony snickered, "Well haven't you seen Lex fixing up the huts around here?"

Lottie giggled, "Yeah, but the story was still silly."

"It was wasn't it, but it had a nice moral to it. Maybe you'll learn something from it."

"Thanks Ebony. I'm going for lunch are you coming?"

"In a minute," she watched the little girl skip off towards the main house, joining Sammy and Gel as they walked.

She thought to herself, "Who knows, maybe I will make a good mother after all."