and captured my heart.
"Belle are you ready to go to the beach?" Her soft voice echoed through the house, again.
This time, instead of a yell, she felt two arms grab her from behind. She quickly turned around and was facing her friend. "Belle you scared me to death. I didn't hear you come up behind me. Were you trying to give me heart attack or something?"
She just laughed at her friend's shocked look. "I'm sorry girl, I thought you had ears like a bat. You've never not known I was there."
Belle shook her head. Her friend definitely had been acting strange the whole way to Florida and now seemed preoccupied by something.
"Look, I can't put my finger on it but I just have this feeling something's about to happen."
Belle reached out and took her friend's hand and latched it around her arm. "Is it a good something or a bad something?"
She heard a sigh escape her friend's mouth. "That's just it, I don't know. I just have this feeling."
Belle tightened her grip on her friend's hand and led her out the back door. "Listen, if it will make you feel better, I'll keep a close eye on you today and will watch for anything out of the ordinary, okay?"
She got a huge smile from the girl beside her and knew things were okay. "Yeah and don't forget Betsy. I can't go anywhere without her." All of a sudden the large yellow lab came running towards the pair. "That a girl. I knew you weren't far behind."
The three made their way down the steps and onto the warm dry sand and close to the waters of the Atlantic. They sat up blankets to begin their journey into the other world. They let their minds wander to that place between reality and darkness and found the fantasy world that would overtake their minds for the next few hours.
"Dude let's go. It's hotter than hell out here. I want to cool off."
"Justin, then go in the water. You don't need a chaperone for that." JC just waved his friend off.
Lance sat beside him, reading a book while Joey was off talking with some girls that were staying at a house down the beach.
Justin 'huffed' and stomped off towards the water. "Man, what is his problem?" Lance asked with his eyes still glued to the pages before him.
JC shifted his body so he lay on his side to look at his friend. "Two words for ya: Aunt Clara."
That was all JC had to say. Lance busted out laughing. They all knew about Justin's Aunt Clara. She was a strange one to say the least, but they all loved her, just not on their first day home.
Lance's laughter was interrupted when a flying object came sailing into the sand between him and JC. "HEADS UP!" They heard as the football landed beside them.
Justin came running up to gather the object. "Hey come on, Joey's found some guys and we're gonna play football with 'em." He announced rather than asked.
The two grunted a little but consented. It was getting boring just laying around on the hot sand. They made their way over to the small group that formed by the water. They introduced themselves to the others and then started a very competitive game of touch football.
Their laughter could be heard all the way down the beach as the game ended. Justin, JC, Lance and 2 guys by the names of Devin and Tom, won the game. They were celebrating by yelling and taunting the other group. "It's about damn time I won something." Lance stated, which only added to their laughter.
Down the beach, about two houses down, a young woman abruptly sat up from her resting spot. Her companion turned towards her, afraid she was hurt. "What is it, are you okay?"
The young woman felt around for her glasses and put them on. "Yeah, I just thought I heard someone." She tried to lay back down but then she heard it again. "There, did you hear that?" She asked her friend.
Belle sat up and listened as hard as she could. "You know I can't hear things like you can. What are you talking about?" She was becoming concerned about her friend. She did have the ears of a bat, among other things, and could hear like no one. Many times she could hear cars coming before they rounded the corner.
She could also smell like a bloodhound, a talent she recently picked up. Her nose flared as she took in the scent of something. "You are really scaring me now. Please tell me what it is?"
A single tear was detected making its way down her friend's cheek. She immediately wiped it away. "You remember me saying that something was coming?" Her friend reached for her hand and squeezed it. "Well, he's here."
That statement frightened Belle more than anything she had heard before. The fear in her friend's voice ripped right through her heart. "Who…who's here?" She was almost afraid to ask.
Without warning, her friend stood and called for her dog. Betsy walked right up beside her and she leaned down to grab her leash. "Come on, old girl." She tugged at her to walk with her and the two made their way down the beach.
Belle quickly got up and ran after them. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"
"Belle, he's here. I know it. I can hear him."
She ran in front of her friend and put her hands on both her shoulders to stop her. "Listen, I don't know who is out there but you are scaring me. Please tell me what is going on. You can't go off on your own, remember?"
"Look, I don't have time for this. I have waited for two years to find him and he's here."
"WHO?" She yelled. Her ulcer was definitely acting up now.
Her friend didn't look at her. She simply tugged Betsy's leash a little and commanded her to lead her down the sand. "The boy from the fire."
Immediately, Belle knew who she was talking about. "Are you sure?"
Again, she didn't look at her but just kept walking. "I can hear him."
Nothing more was said. Belle joined her in her search for the mystery man she had met late summers day.
"Man did you see that pass? I hit JC right in the gut. Am I bad or what?" Justin gloated to a stunned Joey. He was sure his team would kick the other guys' butts but didn't.
"Yeah I saw it. You don't have to rub it in."
"Come on, Joey, you guys didn't lose by THAT much." JC started.
"Yeah, only 20 POINTS!" Lance yelled as he gave his teammates 'high 5's'.
"Well, we…" Joey began but was interrupted.
"Excuse us?" Belle said, neveriously smiling at the group of guys that stood in front of her and her friend.
"A lovely lady such as yourself needs no excuse." Joey said as he approached her and held out his hand for her to shake.
She smile turned into a shy grin and she obliged. "Thank you…um, I'm sorry, what was your name?"
The guys felt a little apprehensive about revealing their identities to these girls, but they looked harmless. "Joey and that is JC over there. Lance is somewhere…oh, there he is, and Justin's the one with the football." He politely pointed them out.
"Well, again, thank you, Joey. My name is Belle and this is my cousin Abby."
Abby reached her hand out for Joey to shake. He was a little taken back because her hand was no where near where he was standing. Joey saw that she wasn't even looking towards him. She wore sunglasses so he couldn't tell what she was looking at but by the way her head was facing, it appeared she was watching Justin.
"Oh, I see you have your eye on the young one over there. Well let me tell you, he will only hurt you. You need a real man like myself." Joey said proudly as he picked up her hand and kissed the back of it gently.
He heard her giggle softly before turning her head. "Why thank you for the warning, Joey, but I'm not interested in your friend. I was merly figuring out where everybody was."
He had no idea what she meant by that and was about to ask when JC and Lance stepped forward. "Nice to meet you, Belle it is?" JC asked as he shook her hand.
She said her thanks and then took Lance's hand in her own. They continued on to Abby when Justin walked up. "Hey, you didn't tell me you had some new friends, Joey. You holding out on me?" He nudged his friend in the side.
"Justin, I'd like you to meet Belle and Abby. Girls this is Justin. Remember what I told you about him?"
Justin grunted and gave Joey an evil look. The two girls just laughed and shook his hand. "Anyway…hey Abby, is this your dog?"
He stepped forward and bent down to pet her dog. "Yeah, her name is Betsy. She's my best friend."
He looked up at her and smiled. "I have a couple of dogs myself and I'd have to say they're my best friends too."
A small smile came to her face. She liked him immediately. "What are their names?"
He couldn't hide his grin any longer. "JC, Joey, Chris and Lance."
A round of slaps on his back were felt instantly. "HEY!" They all yelled.
The girls just continued to laugh at them. They seemed like really nice guys but Abby had heard one of them speak and although she wanted to say something to him. The memories of his face and the fear that surrounded it, still remained in her mind. She heard their laughter and didn't want to ruin that feeling for anything.
"Um, Belle, I think its time we got back home. You know how your mom gets when we're gone too long." Abby started.
Belle looked over at her and knew what she was talking about. "Yeah, let's go. It was nice to meet you guys. Maybe we'll see you around?"
The guys looked at the two and simply nodded their heads. They said their good-byes and returned to their house, ready to call it a day and get something to eat.
The girls walked slowly back to their own beach house. "Was he there?" Belle asked.
"Yeah." That was all the information Abby was going to give her cousin.
Belle knew she shouldn't push this subject. Abby had been through hell and back and was just recently able to move on. When it came to the subject of the fire, Belle knew Abby would talk when she was ready but she just had to know.
"Which one was he?"
Abby took a deep breath, trying to remember the names and voices she heard. "It was…"
Just before the name was uttered, a crack of lightening filled the sky and thunder shock the earth. The two girls ran to grab their things and hurried back inside the house before the storm came.
What they didn't know was that they had been watched by a pair of worried eyes. "What is it about her?" He wondered aloud to himself.
"Man, come on in before you get caught in the rain." His friend yelled to him from the balcony of the beach house.
"Yeah, I'll be right there." He said still in a daze over meeting the two girls. "I wonder…"
As the storm subsided, the heavens seemed to open to allow the stars to shine. A lone person sat on the shoreline, staring blankly out into the darkness of the ocean. She had been mentally exhausted from her brief run-in with the mystery boy from earlier. Her thoughts ran wild throughout her body with the realization that she had finally found him. After so many months of hoping and praying he was okay, she had found the only survivor she knew from that terrible night.
His gentle voice was all she remembered. His face a blur. She tried to recall every detail of him but found it too hard to relieve. That night held too much pain for her and she shielded herself from it all.
So much had changed for her after her family went to the amusement park. One life ended that night and a new one began: Her New World of darkness. It held so much hurt and torment in it that she wished she had died in the same fire that claimed her family. But she knew she was here for a reason. Finding that reason was what kept her going.
In the past two years, she had learned so much about herself. She came to accept her new life and everything it held. Everyone around her felt pity for her but she prided herself for not giving in to it. she held her head high and took everything this world had to throw at her. She wouldn't let anyone or anything hold her back. Her determination was certainly admired by her friends and especially her cousin, Belle.
Just thinking about all she had done for Abby, brought tears to her eyes. She was her best friend, her only family, and her lifeline. Abby would give it all up for Belle and knew she felt the same.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Betsy shift her weight in the dark sand. The dog stood up to greet the stranger behind her owner. "You can join me if you like?" She said, keeping her face locked towards the dark waters.
She heard the sound of footsteps that crushed the moist sand, getting louder as they approached her. The presence of a person was felt beside her and she smiled, knowing who it was.
"How did you know I was back there?" The stranger asked as he sat down beside her.
Abby held her hand out for the man to take. His eyes ran between her hand and her profile. He was unsure of this but gave in. Something about her put him at ease.
He slid his fingers between hers until they were intertwined. A sudden fear came over him and he tried to pull away but she stopped him.
"I felt you."
He was desperately trying to escape her but his body wouldn't let go. "What…what did you say?" His words were full of fear as he spoke.
Her head slowly turned towards their hands before she spoke. "I said I felt you. I knew you were there. You always have been, don't you know that?"
His mind was racing to figure out what was happening. This girl seemed familiar to him but he couldn't remember how he knew her.
"How do I…I know you?" He asked the young woman beside him. She didn't respond so he asked again. "Look at me…please look at me."
her head raised to meet his face and he gasped at what he saw. "I can look but I can't see you." She got out as a single tear ran down her face.
He noticed this and went to wipe it away. The touch of his hand on her face and their hands still locked together, shot an arrow of realization through his body and straight to his heart.
"It's…it's you! But you're…you're…"
She finished his sentence for him. "I'm blind."