CHAPTER FIVE

 

CHAPTER FIVE: HURRICANE

           

            The sand trickled through my fingers, scooping up another handful after the other. A mixture of sea air and pale ,ocean light illuminated the atmosphere into a color of gray and crushed blue. The beach was calm and I was the only one sitting there. Staring in both directions across the shore, it was just as ongoing and endless as the ocean itself, which quietly licked the shore and giggled softly at the wind’s gentle tickle. The water was glassy and had a texture like the brush strokes of a painting. Abandoning the pale sand I had just scooped in my hand, I strolled to the edge of the water and let my feet immediately sink into the wet sand, my toes crinkling at the stagnant cold of the water that immediately swallowed my feet. A wall of foam puffed up at the water’s farthest grasp up the shore, leaving in a sizzle with the swoosh of the water returning to the greater body. Soon the cold didn’t feel so bad, taking a few steps into the water until I was completely submersed in the inky jets of the water. It was impossible to see the bottom of the ocean, staring blankly at the evergreen screen that my entire body, except my head, was under. The ocean was polite, hardly shifting, just a smooth wave that bobbled me up and down slightly. My body wasn’t screaming anymore in the captivating icy sting of the water. It had come accustomed to it and now buzzed artificial warmth. My hair clung to my neck, laughing at how fast it had grown back, running my fingers through it until I looked at the sky. The sky had molted into an angry magnitude of black that was poisoning and consuming the powder white sky. Lightening cut against the sky, followed by an orchestra of thunder that was so loud that it made the water around me quiver into thrashing. Rain shot down just as waves elevated and crashed upon me. I tried to scream, but it was muffled by a mouthful of water. But it didn’t matter; there was no one to save me. How come I hadn’t seen the hurricane coming?

I swear when I woke up, I could taste salt water. It was nice to see the room dim so I wouldn’t have to scald my eyes once again. A tray of packaged food sat on a tray on the edge of my bed. With no hesitation, I threw my body up, gritting my teeth at the hands tugging my muscles. My head buzzed for getting up too fast, pausing for a second to let the feeling go away then stretching for the tray. I went into a fit of giggles when the shiny tray reeled into my grasp, pulling it onto my lap, and inspected my gatherings. There was a cup of applesauce that made my stomach whine in anticipation before I peeled the lid of off and suck the chunky substances. It was so tasty and sweet that it almost obliterated my taste buds and broke me into tears in one mouthful. For the rest of my life, I would never come to complain about any food item. Once I had licked away every trace of the mustard colored substance, I looked back into my lap to find a few packets of saltine crackers and a cartoon of chocolate milk. The crackers didn’t go down easy, they crumpled up in my hungry palms and were shoved into my mouth but finished with a few gulps of the chocolate milk. The presence of food would have been enough to quiet my stomach. Now my belly was sober and enjoying the luxury of being filled. My mouth salivated in remembrance of the applesauce, wishing I had eaten it slower. The worthless tray slid out of my lap, clanking against the shiny tile floor. It was louder than I thought, cringing and waiting for someone to rush through the door. Once I saw no one was coming, I relaxed, my eyes inching towards the window that was covered to my dismay. Lifting my upper body had been excruciatingly painful, I didn’t want to imagine what it would feel like to pose into an upright stance and walk. The curtain taunted me, giving a flirtatious flutter and shifting over the window slightly, revealing only a thin strip of the sky. I had to look outside the window, even though I knew I would have plenty of time to look at it later; I just had to now. My mind and eagerness drew me out of bed like a master puppeteer, manipulating my crippled limbs and stance to the window even though pain was caked on every joint and tendon in my body. Once at the window, I threw away the curtains, not ready for the embrace of the gregarious world outside. My fingers were pulled to the window, running into the glass, eager to feel a new, free life. The sky was torpid yet bright and framed the mountains that glistened in the mid afternoon sun and reflected a platelet of rustic red, ruff green and benevolent brown. Looking for a latch, I fumbled with my grip on the sill to unlock the window and get a taste of the clear air and pine but I was interrupted by the uneasy opening of a door. A few timid footsteps squeaked behind me with the dull closing of the hospital door. My breathing quickened the pace, afraid to turn around and face Tanya or have to strike another conversation with the nurse. But the person in the room wasn’t barking accusations or questions and neither was he or she spitting in a fluster of concern or frustration at me. All was sterile. My stomach constricting as I pivoted to face this new arrival. The man stood at the edge of my bed, his wavy locks of bark brown curled over his caramel eyes.

“Samantha?” Ian choked.

                        Ian stole my breath away, literary; my lungs decelerated into a standstill, my head readying to collapse, bracing myself to wake up from this dream. His eyes were soft, ransacking the world’s beauty in one glance and cradling me from any unseen danger. His skin glowed of a peachy tan over his flexing muscles, able to trace every curve in his arms and neck. His face was scrunched in an icy numbness that scared me. A light scar was etched on his slender cheek bone.

“Ian-“ saying his name made me breathe again, my body soaring to hold him, to say his name, to feel him. His mouth stood ajar, his face going into a seizure of confusion and ache. It was all incomprehensible; this moment proved I was dreaming or luckily dead. Slowly, he moved towards me, gliding timidly like an innocent angel, stopping in front of me. This closeness was tangible, asking for more as I traced the seven years of my absence off his face. His chin was grizzly with stubble and the soft lips I wanted so badly to kiss were cracked from a beating Sun. He was older, but not from time, more from what had elapsed during the time. One could see where exhaustion had strangled him and where depression and hardship had whipped at. There was a lot that I had missed. My stomach churned in colossal excitement and relief. He’s okay, he’s here. “Ian” his face softened at his name and then motioned into a slideshow of emotion, his lip quivering. My fingers dug harder into the window sill, “Oh Ian I missed you so much” I wondered if he even heard that, he grabbed my face and kissed me. The warmth from a candlelight memory exploded into a vast forest fire from this perfect reality. He crushed me against his chest and ran his fingers through my hair and I felt our hearts beating next to each other. Tears surfaced but they slipped over my cheek bone and curled under my chin. His lips were fierce, as if I would disappear in a puff of smoke and never see him again, trying to keep up and match his movements. I pulled away, panting and snuggling my head in his neck, my eyes lolling into the back of my head from the familiar smell of soft spice. Ian’s arms swarmed me tightly, his panting stifling mine as I knotted my fingers into his shirt so nothing could take me away from him again. My eyes swelled from overwhelmed tears, too much in awe to care about the salty drops blotting his t-shirt. Before I could wipe away the wetness of my eyes, Ian pulled me into another kiss, this time  I wrapped my leg, the one that didn’t hurt as much as the other, around his waist. My heart accelerated to the movement of our lips and the static pulling us closer and closer. The dreams and memories had deceived me; this was far more greater and heart filling than I could ever formulate or remember. If I could have remembered his touch, I would have escaped a long time ago.

            His hands got fidgety, sliding down my back and pressing aggressively on my lower back, making me shudder in his grasp from the sharp pang from a gash.

“I’m sorry” he whispered, his eyes soaking in worry and souring tears. All I could do was nod; his eyes had captivated me and kept me dumber than a vegetable. His eyes roamed over my body, “You should be in bed” he swooped me off my feet in his muscular arms, that could tear someone’s ears off. He cuddled me against his warm chest like a gentle giant then placed me on the bed like a glass slipper. A comfy shiver ran across my skin when his lips brushed against my neck, taking a great breath of his aroma while he was so close. Hitting the mattress made me realize how weak and tired I was, growing antsy in that I might fall asleep knowing Ian was here.

            He sat on the edge of the bed, his calloused hand on top of my bony, folded hands lying on my stomach. His shoulders slouched, as if a heavy burden had been lifted and now he was basking in relief. It was hard to lay down when I was itching to the core to feel him, or hear his voice. He ran a hand through his hair, pulling it out of his eyes that sparkled from the light reflecting of the floors. My heart eased, cooing silently at his presence and evading unconsciousness with desire.

“Oh Samantha” he murmured, sparking my attention immediately, the drowsiness sulking to the back of my head. My breath snagged as he slowly moved towards me, arching over me and lowering his head to plant kisses on my neck and face until he rested his head on my shoulder, fanning his warm breath on my neck. “Where have you been?”

“It doesn’t matter” I gasped, wrapping my good arm around his neck, tracing his shoulder blade and spine “I’m here and you’re fine” soft lips lingered on my neck for a moment, sighing in pleasure as my heart roared in glory of being joined with what it had been laboring for all along.

“I missed you”

“I missed you too” my eyes stung, he would never know how much I missed him.

“I thought you were dead, when they took you I-“ he gulped, not continuing on and instead pulling away, his hands finding mine.

“Thank God they didn’t get you, what happened?” he shook his head, clutching my hands and put his lips to them, shutting his eyes for a moment.

“I’m sorry about that. I should have fought, it was so scary and all I could think about was Nick and then you- stupid, stupid. He would have been fine without me”

“Don’t say that, you did the right thing and besides” a lump rolled into my throat “I can’t imagine if you got caught”

“They didn’t take me? How come? They just carried you off and disappeared”

“I don’t know” I lied. They were only taken females for tests on fertilization and certain hormones that might cure some of their diseases. Males were useless to them except for body analysis and behavior.

“That was a long time ago. It was scary then”

“Scary now” there was a silence, remembering the fresh terror of the alien arrival and human extermination was as vile a punch in the stomach or acid burning at the back of your throat after vomiting. Images frizzled in front of my eyes, concentrating on Ian’s form to force them back. “What happened after I was taken?” he furrowed his brow, loosening his grip on my hands.

“Went back for Nick and continued here. We barely made it, we were so low on gas and Nick had gotten the flu or something” Ian shifted his feet, rubbing his thumb on my skin “They weren’t so friendly at first. We had to step out of the car and lie on the ground with a gun to our heads”

“They didn’t hurt you?” anger pulsed through me, focusing on his scar.

“No, just interrogated us like criminals” he chuckled softly, rubbing the scowling crease in my forehead “who can blame them though? Well, anyways, after they realized we weren’t franchising with the enemy, they immediately took us in. Fed, bathed, and sheltered us. People are friendly here. When we got here there was a littler over two thousand people” I choked on my own spit, coughing, “Are you alright?” his voice was wet with fear, rubbing my shoulder tenderly till I stopped spluttering.

“Two thousand?”

“Yeah. That’s not a lot. But before there was over six thousand people. A lot of people fled in panic and for family.”

“That’s a lot of people. So there is hope” he smiled lightly and nodded, giving my hand a squeeze. “You’ll like it here. Everyone is nice and they’ve heard a lot about you” he blushed, letting my hands go for a moment, his face going somber.

“I’m sure I’ll like it here” butterflies woke up, fluttering in my stomach; it would be hard to adjust to this new life but Ian was here…but right now he seemed worried, something lurking behind his eyes “plus I’m here with you” eerily, I felt I would come to regret saying that.

“Sam, I have to tell you something” he paused, his glance directed at the wall. He was fading away from me; I could feel him tearing away from me “You see, I thought you were dead. I- I was horribly depressed for years. Then I met Margaret” my mind clouded, unable to process what was trying to penetrate “she really helped me through my depression and taking care of Nick” Nick is okay, too. I gulped, what did this mean? The door creaked open, my head was throbbing and felt too heavy to look at the new visitor. Ian walked to the visitor, standing by her side. She was very short, petite and childish looking next to Ian. Her heart shaped, pale moon face was crowned with a mane of wavy, tar black hair that glistened like a pearl and rolled down on her dainty, bare shoulders. It was hard to dislike this face, it was maliciously beautiful and innocent with her eyes like two slabs of polished black granite and her eyebrows curved perfectly to depict any emotion. She smiled lightly with her peachy, plump lips, a similar shape to a baby doll which matched her round face and blush cheeks. Immediately, I realized I was inferior to her just by her stunning beauty and the way Ian stood next to her.

“Hi Marge” my heart thudded, wondering if it was tearing through any tissues or breaking any bones because it hurt so bad. Ian wrapped an arm around her waist, hyperventilating commenced. She leaned comfortably into his side, her eyes watching me with an aggressive and deceiving glare ,”we were just talking about you” Ian’s voice was cautious, his attention no longer on me but to her.

“Oh, really” her voice too sweet like a dozen spools of cotton candy however it matched her perfectly. I wanted the walls to close in, if only every breath I took could magically pull the walls closer and closer until it engulfed me so I wouldn’t have to deal with what was coming next. I was afraid to admit what he was going to say, but the words were deeply embedded in the fine webbing in my mind that was coming loose with every glance Ian gave to her and Margaret’s posture against his body. The truth was breaking through, slowly but surely.

“Yes. Sam, this is Margaret”

“Hi” I squeaked, I was a pebble next to a mountain range.

“Hello. I have heard a lot about you” she responded curtly, her lips forcing a wide smile to reveal her flawless teeth. I responded with a faint voice, feeling my lips quiver as I waited for Ian to say something. Ian planted a kiss on her head, her eyes squinting with a flirty smile. My heart sputtered rapidly, pushing away the urge to cry or scream. This didn’t make sense, or at least that’s what I told myself. Hadn’t I just been in his embrace, lip locked and anchored against his chest to admire each other’s presence? Had I blown our heated intercourse out of proportions; a misinterpretation?

“I met Margaret maybe a year ago and I proposed to her a few weeks ago” his smile was bright, the lacing of their fingers was a chokehold on me. I wanted to throw up, and I was sure it wouldn’t be the partly digested applesauce and crackers that would upchuck but the shards of my broken heart. My struggles had been a waste; I had forfeited death for failure and a broken heart. I had been so easily deceived; how could I expect Ian to still love me after so long? It was selfish to assume he would miss me and live delusion that I would come back or was dead.

“Congratulations” I said, hoping I had said it heartily. He smiled wider, relieved by my acceptance but couldn’t he see how cheated I was? My mind told me to lash at him, persecute him for leading me on moments ago, pulling into the depths of a rich fantasy to leave me to drown. But I couldn’t do that, he was so happy. Hadn’t that been what I was looking for? Everyone can’t win, “When’s the wedding?” Margaret giggled, stooping beside my bed.

“Oh good, I can get a few girl opinions. Do you think we should have it in the winter or spring? I just don’t know, then again the maid’s dresses won’t-“ I hardly listened to her, staring at the ceiling to let the flood of shame and betrayal wash over me. It wasn’t smooth like a wash though, it clambered onto me like a hurricane. Tearing up my insides with a swipe of a wave, memories flashed before my eyes and were followed by an internal wail just as a realization that I was useless pelted down on me. I was sinking, shock and desire was flooding into my lungs.

If only I had seen this coming…

“I’ll meet up with you ladies later” called Ian, cheerfully, halfway through the door. He gave a glance at me with a twinkle in his eyes and spark to his smile which I returned with a lying expression.

            A cold loneliness unraveled and coiled around my body but I would soon come to realize I could not adjust to it and would , inevitably, let it warp me.

 

Author's Note

Please ignore grammar problems. I know they're there and have countless times looked over and edited my work but still can't fix every single one. I would appreciate comments (good or bad) and would love ideas since I'm constantly on writer's block.

SONG OF THE CHAPTER: "I'm Not Okay (I promise)"- My Chemical Romance, "Nothing Came Out"- Moldy Peaches, "Congratulations"-Blue October

Reviews

[Ben]

Very good!

Sorry if I'm not helping...