Two months later...
"WATCH THOSE TURNS KAELIN!" I warned, unable to do much else but watch the chaos unfold from my position behind the rolling wave. I observed as the lanky kid shifted on his board, leaning his weight to cut a turn, only to end up having his board catch too much water and jerk roughly. I held my breath, watching the scene from my own board. Just as I thought the Kaelin would fall into the water, his board immediately straightened, righting itself on the wave. Kaelin was able to steady himself then, and he rode out the rest of the wave toward the shore.
"Nicely done Kaelin!" I yelled to him. Wasting no time, I laid down on my blue and white board and paddled out to him. Digging my arms into the water, I paddled as hard as I could to get to my awaiting student. Out of nowhere, I felt something grab my arm, halting my movements. Just then, warm lips found their way to my palm and I smiled, looking down into the water beneath my board. I barely caught a glimpse of shimmering blue scales moving beneath the water before they vanished, letting go of my hand.
"Thank you." I whispered to the water before continuing on my trek. I had my suspicions that Cassian had prevented Kaelin from falling, but now I knew for certain. It was still daylight, so I couldn't go to him yet. But knowing that he was already here, watching me, made my stomach swoop in expectation for when I could finally see him tonight.
"Did you see that!" Kaelin boasted as I approached him, moving to sit up on my board beside him.
I smiled, putting my hand on his shoulder. "That was amazing!" I said encouragingly. "Not to mention, it's only your second lesson Kaelin and you're already a pro," I added, patting him on the back.
Kaelin's smile widened to an ear-splitting grin, "Really?"
"Really." I confirmed. "Now come on, I think our time's up for today." I said laying down on my board to paddle to shore. Kaelin let out a disappointed moan but followed me nonetheless.
I helped Kaelin carry his board as we got to shore, where his parents awaited. I gave them a wave and Kaelin ran to them. I could hear him recounting each exciting detail of today's lesson to his parents, who watched him with amusement. Kaelin looked back, giving me a final wave goodbye before finally leaving with his parents.
Once they were gone, I began making my way up the beach to my father's shop. Since my return, my father decided that it would be a good idea to help him out at the store until I figure out what I wanted to do. It was a job that my father had been offering to me ever since my mother died. My mother always used to be the one to help my father at the shop, occasionally teaching surfing lessons to supplement the income. However, after she died, my father had to take on full responsibility for the store. He has been doing everything all alone ever since.
In the past, when he would ask me to come work with him, I would always dismiss it. I refused to be anywhere near the water, even at the expense of my father. When I moved to California, I had told myself that I would never come back to Oahu. That I would never set foot on the beach again and that I would finally be able to move on from the pain of my past and live normally.
But I was wrong. I had thought that forgetting my pain was the only way to overcome it. Now I knew better. Now I knew that the only way to make the pain go away was to confront it head-on and accept it without denial or fear.
It was a process, and something I was still working on for that matter. But as the days went by, the process grew easier and easier. Each day I spent with my father in his shop, with my students, with Noah, and most of all, with Cassian, gave me new memories that slowly began to replace the bad ones.
Now that I had come back, I was grateful for the opportunity to work with my father. With a science degree, my options for potential jobs were limited outside of research or laboratory positions, both of which I had no desire to join. So, working with my father was truly an ideal arrangement. So much so, that I had begun offering surfing lessons as a way to make extra income. Just like my mother did.
It was fulfilling work. Work that was simple. Work with no lies, no secrets, no pain. It was the breath of fresh air I had been dying for ever since the first time I walked into C.R.O.S.S. laboratories.
I shook my head, pushing away the images that name brought forth in my mind.
As I walked up to the sand, I saw my father standing outside the shop's door talking with a strange man. I lifted my hand to block the sun from my eyes to get a better look, but I didn't recognize the man. I also couldn't see his face because his back was turned, but if one thing was for certain, it was that he wasn't from the area.
Dressed in a long-sleeve pressed white shirt and black slacks, he was hardly dressed for an 85-degree humid summer day. His clothes were too crisp, too stiff. The parts of his skin that he did show were gauntly pale, clearly rarely exposed to the sun.
I hadn't seen anyone dressed like that since...
Suddenly panic rose in my throat. The closer I got to them, the more I began to put the pieces together. Everything about him screamed that he was clearly out of place. Thus, he shouldn't be here unless it was for a reason. Unless he was looking for something or someone...
My heart raced the closer I got to the man talking with my father.
Could he have found us? My mind raced, dreading the fact that our short-lived freedom could be over so soon.
My face went pale. Part of me considered running, or just turning and pretending I didn't see anything.
But if he was from C.R.O.S.S. it wasn't safe to just leave my father with him... I thought to my myself with helpless dismay.
My father saw me approaching from the corner of his eye and he waved to me.
"Speak of the devil." I heard my father say casually, "Lani, this man is here looking for you." He called over to me.
My breath caught in my throat as the man turned.
As his face came into view, I gasped. Covering half of the man's face was a red scarring that was the clear result of severe burns. However, to my surprise, it was a face that I knew. One that I never thought I would see again.
"Austin?" I gaped, blinking in shock.
"Is that really you?!" I asked, still unbelieving.
Austin smiled. "It's me." Austin laughed as I rushed over and pulled him in for a hug.
"It's so great to see you, I thought you were dead! I saw your car..." I admitted, pulling back to look at him.
Austin let out a breath, "I was prepared to die, and for a moment I almost was. I woke up in the hospital, apparently someone called an ambulance after seeing the crash." Austin explained.
I smiled. "I'm so glad to hear you're okay." I said happily. He didn't need to know it was I who called the ambulance.
"I also want to express my gratitude" I continued seriously, "if it wasn't for you, we might not have been able to make it out of there." I added, giving him a meaningful look.
Austin sighed. "If I did nothing, I would have never forgiven myself for what I have done working for Grant." He admitted, glancing down at the sand.
I nodded silently.
"Will you?" Austin began, looking up at me, "forgive yourself?"
I frowned. "I don't think so, but I find comfort in the hope that the F.B.I. is tearing him to shreds." I said finally, looking out at the ocean. I could almost picture it in my mind, the image of the laboratory burning among the California cliffside.
"About that..." Austin started, catching my attention, "...before I left, I saw C.R.O.S.S. Laboratories featured in the news. The lab is nothing but a pile of ash and smoke, Noah burned the place down." Austin explained as my face lit up with hope.
"Do they know who did it?" I asked, my voice panicked.
Austin shook his head, "From what I heard, the authorities found no proof of arson. Noah covered up his tracks well. So, they are putting it down to a wildfire. You guys are safe."
I let out a breath of relief.
"How's Cassian?" Austin eventually spoke, keeping his voice down.
I smiled. "He's very well."
"Does your father know?" Austin asked, glancing to my father who had already gone back to the shop, busying himself by waxing a longboard.
I shook my head. "Not yet, but we're working on it."
After arriving at Oahu, Cassian had been reluctant to step onto the shore with Noah and I. I planned for him to come live with me in one of the spare bedrooms of my house, but realistically, it was impossible. Cassian could barely walk on his own, and my home was half a mile away from the shoreline. So, Cassian chose to spend his days in the water, which also served as an ulterior motive for me to teach surfing lessons by the water.
"And Noah?" Austin continued, recapturing my attention.
I scoffed, "He's doing just fine, bought a nice home right along the coast and opened a restaurant. Not to mention, he is one of my most persistent students." I said, crossing my arms across my chest.
Austin tossed his head back in laughter. "I bet he is." He said between breaths.
"So, have time for one more lesson?" Austin said once his laugh had subsided.
"With you?" I asked, surprised.
Austin shrugged. "I've always wanted to try to surf, bucket list kind of thing. How much?" He asked, reaching into his pocket for his wallet.
I smiled, shaking my head. "For you, no charge." I said, making Austin smile.
"Now let's get you a board."
~*~
The sun was beginning to set by the time we finished up the lesson, and Austin and I said our goodbyes. I stayed on the beach as Austin got into his car and drove off before walking back to the shop. My father had already left by the time I got back to the shop, leaving me to close everything up for the night.
I preferred it this way though. My father would wake up early to open the shop and I would come later in the day to close it. We made a good team this way, and if it helped take some of the stress from my father, I was more than happy to oblige.
Though, admittedly, I had ulterior motives for being down at the beach past dark.
At the thought, my heart began to beat unsteadily. The more the sun fell the more anxious I became, it was almost time. Once I closed the shop, I waited for the last remaining stragglers to leave the beach before walking down to the water. Looking out at the dark ocean, I scanned the water in hopeful expectation.
I never thought that I would look at the ocean this way again. Not since my mother and the memories that haunted these waters. But everything changed when I met Cassian. Now, I no longer saw the ocean as the source of my pain. Instead, I looked out at the dark waters with the hope that I might see my favorite person in the world.
The sun had now fully set, blanketing the beach in covering darkness. The only light came from the reflection of the moon and the stars against the water. I waited by the shore for what seemed like forever before growing impatient. The ocean was silent, and unwilling to wait, I waded into the cool water. I kept going, walking out until the water reached just under my neck.
"Cassian?" I called softly, searching the dark water around me.
I heard the water shift from behind me and before I had the chance to turn, arms snaked their way around my waist, pulling me back into a strong chest. One that I immediately recognized. One that made my face flush red and sent my stomach swopping.
I sucked in a breath as Cassian leaned down, pressing his cheek against mine as he hugged me closer to him.
"I am here." Cassian whispered against my ear, sending pleasurable chills down my body.
"What took you so long? I was starting to worry..." I teased, placing my hands over his arms that were fastened firmly around my middle.
"I apologize, I did not mean to make you worry." Cassian replied lowly, the mirth in his voice betraying any remorse his words held.
I smiled, shaking my head. "Are you ready?" I asked, shifting in his arms. Cassian loosened his grip around my waist, allowing me to turn to face him. Cassian's blue eyes looked down at me affectionately, his lips quirking into a smile.
"Always." He answered, releasing me before offering me his hand.
I smiled, taking his hand. Lacing our fingers together, Cassian and I walked slowly up the shore. Cassian had already shifted making the process easier as we waded through the water. As we got to shore, Cassian lost his balance briefly, before quickly regaining it as we stepped out of the water and onto the sand. Wordlessly, Cassian moved towards the pair of pants I had left out on the sand for him, slipping them on before standing to face me.
Under the light of the moon, he looked like a god. The moonlight illuminated the corded muscles of his arms and broad back and I couldn't stop my eyes from wandering down to his well-defined chest. His muscles flexed under my gaze and I flicked my eyes up to his, only to see him watching me too.
A blush rose to my cheeks and Cassian moved, walking to stand in front of me. I looked up at him, standing frozen as he lifted his hand, and ran his fingers down the bare skin of my arm down to my hand, lacing his fingers with mine.
"Walk with me." Cassian breathed, giving my hand a squeeze.
Together, we walked up and down the shadowed beach, exchanging stories about our day in the cover of night as Cassian practiced his walking. He was getting very good, and was even able to run for a short while. His confidence was building, and soon he would be able to join me on the island. Start living a normal life, and start making his own choices to become his own person away from the trauma of his past.
After a while, when Cassian grew tired we found a spot along the shoreline to sit in the water. Half submerged in the rolling tide, we sat, hand in hand as we admired each other under the light of the moon.
I watched as Cassian raked his eyes down my body before slowly pulling his gaze back up to my face. Cassian's blue eyes were alight with such warmth that I wasn't surprised when his hand reached out, pushing a strand of hair behind my ears before pulling my face towards his. His lips were soft against mine, caressing me slowly and methodically, making me melt beneath him.
It was nothing like the first kiss we shared, the one exploding with desperation and unquenched desire.
No, this kiss was deliberate and unhurried.
It drove me wild.
All I wanted was to reach my hands into his hair and pull him to me, but he was so gentle. I could tell he wanted more by the rapid beat of his heart and the way his hands trembled as he held my face, but he just kept kissing me like I was the most precious thing in the world. As if he couldn't find the right words to say, so instead, he decided to show me how much I meant to him.
The movement of his tongue against my lips sent delicious shivers down my spine as I arched into his kiss. I gave as good as I got, gently nipping at his lips, making him groan against my mouth as he pulled me closer and kissed me harder.
Breathless, we broke apart, and I looked into Cassian's endless sea blue eyes. In those blue depths, I was drowning, but I wasn't afraid.
Not anymore.
Never again.