Ariana was so unbelievably warm and cozy when she awoke the following morning that she didn't want to move. She didn't at all until she felt someone gently stroking her palm with their fingertips. Ariana opened her eyes and found Kayla lying beside her, holding her left hand in her right while brushing her fingertips around the small scar on her palm.
"Morning," said Ariana quietly, drawing the brunette's attention.
"Morning," Kayla replied, briefly looking up from the redhead's hand.
"You didn't sleep at all, did you?" Ariana asked softly, looking sadly up at the brunette. Kayla shook her head.
"Not really," she replied. "A couple of hours. Kept having bad dreams... thoughts running through my mind..."
"Kay-Kay... it's over," Ariana said, gently pulling her hand free of Kayla's. "He can't hurt me anymore and staring at my hand isn't going to make my scars go away. It happened, sweetie, you can't change it."
"I'm not trying to change it, I... I want to understand it," said Kayla quietly. Ariana nodded. That was something she could understand. She couldn't understand everything that had happened to her herself, much less help someone else understand.
"I can't help you understand, Kayla," said Ariana gently. "I just... can't. I know you're angry. You protect me, you always do and you're mad that there's nothing you can do. He hurt me, Kayla. He hurt me a lot... but you weren't there and I'm safe now." She smiled warmly and reached up to stroke the brunette's cheek. "I'm safe because you're here. You protect me." Kayla managed a thin smile.
"Damn right I do," she said. She fell back against the pillows and sighed. "I'm just... Your father did things that no decent person would ever think of. Prison is too good for him. He deserves to suffer like you did." Ariana fixed Kayla with a stern stare. She had seen that look in the other girl's eyes before and she knew that it wouldn't end well.
"Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't do it. Kay-Kay, I'm serious..."
"I'm not thinking about doing anything, Ari," said Kayla firmly. Ariana rolled her eyes.
"Right," said the redhead. "Because you're already done thinking about it and have decided to do it."
"I haven't decided to do anything," said Kayla. "I just... I need some time to think. I want to take a drive, clear my head before my brain explodes."
"Then go," Ariana insisted. "Go for a drive then. You've been wanting to take the car out anyway, right? Go do that, calm down while you're at it, and then come back home. I'll bake cookies!" Ariana climbed out of bed, circled around to Kayla's side and kissed her warmly on the forehead. She then turned and bounded out of the bedroom.
-.-
Much of the snow had melted in recent days, and although another storm was due to pass through before Christmas, for the moment the roads were fairly clear. Kayla took Ariana's advice and pulled the Mclaren out of the warehouse. She put the car on a northerly course and drove.
The sun was high and the skies were clear and blue, so once out on the open roads heading upstate, she lowered the car's convertible top and gunned it. The car's massive V8 roared in anger... no, it wasn't angry. It was pissed, just like Kayla was. Speeding along, Kayla clicked on the radio and settled back in her seat as she selected a station and the music began to play.
Someone told me long ago,595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡajQf2cXRJu
There’s a calm before the storm, I know!595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNIaueCM2K
It’s been comin’ for some time.
When it’s over, so they say,595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrm7pfey0YV
It’ll rain a sunny day, I know595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedMuIzpxTW
Shinin’ down like water.
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain? 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvqsCreySp
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain,595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFLVKVRs0no
Comin’ down, a sunny day?
She hadn’t even meant to do it, not really. She had just been planning to take a drive and clear her head, but then she saw the sign on the roadside and knew what she had to do… where she had to go. She drove faster.
Yesterday, and days before, 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2zOS0togZ6
Sun is cold and rain is hard, I know!595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3p1E3EPnyN
Been that way for all my time
Till forever on it goes, 595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKDc0oriDo
Through the circle, fast and slow, I know595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWNhm9Cu1v
It can’t stop, I wonder
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ83QsQp5WXU
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain,595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfiNiG3QpqP
Coming down, a sunny day?
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7WTVbn4hqW
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain,595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjE5tZ0AuUW
Coming down, a sunny day?
Kayla drove for over an hour until she reached the exit she was looking for. She pulled off of the highway and quickly arrived at her destination; Stonewall Prison.
-.-
Back at the warehouse, Ariana was happily baking the cookies she had promised Kayla. Cooking, Ariana had found, was soothing. Whenever she was scared, or worried, or nervous, she would cook and whatever was bothering her would fade from her mind… and right then she had a lot that she was worried about.
She knew Kayla very well. Although she knew Kayla wouldn’t want to admit it, she was a lot like Sophia’s father, Mike. When she or someone she cared about was threatened, she just reacted… often without thinking. This was particularly true when it came to Ariana herself. Kayla was immensely protective, to the point that Ariana knew Kayla would happily kill for her. Had she not intervened, Ariana was certain Kayla would have shot Mike the previous night.
Of course, it was because of Claire. Kayla had lost Claire and now she was afraid of losing anything else that she let herself love. Ariana had absolutely no idea how to help her. She knew that Kayla had never properly grieved for Claire. She’d been on the run ever since her death; she hadn’t even been able to attend her funeral.
But what could Ariana do? How could she help her friend grieve? And then she had an idea. She spent several hours on the phone, making calls and setting everything up. It was far more than she would have been able to do on her own several weeks ago. Selling the second warehouse had been almost too much for her to handle by herself, even with a very helpful real estate agent, but the idea of doing all of this on her own would have just been too much.
But it wasn’t anymore. Somehow, she could do it now without worry. She wasn’t… afraid anymore. Before Kayla, she had been terrified of, well, everything… but now, the fear was gone. She smiled to herself as she went about cleaning up the kitchen. Maybe Kayla being so protective wasn’t such a bad thing after all. She knew that none of the scary things out in the world could ever touch her now. She had a guardian angel watching over her.
-.-
Kayla parked the Mclaren in the visitor’s lot and marched toward the prison like she owned the place, ignoring the officers outside some of whom were staring at the quarter million dollar car and the rest who were staring at the pretty but extremely pissed girl walking toward them.
Once inside, she found the officer responsible for visitations and marched up to his desk.
“I’m here to see Adrian Laine,” she said, remembering to check her anger at the door. This wasn’t the place to act like a bitch, no matter how pissed off she was. The officer lazily pressed a few buttons on his computer.
“What’s your name, miss?” he asked her, sounding immensely bored. Kayla paused. Giving him her real name could be a death sentence. To her knowledge, no law enforcement agency other than the Detroit PD was looking for her and even they didn’t know her name and probably only had the roughest of descriptions of her. Still, she often feared that Dwayne had tried to frame her for Claire’s murder or simply told the truth about her rampage through Dwayne’s own home. Her mother had told her that Dwayne had blamed his own brother Marcus for Claire’s murder, which wasn’t a lie, and told police that it was also Marcus who did the killings that Kayla was responsible for and that Dwayne himself had shot and killed his brother to stop him.
He hadn’t done any of this to protect Kayla, of course, but to protect himself… and she suspected he didn’t want the police to catch her. He wanted that pleasure for himself. Regardless, Kayla wasn’t willing to take the risk of her name being at the top of the Most Wanted list.
“Rachel Greene,” she said, reaching into her purse and retrieving one of the IDs she had used when she had been on the run. The officer took the ID and looked back at his computer for a moment before shaking his head.
“I’m sorry, but you’re not on Laine’s approved visitor list,” he said firmly. “I can’t let you see him.”
“Well, can’t you ask him and see if he’ll agree to see me?” Kayla pleaded. “Tell him… tell him I’m a friend of his daughter, Ariana Laine.” The officer looked irritated that this girl would not just take no for an answer and scram, but he stood to his feet and walked away. He returned a few minutes later, nodding.
“He’ll see you,” he said briskly.
-.-
Meanwhile, at the warehouse, Ariana was wondering what she should do with herself that afternoon. She hadn’t been separated from Kayla for three full weeks. She had gotten used to having the other girl around and wasn’t sure what to do now that she was alone.
But then she remembered that she was not, in fact, alone. She had guests! All of the people down in Tent City were there. She could go and see what they were doing. She had just stood up from the sofa and turned toward the door to the warehouse floor when a knock came at the very same door.
Ariana rushed over and pulled the door open. She had expected to meet someone either her height or taller than her, most people tended to be taller than her, so at first she didn’t see anyone. Then she looked down and found Sophia smiling brightly up at her.
“Hi!” she said happily.
“Hi, sweetie,” said Ariana brightly, but then her face fell. “Does your dad know you’re up here?”
“Not exactly,” said Sophia, looking quite guilty. “He went back home with some other people to see if they could find anything else from the fire. He left me with the Swansons, but they said I could come see you!”
“Well… okay,” Ariana held the door open and let Sophia in. She closed the door behind her and followed the little girl over to the sofa, where she had spotted Fluffers and made a beeline for him. By the time Ariana reached her, Sophia was already stroking the cat’s thick fur. Fluffers had rolled onto his side and was purring as though he were in heaven.
“He’s so pretty,” said Sophia, looking up at Ariana. “What’s his name?”
“Fluffers McMuffins,” Ariana replied. Sophia’s eyes lit up.
“That’s the best name for a cat ever!” she exclaimed.
“I know!” Ariana said happily. Most people would disagree with that point, but none of them were there right then to interject, most particularly Kayla. “Oh! Hey, I baked some cookies? Would you like one?”
“Just one?” Sophia asked innocently.
“Or a few,” said Ariana lightly. “We’ve just got to save some for Kayla. I promised her I’d have some for her when she gets home.”
“She hit my dad,” said Sophia as Ariana crossed the room to retrieve the plate of cookies and a couple of juice boxes. Ariana sighed sadly.
“Yes… she did,” Ariana said. “But she’s really sorry. She was just trying to protect me.”
“I know,” said Sophia. “My dad overreacts a lot. He gets mad really easily. He needs therapy.” Ariana giggled.
“You’re a pretty clever girl,” Sophia grinned.
“I know,”
-.-
Kayla stood beside a table in the visitation room. She had been waiting there, alone save for a pair of guards flanking the entrance behind her, for ten minutes before a door at the far end of the room opened and another pair of officers led a man in a tan jumpsuit toward her. Kayla hadn't been sure what to expect when it came to Ariana's father, but the tall, handsome man striding toward her had certainly not been her first thought.
Adrian Laine was brought over to the table. He sat down in the seat and the guards shackled him to the table by both his arms and his legs.
'Don't,' Kayla thought savagely. 'Let him attack me. Let him try... it'll give me a chance to kill the bastard.'
"You have thirty minutes," said one of the guards. He and his partner turned and left the room. Kayla looked down at the chair placed across from Adrian. She moved toward it, fully aware that he was staring at her.
"They said you know my daughter," said Adrian. His voice was deep, but smooth. It cracked through the air like a bullet through glass. His piercing blue eyes, virtually identical to Ariana's, held none of her warmth. It was like staring into a mirror image of her girlfriend, a dark version.
"She's my best friend," said Kayla, sitting down across from him and leaning back in the chair. She just stared at him for a long time, unspeaking. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind as she tried to decide what to do now that she was here. Adrian looked as though he was about to ask what she had come for if she wasn't going to say anything when she at last spoke up.
"I know what you did to her," she said plainly. "I know the hell you put that girl through. I spent the entire trip up here thinking about what I was going to do. I kept swapping between screaming at you or just coming across this table and doing my damnedest to break your skull open against the floor before those guards over there can pull me away. But now that I'm here, I just want to ask you one question. All I want to know is why? Why did you do it?" Adrian leaned forward, his eyebrows knitting together.
"Your name is Rachel, right?" he asked. She nodded. "Rachel, I can never make you understand this. Once, I thought I was truly evil, but I have come to realize that I am not. I have found salvation in Christ Jesus. He has purged the Devil, who caused me to act the way I did, from my body. I'm free of his darkness now."
"So that's you're story? 'The Devil made me do it?' Well, I don't know much about God, but I know He requires you to own your sins before He'll forgive you. You can't pass your shit to somebody else and expect God to let you off the hook."
"I've been forgiven, Rachel. That's all that matters."
"The fuck it is!" Kayla exclaimed. "You tormented a little girl! She... God! Ariana is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. She's amazing. She has the kindest, purest, most loving heart of anyone in the world. I don't deserve her. I never will. She loves everyone, even those who don't deserve it. You... can't be forgiven... not for harming something so pure, so innocent. But it doesn't matter, because not once have you said that you're sorry for what you did." Adrian smiled slightly, tilting his head to one side. Those eyes, so like Ariana's, bore into Kayla's.
"You're a pretty clever girl, Rachel," said Adrian, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. "I'm not sorry for what I did. That little slut was born to serve at my pleasure. Why do you think my wife and I made her? She was created with no other purpose in mind... and I've got to say, we did a damn good job. She's a fine piece of ass..."
Kayla stood up so abruptly that her chair was knocked backwards and fell over. She longed to lunge forward, to rip this monster's throat out, but the thought of Ariana, surprisingly, stayed her hand. She stood there, positively shaking with rage, doing nothing but focusing on the image of Ariana's face in her mind. It was enough. It calmed her.
"See?" said Adrian. "You agree. Sit down, Rachel. Please, let me tell you about it. Don't you want to hear all my stories? I can tell you exactly what it felt like to fuck her. Oh, Ariana... you were right Rachel, she is beautiful. Sexual perfection. Goodness, the feeling of that pussy... perfectly tight, warm and welcoming... like she was made for me to fuck. Hmm... I guess she was. I can still hear that sweet little voice, screaming... begging me to fuck her. She begged me, Rachel. She wanted her daddy to fuck her."
"Fuck you," Kayla hissed, slamming her fist on the table in outrage. "You're a sick, twisted fuck and one day I promise you that I will have the immense pleasure of watching you die. I just hope it's at my hand."
"Release your hatred, Rachel," said Adrian lightly. "It's going to destroy you, dear." Kayla had nothing else to say and she had certainly heard enough. She turned away and marched out of the door.
Out in the car, she sat breathing heavily, trying to will herself to relax. She had never been this angry, ever. Not even when she had stormed Dwayne's house had she been so furious. Her heart beat fiercely against her chest and her vision was tinged with red. She reached over and wrenched open the glove box. She took her pistol out and had already checked the chamber when she realized how stupid she was being.
Adrian deserved to die, certainly... more so than most men. However, she wouldn't make it past the front doors with a gun and even if she could she wasn't sure if she would ever be able to look Ariana in the eye again if she killed him.
She slammed the gun back into the glove box and fired up the engine. She put the car back on the road toward home without a backwards glance at the prison. She sincerely hoped she would never lay eyes on Adrian Laine again. She hoped in vain.
-.-
At the warehouse, Ariana and Sophia were engaged in a fierce game of tag. Ariana was losing. Sophia, it turned out, was quite quick. The girls had just fallen, giggling madly, onto the sofa when the door to the warehouse floor opened and Kayla came in. She arched her eyebrows at the pair of them, but she smiled as she walked over. Ariana stood up and let Kayla engulf her in a tight hug. The kiss they shared was brief, but filled with a kind of passion Ariana hadn't been expecting. It was fierce, filled with a terrible longing.
"I missed you too," said Ariana, grinning shyly. "Feeling any better?"
"Actually, yeah," said Kayla. "Much,"
"Good," said Ariana "I'm glad."
"Me too," Kayla replied. She looked down at Sophia. "Hey, sweetie. Looks like you've been having fun. Ariana been keeping you company?"
"Yep!" said the blonde. "She's the best babysitter ever!" Ariana blushed while Kayla smiled.
"Yeah, well, just don't let her start feeding you," she said slyly. "You'll never stop eating, I promise."
"I already had some cookies," said Sophia, indicating the plate on the coffee table that still held several chocolate chip cookies.
"You're doomed," said Kayla. She kissed Ariana on the forehead and went to sit on the couch with Sophia as a knock came at the door. Ariana went over and opened it. Mike stood on the threshold looking disheveled and thoroughly miserable.
"Hey, Ariana," he said, his speech slightly slurred. "Is Sophia here? I was told she was here."
"Here, Daddy!" Sophia called, leaping from the sofa and running over. "Daddy, can Ariana babysit me all the time? She's awesome!"
"Well, I suppose... I mean, if you wouldn't mind...?" said Mike blearily. Ariana was positively delighted.
"I've love to have her anytime you need!" she exclaimed. "Just bring her by whenever."
"Thanks, Ariana," he said, nodding to her. "And you too Kayla," he added, waving to her. He put his hand on Sophia's shoulder and steered her out of the apartment.
"He's pretty hammered," said Kayla, the instant the door closed behind them.
"He smelt like beer," said Ariana, frowning. Kayla laughed.
"That's because he's been drinking quite a lot of it today, I'm afraid," she said lightly.
"Poor guy," said Ariana sadly. She wandered over to the sofa and sat down on the far end from Kayla. Kayla immediately found this odd because Ariana was incredibly clingy, almost always cuddling up to her when they watched TV together.
"What's wrong?" she asked, wondering if Ariana was angry with her for being gone for so long.
"Where did you go?" Ariana asked immediately.
"For a drive," Kayla lied, praying she sounded truthful. Ariana saw right through it.
"I might not be able to lie to you, Kayla Austin, but you can't lie to me either," the redhead snapped. "You've got a tell. You always look into my eyes when you talk to me unless you're lying... then you can't look at me. Where did you go, Kayla?" Kayla knew she was caught and couldn't possibly talk her way out.
"To Stonewall Prison," she said softly. "I went to see your father." She expected Ariana to get angry and shout at her, but she didn't.
"How was he?" she asked, sounding only vaguely interested.
"He's still the sick bastard who hurt you, Ari," said Kayla. "I didn't ask how he was doing. He's lucky I didn't shoot him."
"Kayla..."
"I wanted to, Ari. You just don't know how much I wanted to... but I thought of you, of the way you would look at me when you found out. I couldn't bear to have you look at me that way, so... so the asshole is still breathing."
"Well, thank you for not killing him," said Ariana. She looked rather nervous for a moment. "I don't want him dead, Kay-Kay. I've never wanted him dead. He doesn't deserve to die."
"How can you say that?" Kayla asked disbelievingly. "After what he did..."
"He’s still my dad,” said Ariana stiffly. “Whatever he did… whatever he is, he’s my dad… and I love him.” Kayla didn’t know what to say. Adrian didn’t deserve Ariana’s love, not even a tiny piece of it. But he had it. It was beyond wrong. It just made Kayla hate him even more.
“I don’t expect you to understand,” said Ariana, scooting closer to Kayla and resting her head on the brunette’s shoulder.
“Good, because I don’t,” said Kayla. “I doubt I ever will understand how you could still love him after all he did to you.” Ariana didn’t reply and Kayla didn’t press her to. Ariana still had her secrets and Kayla had to respect that. Ariana might not be the scared, broken girl she had met three weeks ago, but she was hardly whole. She had to let Ariana deal with things her own way. She tilted her head and kissed Ariana on the cheek. The redhead grinned.
“Kiss me like you did when you first came home,” Ariana whispered. Kayla did, and the rest of the night passed in a whirl of color and wonder.
-.-
Christmas was fast approaching, a holiday that Ariana was immensely excited about. By Christmas Eve, Ariana had personally decorated the apartment with a large Christmas tree and streamers of holly around the doors and poinsettias in baskets all around the place. Kayla had helped decorate the tree, which they placed in the far right side corner of the apartment. Fluffers had become overexcited by the pine needles and chased one of the plastic colored balls all around the room.
Ariana had even made sure that their guests down on the floor were in the Christmas spirit as well. She had purchased each family a tree of their own and a handful of gifts. Kayla had gone with Ariana when she had done the shopping for the gifts and she was certain she had never seen Ariana happier. With her loving and giving nature, Ariana was practically made for Christmas.
Kayla had also come to believe over the past week that Ariana was also made to be a mother. Sophia had spent virtually every day with them in the apartment and Ariana had taken to the role of a surrogate mother to the little girl with astounding enthusiasm. Not only did she put her whole heart into caring for Sophia, she was damn good at it too. Sophia always seemed happy, despite losing her home and everything she had ever known in the fire.
They also learned that less than a month before the fire, Sophia had lost her mother. Mike’s wife had died in a tragic car accident and Mike himself had almost immediately turned to the bottle, losing himself in the drink. Sophia said her dad often flew into a rage after he had been drinking for a while. While he had never even come close to hurting the little girl, the knowledge that Mike could get violent put both Kayla and Ariana a little on edge.
But on Christmas Eve night, less than an hour before midnight, Mike’s drinking habit was the farthest thing from Kayla’s mind. Ariana had insisted on giving her her present that night and that they had to drive to the local marina to pick it up. Kayla drove them to the marina and then they set off down a long pier, surrounded on either side by rows and rows of moored boats that ranged from tiny motor boats, to larger sail boats, to a couple of massive yachts that must have cost millions.
“Ari, what are we doing out here?” Kayla asked after a couple of minutes. It was well below freezing outside and she was really cold. “It’s freezing!”
“We’re almost there,” said Ariana, taking the brunette’s hand and urging her along. “C’mon!”
“I’m coming,” said Kayla. “If I stop walking I’m pretty sure I’ll freeze where I stand.”
They continued on for another few minutes until Ariana came to a halt at the last berth. She stopped near the bow of a massive, beautiful sloop-rigged sailing yacht. She had to be more than two hundred feet long and looked to be four decks high. Her hull rose high above them and her single mast; a pure white beam soared higher still. Her white and black two-toned hull shone brightly, even in the darkness.
“Okay, Ari,” said Kayla, turning her attention away from the ship. “Where is this gift?”
“You were just looking at it,” said Ariana warmly, nodding toward the yacht. Kayla shook her head.
“You bought me a boat?” Kayla asked incredulously. “Ari, a yacht like this costs millions of dollars!”
“Thirty-eight million, now that you mention it,” said Ariana lightly. “But don’t worry, I didn’t buy it.”
“Well, if you stole it you’re doing a terrible job,” said Kayla. “It’s not exactly hidden out here, is it?” Ariana sighed.
“I didn’t steal it,” she said briskly. “Remember when Dr. Pinder came to the warehouse? He gave you my grandfather’s will?”
“Yeah, he… he said he left you an estate in the Hamptons and like a quarter of a billion dollars, all of his personal wealth.”
“And apparently, this,” said Ariana, indicating the ship. “I called and found out exactly what he left me a week ago. It was… hard, but I did it. I started thinking how you never got to properly grieve for Claire and then I remembered my granddad’s will and I realized that I never grieved for him either. I just hid myself away in the warehouse and pretended it never happened… but it did. He’s gone but he wouldn’t want me to neglect the gift he gave me. So, I’m not going to. I’m going to do what he did and use the money to help people like he helped me. But first, I want to help you.” She walked over to the bow of the ship and stood there.
“Kayla, I wanted to do something to help you grieve for Claire… to find closure. So, I thought I could… well, that we could make a memorial to her. I found a way that you can remember her.” She gestured toward the ship’s bow above her head. Kayla looked up and finally saw the ship’s name, written in fancy golden lettering.
“Claire,” Kayla whispered. Ariana nodded.
“I renamed her,” she said. “I don’t think my granddad would mind.” Hot tears welled in Kayla's eyes as she looked at the name. She caught sight of Ariana's face and noticed that she looked nervous.
"I... I didn't mean to make you cry," she said sadly. "I just wanted to..."
"Ari... this is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done," said Kayla thickly. "She... she'd love this. Claire loved boats. She... she..." Her emotions, which she so fiercely tried to keep in check, overwhelmed her and she broke down sobbing on Ariana's shoulder.
"I love you so much, Ari," Kayla whispered. She pulled away from the redhead and looked up at the ship. "Can we go inside?"
"She's our ship, after all," said Ariana. "Come on, let's take a look."
Ariana led Kayla across the gangway, up onto the ship's deck and into the main area of the ship.
"Holy..." Kayla whispered. The interior looked like the lobby of an incredibly fancy hotel. There was a sitting area to the left, complete with a pair of sofas and a number of large, very comfy looking chairs. On the other side was a dining table with seating for twelve and was complete with a fully stocked bar. In the back of the room was an entire wall of bookshelves filled with hundreds of books. Kayla suspected Ariana could spend years here just reading.
In the center of the room was a beautiful staircase that led to the lower decks where the full beam master suite and nine staterooms were located. Somewhere on the deck beneath that Kayla was certain she would find the engine room.
"We've got to take her to sea soon," said Kayla excitedly. “To the Caribbean or the Bahamas! Ooooh, or maybe Sydney! I've got a cousin down in Sydney, actually.”
“Those places sound so warm…” Ariana said wistfully.
“Then we’ll take a trip soon,” said Kayla. “What about a crew? There’s no way the two of us could sail this thing.”
“My granddad had a full staff on payroll,” said Ariana. “They’ve been automatically paid out of his personal funds ever since… which, considering the interest earned on that much money, they’re easily covered.”
“Well, we’ll have to get them out here soon,” said Kayla. She wandered over to one of the large chairs and sat down.
“Oh… now, this is luxury,” she said with a contented sigh. Ariana smiled and walked over to one of the many panoramic windows that lined both sides of the room and slid one open. Kayla stood up and went to join her.
The water was calm and as black as the skies above them. The air that wafted in was cold, but it was countered by the warmth of the ship. Somewhere in the city, church bells began to ring. Twelve distinct chimes. It signaled midnight. It was officially Christmas morning. Kayla noticed Ariana’s smile widen.
“I love Christmas,” she said softly. “It’s my favorite holiday,” She looked down at the water, suddenly looking rather sad. “It’s my birthday.”
“Oh, my God,” Kayla exclaimed. “Wow, I’m the worst girlfriend ever. I had no idea today was your birthday.” Ariana shrugged.
“I’ve never celebrated my birthday,” said Ariana quietly. “I mean, I was still recovering for the first year after I escaped from my parents… then, last year my grandfather had just died and I… I didn’t even really think about it.”
“Well, we’re celebrating it this year,” Kayla said firmly. “I’m going to throw you your very first birthday party… it’ll be a little impromptu, but we don’t really know that many people to invite.”
“We really should make new friends,” said Ariana thoughtfully. “The only person we know is Coop.”
“We’ll have to work on that. It’s a good New Year’s resolution,” said Kayla. She paused before reaching into her pocket.
“I was going to wait until we got back to the warehouse to give you this, but… well, I suppose now is as good a time as any.” She tugged a small black box out of her pocket.
“I… uh… I’m not really even sure what I’m wanting this to be,” she said, suddenly feeling far more nervous than she had thought she would. “Well, it’s…” She opened the box. Inside, perched atop a tiny silk cushion was a glimmering ring. The diamond was small, not remotely extravagant nor impressive, but Ariana’s face lit up as though Kayla had presented the Hope Diamond to her.
“Oh, Kayla…” Ariana breathed.
“I don’t know if I’m trying to propose… I mean, we can’t even get married in Michigan. I just… I really meant this as a promise to you. You said once that you were afraid that I would leave one day… well; this is my promise to you, Ari. I’m here and I’m never leaving. This is a promise that you and me, us… that we’re forever, okay?” Ariana didn’t seem to be able to speak. She just nodded as Kayla slipped the ring onto her finger.
“I know it’s not the biggest or the shiniest, and no gift is going to compare to what you did for me tonight, but…”
“It doesn’t matter how big it is,” said Ariana, finding her voice again, although it broke with emotion. “It doesn’t matter if you paid ten dollars or ten million dollars. Kayla, you already gave me the greatest gift you ever could give. You showed up on my doorstep a month ago… You gave me you.” Much like Ariana, Kayla didn’t know what to say. She just shared a kiss with the redhead and put her around her waist as they stared out at the beautiful black night.
“By the way,” said Ariana, a sly smile on her face. “If you had asked me… I would’ve said yes.” Kayla just grinned.595Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtr7mblL1el
