Island Rush

by Marien Dore

  I knew what she was talking about. She heard me and Casey were lovers, are lovers, were together or something along those lines. Sighing, I slightly chuckled. “From all the interviewers and questions, there are a lot of things they are thinking, mainly about me.”

  She laughed. “They were saying that you two were lovers that got together on an island.”

  “Yeah, they kept asking me if that was true, asking about silly things like whether we tried killing ourselves or something. I swear, some people just really piss me off when they accuse me of something they have no evidence of.” I was looking at one of those people right now.

  She still looked amused, like she was going to laugh. I wanted to know what was so funny. “What did you say to that?”

  “No, obviously. He’s my teacher. Casey is with you, getting married to you. He told me how much he missed you,” I said, wanting to smirk because it wasn’t much.

  She laughed. “Yeah. He’s so sweet.”

  He looked confused as well as to what was so funny to her. “Jill, why are you laughing?”

  She scoffed. “Those people would even think for a second that someone like her,” she said, emphasizing ‘her’ and pointing to me as her eyes were on Casey, “could be with someone like you.”

  It seemed as if at first, she was at least trying to be nice. Now, that effort was fading and those words… hurt. I knew she meant it, and it hurt. I tried hard to brush her words off, knowing it didn’t matter. Casey knew too. He just wasn’t ready to drop it yet.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” he asked.

  She scoffed. “Uh, did you look at her? Honestly, I was worried at first about it being true. But now, seeing that she is the one everyone thinks could be your lover, it’s just funny. She is so young and… Yeah,” she trailed off.

  I knew that it went deeper than that. What she really meant was that it was ridiculous to think that Casey and I were lovers for the fact that she was prettier than me and older, more mature. She saw how weak, young, and ugly I was and knew that her precious Casey wouldn’t dare lift a finger for a girl like me. She wasn’t worried, but… she still looked suspicious, as if she just said that to hurt me and that she thought it could be a possibility.

  Casey looked ready to dump her then and there for that. His eyes wide, mouth open, he couldn’t believe she said that, would say something so insulting. Something so untrue to him. Before he could say anything, though, I laughed and nodded.

  “Yeah, you’re right. He is way too old for someone like me,” I said, showing her that I didn’t take that as an insult as if I didn’t hear the bigger meaning she wanted me to. Plus I was showing Casey that I was okay and for him to remain calm about this. “I’m just here to check on him. After all, I did save his life,” I said, smiling and not able to help myself.

  “Well, I’m glad you did,” she said smiling, placing her hand on his leg she was sitting next to, rubbing it up and down. “Otherwise, I would be attending a funeral and not a wedding in a few months.”

  I didn’t know she was planning a date to get married. I just knew they were engaged. When I looked to Casey and heard the heart monitor step out of rhythm, I knew he was just hearing about this for the first time.

  “Aw, look at that,” she said, turning to look at the heart monitor. “Honey, you’re excited.”

  “Jill,” he sighed. “I just got back. Just… went through a lot. Can we not plan for anything so soon? There is still a lot going on in my head that I’m trying to process. I don’t think we should rush it. Let’s just have a long engagement.”

  I felt so bad for him, mostly because I knew how he was feeling as of now. He was so sorry I was here to watch this. Sorry that she was still a part of his life and that he couldn’t do anything about it yet. He was upset at how she was acting. Guilty because he must think I was hurting seeing this. And though I was, it wasn’t his fault.

  I watched as Jill whined lightly, somewhat playfully, pouting as her hand on his leg slid up more, more… Oh god, I couldn’t watch this! Didn’t want to! It was as if I became paralyzed and hadn’t realized it, eyes following her hand. A quick glance to Casey, I saw his fake smile completely drop as he watched her, so shocked at what she was doing, mainly because she knew I was right here! Her hand slithered up his thigh, red nails brushing his leg through the sheet of the bed. She stopped at the top of his thigh, moving her hand to his inner thigh then out, rubbing back and forth.

  I knew he wanted to look to me, but he didn’t, couldn’t as she leaned forward, nailing his eyes to hers. I noticed as she leaned forward, she placed her other hand on the bed beside his thigh, making her shirt hang lower. It was sickening and terrible. I was really thinking about just getting up and leaving

  She lightly whined, her hand still slowly moving back and forth at the top of his thigh. “Oh, but… I’m ready to be Mrs. Jill Rush. I love how that sounds.”

  Oh god! I wanted to leave! I wanted to believe this was a dream because it seemed like one. It wasn’t because I wouldn’t, couldn’t, dream up this. He chuckled uncomfortably, grabbing her hand on his thigh with his hand, needing it off him. To make it so she wouldn’t throw what I’m sure would be a fit, he kissed her hand, twining their fingers together. It was much better than where her hand was before.

  “We’ll figure that out later. Right now—”

  He was cut off by the sound of the wooden door opening. All of us looking up to see who it could be, I saw Rachel come in, a confused and unsure look already on her face. She looked around at us before her eyes stopped on me.

  “Janice?” she asked, cautiously.

  “Uh, yeah?”

  “Your father is here. He didn’t want to wait so he’s coming up now,” she said, not liking how many people were in here to begin with. And now… my dad was going to be in here.

  I didn’t expect that. Hell, didn’t expect him here for another few hours or so. But for him to come up here… to this room and see Casey… oh shit. I just convinced Casey that we needed to stay away from each other because if my dad sees us talking, even gets the idea that anything is going on between us, I would most likely get killed. Dad didn’t need me telling people about what happened to his wife, especially with how much attention I was now getting.

  With dad coming up here, he might be able to tell. He might be able to see how strong Casey’s bond is with me. We weren’t ready or prepared. Casey didn’t want to agree to stay away because of my safety, but I convinced him. However, if he actually sees him, is in the same room, and meets my dad… Casey might just lose it, and that would give dad enough reason to kill us. It was a good thing Jill was here as proof Casey and I weren’t lovers. But he could still suspect easily that there is a bond between us, even if not romantic.

  What was worse was that we couldn’t plan our reactions to him. I couldn’t even leave the room to try to meet him coming up. Because a moment later, a new set of footsteps came through the door. Rachel left, getting back to her job as I watched as my father enter the room. I really thought I was going to throw up then and there at seeing him. Seeing the guy who killed mom and who was once my caring dad.

  He looked cleaned up. He had cut his hair, shaved, and combed his hair as best as he could. He was clad in worn jeans and a black tee-shirt. There were more wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. It looked as if he gained a couple pounds too. He looked like the sane dad I used to know. I wasn’t fooled.

  When he saw me, his face showed true relief. As if he cared and I think he did a little. I knew he still loved me, and I couldn’t help but still love him in a way. I couldn’t help it that he is my dad. He used to be my best friend. After that day, though, it felt as if my whole family was murdered. I didn’t want to accept that my dad would do that, but he did, and I still had a hard time with it. That didn’t mean I didn’t want him gone for good.

  Though he looked relieved, I saw him smirk just slightly in the next second. He came forward as I subconsciously stood up quickly. He came
to me, and I prayed that Casey wouldn’t do anything. His heart monitor was erratic and fast for a second, though, going wild the moment he saw my father. It didn’t slow but sped up when dad went to me, hugging me. I hugged him back, smiling as I saw Jill was watching. But when I looked to Casey, I saw he was slightly shaking, his hand tight in Jill’s. He was squeezing hard, and I saw her flinch. He stopped, more aware now that he needed to calm down when his eyes met mine. We shared that knowing look. He knew it was essential to remain calm.

  As my dad held me with his back to them, I kept my eyes on Casey’s. Though he stopped shaking and squeezing her hand hard, his heart monitor didn’t go back to normal. At least it did slow, though, which helped I guess. His eyes stayed in mine, pleading. All we could do is stay calm. Dad held onto me for a while until I felt something different.

  His hands that were on my back slid down over my ass for a brief second. It shocked me and made my eyes grow. It made me jump slightly too. I didn’t expect it, and he never touched me that way before. He never would want to, and I knew that with certainty. Why did he do that? Touch me that way? I found out in that second that it was a test.

  That moment, Casey’s heart monitor was erratic again. It was worse this time since he saw my reaction and discomfort. It made him ready to break, to kill the man hugging me now. So much in those eyes existed that second. All he wanted was me far from him, in his arms and not the ones that killed my mom. I was shaking slightly, but I smiled either way when Jill looked back up to me.

  That damn noise, though... the stupid heart monitor wouldn’t slow! It became the only sound in the room as dad hugged me. We were screwed. I knew it because of that unnatural and fast sound. The sound that told my dad and Jill that Casey was freaking out inside.

  Jill looked at him confused. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  When my dad broke away, he lightly kissed my forehead before turning and looking at Casey. He smiled at him. ”I guess, you are her teacher?”

  He smiled and nodded. “Yes,” was all he said, which I think was the best thing he could have done. If he brought up our time on the island together, anything at all about it, dad would start thinking about it more, and we didn’t need that.

  A second later with the heart monitor still erratic, it made things very awkward. Dad smirked, looking at Casey and watching him closely. “Are you sure you are okay? You must be shaken up about something. Your heart is going crazy.”

  Casey smiled, his heart not slowing. “Well, my chest kind of hurts and I don’t feel too well. I should be fine, though,” he said as an excuse, but it was too late.

  Looking to Jill, I saw she was much more suspicious than she was before. But as for my dad, that smirk, those knowing eyes… he knew.

  He knew.

  He saw that Casey knew enough. That he probably knew my secret. His secret. The monitor went wild the second Casey saw him. It made it loud and clear that Casey was nervous instantly by him, especially when dad noticed it didn’t go back to its normal rate. When he squeezed my ass, he did it as a test. And it worked. After he had touched me like that, Dad heard that his heart rate picked up more.

  He knew…

  Chapter 73

  My dad knew that I told Casey about him. He, therefore, could fairly assume that Casey knew everything. Looking up to my father, there was a smug look on a furious one. Casey’s heart monitor never slowed, especially now at realizing my father understood that he knew everything. His eyes were wide, scared, and I could tell with 100 percent certainty that Casey wasn’t going to do what I wanted. He wasn’t going to wait until midnight or at least he wasn’t going to sit here in bed.

  We knew that if dad knew that Casey knew, dad would do something to me, maybe kill me and or him. Dad didn’t know Casey and I were in love. He probably just thought I told him because I felt I could. That’s exactly what happened for the most part. I told him because I trusted him. But how were we supposed to know that we would be back here? And that he would meet my father while hooked up to a fucking heart monitor?! We didn’t. It didn’t matter if dad didn’t know about our relationship. He knew Casey knew, and that was all that mattered.

  What was worse was that I knew Casey was going to do something. I didn’t need him involved or getting hurt, but even if I could tell him not to worry, he wouldn’t stop worrying. No, he was more than just worrying at this point. Casey would try to help me or save me. At the moment, though, he was frozen, not knowing what to do.

  I felt dad’s arm go around me, rubbing my shoulder as he smiled to Casey. I kept my smile there the whole time, thankfully. It was a very hard thing to do, though. Pressing his side into mine, his hip against mine, I felt my eyes filling with water. Under his tee-shirt and held by the waistband of his pants, I felt something hard. A handle. The handle of a knife or maybe a gun.

  Casey, his eyes finding mine, were begging. Begging for an answer, for me to run, for my father to die. His eyes begged for an end to my suffering. He saw my eyes water when I felt the knife, but I made myself keep my tears from falling. If Jill was gone and not here, I knew this would play out differently, but she was, and dad knew he couldn’t have anyone else knowing. He didn’t need another person to get rid of. He would probably wait until later to take care of Casey.

  “I’m glad you were able to watch after her on the island,” my father said to him, the three of us keeping a nice face as best as we could.

  Casey, heart monitor, going wild, smiled. “Yeah, no problem.”

  My eyes never left Casey. I felt a tear fall slightly, but I quickly caught it with my palm. I knew Casey would try doing something, but I knew I was going to die. That wasn’t what made me upset really. It was the fact that my father would take care of Casey too.

  “Is this your wife?” my dad asked, an edge in his voice as he glanced to Jill.

  “Not yet,” he sighed just under his breath. He lifted her hand, kissing it lightly with the energy he had as he looked to her. His eyes were fast to return to my dad, his eyes flicking to my father’s arm around me. As if he wanted to burn away that contact, hating my dad’s hand on me.

  “Hmm, that’s interesting,” dad said, making me cringe. I knew what he was wondering or assuming, unfortunately. He saw the intense looks Casey, and I were sharing and could probably see a stronger bond than he did at first. “I’m sure we still have a lot to learn about what happened on that island. Were the nights cold there? I can imagine they were,” he said, throwing hate and amusement back to Casey through his eyes.

  Casey chuckled very awkwardly, seeing Jill’s accusing eyes as well. “Some nights were cooler than others, but it wasn’t that bad. We got lucky with the weather.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you got lucky,” dad said quickly yet politely with a smile, seeing Casey was eyeing him. At that, Dad slid his arm down from my shoulder to my waist, brushing my skin since the shirt was small on me and didn’t cover all of my skin. I tensed, even more, body freezing and I clenched my teeth, holding my smile there as best as I could. Christ, I couldn’t believe he was doing this! It was just to mock Casey and make him even more upset. For me, I just felt sick.

  I cringed, jaw clenching tight. I wanted out of here now. Out of my life, I returned to and back to the dreamland I lived in with Casey. Because there, it really was like a dream compared to this cruel world. I knew, I didn’t need to suffer in this world much longer, though. My dad would take care of that problem for me. And for Casey too. And I hated him for it so much. The only reason I didn’t try something that moment was because of where we were and because of Jill, no matter how terrible of a person she is. The moment we leave would be hell, though.

  I never got my answers and could only hope I would if he kills me. The questions continued flying through my head knowing what could be happening soon. Why us? Why did my dad and brother kill her? What did they do to her? Why us? Why me? Why did that stupid rat have to be there? Why did he have to be engaged? Why us? Why? Why did he have
to be dying there? Why did we have to leave to save him? Why were people so stupid? Why did they have to accuse us of being lovers? Why did dad and Casey have to meet at the moment he is hooked up to a damn heart monitor? Why?! Why us?!

  “Did you guys say anything to those reporters? I hope you didn’t. You need to be careful about what you say to people,” my dad said, gripping me harder to him, telling me exactly what he meant. I could tell he was also curious if anyone else knew about his secret.

  “No, but they asked a lot of questions I didn’t like,” I said, looking up to him. “I didn’t like how they were accusing us of things we had no idea of. No, we didn’t say anything,” I said.

  “And we don’t really plan to,” added Casey. It was no use, though. We already both knew my dad wouldn’t just drop it.

  My dad started brushing his fingers there on my bare skin as he smiled at Casey. Glancing to Jill, I saw she didn’t notice. All she seemed to notice was that Casey’s heart monitor was going wild! Her gaze would go from Casey to my father as they spoke but she was blind; she was oblivious to the secret meaning behind everything. She would send a few hateful looks to me, but I didn’t care.

  “Casey, are you sure you are okay?” Jill asked, eyes suspicious with her brows dipped. Her eyes on the heart monitor glanced back to him for an answer.

  His eyes were filled with so much hate at that moment, aiming it all at my knowing father. “Something’s just making me feel sick. It hurts too, but I’ll be okay. I’ll take care of it,” he said, eyes flicking to me before Jill, giving her a fake smile. He looked so weak, so tired. He didn’t deserve this, didn’t deserve to be involved. Didn’t deserve to die. Neither of us did after all we went through to live.

  Jill still seemed concerned, but she shrugged, accepting his words. Then, she glanced back to me. Her eyes stopped lower… stopped at where my father was brushing his fingers against my skin, massaging my skin lightly to tease Casey. I watched her, hoping she would put it together. That she would see I wasn’t as close to my father as it appeared. I prayed for her to understand that brush of his fingers. She looked confused for a moment until her eyes widened.