Island Rush

by Marien Dore

  I stared at him again, waiting for an answer. At first, he just gazed at me before saying anything. “Um… I’ll wait until dawn.”

  With that and a little bit of awkwardness, we went to sleep soon after that.

  Chapter 12

  When I woke, I wasn’t covered in sweat. I looked around and found ashes that had once been the burning wood. It was still dark, with just a hint of blue filtering through, signifying very early morning. I looked over to Mr. Rush, who was still sleeping, and crawled over the wet grass to him.

  He was on his side, facing me in a peaceful sleep. His face was that of perfect smoothness, and it was nice to see him so relaxed and rested. His closed eyelids leading to those long lashes… it complimented him. All his features did. He might as well have lost his mind if he thought he wasn’t beautiful before he changed.

  I planned on waking him, my hand already extended and resting on his shoulder. I paused, though and moved closer, crossing my legs. I let myself place a hand over his cheek, cupping the warm skin there. My thumb ran up and down, slightly touching the curve of his lip. I knew I should not be doing this and especially now. I could not help it, knowing he was asleep. I also knew we had enough time before the sun rose.

  I could see his features even more clearly being this close to him. While keeping my eyes on his closed ones for any sign of him waking, I slowly moved my hand up to his forehead. I brushed his hair back as lightly as I could. His face didn’t move, and I turned daring, sliding my fingers through his hair and tucking it behind his ear.

  When he suddenly shifted, I froze. I immediately started praying that he stay asleep. Thankfully, he stilled, and I could see he didn’t leave his deep sleep. The only thing that was different was that a small smile turned his lips up in his sleep. I was scared that if he moved again, he might actually wake up. But I couldn’t let it end there, not yet. That’s why I allowed myself to slip down and next to him in the grass. I was on my side and facing him as he was me. Almost immediately, it made my heart pick up.

  His slow, steady breath brushed in and out of his nose; the sound was music to me. His chest moved up and down slowly, and I gingerly ran my hand over to his shoulder. When I slid my hand down to his chest, I could feel the muscle under my touch and the beat of his warm heart. My fingers spread open, grazing the curly hairs on his chest. And from there, I ran my hand down to the curve of his hip and left it there as I watched him. His face with that tired smile mesmerized me. I just wish I could help him…

  He was so blind. Denial is not something many people can live without. No matter how much pain it delays and builds up, we as people love the shield it creates. I learned enough to know that it was good to avoid being sucked into its trap. I guess Mr. Rush did not because from what he told me, I knew Jill was a terrible person. Even he knew that but would not face it. It was denial, and I just hope that he will see past it. He didn’t deserve to be wrapped up in someone like that. He was too good for that.

  I pulled my hand back and internally sighed, not wanting to think about him like that anymore. That would just be more pain for me, I reminded myself. Not to mention, at realizing what I was doing, I felt embarrassed and a little pathetic.

  I got to my knees and finally shook him awake. He blinked a few times, his brown eyes finding me as he sat up. He took a deep breath and instantly started looking around at his surroundings. A slow smile crept across his lips, the ones my thumb brushed against, and he aimed it at me.

  “Thanks for waking me up,” he said with a yawn, that smile returning when he glanced down to the dew on the grass. “Oh man, this is going to feel good.”

  He was right, and the back of my throat agreed. I felt some shame knowing that I took the time to be creepy instead of licking up some dew. With how much I longed for water, I wasn’t sure how I managed that.

  I let my body slip forward until I was lying on my stomach. I buried my face in the grass, letting my mouth flow over the blades. Like before, it was torture while also bliss. It wasn’t enough, but enough to get us by. What made it better was that we had a lot of time before the sun rose to take the dew away.

  Mr. Rush did as I did, drawing in as much of the dew as possible. We sucked on every blade we could until we couldn’t drink anymore. And my god… it felt almost as good as finishing off the rest of those coconuts. The burning and dry feeling in my mouth disappeared. I knew I would have to appreciate this.

  We went at it for a long time to the point where we sucked all the water in that we could. We kept going, taking our time and loving every moment of it. We made it last until we could see the sky getting lighter. It was a shame, knowing we would have to say goodbye to the dew for now.

  However, as we continued sucking with the sky becoming lighter, an idea swept over me. I jumped to my feet and shot a look to the sky where it started to get lighter with every minute. Why couldn’t I have thought of this over an hour ago? It shouldn’t matter. I still had time. I can do it! My positive thought sent me racing away from the tall grass and into a denser part of the woods where I hopefully could find a huge leaf. I found a bush that supported the giant leaves just as Mr. Rush got to me, looking at me as if I were crazy.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Just listen. Suck as much water as you can right now into your mouth. Don’t swallow it, though, okay?” I didn’t wait for a response as I ran back to the open area, dropping to the ground with the leaf.

  I started by pulling some of the longer and thicker strands of grass from the ground, planning to use the blades as a string. After I had done that, I curled the leaf up into a cone. Holding it firmly with one hand, my other was occupied with wrapping the grass around it so the cone would stay that shape with only one opening. That part took a bit longer for the fact that this was grass I was using. But I did manage it surprisingly. I tied it off, tightly yet slowly, and I was now holding what looked like a green waffle cone.

  My eyes found Mr. Rush as he sucked on the grass with all he had, his cheeks slowly expanding with water. Before I allowed my thoughts to take an inappropriate direction as I stared, I walked over to his side. Kneeling next to where he was laying on his stomach, he continued taking more water in. His eyes flicked up to me when I spoke.

  “Spit the water in here.” I held the leaf I transformed into a cone to him. He gave me a look that called me ‘insane,’ but I persisted. “We are running out of time. Just do it,” I nodded and pushed him until he finally spits the water into the cone. I felt relief – and surprise – to see that it actually worked and held the water.

  He gave me a curious look. Before he had the chance to ask, I beat him to it and explained. “We have been going without water for too long. Why let the sun take it away when we might be able to save some? We can start a supply.”

  His features lit up, and he smiled brightly at me. “That is an awesome idea.”

  I nodded and smiled, but was still nervous at the time. “Praise later. We can get more now before the sun gets too high.”

  He understood the extent of which saving water like this could benefit us. Immediately after I spoke, he dipped his head back down and took in what he could. I did the same, keeping the cone up in my hand so it wouldn’t spill. It took a while considering how little water the grass held. Plus with each minute, the sun was getting higher in the sky. Even still, we managed to do it. Mr. Rush came up from sucking on the grass and spit it in our cup. I followed soon after, letting the water I took in flow out of my mouth and into the cone.

  I saw the sun was getting even higher, peaking between the trees. We were able to get a little more before it was finally evaporated from the grass. When I looked into the cone I made, I was surprised at just how much we were able to get. Sure, we could wake early every day and do this. What about throughout the day, though? This would be a huge help.

  We sat there for a minute after the dew was gone. I glanced down at myself and then over to the man next to me. The only water remaining was all over our b
odies, shining in the new sun. I admired the way it gleamed against his skin, lighting up his pretty eyes. It reminded me of how much I wanted him. So with that, I internally kicked myself. I blame my period for such thoughts. I wondered what I would blame my feelings on after it was gone.

  He smiled at me fondly. “How did you come up with something like that?” He nodded to the leaf cone.

  I smiled with pride as my next words were true. “I just thought of it. I remembered how we needed to hurry with the sun coming up, and it clicked.”

  He reached over and took the cup, looking it over. “You rolled up a leaf and somehow were able to tie it together. With just some damn grass too. God, you’re amazing,” he murmured under his breath. It made my heart jump – big time. I don’t think he meant for me to hear it.

  He handed the cone back to me before we got up to head towards the beach. After all, though we agreed to take breaks and become more established, we still needed to continue walking. Finding that creek was still a priority. But just as we grabbed the spear started moving to the trees lining the beach, I remembered something.

  I stopped him, remembering his cuts. He looked at me with his brows hung low until I took his hands. Looking them over and seeing they were clean of blood, I still noticed the cuts. They could get infected.

  I handed him the cone. “Hold this.” I turned back towards some of the very long grass, crouching down and filling my hands with the strands. I yanked the grass out, just like I did to tie the cone together.

  Noticing the grass was long enough when I stood and eyed his hands, I knew what we needed to do. I made Mr. Rush hold the cup with one hand as I took his other in mine. It was warm, and I had to force myself to hold back a moan at the touch. My eyes darted to his face to see if he felt what I just had: sparks at the contact we made. He was looking down at my hand in his, looking like he knew I was staring at him but not responding. I followed his gaze and cleared my mind of that nonsense. Time to get this done.

  I started to twine the thick blades around his hand as my skin slightly brushed his. It wasn’t like earlier when I ran my hands over him in his sleep because now he was awake. He was very aware of me. All the other minor contacts we made before, including my skin against his when falling asleep or when he caught me after falling from the tree, were special in a way. But they were not like this. This was being very aware of the burn between us, and the tension that was mounting. I saw with a blush how the hair on my arms stood on end and hoped that he didn’t notice my reaction.

  I focused on curling the long blades over the cut, wrapping the strands around his hand. I covered the cut tightly until I had the ends of the grass hanging with no more slack. I intertwined them together instead of tying them, making sure to do it as tightly as I could.

  After he transferred the cone to the hand I just finished, I proceeded to repeat what I had done. It didn’t take as long to wrap up this cut. When I was finished, I tilted my head and looked up after letting his hand go. His eyes immediately were on mine with a look I caught him wearing many times before. It was that same fire in the eyes, except there was more to this gaze. This one said he understood me completely.

  It told me that he saw the suffering I endured. He saw the way I looked at life, saw the joy I felt at being away from home and saw the determination of getting back and finishing something even if he didn’t know what that was. That’s what was special here. He didn’t know the whole truth or what I was hiding from him, and still, he understood.

  My breath hitched when his bandaged hand rose, slightly brushing my cheek with his fingers. Those brown eyes of his were intense. Then, his gaze dropped away from mine, and his hand fell with it. A blush rose over him. “Thank you,” he said with an edge to his voice.

  All of this left me speechless. The dude called me amazing, then gave me a look I would kill to see again, and topped it off with brushing my cheek. Now here I sit, astonished and waiting for my senses to return. Could he possibly like me? Like me in the way, he ‘likes’ Jill?

  I answered myself right away. He wasn’t the kind of guy who loved two women and was okay with it. But that look… I groaned under my breath, recalling my thoughts on how he was the one in denial. Could I be refusing to see that he cared for me more than I thought? No, all this had to be a natural reaction to being away from Jill. After not seeing her for so long, he could be feeling the need to spread a bit of affection and have it not mean anything. That was what I settled with. That just because it seemed like it, it didn’t mean he wanted me like that. I needed to back my feelings down, or they would be hurting.

  Soon, we were back heading towards the beach, the tension still crackling between us. I carried the cone cup now and covered the top with a leaf. I needed to be careful to not spill it. He walked next to me, holding the spear as the flint and stone rested in his pocket. The sound of the water crashing became louder until we saw the blue and stopped at the edge of the trees. Turning to our left, we started walking in the same direction we have this whole time under the shade of the trees.

  Silence followed us with the heat for a very long time, but the tension slowly vanished. I became occupied with thoughts not involving him. I thought over how we made it this far on an island, and it made me smile. I haven’t had much luck in my life, and some would think it would get worse being on an island. My luck was running high considering many of the conditions here.

  I felt his gaze fall on me, and he broke the silence. “What are you smiling about?”

  I turned and looked up at him, his lips tilting up slightly too. “I’m just happy that we are surviving well.”

  “It surprises you?”

  I scoffed, watching our feet go forward. “I didn’t expect to last as long as we have. I thought after a few days, I would be dead.” Though I never thought I would die, I did realize how relieved I was to be alive at this point.

  “You are clever and should give yourself more credit. I knew you would live from the beginning. You’re that strong.”

  I felt like giving him a hug for that, but my eyebrows dipped in confusion. “What are you talking about? You came for me when I ran. And I ran because I was dragging you down. I was the weak one struggling to live whereas you were fine. That’s why you came after me because you knew I couldn’t survive on my own.”

  When I looked up and saw his face pale, it made me raise an eyebrow. It was like he revealed something he hadn’t meant to. I noticed that he refused to look at me. “No. I knew you would be fine. I guess… I wasn’t sure I would be.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Like I said before, I was scared,” he confessed. “I am not as strong as I try to be. It’s embarrassing. I didn’t want to be alone and end up talking to a volleyball, instead of you,” he chuckled in a nervous tone after offering up that reference. “I didn’t want to go through this alone. For many reasons.”

  I could see why he would be embarrassed to admit that. Confessing to one of your students that you needed them around for the sake of just being around would seem childish. To me, it made it that much sweeter.

  I couldn’t tell him how much his words meant to me and how much they pierced my heart, knowing I couldn’t respond to them like I wanted to. “I didn’t think you thought of me as someone to keep you sane through this. True, you might have lost your mind in isolation without me but so would I. I’m not that strong.”

  He scoffed. “You got those coconuts down and gave us a small supply of water. I doubt I would have thought of that. Beyond that, you live. You pressed on with your life at home. Even now, you don’t give up despite how much you whine and cover yourself with it. You are very strong.”

  “I said praise me later, but I didn’t see this coming,” I laughed uneasily. How else could I respond? Nobody ever said anything like that to me.

  His face was back to its normal color by now. He smiled one last time to me as the conversation closed and our day of walking progressed.

  A few hours passed,
and we were breathing hard. Seeing as there was no cover from the sun at this time of day, it was drowning us. It made us stop and sit against a tree where we decided we would stay to try once more to fish. The sound of waves added to our hard breathing as I handed him the cup of our water first, removing the leaf that covered the top.

  He took it from me and tilted his head back, taking a careful drink and making sure he didn’t spill one drop. My chest twisted at the thought of him swallowing water that came from my mouth. When it was my turn, I took the cone with eager delight I kept hidden as I sucked the rest down.

  We sat there for a minute and rested. It wasn’t long until he stood up and took my hand, pulling me to my feet. His hand lingered in mine for longer than necessary before he let go and headed down the beach with me behind him. I left the empty leaf cone on the beach as I walked out into the water with him. As we continued walking out, it remained shallow. However, the surface beneath us turned from sand to a very rocky floor, forcing us to move slower until we stopped.

  He stood there, the spear in hand. Unlike me, he looked around, figuring a fish would not swim close or directly under him like I did. It was a better method too because not five minutes later, his stance tensed. I followed his gaze ahead, seeing a school of fish. They were decent sized too. We both got too excited.

  He whipped his hand back to a position one would form when throwing a dart. Only, Mr. Rush threw the spear ten times harder than he needed to. It sailed many yards off and in the other direction; it didn’t even scare the fish. He would be very embarrassed later, but right now, I raced after the spear. My feet on the rocks experienced a lot of pain because of the speed I was going. My stomach pushed me past the pain, but it also forced me to outrun my common sense.

  Running and splashing through the water scared the fish. By the time I got to the spear, and my feet were stinging terribly, they were scattering. But I wasn’t giving up! I swung my hand back as I gripped the stick and threw it towards one of the fleeing fish. When the point of the spear hit the water, the fish darted.