AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I want to toss these clothes in the sea too.
I leave the food on the table and walk back to my hidden phone. I hold it in my palm, such a tiny device offering freedom. Then I put it back and go for a walk around the deck instead to clear my head.
As I’m trailing behind a group of men carrying a barrel full of oil, I stop suddenly and look up at the stars in the sky. Every night it seems like there are more and more. I’d never in my wildest dreams imagined I would see so many stars. It’s as though somebody has taken a black canvas and flicked white paint all over it. It’s incredible, as is the half-moon which glows across the dark waters which look so beautiful yet so ominous.
“I’m gonna say the same thing to you that I said to my wife before she married me,” Clunk grumbles, his tone deep and gruff but this time it holds an edge to it.
I look at him over my shoulder where he’s locking a hatch of some sort shut. “What’s that?”
“In life you only get two options.” He stands and wags two fingers at me. One index finger from each hand. “You live, or you die.”
“That’s the advice you gave your wife?”
He smiles for the first time ever and it’s surprisingly attractive, unburdened by secrets, sins and hidden dangers. “I’m not done.”
“Sorry.”
“If you choose to die, do it quick, get it over with, don’t bore us on your way there.” He walks to the railing and looks over the ocean. “If you choose to live, do it for you. Think of yourself, make yourself happy, even if that happiness is guaranteed to bring pain.”
“Are you telling me to forgive him?”
He shakes his head and then sighs deeply. “No, lass. I’m telling you to leave him.”
“Why?”
When he looks at me, I forget about the man who took me from my home and instead try to see into the man who got to where he is now. “Choosing him is choosing death. This life will kill you, if it doesn’t ruin you or land you in prison.”
“I didn’t know you cared.”
“Got a daughter your age, hates my guts, doesn’t want to see me.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” No, I’m not.
“My own fault,” he mutters and blows out a long breath. “Ruined your life already by taking you from that place and regretted it since. You’re a sweet girl… woman… you’re forgiving. You’re quiet and kind. The men like you, think you’re a riot. Deserve a man better than us. My wife deserves a man better than me. My daughter deserves a better father.”
“Why don’t you go back?”
He looks ahead sadly. “I’m facing fifty years in the nick if I go back.”
“Wow. What did you do?”
Chuckling he grins at me, a menacing glint in his eyes. “Killed the man who kidnapped my wife.”
“The irony isn’t lost on me,” I mutter. “For what it’s worth, I’ll work on forgiveness. Though not right now.”
“Appreciate it, lass, but I’m beyond forgiveness.”
“If you really believe that then maybe you need mine more than I do.” I place my hand on his shoulder. “Call your daughter.”
With that I walk away, back to my room where I curl up in a ball and read a book.
Captain comes and lifts me into bed hours later and rests on me like nothing has happened and because I’m tired, weak, and about to say goodbye, I allow it.
“If you stay,” he whispers, kissing my neck. “I’ll never purposely hurt you again.”
I wet my lips, wishing I had a drink of water. “Yes, you will. You can’t help yourself.”
He hovers over me, searching my face for something. Whatever it is, I don’t let him find it.
“Even if I did stay, you’d never trust me to be on my own. You’d lock me here, with you. That’s not love.”
“It’s something we could work on together.” His stubble-shadowed lips descend on mine. I clamp a hand over them and push until he rolls off.
“Don’t do that.”
“It can go back to the way it was.”
I laugh at him coldly and climb out of bed, rummaging through my drawer for an underwear, jeans and a plain T-shirt. I put them on the bed, ready for later all the while keeping my back to him. “You need to let me go, Captain.”
“No.” He follows but thankfully doesn’t touch me again.
“Go away.”
He showers and I wait until he’s done before doing the same. He gives me the privacy I need, likely knowing I’m already at the edge of my limit.
When I return, I ignore the wildflowers resting on my pillow with a little note asking me to come to the bridge.
Okay, so I don’t ignore them but I don’t react to them beyond wishing I could have met this side of Calder in better circumstances. Wishing he wasn’t a bad guy, running a ship full of criminals, cutting off fingers and kidnapping innocent people to serve a purpose.
