Paradise Island: Complete Edition

by DD Cooper

  “It’s all because of you, that everything has happened. Maybe I should have left you in that box where I found you. You’ve been nothing but trouble,” I told the journal, as if it could hear me. And as the words left me, I realized that they were true. All my troubles started when I started reading the journals. I wondered what my life would have been like now if I’d just left the damned things be. I would probably still be living with Lucy, working at the diner, and staying as far away from any man who showed much interest in me. I’d probably still be nice to Henry, never aware of his true intentions towards me. Now that I thought about it, it seemed like a pretty lonely, and miserable existence. I hated to think it, much less say it out loud, but my life now, the one I had with Jack, was vastly preferable to the life I had before him. Sure, I wished no one had to die, but in the end anything seemed worth being in Jack’s arms as I fell asleep, exhausted from our lovemaking.

  In that spirit, and in her honor, I reread some of my favorite entries from Josie’s last journal. Before, maybe I was a little too judgmental of some of the consent, but now that I had experienced life to the fullest, I began to really like Josie. Except for the whole sleeping with a married man thing, she seemed like a pretty interesting person.

  Hours seemed to pass by, as I entered and reentered her world again, until finally Jack was at my door, beckoning me back to the real world, which I was more than willing to return to.

  “There you are,” he said, smiling. “I was looking for you everywhere.”

  I lifted Josie’s journal to show him. “I was just reminiscing a bit.”

  “Well, enough of that, the cement has been poured and is drying as we speak. The crew has left for the day so we’re free to do whatever we want. In this case, we should probably head over to your cottage.”

  I nodded and put the journal back in the desk drawer where I found it. Even though I knew there wasn’t anyone else who wanted to take it from me, I still felt somewhat protective of it.

  I stretched my arms and legs and was ready. “Let’s get ready,” I said as I searched for a warm jacket. Jack went to his room and presumably did the same. Once we were ready we left the house, and locked it up behind us.

  I looked at all the work that had been done and was quite pleased at how everything had turned out. It was far more pleasing to the eye than I had imagined, and it actually made a lot more sense than the front yard that was there before.

  I got up on the bike behind Jack, put on my helmet, and held on for dear life. You’d think I’d be used to it by now, but every time I got on that bike I was a nervous wreck. I made Jack promise me that he’d get a car next time we were in a place where we needed transportation other than walking. He nodded, but there was something mischievous in the look that he gave me that told me that he probably still planned on having a motorcycle around. I just hoped it was in addition to a proper car, no matter how small. Maybe I’d learn to drive one, and it wouldn’t be a problem. It would certainly be a lot more practical.

  Soon, we arrived at our destination and I told Jack to park as far from the central road as possible. I hated the thought of someone seeing us here, hauling away Lucy’s things. But even if they did, we had agreed upon a plausible explanation. Lucy had met someone and decided to move to London with him and I was sending her stuff over. The same story needed to be told to the diner owner, a phone call (no way was I going to go there in person) that I needed to make.

  After Jack parked as much out of the way as possible, we made our way to the cottage. I had a key, of course, so that wasn’t a problem. I quickly locked the door behind us.

  It was strange entering Lucy’s room after everything that had happened. Every innocent little thing, from her fancy bags, skirts, trinkets, seemed to have a sinister edge now, for she laid dead in the ground, with a bullet in her head. I shook that image of her falling into the pit of death, her final resting place, and focused on the task at hand. Jack helped me pack up as many things as we could. Once the luggage was well and full, I needed Jack’s help to zip it up properly.

  I looked around the room. I packed all of her favorite stuff as far as I knew. “I think that should do it,” I said. “We should get out of here.”

  While Jack secured the luggage to the motorcycle, I took one last look at the cottage and said goodbye to my past. I locked it behind me and left the key under a rock that Lucy had always used. I saw her key was also there as well, and when I saw it, I felt deep sadness overtake me. It was irrational, and stupid, but I couldn’t help but mourn for the friend I lost, even if she wasn’t the person I thought she was.

  Jack put a hand on my shoulder and I returned to the land of the living. We rode out of there quick before anyone had a chance to stop us or spot us. I hated the thought of running into that Rory fellow again and having to lie to his face.

  Once we were back at Jack’s place, we only had one problem on our hands: now that we had Lucy’s things, what the hell were we going to do with them? Jack put the luggage in the little outback garage place where he kept his bike, while we agreed on what should be done. A bonfire seemed like a good idea at first, but it was bound to be seen by someone, and we didn’t want that.

  After he locked the garage, we made our way back to the house together and saw that the cement was already starting to harden up pretty nicely.

  “It should be pretty solid in a day or two. That’s what the guys said, anyway,” Jack said as he opened the door for me.

  “Oh, Jack, I can’t wait to leave this place behind,” I said, sitting down on the sofa with my jacket still on. Packing up Lucy’s things was more exhausting than I thought it would be.

  He sat down next to me and put an arm around me. “Me too,” he said and kissed me gently on the cheek. “The only good thing to come from this place is you, Sophie.”

  “I feel the same way about you,” I said, and huddled closer in his arms, feeling better already. “Sometimes it feels like we’ll never get off this island.”

  “Don’t worry about that. I’m buying tickets today. We’ll definitely be getting off this island in the next few days.”

  “That’s good to hear,” I said. “But I’ll believe it when it happens.”

  I thought about the time back in the U.S., when I escaped from Crow. I had traveled as far as the little money I had taken could take me by bus, until I had made my way to the other side of the country. I worked shitty low paying jobs and once I had enough for a plane ticket, I took the plunge and chose London, thinking it would be like the novels I had read as a child. The harsh reality was quite a blow.

  And then I met Lucy. And she took me to this island. And then I met Jack, the love of my life, which are words I thought I’d never be able to say, much less think, with a straight face. Before I had no use for love, but now that I had someone like Jack by my side, it was easy to use that word, for no other word could compare.

  “Shit,” Jack said, waking me from my thoughts.

  “What is it?” I said when he stood up from the sofa and watched the view outside. Then I saw them. Dark clouds were coming our way.

  “A thunderstorm is coming. We better cover the cement before it arrives.”

  I helped Jack cover up the cemented front yard with the long lines of plastic left by the workers. Apparently the workers had told Jack that it was best to keep the cement exposed for as long as possible, but to cover it up if any hint of rain decided to show up.

  We had covered most of it just in time, for a light drizzle started. In the distance, I could hear thunder. It was getting closer. After securing the plastic as best we could we ran inside before the rain got any worse.

  We took out jackets and boots off, looking at the dark clouds that were headed our way.

  “I sure hope that plastic holds. If the cement is ruined now, they’ll have to redo it.” Jack said, a look of concern on his face as he stared straight ahead at the tempest that was forming in our midst.

  “I hope you’re right, Jack. I sure
hope you’re right.” I did not voice my suspicions of vengeful spirits coming after us, because it sounded silly in my head, as well. I shuddered to think how it would sound being said out loud.

  We spent the rest of the day huddled in bed together. Our naked bodies entangled. I quivered every time I heard the loud booming thunder, and Jack held me closer each time, covering me with kisses.

  After making love, and after the storm had calmed down a little, we fell asleep in each others’ arms.

  This did not last for long, or maybe it did. It was hard to say if it was night or day with the dark clouds above us. But one thing was clear: something bad was coming.

  The sound of glass shattering, immensely deafening, filled my eardrums. I quickly got up and put my underwear and shirt on, while Jack quickly pulled up his boxers.

  I quivered behind him as he went slowly to investigate the source of the noise. He got a bat from the corner of the bedroom that I’d never even noticed before.

  He took it in both hands and told me to stay back. I stayed behind a couple of feet but still followed him.

  When I entered the living room it was clear what the source of the noise was. The glass door was shattered open, broken glass everywhere. I had to be careful not to step into any and told Jack the same, though the howling wind outside was pretty loud, drowning out most of my words.

  I shivered with both fear and cold as we slowly made our way to the front door, to see what had happened. A huge rock lay on the inside. It was clear this was not an accident. Someone had purposefully thrown that rock through the door. Someone who must have been very strong, indeed, I thought.

  “So it’s true,” a sickeningly familiar voice behind me boomed. “You’ve gotten yourself entangled with this loser.”

  I turned around, fearing the worst, and meeting that fear with my very own eyes. Crow stood in the kitchen, a crowbar in his hands, ironically enough.

  “It’s time to come home, kitten,” he said and my whole body was overcome with degust.

  “Never!” I shouted over the wind.

  “Have it your way.” Crow stepped into the light, his long dark trench coat wet with rain. As well as his sandy colored shoulder length hair. He looked just as he did in my nightmares, and in my memories, of him.

  “Stay away from her!” Jack yelled as he stepped in front of me.

  I quivered behind him, afraid at what was happening, and what was about to happen. I wished it was a terrible dream, but it didn’t seem like I was going to wake up any time soon.

  “How did you find me?” I cried, despite myself.

  “You’re all over the gossip rags, whoring yourself out with this ‘actor,’ well I’m here to tell you that it’s time to come home. Come with me, and your lover boy won’t get hurt. Refuse, well that’s a different story.”

  “She’s not going anywhere. The only one going away here is you,” Jack hissed and stepped forward with the bat. He lunged at Crow without another comment and hit him hard in the shoulder. I did not want to look, but I could not turn my eyes away from the terrible sight. Jack and Crow were fighting, and it seemed like this was a fight to the death. I screamed out when I saw Crow swing the crowbar and hit Jack straight in the head. He fell down with a sickening thump, his head oozing a lot of blood. I fell down next to him and held him in my arms. I tried to wake him, but Jack was unconscious, though still breathing, as shallow as it was.

  “What have you done?” I hissed up at Crow. He threw the crowbar on the floor and pulled me away from Jack by force.

  “You’re coming with me, Sophie, and there’s nothing in this world that’s gonna change that. Time for you to come home where you belong, sweetheart.”

  I tried to pull away from his grip, but he was too strong. My arm hurt like hell as he dragged me through the broken glass.

  Part II: Shattered

  Chapter Sixteen

  I cried out as the broken glass cut my feet.

  Crow stopped in midstride and looked down on the bloody mess.

  “We can’t have that,” he said calmly. “We gotta get you properly dressed, girl.”

  I cringed inwardly as Crow guided me back away from the glass. I looked down on Jack, and he was still unconscious.

  How could have this happened? It seemed, from what Crow said, that pictures of me and Jack ended up in the tabloids. But who could have taken those pictures? Then I remembered Henry. That was the only explanation. He must have snapped some photos that day on the beach when I discovered Jack and Lucy in the act. I guess it could have looked like a lovers’ spat. Jack barely wearing anything, us together on the beach. Even beyond the grave, it seemed Henry found ways to hurt me.

  I was in my room putting some clothes on while Crow observed from the doorway. A thousand thoughts entered my head at once, and none of them entertained me actually going anywhere with this sick lunatic.

  I might have been a scared little naive girl when I escaped that terrible place, but now I was more than grown up, and nobody was going to make me a victim again. I slowly dressed, put some socks on, while trying to devise a plan. Crow didn’t know of anything that I had done since I set foot on this island. He still saw me as his property, as the girl he could do anything he wanted to. No more, I hissed on the inside. I’ll show you what my hatred for you has made me, Crow, and you’ll wish you had never searched me out.

  “Come on, girly, we’ve got a flight to catch, and coming to this godforsaken island was enough trouble. I had to rent a freaking boat and everything. It’s waiting for us up by the docks. Make sure to dress up warm and nice.”

  I wanted to vomit right then and there listening to his sniveling, nasty voice. I went to the living room and found my boots in all the rubble. I took one last glance at Jack and saw that he was still out. I sure hoped that he wouldn’t suffer any serious damage.

  “You better hope that boy don’t wake up, or he ain’t gonna be waking up no more, if you catch my meaning,” Crow said calmly, as he chewed some tobacco.

  Ugh, I thought, and wasn’t afraid to show it on my face.

  Once my boots were on, while zipping up a side that wasn’t in his view I spotted a nice long and sharp piece of glass. I tucked it under my sweater and got up.

  “I’m ready,” I said. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Crow laughed. “It’s just starting, girlie. It’s just starting.”

  He pushed me forward and I slowly walked out. It was still windy outside, and dark, so it must have been night after all. I looked down at the covered cement and it looked like no water leaked through. Thankfully, the rain had let up.

  “Keep goin’,” Crow said. “We got a ways to go.”

  I cringed as his hand rested on my back, urging me forward.

  “Why can’t you just let me go?” I asked, adding sadness and weakness to my tone, though I only felt anger on the inside. I wanted him to think that I was weak. Easy prey. How little did he know.

  Crow didn’t say anything.

  I turned around and faced him. “Crow, please,” I pleaded.

  “Don’t you see I love you? I can’t live without you, and once we get back, you ain’t running anywhere, you hear me? I’ll make sure of that.”

  I caressed his cheek with my hand and was happy when he didn’t try to stop me.

  “Oh, Crow,” I said as he expectantly waited for my next words. “I never loved you.” I quickly pulled up the broken glass from my sleeve and stabbed him in the neck as hard as I could. Some blood poured out, but not enough. I hadn’t hit the right spot.

  “Fuck!” Crow screamed as he tried to pull the glass out with his bare hands, cutting himself in the process.

  I looked around for a rock, or anything else I could use before he was ready to attack again. I spotted a shovel a few feet away. Crow followed my gaze as I sprang forward to get a hold of it. He fell on top of me, the weight of him just too much.

  “You gonna pay for this, bitch!” He hissed in my face, as he slapped me hard on the cheek
. My face my buried in the wet dirt. I searched out with my hands for anything I could find, until finally my fingers touched something hard and rough. I lifted the heavy rock and swung as hard as I could in Crow’s direction. I got him in the head.

  He staggered back, and I pushed him as hard as I could, watching him fall to the side.

  He screamed in agony, holding his head now, as a small amount of blood still trickled from his neck. I picked up the rock again and looked down on the miserable sight of Crow.

  “You shouldn’t have come here,” I hissed. “But now I’m glad you did.” All the terrible things he’d done to me came flooding back as I hit him hard on the head with that rock over and over again until not even a whimper could be heard. The shock in his eyes only made me hit harder, until I actually opened my eyes and saw the mess I’d made of his skull.

  His brains oozed out of the shattered skull, and I was horrified at the sight. My hands started shaking. I got up and made my way back to the house, to Jack. I needed him now more than ever. It wasn’t like I could get rid of this body on my own.

  Jack, still unconscious, was where we left him. I went into the kitchen and poured a glass of water. I took a sip, and then threw the rest of it in Jack’s face. He woke almost immediately, coughing up water, surprise in his eyes.

  “What the hell?” He yelled.

  I kneeled down by his side. “That was Crow,” I said, then looked back in the direction I had left him. “He’s dead and I need your help to get rid of the body.”

  Jack held the spot on his head that Crow had hit him at, and winced as he slowly got up to stand. I helped him out a little, but he seemed wobbly and out of it.

  “Jack, are you okay?” I asked him. “I hope you don’t have a concussion or something.”

  I helped him take seat on the ouch. “No, no, I think I’m fine. My head hurts like hell, though, and did I just hear you right? You killed yet another person?”