Akari woke up and stared into a pair of brown, squinty eyes.
"Ah, you're awake," a comforting, gentle male voice spoke.
Awake, maybe, but definitely not okay, Akari thought. She felt like she'd been whacked across the head with an axe. She tore her eyes away from the face in front of her and glanced at her surroundings. She was in a small space blocked off by a teal curtain. The room itself was sparse and not particularly noteworthy. The place smelled like Lysol and bleach and the fluorescent lights were way too bright for her liking. If the lights got any brighter, her eyes might have melted into her brain. She could hear the sound of laughter from the room next door, but to her sensitive ears they sounded more like harsh cackles. Unpleasant environment aside, at least the bed she was in was cushy and elevated...with rails?
She was in a hospital bed. She shotup and the room seemed to swirl around her from the sudden movement. A hand grabbed her shoulder and gently guided her back down.
"Akari, this is Dr. Jin."
She frowned. Now she knew exactly where she was. How did she end up at the Chloral Clinic? She never went to the clinic for anything other than cold medicine and for thattime Kathy was thrown from her horse.
"What's going on?" She croaked.
"You have been unconscious for a couple of hours," he responded, peering over his glasses at her. "You were brought in with a serious injury over your left eye. But it's been cleaned and stitched up. Absolutely nothing to worry about. Now that you're awake, I'd like to prescribe you something for the pain. And I would like to do a concussion test to make sure you don't have any serious trauma to the head. But you should be free to go whenever you're ready."
Akari closed her eyes. Her head was throbbing. She wondered if Dr. Jin could see a vein pulsating from her forehead and if he could estimate the likelihood of it exploding and gushing blood everywhere. Her brain felt like an overly inflated balloon ready to pop from the pressure at any given time. How did she manage to get hurt and not remember what happened? Maybe the blow to her head gave her acute amnesia too.
"Do you know what happened?" She asked.
Jin shook his head. "I was hoping you could tell me, so I can treat you better. But the gentleman who brought you in found you on the Flute Fields bridge."
Owen? Now fully aware, she glanced around the room again. She and Dr. Jin were the only two living souls in the room. "What gentleman?" She asked.
He tapped his pen against his clipboard. "Hmm...the young man who works at the bar...I believe he's the cook."
Akari gaped. No, he must have made a mistake. She thought about everyone who worked at the bar and the only other male worker was Hayden, but he was the bartender and an older man. And there was no reason for Hayden to be in Flute Fields at night, unlike Chase who lived there.
"He kept you overnight until the storm passed," Dr. Jin continued. "You should thank him. Your condition could have been very well worse if he hadn't found you."
He rambled on about her past medical conditions, the tests he was going to perform and instructions on how to take care of herself as she recuperated. Meanwhile, she didn't know how to feel about this sudden influx of information. Chase? The jerk who dissed her at the bar a few weeks ago was willing to take her into his home? She shrugged it off. What did that prove? Anyone who wasn't completely callous and evil would rescue an unconscious woman in the middle of a deadly typhoon. His shred of decency didn't mean he cared about her; in his eyes she could have been any person on the island.
Still, she felt she owed him a "thank you". He would probably say something sarcastic in return, but she didn't care. She needed to clear her conscience.
But where was Owen? Was anyone notified that she was in the clinic?
"And no farming," Dr. Jin said just as she started to pay attention.
She blinked. "What?"
He cleared his throat. "You said you have a history of fainting when you overwork yourself, and with your injury, I don't advise you to do any farm work for a few weeks."
She dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "That's not possible. Farming is my job. No farming, no money. Do you want me to starve?"
Dr. Jin didn't laugh at her pitiful attempt at a joke. "I'm serious, Akari. You might want to consider hiring help or doing light work at any of the shops around town until you get better."
She sighed. "Do I have a choice?"
After a series of tests in which the results were unremarkable, Akari left the clinic with a bottle of painkillers in tow. Her stitches had been patched with gauze. It was not a cute look. She had no idea what she was going to do about income, but Irene advised her to remain as stress free as possible. She knew she had multiple people to call on if she needed help but dependencewas the absolute last resort. She would go against doctor's orders if it meant she had to ask for money. And even though farming was her job, she still enjoyed it. Caring for her crops and plants gave her purpose, as silly as it sounded to everyone else. She dedicated months to her garden and without her care, all her hard work was in danger of ruin.
For the first time, she noticed the extent of the damage from the storm. Debris was scattered all over and the town was busier than she had ever seen it with the residents trying to clean it up. Mainly she saw seaweed, palm leaves, tree branches and tangled fishing nets. The buildings, however, remained intact aside from some minor cosmetic damage. The sky was now a dreary gray and the air was cool. She headed over to the bar to speak to Kathy but found her sitting at one of the picnic tables outside of the inn.
"Kathy?" Akari said as she approached her. Kathy spun around in her chair. Her swollen and watery eyes lit up with joy.
"Akari!" She wrapped her arms around Akari, squeezing her tight. The motion made her dizzy and nauseous all over again. "I came to see you a million times this morning, but you were still sleeping! I'm so glad you're okay. Do you need anything? Some food? Something to drink?"
Akari swallowed and waited for the sick feeling to subside before she spoke again. There was no way she was going to be able to work in this condition. "No, no, I'm okay. Really. Thanks. But...do you have any idea what happened to me?"
Kathy raised an eyebrow. "You don't remember anything?"
Akari shrugged. "Haven't a clue. Though...Dr. Jin told me the weirdest thing."
"Yeah? What's that?"
"He told me Chase was the one who found me and brought me to the clinic." Akari's giggles faltered with uncertainty. "Weird, right?"
Kathy averted her gaze from hers. "He did. He told me everything this morning."
Great. So, Jin wasn't mistaken after all. Out of everyone on the island, why did it have to be Chase who rescued her? Where was her true knight and shining armor? Had he visited her in the clinic while she was sleeping, or did he not know she was there?
"I know you don't like him," Kathy continued. "But he's not a bad guy. Actually...I think he cares about you. He just doesn't know how to show it."
Akari frowned. She couldn't imagine Chase caring about her in the slightest,
especially considering the cruel things he said to her. "No way. He seriously chewed me out a few weeks ago. What makes you even think that?"
Kathy rolled her eyes. "I've worked with Chase for almost a year now. He likes to think no one knows anything about him, but he's not that hard to figure out."
Akari wondered about her best friend's current state of mind. She had to be nuts if she thought Chase cared anything about her. But before she could change the subject to something more pressing, such as how she was going to have to live off of wild berries and pond smelt until she could make money, Kathy dropped some bad news.
"You should thank him before he leaves," she said, pressing her lips into a thin line.
Akari tilted her head. "Leaves? Where is he going?"
Kathy's eyes filled with tears. Akari remembered how swollen her eyes looked when she first saw her. "The bar caught on fire during the storm last night."
Akari swiveled her head in the direction of the Brass Bar. What remained was a tarnished, ashy building ravaged by the now extinguished flames. Akari ran over with Kathy on her heels. She ignored the pain in her head as she stood in front of the remnants of one of her favorite places in town. A cloud of dust hovered over the building. She could smell the lingering scent of smoke. Everything now stood in piles of black ash…Chase's cooking space, Selena's stage, the piano, the wine cabinets...gone.
Kathy was crying harder now. Akari wrapped her arms around her friend's waist and held her as she cried. "We got everyone out just in time," she blubbered. "But we couldn't save the bar."
"All that matters is everyone is okay," Akari whispered.
Kathy nodded into her shoulder. "Selena and her parents are going back to Toucan Island. They're hoping the hotel is still intact. Me and dad are going to stay at the inn until the bar is renovated. Luke, Dale and Bo are supposed to work on it for free." She pulled away and wiped at her tear-streaked face.
"Selena's leaving?" Akari's heart sank. She and Selena had never been the best of friends, but after the incident with Owen, she finally felt she was forming a friendship with her.
Kathy nodded. "For now. She'll be back. And she promised to visit every week. Plus, we can always buy a ticket to go see her."
Akari bit her lip. "And Chase?"
Kathy shrugged. "He's out of a job, so he doesn't see any reason to stay."
After spending another hour or so talking, Kathy urged Akari to go home and rest. Although Akari wanted nothing more than to sleep the pain away, she was terrified to see the condition of her farm. Her anxiety rose even more when she realized Scarlett and Bella may have escaped from the barn out of fear and gotten hurt somewhere out in the storm. But she needed to stay as calm as possible. Doctor's orders.
When she reached the farmland, she let out a sigh of relief: the devastation was not as bad as she thought. Of course, her crops and flowers had been uprooted and damaged completely. She would have to start over. She opened the door to the barn and found Scarlett and Bella lounging in the hay. They glanced over at her lazily. Akari laughed. Those two had not been spooked at all.
And despite the shabby condition of her house, it withstood the beating of the storm like a pro; the damage it endured could easily be fixed by Luke or Dale in a day. She hoped they would fix the damages for free. How hard could it be to fix a leaky roof and a few busted windows? She ran inside and plopped on the bed, burying her face in the pillow, happy to be home.
Her relief made her reel with guilt. Everyone at the bar had lost their homes and their jobs...
Or maybe not. Akari thought of the wildest, most brilliant idea. She knew of the perfect way to thank Chase, a way that would benefit the both of them. If only she could convince him to accept her offer.
I am a genius, she mused.
Chase laughed. "You want me to work on your farm? Me?"
Akari caught him at home already packing his suitcases. Apparently, he bought a boat ticket from Ozzy on his way back from the bar. She wondered if Chase had been planning to leave for a long time. He certainly seemed well-prepared, though he wouldn't tell her where he was going.
She shrugged. "You're out of a job, and I can't work. Sounds like the perfect deal to me. Besides, this is my way of thanking you."
He rolled his eyes. "I don't need your charity."
Akari opened her mouth in protest but then she thought about what Kathy told her about Chase. Maybe if she kept trying, she'd be able to get through to him. As if that was going to be an easy task. The guy was made of pure ice.
"Think of it as self-interest through mutual benefit," Akari said. "You help me, I pay you, and I keep what's left."
He finished zipping a suitcase which appeared to Akari to be full of aprons. "You'd pay me in dimes and nickels," he said with a smirk.
She shook her head. "If you do well, I'll split the profits 60/40."
"50/50."
"You're crazy."
Chase shrugged. "Oh well." He surveyed the room. All his luggage crowded around the front door. Wherever he was going, he was traveling light. "Cain's going to be here in a few minutes to take me to the dock So...do you mind?" He gestured toward the door.
Akari groaned. Why did he have to be so difficult? Why did she decide to help him in the first place? Who cared if he saved her life!
"Fine! 50/50!" She cried.
Chase raised an eyebrow. "Why do you want me to stay here? Don't think I saved your life because I'm secretly in love with you or something."
She sighed. "I don't think that. In fact, I don't think you like me at all. But I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart. And I could really use the help."
Chase paused to think. Akari couldn't read his face. He almost always wore a neutral expression...she couldn't think of a time when he looked anything other than bored.
No... wait. The time he visited her farm, the afternoon after Owen had hit her, she saw a genuine look in his eyes. She wondered if she'd ever see those eyes again.
"I don't know how to farm," he finally spoke.
She smiled. Was he agreeing? "Trust me, I'll train you. But farming isn't for wusses, pretty boy. Be prepared to get down and dirty."