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To Live is to Die
Topic Started: March 5, 2008, 12:49 am (59,960 Views)
elena
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Outlaw Torn
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Very cool chapter! :horns:
I hope that after James will come back from rehab he and Charlie will be again together! :( :heart:
Write more!This fiction rocks! :nanner:
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Broken, Beat & Scarred
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Lovely update.

The last sentence kind of worries me a bit. Will Charlie overreact? Will she start doubting her feelings for James? Will she only figure that they do love each other and it's more important to say that they miss each other? Aaagh.

Yeah, uhm, more soon, thanks? :heart:
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neonguitarstrings
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Bad Seed
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Oct 2 2008, 03:36 AM


“Are you talking about James? Or pork?” I raised an eyebrow over my coffee cup and he choked a little on his tea.

“Pork,” he managed to spit out.


Lol,i liked that line :)
so much for a naughty party lol,Great update :D
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Metalicious
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Blackened
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Thanks everyone! I'm glad you're still enjoying. I feel like I just keep drawing out the story, only changing the location. :D Hopefully you don't get bored with the Hawaii storyline, since James isn't actually there...

*******************************************

Part 1 of 2:

"What's on the schedule for today?" Kirk handed me the sports section of the paper as he stood opposite me at the breakfast table.

"Not sure. I thought I might wander into town, do a little retail therapy, maybe find somewhere cool to have lunch. Want me to call you later and we can meet up? What time does Lani get in?"

"Around noon. Yeah, call and we can all have lunch. I'm gonna hit the beach for a bit. Are you sure you don't wanna come?"

I shook my head, taking my dishes to the sink. "Not today. I watched a few of the guys this morning when I went for a walk. They were all getting pounded. Be careful," I warned him, kissing his cheek on my way out the door.

"Okay, mom," he called after me, and I could practically hear the eye roll.

Ensuring the dogs were in the guest house, I threw my iPod, a magazine and a couple of pieces of fruit into my bag and headed into town. The scenery on the way was beautiful, but I had taken to walking while reading lately, because my book was so good. I had yet to run into anything, although Kirk was certain I was bound to wind up colliding with a pedestrian or a lamp post at some point if I continued.

Pausing at an intersection, I heard yipping and looked down to find myself entangled with about six small dogs, all on multicoloured leads, with no owner in sight. "Oh my." Shoving my book into my bag, I attempted to free myself from what was rapidly becoming a weird macrame project around my ankles. "Down! No, no biting! Ouch!" I yanked my hand away as the smallest dog, a honey coloured chihuahua, nipped at my fingers. "Bad puppy," I scolded.

"Sorry! Oh, I'm so sorry! They totally got away from me. They're very fast for having such tiny legs," the guy standing opposite me mused. "Here, let me help you. Ohhh, Princess, bad girl," he said sternly, though he looked like he was trying not to smile as the nippy one casually peed on my foot. "Sorry," he mumbled, biting his lip in what was clearly an attempt not to laugh. "The beach shower's right over there if you want to wash your foot off."

I shot him a wry smile. "Thanks. You are very, very cheeky," I informed the dog, who looked like she was actually grinning at me.

Dogs finally under control, he reached out a hand. "I'm Matai. Most people just call me Matt."

"I'm Charlie," I shook his hand and we both crossed the street to the beach. Rinsing my foot under the tap, I eyed up the six dogs. "Are they all yours?"

"God, no. None of them. I... it's a long story."

I squinted at him in the bright sunlight. "I've got time."

He studied me for a moment and then gestured down the road with his free arm. "You could walk with me. I should be getting them back soon anyway."

He didn't seem like a serial killer. I wasn't getting any kind of sleazy, come-back-to-my-place vibe from him. "Sure. Here, let me take a couple of those for you." I reached for the leashes and the dogs immediately started barking. "Y'know...or not."

We turned the corner a few minutes later onto a private drive, and I could see an expansive, manicured lawn spread out before us. The building at the top of the drive was enormous, and as we got closer, I saw the elegant sign announcing we'd arrived at Marina Village. Judging by the lawn bowling that was taking place off to our left, I deduced that this was a retirement home. "You look great for a senior citizen," I told him. "Not a day over fifty."

He laughed. "Thanks. My thirtieth birthday was last month. Looks like all the late nights are finally catching up with me. Hi, Cecil," he waved to an elderly man who was walking with a cane. "Now," he started, pushing open the front door to reveal a grand entryway. "I need to return the girls. But if you stick around, I'm pretty sure there's some fresh lemonade in the kitchen. Interested?"

"Definitely. And then maybe you can tell me that long story?"

He smiled. "C'mon." We went up a winding staircase that was straight out of Gone With the Wind, and he knocked on one of the doors. "Hi Mariella. Princess is back from her walk." Handing the leash to the frail, immaculately dressed women who opened the door, he stepped back. "This is Charlie. She met Princess on our walk."

"Hello, dear." She reached out and shook my hand, holding it with a much stronger grip than I'd have thought possible. "Lovely to meet you. Come on, Princess," she kissed the dog's head. "Time for our stories."

Waiting until the door was closed, Matt turned and said quietly, "She means Days of Our Lives."

We repeated the doggy drop-off five more times, with five more sweet old ladies, each of whom either pecked Matt on the cheek or just squeezed his hand for an inordinately long time.

"So... you're a dog walker?"

He grinned, taking the stairs down two at a time. "Nope. My folks own the complex. I just like dogs, and little old ladies. They can't always get out with the dogs, and the less time outside they have, the yippier they get," he informed me. "Now. Let's get you that lemonade."

We took ice cold glasses of fresh lemonade out to the back porch, and Matt explained that his day job - online surf reports and forecasting - only took up a few hours of his time. Walking the dogs took up a little more time, and the rest of his day was free for surfing, mountain biking, or any number of other activities that he rattled off.

"What about you? You looked pretty into that book before we accosted you. Big plans for the rest of the day?"

I nodded. "Yup. Shopping, lunch, and maybe a hair cut." I wasn't really aware of that last one until I said out loud, but my hair had become ratty and unruly lately.

"Cool. Want some company? Minus the dogs, of course."

I opened my mouth to respond, only to be startled by a whoop of victory. The lawn bowling was also in back of the house, and it looked like Cecil had just won. "Company would be great. I'm meeting friends for lunch, and I'm sure they'd love to meet you."

Shopping with a local proved to be useful. We hit little boutiques and out of the way shops I wouldn't have discovered on my own. Matt was a patient guy, and I learned that he'd been seriously schooled in shopping with women. "I've got five sisters and a shopaholic fiance. I can do this in my sleep," he assured me, handing me a retro beltbuckle that was on a shelf too high for me to reach. "That'd look cute on you. It's kinda big though."

"It's not for me," I corrected, tracing a finger over the big maltese cross buckle. Catching him looking at me curiously, I shrugged. "It's a long story."

"Not the sharing kind?"

"Not today."

He nodded, and moved on to a selection of t-shirts. "So, who are we dining with at lunch?"

"My friend Kirk and his wife. Kirk surfs, actually. I wonder if he uses your site." I paused at the rack of shirts, trying to decide between a light coral tank top or a yellow tee.

"Probably," Matt replied. "It gets the most hits of any of the locally-based ones. We do reports for all over the world, though, so I guess that puts us ahead," he explained, with no trace of ego in his voice. "What time are we meeting them?"

I glanced at my watch, seeing it was only 10 a.m. "A few hours. Lani's flying in around noon, so we'll touch base and sort out where to meet. Why?"

He shrugged. "We've got time for that hair cut if you still want it. And there's a salon just down the street."

Checking myself out in the mirror off to my left, I nodded. "That sounds like a great plan. Want me to meet you back here or something after?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I'll come with you. You strike me as somebody who might wander in there with big ideas about a dramatic cut and then wind up just getting a trim. I feel like you'll have more fun if I'm there." He waited while I paid for the coral top, and then whisked me out of the store.

Escorting me down a side street, he pushed open the glass door to the salon and I swear, all the women in the place shrieked and then pounced on us. "These are my sisters," he explained over the noise. "This is Charlie," he informed them, and then stood back while they turned and pounced on me. There were hugs, cheek kisses, and far too much touching of my hair.

"I'm so glad you brought her in." An Amazonian brunette ran a hand over my head and then took my chin in her hand, turning my head left and right. "Great cheekbones. Pretty eyes," she smiled. "I'm Leia. Micah, get this girl a drink,." she ordered, and an equally tall blonde took off towards the back.

"It's ten o'clock in the morning..." I said to no one in particular.

Matt dropped into one of the chairs, twirling around and grinning at me. "You're in excellent hands. Trust me."

"Why is everyone saying that to me this week?" I muttered, finding myself being pushed into a chair.
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Metalicious
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"Okay, doll. Are you good with surprises?" The brunette held me firmly by the shoulders, as if she was afraid I might bolt from the salon if she didn't keep hold of me. "Or are you gonna be one of those anal chicks who wants to micro-manage every step of the way?"

I'd been about to respond that no, I didn't like surprises, but I really didn't want to be option b. "Surprises are fine. Just leave it blonde. And not too short."

"Oh, honey. I wouldn't do that to you." Taking the mimosa from the blonde who'd reappeared, she handed it to me. "Here. There's juice in it. Pretend it's breakfast," she winked. "Matty, baby, where'd you find this gorgeous creature?"

He sidled over to my chair, shooting me a smile. "The dogs attacked her on our walk. Princess, in particular, took a liking to her."

"I can see why. Okay, sugar, let's get you over to the sinks."

I followed her to the basins, closing my eyes in bliss while she massaged the shampoo through my hair. Finding myself starting to drift off when she did the same thing with the conditioner, I thought I had better attempt to stay awake. "Matt didn't tell me any of your names. Is that because there are too many of you to remember or...?"

She laughed. "I'm Leia, Micah brought you the drink, Leilani is the other blonde, Tess was the redhead who left just after you got here and Alana-"

"I'm right here," piped up a voice behind me.

"Is replenishing the towel stock," Leia finished.

"You all work here together? How do you not kill each other?" I marvelled. No matter that I was an only child, all of my friends with siblings fought like cats and dogs with their families if they spent more than a few hours together.

"Oh, we come pretty close to that on a daily basis. So far we haven't had any casualties, though." Wrapping a towel around my hair, she guided me over to a plush chair and pressed the leg pump until I was almost at eye level, keeping me facing her instead of the mirror. "What brings you to our island, then, darlin'"?

"The love of my life in rehab because I killed our baby and he thought I might like to relax on a tropical island while he battles his inner demons." Sighing, I dropped my head and then stole a look at Matt.

"Not such a long story after all," he said brightly, reaching over to pat my knee.

"Killed your baby, hmm?" Leia tsk tsk'd at me. "And how'd you do that?"

"I don't...I'm not really, I mean, she was dead before I gave birth, and then..." I trailed off, annoyed that I'd started crying. "So how much are you gonna cut off?" I sniffled, attempting a subject change.

Before I knew it, I was surrounded by four women, all handing me tissues or topping up my champagne flute, patting my leg and murmuring kind words of encouragement. Leia finally whistled loudly, and everyone went quiet. "Okay. That's enough. Give the girl some space. Matty, be a doll and run out and get us some sticky buns from Mama Gratti's. Ladies... if you please?"

Within seconds, we were alone in the salon. "Wow.," I exhaled slowly. "So, um, are you the eldest?"

She smiled, flashing her brilliant white teeth. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

Matt returned several minutes later, a package of cinnamon buns tucked under his arm. "You okay?"

I nodded, taking the to-go cup of coffee he handed me. "Thanks. Sorry about earlier."

He leaned in close, causing Leia to stop snipping for a moment. "Five sisters. Tears are nothing new, kid. Now drink your coffee."

Once she'd finished blow drying my hair, Leia tilted my head up. "Just for kicks, Charlie baby, do you mind if I apply a little smack?"

"She means make-up," Matt informed me without looking up from his magazine, apparently having heard my sharp intake of breath. "She's not gonna hit you in the face or try to give you drugs."

Leia shrugged. "Just a little bronzer. Maybe some mascara. Do you always go without?"

"No," I sighed, "I'm practicing the fine art of being low maintenance."

To her credit, her eyes didn't drop to my ancient jeans and one of about a million tee shirts I'd brought with me on the trip. "Nothing wrong with a little war paint, honey. Keeps the spirits up," she winked. Patting a light tinted moisturizer all over my face and neck, she followed up with a bronzing powder that looked like it was partially gold dust, a honey-pink lip gloss and a swipe of brown mascara. "Black's too dark for you," she explained when I studied the little tube. "Ready?"

"Wait!" Matt handed me the shopping bag from the store we'd been in previously. "Put this on. I'll turn around."

I swapped the coral one for the shirt I'd been wearing, and Leia smoothed my hair, smiling when I reached back to lift it out from under the shirt. There wasn't enough of it to do that anymore. "That feels weird," I smiled, swinging my head back and forth, letting my hair hit my face. "Can I see?"

Turning me to face the mirror, she squeezed my shoulders and stepped back. "Ta dah," she murmured.

I looked like a totally different person than the girl who'd arrived in Hawaii three days ago. "I will pay you one million dollars to move back to San Francisco with me and make me look like this every day," I told her, taking in my new look. My hair fell just below my jawline in a choppy bob with long sweeping bangs. The make up gave me a glow that three days in the sun with carefully applied SPF hadn't done, camouflaging the shadows beneath my eyes, eyes which seemed to pop with the mascara I was wearing. "Thank you sooo much. I look about a hundred times better!"

Hugging me tight, she released me and then narrowed her eyes, fixing a stray lock of hair. "There. Perfect."

My phone rang, and I saw Kirk's number flash up. "Just a second - it's our lunch date," I told Matt. "Hey buddy. Lani get in okay?"

"It's me," she laughed. "Kirk said I should call and let you know we're on our way to meet you. Did you want to go anywhere in particular? We were thinking Verde."

"Verde?" I glanced at Matt and he gave a thumbs up, nodding to indicate he knew where it was. "Sounds good. See you shortly!" We hung up and I turned back to the mirror, unable to stop looking at myself. "I really love the cut, Leia. And I feel almost like my normal self with the make up on." Hugging her again, I caught Matt's eye and smiled. "I always heard it was good luck if a bird pooped on you. Apparently it's also lucky if a chihuahua pees on you."

Brushing away my hand when I tried to pay for the cut, Leia shook her head. "No chance. I do pro bono work from time to time, just like you," she winked. "Any friend of Matt's is always on the house, anyway. Come back anytime, sweetie."

I tucked my tee shirt into my bag and waved goodbye, linking arms with Matt as we walked down the street. "So, your sisters are pretty awesome."

"Aren't they? I'm like the luckiest guy in the world. Although there are a lot of them, and it's easy to get lost amidst the clothes and make up and perfume and hair... everyone wonders how I turned out straight," he laughed.

Kirk and Lani were already seated when we arrived. She let out a squeal of delight, something I'd never actually heard her do before, and launched herself at me. "You look fabulous! I love the cut! God, Hawaii really agrees with you." Turning to Matt, she held out her hand. "I'm Lani."

"Matt. I take full credit for Charlie's makeover," he said with mock seriousness. "Even though I sat around reading magazines while my sister did all the work. Nice to meet you." He shook hands with Kirk, too, and we sat down.

Matt and Kirk were soon engrossed in a discussion about nearby beaches, and Lani and I were busy getting caught up. Distracted when the waiter arrived, I requested whatever Kirk was having, and continued chatting with Lani.

"Are you busy tonight?" she asked. "Kirk's got a prior committment but I thought you and I could get sushi or something and watch a movie."

"But it's your first night here. I mean, I'd love to, I just thought..."

She smiled. "We're good. I attacked him in the back of the car on the way over."

I snuck a look at Kirk and saw that while he seemed to be listening intently to Matt, he was starting to blush a little. "Interesting. Hey, I met your friend Mel the other day."

"Charlie," Kirk started in a warning tone.

"What?" I gave him my most innocent expression. "She seems really nice," I winked at Lani. "Kirk said you guys were maybe going there for dinner this weekend? Something about a barbecue?"

Matt excused himself for a moment and Kirk waited until he was out of earshot. "Okay, so... what happened? His dog peed on you? I'm so confused."

I explained how we'd met, and my brief breakdown in the salon, shushing Kirk's suggestion that the guy was trying to date me. "He's engaged. And he is clearly not a serial killer." Smoothing my napkin in my lap, I looked up to see them both looking at me strangely. "I don't normally wander off with people I don't know. I worry they might kill me. But he seems fine," I grinned.

"You are so, so weird," Kirk shook his head.

Matt arrived back at the table at the same time that our food arrived. "What the hell did you order?" he asked me, staring at my plate.

"I have no idea. Kirk? I got what you got."

"You...what? Why?"

"I dunno, I didn't get a chance to look at the menu. What, exactly, am I eating?"

He looked sheepish. "Salsa finta and almond popletta. And a corn tortilla with spicy beans." He lowered his voice. "But the beans are actually sunflower seats with miso and spices and tomatoes. Everything's totally raw, Charlie. I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd ordered the same thing."

I looked down at my food, which, while it was colourful and probably really healthy, looked a kind of gross. "Uh huh." I said, shooting him a look. "And I'm the weird one."

**************************************************
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Fade_To_Black
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Bad Seed
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Oh hun, im so excited you are updating!! :nanner: But i have no time to read it :( Im off to uni tomorrow so i wont be around to read thi amazing story. So im already so excited to get some free time to read this :biggrin

Keep it coming hun, its great :horns2 :heart:
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Taimi
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this is great, got me curious about that Mel character, though, bitch needs to leave off :angry
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neonguitarstrings
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Cliffs Legacy
Oct 2 2008, 02:03 PM
got me curious about that Mel character, though, bitch needs to leave off :angry

Same,but great update overall,cant wait for more :)
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elena
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Outlaw Torn
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Matt seems a good guy,..but I don't know. :rolleyes:
Charlie needs some good friends to cheer her up,because she miss very much James,I realy understand her. :(
2 great chapters!Can you please write others? :heart: :biggrin
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Virtual Bettie
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Bravo, so glad to see new chapters added to this story. Personally i was hoping with the release of the new album that writers would feel inspired to get back to some of these fics.
Again bravo, wonderful story.
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Mina
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Wow, awesome updates!


Well done :)


Can't wait to read more.
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Metalicious
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With plans to meet up the following afternoon for a drink so I could meet his fiancé, we said goodbye to Matt after lunch.

"How's your tummy holding up after your interesting meal?" Lani smiled at me from the other side of Kirk as we walked down the street.

"So far, so good. Maybe I should eat like you more often," I bumped Kirk's hip with mine. "Some of that stuff was kinda tasty."

He slid his hand into mine, squeezing it gently. "I told you, stick with me. You know, if you eat like that for a week or so, I bet you'd have more energy. And you'd probably feel better in general."

"More energy? What are you talking about? I have tons of enerzzzzzzzzzz," I stopped walking and pretended to fall asleep on his shoulder.

Laughing, he pulled me forward, sliding his other arm around Lani. "Don't think I haven't noticed your lights going off every night by 9. You gotta watch her," he whispered to Lani. "She'll pass out on you tonight if you keep her out past her bedtime."

We spent the rest of the afternoon back at the house, lounging in the sun. I still wasn't comfortable in just a bikini, so I was wearing a tee shirt over mine.

"You're gonna get awful tan lines if you keep doing that," Lani warned me, flipping through the latest issue of GQ. "I know you're self-conscious, honey, but nobody's looking. I promise. We're a judging-free household," she slid her sunglasses down and winked at me. "Take off your top."

"Take off your top!" Kirk demanded of his wife, returning from the kitchen with a pitcher of ice water. Seeing our amused looks, he shot us a big smile. "What? I thought that's what we were doing. No?"

Muttering under my breath, I pulled my tee shirt off and turned over onto my stomach.

"Do you-"

"Yes, please." I held out the sunscreen bottle to Kirk, and dropped my head over the end of the deck chair, staring down at the grass.

Rubbing the lotion all over my back, he tossed the bottle beside my chair and pressed a kiss to the back of my head. "You're all set."

Finding myself dozing off an hour later, I waded into the pool to cool off and took a deep breath before diving to the bottom. Holding my breath for as long as I could, I traced my hands over the mosaic tiles forming the big fish motif on the bottom. There was a splash behind me, and I saw Kirk swimming towards me. Surfacing next to him, I wiped the hair from my face. "Hi."

"James is on the phone for you. No emergency," he said quickly, seeing my expression. "I think he just misses you and wants to talk."

I hauled myself out of the pool and took the phone from Lani, wrapping a towel around me. "Hello?"

"Hey. I told Kirk he didn't have to get you out of the pool. I could have called back."

"It's fine. I'm always happy to hear your voice. What's up?" I closed the door to the guest house behind me and tossed another towel on the couch to ensure I didn't get it wet when I sat down.

"I just felt like calling. We had a long session today and I'm totally wiped. All I wanted to do was come back to my room and talk to you. How was your day?"

I suddenly felt guilty for having such an enjoyable day, and told him as much. "I'm sorry your day was hard, baby. I know what you're doing is important, and I'm so proud of you for doing it. But if it were possible, I'd whisk you away to be with me. Having Kirk rub lotion on me just isn't the same," I smiled.

"That's cause he probably sticks to the parts of you that the sun actually hits," he chuckled. "At least, he'd better."

I laughed. "Trust me, he does. I don't think that man sees anything beyond Lani when she's around."

"They're pretty great together. Lani said you two are hanging out tonight. Girls night out?" He sounded cautious, like he wasn't sure he'd like the answer to that.

"Girls night in, actually. Sushi and a movie. She also mentioned something about an ocean swim at sunset but I'm not convinced that's a good idea. I'm normally asleep by then." I stretched out on the couch, closing my eyes. "Have you talked to Keenan lately? I was gonna call him a little later."

"Yeah, yesterday. He was in the shower when I called so I got to talk to Trish for a while. After she'd finished yelling at me for hustling you off to Hawaii, we had a really nice chat. How come she always yells at me?"

"Because she loves me, and adores you. She only yells at people she likes," I assured him. "And she probably misses both of us. How's Pep?"

James sighed. "He's good. He also wanted to discuss the merits of you being in Hawaii. If you could reassure him that I did not kidnap you and throw you in the back of the plane all tied up, that might help my case a little. He should know you well enough to know you don't do things you don't want to do."

I shrugged to myself. Pepper knew I'd do anything to make James happy, which was my primary reason for coming to Hawaii. "I'll make sure he knows I'm enjoying myself," I told him.

He was silent for a moment. "Tell me a story?"

"Really?" That was normally a request I got from Cella. Not James.

"Yeah. If you don't mind. I feel all talked out after today. Is that okay?"

"Course it's okay. Um... once upon a time there was a princess." I paused when he started laughing. "Shh, be quiet. It's a very serious story. So, anyway, this princess was out walking one day, and all of a sudden she was attacked by a pack of hungry dogs-"

"Did this actually happen?" James broke in, sounding worried.

"Well, yeah, but they were chihuahuas. Stop interrupting me!" I finished telling him about meeting Matt, and all his sisters, and the raw food experience at lunch. "And then the princess got to have the best part of her day when her handsome prince called."

He gave a little murmur of contentment. "This is the best part of my day, too." He yawned. "I'm beat, baby. It's still pretty early but I think I'm at least gonna lay down and read or something. Have fun with Lani tonight. Love you."

"I'm sorry, what was that? I didn't catch that last bit."

He laughed. "I said I love you, you freak."

"Love you too."

We said goodbye and disconnected. I hopped in the shower to rinse the chlorine from my skin and hair, and curled up on the couch again to read for a while. I was on my way over to meet Lani for dinner when my phone rang again, showing the area code from home. "Charlie speaking."

"It's me." The quiet voice on the other end of the phone sounded almost timid, which was a rarity for the caller.

"Hi, Cali. What a nice surprise." I glanced at my watch and refrained from making a comment about her bedtime.

"Mom said I could call to say goodnight. Are you busy?"

"Not at all. Lani and I are gonna have dinner in a bit but I have plenty of time to talk to you. What's up?" I waved to Lani through the kitchen window and motioned that I'd be in shortly.

"When are you coming home?" She blurted it out, all in a rush.

"I...I don't know. A week or two, I imagine. Whenever your dad gets back. Why? Cali, is everything okay? Did something happen at school?" I couldn't think what might have happened, since Cali loved school and excelled both personally and scholastically.

"No," she sighed. "School's good. It's fine. I just left some stuff at the house and I don't have a key, and mom doesn't have a key, and I talked to dad and he said maybe you'd know if there was a spare one around. It's not super important but..."

"Do you have Trish's phone number? She and Pepper have a spare key to pretty much everything that requires entry. House, cars, garage, I think Trish even knew the combination for my gym lock at one point." I paused for a moment, thinking. "Actually, Cali, you'd be doing me a big favour if you called her. I think she's kinda lonely, and in need of some company other than Pep. Would you mind?"

She responded slowly, like she was considering it. "Nah, I guess that'd be cool. Maybe she could pick me up after school some time and we could go over to the house?"

"That sounds great. Make sure you check with your mom first but I know Trish would love to see you." I rattled off Trish's cell number and the house phone. "Now, you can call for Trish but you gotta talk to Pepper too, or he'll feel left out," I reminded her, and she laughed.

"Okay. Can I call you again? Like, if I need anything else?"

"Call anytime. My phone's always on."

"'kay. Thanks. Love you, bye." She hung up before I could respond, but I sat smiling like a dork at my phone for a good thirty seconds.

"Love you too." Still wearing a huge grin on my face, I wandered into the kitchen and hopped up on a stool.

"Everything alright? Was that James calling again?" Lani handed me a take out menu and a glass of white wine.

"Cali." I sipped the wine, savouring the cool, sweet liquid. "She said she loved me before she hung up."

"Awww," Lani slung an arm over my shoulders. "Look at you. You're just a big ball of goo right now, aren't you."

I nodded, taking another sip of wine. "A big ball of goo who could eat about twelve sushi rolls. I haven't had raw fish in months. You sure you're prepared for this?"

She pulled out Kirk's Centurion American Express card. "I'm prepared."
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Broken, Beat & Scarred
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Haha, I love the ending! :D

And apparently I haven't replied in a while... Oh well, I still love the updates. And I'm glad that Charlie is having fun, making friends and whatnot.

And Cali was so sweet. I wonder if she's doing okay with Fran, though... Hopefully...

And hopefully I'll see more new stuff soon. :heart:
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elena
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I love the chapter! :heart
James told her that he loves her.. :wub:that was very beautiful and very good for Charlie.Also it was so sweet that Calli told her the same. :heart: I can see that Charlie feels much better! :)
More please!!!!!!!! :horns2 :heart:
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Metalicious
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Minna
Oct 6 2008, 05:15 AM
...And apparently I haven't replied in a while...

Dude, don't worry. I love reading comments, but it doesn't bother me at all when people read and don't respond. It's hard to keep up with all the great writing on here. Replying to everything would take all day. :P

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