Island Rush (Sample)

Chapter 20

He knew the damage that did to me. Then he turns around and worries about his relationship with her. Tossing me aside like that... that would have hurt anybody. Then the real kicker was that he insulted me and called me a kid. That was why, for the second time on this island, I gripped my fist tight and wound it back. Swinging it forward, I punched his already hurting face and jaw. Though it hurt my body to do it, I took a lot of satisfaction knowing he was already in physical pain too.

Before my fist made contact with his jaw, I saw something very strange cross his features: a knowing look. One that said he knew I would react this way and welcomed it. Was this his way of relieving his guilt? I didn't know and didn't care either.

He twisted in the direction my fist went, falling to the ground instantly. It was shocking to see. I didn't think I put that much power behind it, but I was satisfied. Those words would hurt anybody, and he knew it. Did he think it was my fault for him kissing me?! I wanted to punch him again but held off as I watched him grunt on the ground. Hearing it made me laugh humorlessly.

"What the hell is so funny?" he hissed, clasping his bloody nose. I guess I didn't only get his jaw but his nose too.

"A little 'kid' just threw your ass to the ground!" My laugh died down, and I spoke my next words in a low tone. "Jesus, you haven't changed and are even more of a dick!"

I shook my head. I was mostly angry at myself for a few things. One, I knew better not to fall for this guy and trust him not to do something like that. And two, I still had feelings for him.

I let him lay there. I knew how sore we were and not moving probably felt like his best option. I slowly made my way to a tree that was lying on its side on the forest floor. Gingerly sitting on the log, I took a couple deep breaths.

It was my fault. My fault I felt this way. Sure I would have been pissed off even if I didn't feel this way about him but I did. He shouldn't have done that, but it hurt worse for me. It was like he intentionally broke my heart for my own good.

Internally sighing, I rolled my eyes. I sounded like one of those dramatic and immature little girls in school when they had 'boy trouble' and all that crap. It hurt, but I needed to suck it up and realize he would never go for me and that I shouldn't have trusted him.

I heard a grunt and noticed he got to his feet in an awkward manner. I didn't look at him. He knew – he knew – I would hurt when he said those words. Yet, he let them fly. Why he did that? I had no idea. He also knew how hurt I would be, more than one usually would be if used. Having understood all I went through, I at least figured he would have respected that.

He stood before me, and I reluctantly looked up at him, his face now covered in more blood from his nose. "Look, I—" he cut himself off and sighed. "Never mind. We should get cleaned up."

I scoffed and carefully stood, ignoring his outstretched hand for assistance. I said nothing as we stood there, looking around us. I guess that was the one plus of getting upset. It was a perfect distraction from us nearly dying. Gazing around the area was a perfect reminder.

We could see the ocean from here, which was scary to realize. We were that close to being dragged out by the storm. Though I was hurting, he did save my life again. It didn't make me want to cave, though. I won't forgive him so easily yet.

It was nice knowing we weren't lost at least. Something else was, though: everything we were carrying. "We lost our spear," I said with a growl. He groaned as he realized this too.

We walked quietly down to the beach and froze at the sight before us. The sand was covered in sticks, big branches, leaves, and seaweed. There were some whole trees too, mostly the trees that were lining the beach. The water supported twigs, logs, and other debris that floated over the waves.

I froze and ran cold as I realized something. My gaze snapped back towards the trees. I pursed my lips at the sight of the few coconut trees in sight. They were laying on the ground, with nothing to offer. I could only assume that went for all sources of fruit along the beach. Well, that is just perfect.

"Shit," I heard him whisper as his eyes followed my gaze.

I shook my head and laughed again. "Well, isn't that great! No spear, no food, and probably no shells to spare for the dew!"

After taking it in for a bit, we walked out to the water as we had intended. Knees deep, we washed ourselves off as best as we could. Once we rinsed off the mud, we were careful tending to some of the small cuts we had. We didn't plan on patching anything because most were too small to bother with. As long as we keep them clean, we will be fine.

Walking back up from the water, I shook my head, not use to this depressing sight along the beach. Could this day get any worse? I'm used for this dude's own pleasure, we are at a huge disadvantage from losing all our things, and we are bruised and hurt. I guess I had to be thankful. We lived and despite my legs getting hit, as well as Mr. Rush's side, we were in better shape than we probably should be in.

"We shouldn't do any walking today. We are hurt and don't need to push it," I said.

Though he agreed, I didn't need a response from him. I walked back up the beach as fast as I dared with him following. When we went further into the trees, the thicker it became and less touched by the storm. When we stopped, I saw Mr. Rush retrieve something from his pockets.

"At least we have the flint and stone," he muttered. "Too bad everything is wet, probably it will still be tonight too, unfortunately."

It was a long and awkward rest of the day. We literally did nothing besides try to relax and rest. I laid down on the wet grass when we found some that weren't spaced out by mud. It was nice, especially since it was a cooler day from that point on. Mr. Rush did the same thing, only laying several feet away from me. We didn't really talk for the rest of the day, which I was completely fine with.

It was a little hard to relax as we were laying down, though. Everything that happened was still racing in my head and no doubt, his too. At least it gave me a chance to realize the extent of what happened with the storm and Mr. Rush's mistake.

By the end of the day, Mr. Rush was, unfortunately, right. Everything was still wet and damp. We didn't bother trying to make a fire and waste our energy. I was afraid of just how cold the night was going to be. Talk about relieving when we started drifting off before the sun was even down. We were so exhausted and sore, it didn't take much for us to fall asleep before the cold could hit.

Of course, I did wake in the middle of the night because of it. I tried not letting it bother me by pushing myself to go back to sleep. Even more, though, I had to force away the temptation of moving closer to Mr. Rush. He was a good source of heat and was sleeping just a few feet away.

During the storm, I lost the fabric that was wrapped around my feet. Being shirtless too made it worse, of course. I felt as if I was freezing but knew I would be fine. I eventually managed to fall back to sleep for the rest of that night.