You Belong To Me
Chapter
Eleven
(Next Day... Early Morning)
Belle jogged down to the hotel dining room in a rush, and was the last of the
group to arrive for breakfast. She quickly slipped into the chair between Mimi
and Shawn and looked around the table apologetically.
"I'm sorry... I know we were supposed to get an early start, but it's
Mimi's fault."
Mimi's mouth opened in shock. "My fault? How is that?"
Belle grinned at her wickedly. "Your snoring could wake the dead, Meems. I
didn't get any sleep because of you, and I overslept while you were busy getting
ready."
Phillip interrupted, "You could hear her snore all the way from the room
next door?"
Belle laughed and shook her head. "No, Mimi slept with me last night. She
decided she didn't want to be alone."
Mimi frowned at her. "You didn't want to be alone either. And, I DON'T
snore."
"Could have fooled me. It sure sounded like snoring."
Mimi crossed her arms in a huff. "Well... we're in a different climate...
my nose is all stuffy... I can't help it."
Marlena smiled at her daughter and changed the subject. "It's okay, Belle.
We already ordered something for you."
"Thanks, Mom... I know how important it is that we get going early."
Shawn nodded in agreement. "Yeah, by the time we reach the island... it may
be dark already. It's a little farther away than I thought."
Belle sighed and took a sip of her water. "So, we may not be able to do any
actual searching until tomorrow?"
"Unfortunately... it just depends on the wind conditions today. If we get a
nice tailwind, we'll make it there in good time."
John leaned forward in his chair and spoke up, "Are you sure that you four
don't want one of us to go with you? I'm just worried about your safety."
Belle shook her head. "Daddy, I know you are... But, we don't want you
getting put in the hospital again either. You know how all this adventuring
stuff has started to overwork you."
Craig interjected, "Maybe he's right, Belle. If they are hurt, they'll need
a doctor... Maybe I should go with you."
Shawn replied, "While I really appreciate the offer... it's not necessary.
The four of us know how to take care of ourselves, we've done it before."
Mimi continued, "Besides, John gave us a cell phone that should be able to
call back here from the islands. And, we have all the first aid supplies we need
packed in our backpacks."
Nancy smiled at Craig and squeezed his hand tightly. "The kids are right...
And, they're not really kids anymore, are they? These four can take care of
themselves. We just need to stay here and pray... and be strong."
Marlena nodded in agreement. "And, of course, you all promise to call and
check in on a regular basis?"
Belle crossed her heart with her index finger and nodded. "I promise, mom.
You will know where we are at all times. And when we find them, we will call
you"
The waitress arrived at the table and began laying down plates of food in front
of everyone. The travelers remained mostly quiet throughout their breakfast,
weighed down with the seriousness of what they were about to do. The whereabouts
of Brady and Chloe weighed heavy on their thoughts, and none of them had any
idea of the danger they were about to step into themselves.
***
Belle stood at the edge of the boat and waved goodbye one last time to her
parents. As the boat left the docks, she turned away from their view and went to
speak to Shawn at the steering wheel.
"Hey there, sailor... Need any help?"
Shawn shook his head slightly. "Nope, this boat's got a pretty easy
setup... Pardon the cliche, but it's smooth sailing from here on out. The
weather is definitely on our side today."
"Well, at least something is on our side."
"What? What's wrong? Don't tell me you've gone all gloom and doom on me
again."
Belle sighed heavily. "Do the words 'impending sense of fear and dread'
mean anything to you?"
Shawn nodded knowingly, "Yes, I'm quite familiar with them."
"I just feel... scared all of a sudden. Like, maybe we've gotten so over
confident that we're just going to get blown out of the water and sent soaring
into reality. It all seems so easy right now... I'm just afraid that it's going
to be a lot harder than we think."
Shawn looked at her and nodded in understanding. "But we're prepared for
whatever happens. At least as prepared as we can possibly be. Best case
scenario, Brady and Chloe are sitting on the beach getting a tan and waiting to
be rescued. Worst case scenario..."
Belle looked downward as she got a lump in her throat. "Worst case
scenario... we don't really want to think about that, do we? I'm trying to stay
positive, I really am... but we have to be prepared for the worst."
Shawn reached a hand over and squeezed her gently. "I know, Belle. It's
hard to be hopeful AND realistic at the same time. And, I'm all out of words of
encouragement right now... You just have to have faith, faith that this will
work out the way it's supposed to... good OR bad."
Belle nodded and quickly hugged him. "I know... I'm just... losing my mind.
But, I'll keep it together for as long as I have to."
Shawn smiled sympathetically, "Me too..."
"Alright... I'm going to go see what kind of trouble the dynamic duo are
getting themselves in to. If you need any help up here, just yell."
Shawn nodded appreciatively. "Thank you... Just make sure they don't break
anything. This IS a rental."
Belle chuckled and headed off, shouting behind her, "You got it..."
She headed into the cabin where Phillip and Mimi were sitting around the small
dining table. They both had mischievous looks on their faces and had been
laughing about something. Belle eyed them suspiciously as she sat down across
from them.
"Oooookay, what's up with you two?"
Mimi shrugged innocently. "Nothing. We were just talking..."
Belle raised both eyebrows at once. "About...? I'm guessing it wasn't the
weather or the latest sports scores."
"I could tell you, but you wouldn't like it very much."
Phillip jumped in and blurted out, "We were talking about you and
Shawn."
Belle leaned back in her seat. "Talking about me and Shawn what? What is
there to talk about?"
"Oh come on, Belle... don't play dumb with us. A week ago, you two would
barely say three words to each other and now it's all 'hold my hand', 'hold me',
'don't leave me', blah blah blah."
Belle rolled her eyes. "What's your point? We're all going through a rough
time right now... and people sometimes need people... And, now I sound like a
Barbra Streisand song. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that Shawn and I are
friends now and friends need to lean on each other. Just the same way that I
lean on the two of you and vice versa."
Mimi glared at her skeptically and replied, "Well... there's that... And,
the fact that you two are still in love with each other."
Belle groaned and slumped in her seat. There was no point in lying to people
anymore, apparently she could be read like a book. "I wouldn't exactly say
that, Mimi. Close, but no cigar."
Phillip nodded in understanding. "So, Belle... what you're TRYING to say is
that you ARE in love with Shawn... but you don't know if he loves you
back."
"When the hell did you two get so smart?"
Both of them laughed at her and Mimi replied, "You don't have to be smart
to see what's between the two of you. It's painfully obvious that you two belong
together. You love him, and he loves you, but both of you are afraid to admit
it."
Phillip nodded in agreement and continued, "She's right. You know, Shawn
has never stopped loving you... I've seen it with my own two eyes, Belle."
Belle sighed softly. "Well, I don't know if all that's true, but... It's
more complicated than just two people who may or may not be in love. We just
can't pick up where we left off five years ago. We're different people now. You
just can't tell someone that you love them and hope that everything will be
peachy keen from then on."
Mimi nodded, "But, you have to at least make the first step of telling him
that you love him."
Belle shook her head. "I don't think so, Meems. It's not that easy..."
"Yes, it is. Just think about it, Belle... Danger and tragedy has a way of
finding us pretty easy. If something happened to Shawn, wouldn't you regret NOT
telling him how you feel about him?"
Belle crossed her arms and glared at Mimi, her voice rising to an angrier level,
"You know what... Maybe you should take your own advice sometime. Don't YOU
have something to say to somebody too? Don't talk the talk if you can't walk the
walk, Meems."
Mimi stared at her in shock. "Belle... this conversation is not about me.
And, there is NO reason to yell about it. I will deal with my problems when I am
damn good and ready to. But, will you?"
There was an awkward silence between them as Phillip looked back and forth
between Mimi and Belle. "Uhm... is there something I'm missing here?"
Belle nodded slowly. "Don't worry, Phil. You'll find out soon enough.
Right, Meems?"
Mimi sighed softly. "I'll tell, if you will. I promise."
"Then it's a deal. I guess that means I have to go first, right?"
Mimi nodded and grinned at her. "Well, there's no time like the present,
you know..."
Belle laughed and shook her head. "Oh no, no, no. Maybe later... I just
have to wait for the right time. I don't think this is it. I'm sorry I yelled,
Mimi... I just... My emotions are pretty much on the surface right now, and it's
not easy to hide them."
"It's okay, Belle... You were totally right."
"But, I should have been right in a quieter, happier tone. And, now, I need
aspirin."
Belle stood from the table and headed to the bathroom. Phillip called after her,
"Hey, I will eventually figure out what's going on, won't I?"
Mimi squirmed in her seat and turned her face away from Phillip. Belle laughed
as she opened the bathroom door. "As long as Mimi keeps up her end of the
bargain."
Mimi begrudgingly replied, "I will..."
Belle went into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She quickly splashed
some cool water on her face and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She glared
at her reflection in the mirror and groaned quietly.
"I look like hell."
Her face was pale, and the evidence of a lack of sleep was clear in the dark
circles underneath her eyes. Belle sighed, knowing that Mimi was right. She had
to tell Shawn how she was feeling, but she just didn't know if she could handle
the consequences on top of all the other stresses she was dealing with.