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There's no Place like Home Chapter 12

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There's no Place like Home

Chapter Twelve:

I dropped my bags onto my mattress on the ship. It was almost time to leave for the second and last time. I walked back off the ship so I could give Mrs. Hawkins and the Doppler family a hug good-bye. BEN picked me up in a bear hug, pinning my arms to my side. I was surprised my eyes didn't pop out like a stress reliever doll …

"'Kay … BEN … not breathin' … BEN!" that robot could never take a hint. "BEN! … Put. Me. Down!"

"Opps! Sorry Keys!" he set me down and brushed off my shoulders.

I rolled my eyes before throwing my arms around his neck, "I'll miss you too BEN."

Morph stuck by me the whole time, floating around my head as I said my good byes to everyone.

After being used as a human jungle gym (again – not that I minded), shaking hands, and hugging Amelia and Delbert I found myself standing alone for a moment. Jim and Raphaelle were talking to Sarah, Austin was talking to the Dopplers, and Gabriel and Angela were entertaining their kids. Iris, Jennifer, Nerita, and Adelaide were running between different groups of people and the ship; everyone seemed to be moving around. I craned my neck, but Jay was nowhere to be found.

So I stood amidst the craziness and tried to memorize the moment so I wouldn't forget it. Knowing my track record with my memory the chances of my remembering the details were slim …

"Boo." It wasn't meant to be scary but I jumped anyway. What can I say? Even little things can cause me to jump ... Jay just laughed as I turned to face him, "calm down Keys. I didn't mean to scare you, it was just a greeting." Where did that nickname come from and why is everyone calling me that all of sudden?!

"Yeah, I jump easy." I spun around and went back to memorizing the scene in front of me. I wasn't in any mood to talk to him; I'd been looking for him only so I could avoid him. I'd been avoiding him since our song last night; after I'd kissed his cheek, I'd fled the stage. I don't know why I kissed him, but I planned on confronting him once I figured that out.

So when I'm trying to avoid a boy he naturally walks up behind me, of course

To my surprise, Jay didn't say anything more. He just stood next to me and people-watched as well.

Finally, it was time to board the ship. I gave everyone a final good-bye, and upon looking at Mrs. Hawkins' tearful face I felt my own eyes water up. I somehow managed not to cry. We waved good-bye from the railing of the ship; I felt like I was on a cruise ship.

As we set sail I let my body float freely in the air, zero-Gs – now I know why people want to be astronauts. We had done this same take off before, but this time it seemed to put my racing mind at ease.

And then the artificial gravity was turned on.

I gave a small yelp and squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the impact of the hard deck. But the pain I was expecting never came. I opened one eye and saw Jay grinning at me so I opened the other. He had grabbed me when I'd fallen and held me bridle style in his arms. What's with me always being a damsel in distress and with Jay always being my hero?! I thought with an inward groan as I closed my eyes and let my head hang back, "just put me down please." I moaned. Jay only laughed as he complied. The boy who used to ignore me wouldn't leave me alone when I wanted to be left alone. This is going to be a long trip

***

That night I awoke from a nightmare. It was a nightmare I remembered having when I was little. I was playing in my drive way back on Earth when a strange man walked up to me. Without him saying a word I knew his intentions were to kidnap me. I tried to stand up and run away but my legs wouldn't work. I tried to scream but my voice wouldn't carry past my lips. I tried to crawl up the driveway toward my house, toward safety, but my arms couldn't support my weight. The fear and adrenaline pumping through my veins gave me tunnel vision, but I knew the man was still behind me. As his arms were wrapping around me, I bolted up in bed.

I was wet from cold sweat and my heart was pounding. I threw the covers to the side. I needed to walk off the adrenaline. I crept past the hammocks and mattresses that held the other crew members and slipped up the stairs.

The stars were breathtaking. As breathtaking as they were the first night I'd been on this ship. I walked over to the railing, stuck my head over, and looked around. It was absolutely beautiful!

"Breathtaking isn't it?" I jumped and turned but I already knew who was talking. Jay strolled over and sat up on the railing next to me. He wore baggy pants and a button up shirt that he'd left unbuttoned. Don't stare at his chest Kisa! Don't do it! I inwardly cursed him for wearing his shirt the way he did.

"Yeah…" I whispered, turning back to the stars, "it is." The stars were shinning so bright around us. Plus it made it easier to ignore Jay's chose in shirt.

We stayed silent for a few minutes; we took in the sight of all of the stars.

"You know, Raphaelle took me out one night and I got some stardust." Why am I telling him this?

"Yeah. I know; Jim and I saw you two come in laughing, remember?" he cocked his head at me as if to say, duh!

"Oh. Yeah." I leaned on my forearms, resting my chin on my clasped hands.

"Kisa? Can I ask you a question?" he hopped down and turned to look at me.

I'm going to regret this aren't I? I looked back at him, at his face, "Um, sure. Shoot."

"Why do you want to go back to Earth so bad? I mean what's so great about it anyway?"

I looked back down at my hands and snorted, "What's so great about it?" then I chuckled, "that's probably the easiest question anyone has ever asked me."

"So the answer is?" he asked, drawing out the 's' on 'is'.

"My family." I smiled.

"Your-" he started as though he were confused, then he stopped and started again, "What are they like? Your family, I mean. Tell me about them." He sounded … interested and concerned; in a good way.

"Well …" I sighed, I might as well start at the beginning, "I was orphaned when I was two or three. I guess my parents died in a car crash or something. To be honest I don't really know what happened to them." Jay kept his face blank, but I could see pity in his gaze, which I didn't want or need, so I looked away from him and stared out into space. "So I ended up in the same orphanage as Raphaelle, as you know, and we grew up being best friends."

"I was adopted when I turned eight. It was weird at first … learning to live under a new roof with new people. But eventually I adjusted to calling my new parents mom and dad, and my new siblings brother and sister."

"What are they all like?" he asked. Something in his tone made me curious about his family life. It was almost as if he didn't have one…

"Well, my parents are really nice. A lot of the time my dad kids around – likes he's seven or something." I rolled my eyes, "and my mom too. So it's really fun at my house most of the time. I mean, don't get me wrong, they get mad like everyone else's parents, but overall they're very understanding. When either one puts their foot down, then that's that. But it helps that I listen to them."

"They have a nineteen year old son, Ron but we call him Rebel; for obvious reasons."

"Obvious reasons like what?" he drew out the 'i' in like, as he raised an eyebrow.

I laughed, "Well, he's almost six feet tall, keeps his hair in one of those short Mohawks things which he sometimes dyes really weird colors – I think it was dark blond before I ended up here – and he has a piercing in his left eyebrow. Why? I have no clue … You have to use reverse psychology on that boy for everything! He cannot do what people want him too. He doesn't smoke or do drugs or anything – mom and dad would kill him if he did – but I know he drinks on occasion. Mom and dad don't know about that though." I absentmindedly put my finger to my lips.

Jay smiled, "my lips are sealed." He pulled an invisible zipper across his lips.

I smiled back and continued my story, "But underneath all of that he cares about Marda and me. He taught us self-defense and he tried to teach us to rap once. Yeaaah let's just say, if you're lucky, you will never hear me rap …" Jay snorted and leaned against the railing next to me, "He's the one who taught me to play the guitar and who got me my camera. We made music videos with it all of the time. He's got some awesome editing software that makes them really cool. And part of our basement is a recording studio of sorts."

"And Marda – or Mars – was adopted right after I was when she was six. She was born blind, so a lot of people didn't know what to do with her, but once you get to know her – or at least spend thirty seconds with her – you'll know she's just a normal girl. Well except for the whole lack of sight thing …"

"So she's really independent?"

I gave him a you-really-just-asked-me-that-question look before answering, "Yeah. She can walk around our house like a normal 'seeing person' as she puts it. If she's out in public, then you can just give her a cane and she's good. She really amazing on the piano too; Rebel and I know enough about reading music and the piano to help her learn new songs. Once she learns a song though, she almost never forgets it. Mars is getting really excited because she's getting a Service Dog soon. I think she's naming the dog Lollypop or Lolly for short; she picked out the name herself."

"Why'd she name her dog after a candy treat?"

"So she could sing 'Lollypop, lollypop, oh lolly, lolly, lolly, lollypop' to call her dog." We both started laughing.

"Your family sounds…" he trailed off, trying to think of the correct adjective.

"Crazy? Insane? Incredibly-"

"Amazing."

I studied his face for a moment before saying, "I was going to say 'crazy' again, but amazing works too."

We stood in silence for a few minutes before Jay asked, "Do you want to know why I was such a rude … bastard when you first met me?"

"I- yeah, kind of."

He looked at me.

"Okay, yes I'm curious."

He took a deep breath, "you know sometimes I was jealous of kids like you, who never got to know their parents."

I stared at him, dumbstruck.

"Yeah I know, that's a horrible thought … but my family … God Keys I wish I could have a family like yours …"

I found my voice long enough to utter one word, "Why?"

"We were poor, and any money my dad managed to get went to booze. And my own mother rarely acknowledged my existence. She'd give me left overs, scraps really, most of the time. And I guess my father ignored me most of the time too, but that was for the best … when he did notice me it was for something he needed; he treated me like a slave sometimes. Although usually him noticing me would result in him beating me …"

I stared at him with a mixture of shock and horror. I didn't know what to say.

"I finally left when I was sixteen. It was like I had tunnel vision or something. The only thing I could think about was getting out of that house and staying out. All of the time, that's all I could think about. I had to get a job and keep so I had enough money to pay my rent so I could stay out off the streets and out of their house. That's all I cared about. I guess that's what made me so rude to people – my drive to get out and stay out, and that nobody's ever really cared about me before."

"I-" I paused, "I've heard stories of bad family lives but they've never…" Never been from someone I've cared about. I couldn't say it out loud, I just couldn't. "I've just – I don't … I don't know what to say …"

"That's okay," he gave me a weak smile, "It helps to just tell people, you know?"

"Personally? No. But I understand what you mean." I gave him a weak smile back. "But uh … I do have a one question…"

"Shoot."

"Why- This might sound kind of mean so don't take it the wrong way, but what made you change? I mean … why are you not so …"

"Rude?" he supplied. I nodded. He looked out over the ship railing, thinking for a moment, "I guess I found something else to care about. You know, more than the money."

I raised an eyebrow, "More than the money?! What 'something' did you find that you care about more than the money that'll keep you-"

Jay interrupted me, "It's more like I found someone to care about." His gaze locked with mine.

He's not saying … But then his eyes shifted, he wasn't looking at me anymore; he was looking behind me. His face looked worried and full of fear. "Jay? What's wrong?"

"Pirates."
Author's Note:

It's a cliff hanger again, I know ... Please don't hurt me ...

Did you like Kisa and Jay's little heart-to-heart? Hope so!

Kisa kind of acts like a witch with a b (if you know what I mean) in the beginning here, but she's just really confused about her feelings about Jay.

I just realized that the end of this is kind of like the end of 'I See the Light' in Tangled... *Shrugs* Oh well that's an awesome movie so I don't care!

So what do you think of Kisa's family? (Her family is not based off of my family.) Personally my favorite sibling of Kisa's is Marda. =) I made both of them up so obviously I like them both buuut I like Marda just a little bit more. Biased on the descriptions of them which sibling do you like best?

Stay tuned for my next chapter!

I love reviews so please leave one! (I'm not going to hold my story hostage if you don't review but pleeeeeeease leave one anyway!) You can critique my work as well but please no flames.

Jim Hawkins, Mrs. Hawkins, BEN, Captain Amelia, Doctor Doppler, Morph, Silver etc. belong to Disney

Raphaelle, Nerita, Jennifer, Angela, Gabriel, Austin, Iris, Adelaide, Alex, etc. belong to :iconmermaidgirlforever:

Kisa, Rebel, Marda, Andy, and Captain Rosa belong to me.

Jay was a collaboration of both :iconmermaidgirlforever: and me.

Written by me

Revised, Edited, and Collaboration by :iconmermaidgirlforever:
© 2013 - 2024 MermaidKisa
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