Overboard **ON HOLD**
How It All Began
"Would you care to dance?" My best friend Johnny held his hand out, mockingly, to me. I can't believe my father made me go on this stupid cruise and wear this stupid foofy dress. This is like a nightmare.
"Oh, shove it, Johnny. It's not funny." I crossed my arms, kicking my door closed with my foot and leaning across the outside frame.
"It is, too. Skittles, you've never worn a dress for me before. Especially one that pushed your girls up so high!" He cackled, knowing the realization of my breasts being so close to my ears would infuriate me. My blue eyes clouded over and my face drained of blood.
"I will hit you, Johnny. Just because I'm twenty now, doesn't mean I'm mature. Don't forget Little League, Johnny Boy. I can still kick your arse." He took it as teasing but I was so serious. I wasn't one to be girly. I had played sports all my life. I attempted to shove my chest down in my dress.
"It won't work, darlin'. You're shoved in a corset, meaning those babies are staying right where they are."
"Fuck off, Johnny." I said, flustered. My fists balled in anger and I stalked away, pushing off the door frame.
"I'm sorry, Skittles. I've just never seen you in a dress, before. It's kind of amusing... specially since you're still wearing your Docs. I saw them when you kicked the door." He babbled, rushing to catch up with me, to grab my hand. My body betrayed me, tears threatening to fall for some reason. I spun round to face him.
"John... it's not funny. My dad has only done this to me because he knows how much I want to go to University. It's not fair." I sniffled my nose, preventing them from falling.
"I'm sorry, Elysha. I didn't mean to upset you. I was just playing around. Come here." He startled me, only using my real name in the most serious of situations. Then, he pulled me into him, snuggling me to his chest. His brown curls tickled my forehead as he looked down at me staring at him.
"It's okay, Bumble bee. I forgive you." He flinched at the childhood nickname I had for him, making me smile.
"Hey, just because I call you Skittles doesn't mean Bumble bee will ever be an acceptable name for a guy of my size." I smiled into the soft fabric of his dress shirt. He smelled of Downy and Tide, his signature smell.
"Yes, it does. It's only for me, though. If another girl ever calls you that, I have permission to beat the shit out of them." I smiled, still held captive in his arms.
"Course you do, Skittles. Now, let's go dance." Johnny may have only been my best friend but he, admittedly, looked damn good in a suit. The cummerbund matched my (ick) dress.
"Fine..." I said, reluctantly, not wanting anyone else to see me in my horrid fabrics. He released me from his tight hug and, instead placed my small hand in the crook of his elbow. I didn't much like this position, him standing to the side of my small frame, flaunting his height at me. He led me to the dance floor, leading me to believe this wasn't his first time on the Maybel Cruise Line. A soft song played out... A Thousand Years by Christina Perri.
"Just relax, doll face." His hands lingered over my lower back, mine reaching up and over his broad shoulders to wrap round his neck. We swayed to the music, never wanting to stray to far from each other. I got a sinking feeling in my lower abdomen but I brushed it off, assuming it was sea sickness.
"Johnny, why don't you have a girlfriend?" I asked, wondering why he had never taken to anyone before. He'd been my best friend since we'd played American Football together back in Little League and I'd never noticed him with any other girls. Maybe he'd met a few for a good shag but he'd never held a relationship.
"I just... I never needed one." He said to me, eyes looking any where but my face. His discomfort at the subject was obvious as his hold tightened around me. Despite all the other couples dancing around, we were in our own bubble. "Why haven't you ever dated? You're not going Jessica Ramsey on me, are you?" He chuckled, referring to a girl in our second year of Secondary school who dumped her boyfriend and told him she was into her own kind.
"Course not. It's just that... I'm already one of the boys. I don't need one, also." I muttered, quite angrily actually, referring to my sporty, tom-boyish past.
"You're not one of the boys, Elysha." He said, his tone serious again.
"Well, no-one seems to notice that bit." I said, huffing, as we swayed back and forth.
"I did. You might have tried to cover it with all your jeans and combat boots and sports, but I saw you. Always have since that first day you tackled me to the turf." I was shocked by his words, so much so that I'd stopped moving. Just a roadblock in the dancing bodies.
"Wha... what do you mean?" I asked, frozen to the spot. But he didn't get a chance to say the words that he meant because the massive ship tilted. I finally realised that the sinking feeling in my gut was that I was walking sideways earlier. The shit was sinking. I clenched on to Johnny's fingers tightly, knowing this was the end.
"Calm down, Skittles. We'll be okay. It'll be okay." But he didn't know that. We were on a sinking cruise ship in the middle of no where. There's no way he could know that. Red sirens blaring all around the ship as the captain said for everyone to stay calm over a P.A system. Like hell, we would stay calm.
"It won't. There's no way it could." I said, digging my nails into my skin. I dragged him behind me, my heel-clad feet searching for an exit off this death trap. A raft, a rowboat, maybe.
"There's nothing here, Elysha." His misuse of my nickname had me turning to face him. His fear was clear in his beautiful blue eyes.
"We'll find a way." I said, determination hardening my voice. I grabbed his hand once again, searching around all the panicking, screaming people to find an escape. Finally, I found small escape boats hanging high on the dock. Skillfully, I got us down into the boat, John calling behind me to let other people know we'd found an escape.
Just as I started to row, him taking the back, a strong current came past and I only just noticed the storm and rough waters. The current crashed against our small boat, ripping the back.
"John!" I screamed, praying for him to come back to me. He knew it was the end as the current ripped apart his side of our boat and he broke the surface of the salty ocean.
"I love you, Elisha. That's what I was trying to say earlier." He called to me as his head started to go beneath the surface. I reached my hand out, willing him to take it. His wet fingers slipped from my every time I grasped them, desperately. Soon, his head stopped coming back up and my adrenaline faded. The current rocked through my half-boat again, this time, crashing me into a rock. My leg hit hard against the rocky texturing, snapping out, but pulling back in to place. I screamed, my breath hitching from the throbbing pain.
My body shut down and I woke up on a beachy shore.
Flashback Over
One Year Later
That accident had crippled me, emotionally and physically. My knee had only just gotten out of the brace they kept seeming to re-recommend to me. Now, I was taking physical therapy. They'd said Mr. Malik was the best in the field and would have me good as new.
He'd better. I'd seen five doctors over the course of this year about my leg and they were considering surgery. I didn't even want to go there. I don't do needles. I pulled up my biking shorts, kissed the pictures of John and my father, and grabbed my purse. I, not only lost Johnny that day, but my father too. While we were boarding the boat, long before the Catalion where everything went wrong, my father was trying to make it here to tell me something. He swerved to the right, trying to avoid animals crossing and wrapped himself around a tree, dying instantly.
I got in the car, driving to Kingston Orthopedics, here in NY. Once I got inside, I handed the lady my slip.
"Oh, Mr. Malik is free right now. Go on back." The smell of coffee polluted the air until I opened the door to his office.
"You must be Elysha." He said, but I couldn't respond. Damn, I like his face...
"Oh, shove it, Johnny. It's not funny." I crossed my arms, kicking my door closed with my foot and leaning across the outside frame.
"It is, too. Skittles, you've never worn a dress for me before. Especially one that pushed your girls up so high!" He cackled, knowing the realization of my breasts being so close to my ears would infuriate me. My blue eyes clouded over and my face drained of blood.
"I will hit you, Johnny. Just because I'm twenty now, doesn't mean I'm mature. Don't forget Little League, Johnny Boy. I can still kick your arse." He took it as teasing but I was so serious. I wasn't one to be girly. I had played sports all my life. I attempted to shove my chest down in my dress.
"It won't work, darlin'. You're shoved in a corset, meaning those babies are staying right where they are."
"Fuck off, Johnny." I said, flustered. My fists balled in anger and I stalked away, pushing off the door frame.
"I'm sorry, Skittles. I've just never seen you in a dress, before. It's kind of amusing... specially since you're still wearing your Docs. I saw them when you kicked the door." He babbled, rushing to catch up with me, to grab my hand. My body betrayed me, tears threatening to fall for some reason. I spun round to face him.
"John... it's not funny. My dad has only done this to me because he knows how much I want to go to University. It's not fair." I sniffled my nose, preventing them from falling.
"I'm sorry, Elysha. I didn't mean to upset you. I was just playing around. Come here." He startled me, only using my real name in the most serious of situations. Then, he pulled me into him, snuggling me to his chest. His brown curls tickled my forehead as he looked down at me staring at him.
"It's okay, Bumble bee. I forgive you." He flinched at the childhood nickname I had for him, making me smile.
"Hey, just because I call you Skittles doesn't mean Bumble bee will ever be an acceptable name for a guy of my size." I smiled into the soft fabric of his dress shirt. He smelled of Downy and Tide, his signature smell.
"Yes, it does. It's only for me, though. If another girl ever calls you that, I have permission to beat the shit out of them." I smiled, still held captive in his arms.
"Course you do, Skittles. Now, let's go dance." Johnny may have only been my best friend but he, admittedly, looked damn good in a suit. The cummerbund matched my (ick) dress.
"Fine..." I said, reluctantly, not wanting anyone else to see me in my horrid fabrics. He released me from his tight hug and, instead placed my small hand in the crook of his elbow. I didn't much like this position, him standing to the side of my small frame, flaunting his height at me. He led me to the dance floor, leading me to believe this wasn't his first time on the Maybel Cruise Line. A soft song played out... A Thousand Years by Christina Perri.
"Just relax, doll face." His hands lingered over my lower back, mine reaching up and over his broad shoulders to wrap round his neck. We swayed to the music, never wanting to stray to far from each other. I got a sinking feeling in my lower abdomen but I brushed it off, assuming it was sea sickness.
"Johnny, why don't you have a girlfriend?" I asked, wondering why he had never taken to anyone before. He'd been my best friend since we'd played American Football together back in Little League and I'd never noticed him with any other girls. Maybe he'd met a few for a good shag but he'd never held a relationship.
"I just... I never needed one." He said to me, eyes looking any where but my face. His discomfort at the subject was obvious as his hold tightened around me. Despite all the other couples dancing around, we were in our own bubble. "Why haven't you ever dated? You're not going Jessica Ramsey on me, are you?" He chuckled, referring to a girl in our second year of Secondary school who dumped her boyfriend and told him she was into her own kind.
"Course not. It's just that... I'm already one of the boys. I don't need one, also." I muttered, quite angrily actually, referring to my sporty, tom-boyish past.
"You're not one of the boys, Elysha." He said, his tone serious again.
"Well, no-one seems to notice that bit." I said, huffing, as we swayed back and forth.
"I did. You might have tried to cover it with all your jeans and combat boots and sports, but I saw you. Always have since that first day you tackled me to the turf." I was shocked by his words, so much so that I'd stopped moving. Just a roadblock in the dancing bodies.
"Wha... what do you mean?" I asked, frozen to the spot. But he didn't get a chance to say the words that he meant because the massive ship tilted. I finally realised that the sinking feeling in my gut was that I was walking sideways earlier. The shit was sinking. I clenched on to Johnny's fingers tightly, knowing this was the end.
"Calm down, Skittles. We'll be okay. It'll be okay." But he didn't know that. We were on a sinking cruise ship in the middle of no where. There's no way he could know that. Red sirens blaring all around the ship as the captain said for everyone to stay calm over a P.A system. Like hell, we would stay calm.
"It won't. There's no way it could." I said, digging my nails into my skin. I dragged him behind me, my heel-clad feet searching for an exit off this death trap. A raft, a rowboat, maybe.
"There's nothing here, Elysha." His misuse of my nickname had me turning to face him. His fear was clear in his beautiful blue eyes.
"We'll find a way." I said, determination hardening my voice. I grabbed his hand once again, searching around all the panicking, screaming people to find an escape. Finally, I found small escape boats hanging high on the dock. Skillfully, I got us down into the boat, John calling behind me to let other people know we'd found an escape.
Just as I started to row, him taking the back, a strong current came past and I only just noticed the storm and rough waters. The current crashed against our small boat, ripping the back.
"John!" I screamed, praying for him to come back to me. He knew it was the end as the current ripped apart his side of our boat and he broke the surface of the salty ocean.
"I love you, Elisha. That's what I was trying to say earlier." He called to me as his head started to go beneath the surface. I reached my hand out, willing him to take it. His wet fingers slipped from my every time I grasped them, desperately. Soon, his head stopped coming back up and my adrenaline faded. The current rocked through my half-boat again, this time, crashing me into a rock. My leg hit hard against the rocky texturing, snapping out, but pulling back in to place. I screamed, my breath hitching from the throbbing pain.
My body shut down and I woke up on a beachy shore.
Flashback Over
One Year Later
That accident had crippled me, emotionally and physically. My knee had only just gotten out of the brace they kept seeming to re-recommend to me. Now, I was taking physical therapy. They'd said Mr. Malik was the best in the field and would have me good as new.
He'd better. I'd seen five doctors over the course of this year about my leg and they were considering surgery. I didn't even want to go there. I don't do needles. I pulled up my biking shorts, kissed the pictures of John and my father, and grabbed my purse. I, not only lost Johnny that day, but my father too. While we were boarding the boat, long before the Catalion where everything went wrong, my father was trying to make it here to tell me something. He swerved to the right, trying to avoid animals crossing and wrapped himself around a tree, dying instantly.
I got in the car, driving to Kingston Orthopedics, here in NY. Once I got inside, I handed the lady my slip.
"Oh, Mr. Malik is free right now. Go on back." The smell of coffee polluted the air until I opened the door to his office.
"You must be Elysha." He said, but I couldn't respond. Damn, I like his face...
Awwhh why thank you :)
10/21/13