No
turning back (Ashley's Perspective)
We
stood at the railing, watching the dock get smaller and smaller as the boat
sailed away. We knew what we had to do. I turned to Nick.
"Ok, we have to split up so
it doesn't look so obvious. I'll go check my cabin, and you go check
yours."
"All right. I'll find Bri
and meet you at your cabin as soon as I can."
We
both still stood there, contemplating what was to come.
"We're being stupid."
I said.
"Yeah, let's just get this
over with." He replied, kissing me lightly on the cheek. "See you in
a few minutes!"
With
that we both turned and started to walk away. Then I remembered…
"Wait, Nick!" I
yelled, running back to him. He turned to me.
"Don't forget…we're
supposed to still be dating them, so we have to act like it."
"Well, all right. But don't
act like it too much…" He joked.
"Get outta here!" I
laughed, pushing him in the direction of his cabin.
***A few minutes later***
"…21…22…23…this is
it…" I mumbled to myself as I reached my cabin. I took a deep breath, put
a smile on my face, and opened the door. Not much had changed since I'd been
gone. Clothes were still strewn all over the floor, and the beds were still
unmade.
"Hello? Linds? Chris?
Guys?" I called into the seemingly empty room.
"ASH??" I heard
Chrissy yell from her wing of the cabin.
"Chris?"
"ASHLEY!!! AHHHH!!"
Chrissy charged at me and practically knocked me over with a hug. "Oh my
God! Where the hell have you been?" She asked.
"It's kind of a long story.
I'm too tired to tell you now…"
"Oh, no. You're not coming
back here after being gone for a week and NOT telling me where you were. I've
got time. Spill it girl!"
"Well…is Linds here?"
"No. She's at Bri-..ummm,
she's uhhhh, not here…she's at the hairdresser…yeah…the hairdresser's…"
I
looked at her skeptically. What is she hiding? I thought to myself.
"What aren't you telling me
Chrissy?" I asked seriously.
"Hey, shouldn't I be the
one asking the questions!" I sighed. "So?" She asked again,
raising her eyebrow.
"All right. So you know how
Nick and I went scuba-diving that day? Well, we kind of lost track of time
because we were having so much fun…"
Chrissy
listened intently as I launched into my story of the past weeks events. I told her
everything; about how Nick and I got stranded, had to rent a room at the creepy
hotel, then had to rent George's boat, and finally how we realized we loved
each other.
***10 minutes later***
I was
winding up my story. I sat facing Chrissy, who was listening intently.
"Then he told me he loved
me Chris! Loved me! And I know I feel the same way. Even though I would
never want to ruin my friendship with Lindsay, I could never deny my true
feelings. With Brian it was just like. But with Nick it's love…"
I was
so involved in my story that I didn't hear the door slowly open.
"It's love
Chris!" I said, my voice rising excitedly. I had finally admitted it to
someone other then myself and Nick… "I LOVE NICK!" I practically
shouted.
I
hugged myself, and shut my eyes, smiling. I really do! I thought. I
opened my eyes to see Chrissy's eyes grow wide. She covered her mouth in mock
horror and pointed behind me. I turned around to see Lindsay, Nick, and Brian
standing in the doorway. How much did they hear? Apparently enough.
Lindsay turned on her heel, practically steaming, and ran out the door with
Brian trailing closely after her. Nick ran to my side. Chrissy sat helplessly
and watched the entire spectacle unfold before her. I dropped my head into my
hands as the tears started to fall.
"This wasn't…how it was…supposed…to
happen…" I managed to whisper to Nick through sobs. He pulled me into his
arms and rubbed my back as I cried. "This wasn't…supposed…to happen…"