The Billionaire And The Waitress (gxg)

61 - an island

       The ocean tide kissed the shore. A thin blanket of water crept over the beach, as dark and sinister as a spectre's cold fingers scraping their way towards its victim, threatening to swallow the Empress's resort whole. 

      If the sea had at last met land, it wouldn't be long before the tsunami hit. 

      When Muse had fallen into the water, Adrien had thought she knew real fear. But this―this was of another level entirely, another magnitude of heart-stilling terror. 

      Visions of the ocean crashing against the delicate glass walls of the castle-like resort flooded Adrien's imagination. She pictured Muse, all alone, struck by the black waves and the shattering glass and the debris. Her body suspended underwater, her corpse embedded.

     "Muse!" Adrien screamed. 

      A lone figure with golden-brown curls burst through the door to the ladies bathroom. She was too far away for Adrien to hear her, but Adrien could see a question dangling from her lips, the way her mouth shaped Adrien's name.

     Muse. Muse. Muse. The name became less of a word and more of a prayer, devoted to the shrine in her head. Muse, the love of her life. The woman, for Adrien, whom the world started and ended in the same breath. Her universe contained within one syllable.

     Adrien didn't even realize she had begun running until Muse was right there before her. Muse's breath warmed her lips against the chill of the air, her curls frizzy in the bright, flickering light.

    "Adrien, what are you doing here?"

    Adrien didn't bother answering the question. She only thew Muse over her shoulder and began running. The last helicopter had taken flight. There was no chance of being evacuated anymore.

     "I told you not―to―leave―the―fucking―helicopter. No matter what."

     "I'm sorry―I'm sorry. Grey told me Sherry had gone back inside the resort, and he didn't seem to care, and I didn't want her to die here―"

      The image of Grey and Sherry together on the plane, and Sherry saying that she had been in the lavatory, suddenly pierced Adrien with startling clarity. A lie. It had been a lie, one that Grey had likely concocted in Sherry's absence. And . . . she went to go look for you. Another lie.

      Adrien didn't have time to think about the implications of that, but―

      "I would let a thousand Sherrys die if it meant you were safe, Muse. When it comes to life and death, nobody means anything to me but you." 

      Muse, from over her shoulder, said, "Adrien, I . . ."

      She didn't give her time to answer. Adrien began climbing the stairs two steps at a time―the first staircase she saw.

     "Where are we going?" Muse gasped.

     "As high up as we can get."

     "What about the helicopter and―"

     "It's gone," Adrien said grimly, between breaths. "We have to save ourselves."

     "But Grey said he'd hold it for me―he said he'd make the pilot wait―"

     "Grey fucking lied." Adrien hadn't had much thought in her head beyond saving Muse when she'd jumped off the helicopter. She could have also asked the pilot to hold it for her. But it would have been useless anyway. People didn't think rationally in events like these. And Grey . . .

      She knew he wanted her out of the way, so he could inherit her father's company. But she hadn't realized he would go as far as wanting them both dead. 

      It was a chance of opportunity―one he'd taken advantage of. 

      "Adrien, the water!" Muse yelled.

      Through their vantage point on the staircase, Adrien glanced back down and saw the ocean tide swarming the lobby. Dark waters churned below them. This was only the beginning. The real wave hadn't even hit yet. 

      "It's rising fast," Muse said. A note of hysteria had seeped into her voice. "What are we going to―"

     "We're going to be okay, do you hear me, Muse?" Adrien demanded, even as she kept climbing the stairs, faster now. Adrenaline seared in her veins, white-hot fire. 

      "But, Adrien―"

      "We're going to be okay. Repeat that for me."

       "I―we're going to be okay."

       She hadn't had any experiences with natural disasters, but she was well-versed in panic. And forcing Muse to reaffirm that they were going to be okay helped her―made her feel stable, knowing that Muse believed in her, enough to repeat those words.

      But then the staircase ended.

      They were on a floor with an indoor pool. And there was no other sight of higher ground, and that was rule number one during a tsunami when you were left behind: Higher fucking ground. 

      "We have to find somewhere contained," Adrien said, dread building in her chest. 

       She didn't see any area that looked contained. The water had begun lapping against the stairs, rising even faster than before. She set Muse down on her feet. 

       "The receptionist room?"

       "The windows are glass. When the tsunami hits, we'll be impaled."

       "Elevator?"

        Adrien shook her head. "I'm not sure how the tsunami is going to affect the electricity and the cables that hold it up. We might end up crashing in there."

       "The sauna?"

        Adrien glanced at the door beside the pool, and then back at the water creeping up the staircase. A loud, agonizing sound filled her ears―at first, she thought it was a product of her own panic, until Muse clapped her hands to either side of her head.

        The sound of glass shattering was the first and only warning they got as the tsunami crashed.

        Time moved slower in that moment. 

       They had less than two seconds for Adrien to grab Muse's hand, shove open the door to the sauna, and seal it shut as the world outside exploded. 

      She had no idea if this contained space would hold up against the force of the wave. Her limited knowledge of tsunamis now failed her. 

      The inside of the sauna was small, dripping with condensation. Heat radiated from within. One wooden bench lined the wall. 

      Adrien took Muse in her arms and pressed them against the wall. She knew nothing except that if she died now, she wanted to die holding Muse.

      "I love you," she said. "Not as friends, not as a fake wife. I love you. With my whole heart. I never stopped loving you."

      Her head buried in the crook of Adrien's shoulder and neck, Muse's warm whisper returned: "I never stopped loving you either."

***

School is over (please manifest I passed everything) and I'm reunited w my gf for the summer. 

From the moon and back,
Sarai