Guess I overestimated you...
Akari closed her eyes, but she couldn't erase Chase's words out of her head. He always had a way of making her feel stupid. His hands made things so sweet, like the delicious red velvet cake he let her eat, but his mouth made everything sour. But...maybe he was right to overestimate her. Before she graduated high school and moved to Castanet Island, her family and friends never doubted her ability to succeed. She was a straight A student and ranked fifth in her class. She was involved in several clubs and organizations and had a leadership position in more than half of them. Yet...she still felt insecure, and even though everyone around her refused to underestimate her, she did it to herself all the time. She wanted someone to tell her she couldn't do it all. Her parents finally realized they had put too much faith in her when she told them she was going to be farmer on a little, remote island and put off college until the future.
That's when they finally said they overestimated her.
But now she hated when people said that to her. She was upset with Chase and wanted to prove him wrong, just like she had done with her parents when she wrote them explaining how happy and successful she was living on the island. But this time her heart was involved, so it was going to be a little more complicated than that. Logic and common sense are the arch-enemies of love. Like the saying goes: The heart wants what the heart wants.
She would believe him if this was the first time, but it wasn't. To be honest, she couldn't blame him for taking advantage of her trust, since she was so easy to placate. But that couldn't have made it right. Maybe she was a doormat, but that didn't make it okay for him to continue wiping his boots all over her. She rubbed her temples with her middle and index fingers; her veins were pulsating from over-thinking. She simply decided that if she caught him drinking again, it would be over. Completely over. No relationship. No friendship. Total strangers.
But how could she continue this if she couldn't trust him? Always on the edge, waiting for him to screw up...
She had her head buried in Scarlett's mane and lifted it as they began to approach the farmland. When her eyes adjusted to the sunlight, they drifted to Kathy pounding on her front door and Selena peering into her windows. Her animals, not exactly trained to be guard livestock, simply watched them with curiosity.
"Akari! Please open up!"
"Akari! Open the door before I kick it down!"
That last one had to be Selena. Akari couldn't help but to giggle. She knew Kathy brought Selena along to intimidate her. She thought it was a clever tactic. The exotic beauty could be a bit...demanding. Akari continued to watch them until Selena grabbed Kathy's shoulder and pulled her away from the door. Selena's lips moved, and the look on Kathy's face was heartbreaking for her to see. She looked sad, scared and rejected like a little girl who couldn't find her mother. Akari was going to go to Flute Fields and sit by the river, but she couldn't stand seeing her best friend like this. Akari slid off the saddle and called her name, "Kathy!"
The blond's face lit up in relief, and she closed the distance between them quickly, plowing her body right into Akari's for a bone crushing hug. Owen's embrace was cold, but her friend's was warm and safe. It felt nice to be held by someone who knew her inside and out, and she didn't understand why she didn't seek Kathy's comfort earlier. After Akari complained about not being able to breathe, Kathy pulled back and whacked her across the head. Her throbbing temples went into overdrive.
"H-hey!" She cried, puzzled by the dramatic shift in emotions.
"You deserve it!" Kathy shot back. "I called you three times yesterday. I was worried sick about you! I only knew you were alive because Chase said that you were!" Her glossy, green eyes leaked heavy tears down her face.
Selena strolled over and also smacked the poor farmer's head. Akari could only groan in pain. "And that's in the hopes of knocking some sense into you."
"...Can you guys beat me up inside? I need some aspirin."
"Please," Selena wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I keep thinking I'm going to step in horse shhh-" Kathy covered her mouth before she could swear.
Akari fished for the key inside her rucksack and hammered it into her rusty lock, pausing as she remembered the mountain of dirty laundry in the middle of the floor. Normally she would ask her guests to give her few hours notice before they came to visit so she could do a little bit of cleaning. But it was too late for that. Her appearance already screamed "Help me!" so it would probably be understandable if her house did as well. She invited the girls in and offered them a seat on the sofa. Before sitting, Selena flung a pair of plaid boxers in the pile, cringing slightly. Akari didn't see the point in wearing sexy underwear. She opened her medicine cabinet and shuffled through rows of cold medicine before she grabbed a small, white bottle of aspirin. She emptied the contents and frowned as two pills appeared on her hand. Not nearly enough to cure this headache. She drowned the pills down her sore throat with a full glass of water.
Sore throat, bad headache...was she getting sick?
"You can really tell you're depressed, Akari," Selena commented as she glanced around the room, her movements stiff and jerky as if trying not to touch anything by accident.
"You and Chase should get married," Kathy snapped. "You're both unbelievably rude. Don't you see she's hurting?"
Akari smiled slightly as she took her spot on the bed. Instinct compelled her to seek the safety of her hot quilt, and she wrapped it around her body until she felt snug. "I think that's why they shouldn't get married. Everyone would be miserable."
Selena rolled her eyes and Kathy laughed. After a few moments of silence, Kathy curled into herself, knees to stomach. "Hey...Owen came by today."
"Oh?" Akari replied, feigning interest by arching her eyebrow. She had already received the information from Chase, but she decided to pretend this was her first time hearing it. It didn't surprise her that Owen came by to talk to Kathy. They had been best friends since birth.
"He told me he talked to you today...and he promised you he wouldn't drink anymore."
"Yeah..."
"He told me to ask my dad not to serve him anymore alcohol," she persisted. Akari stopped fiddling with her chipped fingernails and looked up curiously. Did he really go that far in order to keep his promise?
"I'm sorry," Selena chimed in. "But I think you're a fool for taking him back. I would never date an alcoholic, and I sure as hell wouldn't date someone who hit me...even once!"
Akari sighed. She was right. But she didn't have Selena's fighting spirit or aggressiveness. Maybe that was the type of girl Owen needed to straighten him out. She vaguely wondered if Selena had ever been in love. Because it's so easy to say those things if you haven't, she thought.
"I don't know what to think," Kathy mumbled. "I want to believe Owen will change, but I want you to be safe and happy, Akari. Maybe you should talk to a therapist or something. Someone unbiased."
"We don't have any therapists here," Selena retorted.
"Maybe Jin could be her therapist."
The dancer snorted. "No. I think he needs a therapist too."
Akari wished they would stop talking. She didn't want anyone telling her what to do. She had already made her decision, even if it was the crazy, foolish thing to do. All Owen needed was motivation to stop drinking and he would. She was going to be his motivation. What he told her on the dock was beginning to make more sense to her, about love making everything easy. Another part of her was telling her she was in very dangerous territory. Chase warned her. Selena warned her. Kathy...well, she was as confused as Akari was. But she seriously wanted to believe in the power of love. Was it crazy to want that? Unrealistic?
"...I'm sorry, Aka. I know you've already thought about this a lot and here we go stressing you out even more," Kathy apologized. Akari nodded in acceptance. "Have you eaten today? You look sick."
Akari brought a clammy hand to her forehead. She felt warm, and she was sweating under her clothes, but that was probably due to the quilt. The aspirin alleviated her headache a little, but her head still felt heavy and full. "I...I ate some cake."
"Come to Harmonica Beach tonight. We're having a get-together, and there will be plenty of food," Kathy said. "Plus it will get your mind off everything for a few hours. You need to be around people who care about you, okay?"
Akari nodded slowly. She thought solitude was what she wanted, but she already felt a lot better with just Selena and Kathy sitting in her home. "I'll go..."
"You'll have fun. I promise."
A/N: Would you guys give him a second chance? By the way, thank you guys for the alerts and favorites! I'm so excited that people are reading and liking my story.
