The Girl With Aquamarine Eyes (6 page)

She charged toward it recklessly, abandoning every worry she’d
carried since she woke in this place. She’d find a way to get Dreams and go
back to her island.

She stumbled down the embankment to the sandy beach, and
quickly stole a glance behind her. The men were racing toward her. She turned
away from them and gazed at the churning sea.

She gasped in horror at what lie before her. A distant
memory overcame her, slowly rebuilding itself within her deepest thoughts. She’d
been here before. It was the beach she had laid upon as a child, near death.

She gazed at the rocky ledge to her right. The familiar
cliff still jutted high into the sky. Gulls circled above her, as if calling to
her. The same seabirds who wanted to finish eating her flesh.

A wave hit the face of the ledge, sending sea spray across
the top. She watched as the foamy brine slowly trickled down, back into the
churning waters, only to be thrown once more against the unforgiving
outcropping.

She could see once again her family’s battered boat still
clinging to the rocky cliff. Its wooden planks swollen with water bobbed in and
out of the waves. Many more planks were scattered and lie still along the
sands.

She remembered the clothing as it rolled about, creating
morbid scarecrows below the waves. The gulls circling her dead parents, taking
curious jabs at their bare flesh. She staggered backward, fighting a wrenching
memory deep within her heart. Right into Bice’s arms.

“Heaven, what is wrong?” He struggled to catch his breath. “Are
you all right?”

“Let go of me.” She jerked her arm away from him, and gazed
at the sandy beach.

“Come back to the house.” He made a move for her arm again,
but she stepped out of the way.

“Get lost.”

She watched as he pulled a cell phone from his pocket.
Harmon had now reached the beach, and stood silently gazing at her as she
backed toward the cliff. His auburn hair rolled in the churning winds.

“Hawk.” Bice spoke calmly. “Get down to the beach right
away, looks like we may need your help.”

“Why are you calling that gorilla?”

“If you’re not coming back on your own free will, I’ll have
Hawk carry you. It’s dangerous in this area. I won’t have you falling into the
ocean.”

“How dare you threaten me with that gorilla?”

A movement in the distance caught her eye. She gazed up the
hill toward the house. The lumbering man was already making his way toward
them. He strode with purpose and determination, his ape-like arms swinging as a
monkey’s arms might. He was a man on a mission.

She searched for a banana in his hand, in hopes he had one.
If not, she’d give anything to toss him one.

“Heaven?” Harmon finally spoke. “Look, I know this is a
difficult adjustment for you. Tomorrow, I’ll call the orphanage and see what
can be done about bringing Dreams here.”

“Really?” She couldn’t believe it. The words were like music
to her ears.

“Really, I promise. Give it a chance. I sincerely thought I
was doing the right thing for you becoming your guardian. Maybe I was wrong. If
so, I’ll help you find another family to live with.”

“No kidding.” Bice roared. “You’ve given up your career to
help her, and she thanks you by acting like a child.”

“Not now, Bice.” Harmon glared at his assistant.

Heaven stepped toward Bice and stared at him curtly. “A
child?” You don’t know half of what I’ve been through. My family is dead, and I
was shunned at the orphanage. No one has cared where I was for years, and you
say I act like a child?”

“You do.” Bice spoke calmly. “What you have gone through in
the past, I am sorry for, but you are taking it out on us. Don’t let it affect
how you act now.”

Hawk finally materialized on the hill above Harmon. He
carefully snaked his way down the narrow path, until he stood next to the
musician.

Heaven gazed at him closely for the first time. The man’s
arms were the size of tree trunks. He wore faded leather pants and chains wove
through thick braids near each ear. Beyond his dark shades, she could see
nothing except eternal damnation.

“Get her to the house, Hawk.” Bice ordered the burly man. “Before
she gets hurt out here.”

Obediently, Hawk grunted and began moving toward the girl as
if he were a linebacker in a football game.

Heaven casually watched the behemoth approach her. The
moment he took her by the arm, she kneed him squarely in the groin.

He lurched away in surprise, grabbed his crotch and tumbled
backward into the foamy sea.

Bice gazed at the fallen bodyguard. The man moaned in the
churning waves, fighting to sit upright without letting go of his withered
manhood.

Heaven smiled sweetly at the wriggling behemoth. “Now, go
pick on someone your own size” She gazed at the two men still standing. They
were nothing to her but pawns in a game of chess. “Who’s next?”

Harmon stood on the windy hillside, gaping at the
demon-teenager in disbelief. But, he also had a card to play. It wasn’t so long
ago he was her age. He glared at her.

“That’s it, I’m calling the orphanage to come get you.” He
turned away, and began making his way up the embankment.

“No.” She cried. “No, please don’t!”

Harmon turned back to face her. Sand sprayed around him as
the ragged winds threatened to rip him from the hill. “Too late. Pack your
things.”

She rushed after him and caught his arm. “Please, give me
another chance. Please, I beg of you.”

He stared at her. Her sea-blue eyes brimmed with tears. The
eyes that had mesmerized him so long ago. The same eyes he’d never forgotten.

“I’ll bring the car around!” Bice called from the surf
eagerly. “Hawk and I will pack her things.”

Harmon glared at him. “Hold on a minute.”

He knew he was in over his head, but he had not expected
this. He’d hoped to give her a fairy-tale ending, with out sorting out the
reality first. He wondered where she would be if he’d not turned her over on
the beach that day. Certainly dead.

Now, there were strange things going on in her room. Things
beyond explanation. He had brought a bull into his house of china.

He gazed beyond Heaven, and watched as Bice struggled to
pull Hawk from the angry surf. Wave after wave crashed into them, slowly
propelling them forward on their faces until they were nearly to the sands. He
glared at the girl.

“Apologize to Hawk, and we’ll talk about it later. Meet me
in my study in an hour. Don’t be late.” He left her standing in her misery, and
stomped toward Hawk and Bice. Together, the men helped the bodyguard out of the
pounding surf.

“I’m sorry, Hawk.” She shouted into the winds, as the men
headed up the rocky hill. “I’m sorry!”

But her words fell on deaf ears. Neither of the men
acknowledged her apology. She watched as they slowly disappeared over the
ridge. She fell to the sand, and wept.

Her teardrops spilled onto the same beach she’d been found
on years ago. The memories of that last day, lying there alone and helpless and
waiting to die. She had no reason to go on without her parents.

She’d fought many years hoping to bring back their memories,
to recall the simplest family outing when she was as a child. Her mind always
remained a foggy blank, as if trying to see through a frosted pane.

There was something strange about her beginnings. Any normal
person would be able to recall at least part of their childhood. But she could
remember nothing.

She wondered if they were even her parents. Maybe she’d been
kidnapped from a far away exotic country. This would explain why there were no
siblings on the boat, nor relatives. Maybe. She sighed in resignation and gazed
at the large house looming on the hill.

Harmon had demanded she be in his study in an hour.
Unfortunately, she didn’t know how long an hour was. She could barely recall
the names of the various objects as they showed her around the grounds.

All she knew was day and night, watching the sun rise and
set on the island. She and Dreams had no concept of time. It was pure bliss,
there was no need to worry about the minutes ticking away. She laid her head on
the sand and closed her eyes.

She woke with a start, wiped the sand from her hands and
studied her palm. Only last night it was scorched, according to Bice. Which was
the second time her hand suddenly became burned with no logical explanation.
She was truly frightened.

She knew that whatever lay before her, she must face. She’d
taken care of herself for five long years back on the island. At least that’s
what Harmon had said. She really didn’t know how long she’d been on the island.
She’d find out how she fixed the beautiful window, one way or another. Her own
questions had gone unanswered much too long.

Harmon said he’d never take her back to the orphanage only
yesterday. Now today, she had messed up and he told her to pack her things. She
thought a moment longer. She didn’t really have anything to pack. The strange
man didn’t seem to make much sense telling her to get her things.

She knew one thing. She’d leave this place before they sent
her back to the orphanage. Harmon was the only reason she was here to begin
with. She wouldn’t let him hold the threat over her head.

She stood up, dusted the gritty sand from her clothes and
wiped her face on her shirt. She would show him a thing or two. He didn’t own
her. It was his idea to bring her here, not hers. She would never, ever let him
dictate where she would live. It wasn’t his business anyway.

She slowly made her way up the steep hill, toward the gloomy
mansion in the distance.

* * *

Bice pulled the study curtain back a bit farther, and squinted down
the hill for what must have been the twentieth time. “She’s coming up the hill
now.”

Harmon sat his glass down and strode toward the window. He
could see her slowly making her way up the rocky ledge. He gazed at his
glittering watch. “She’s late. It’s been an hour and ten minutes. I gave her an
hour.”

“Do you want me to pack her things? I’ll go find a suitcase.”

“Don’t rush me. I’ll handle this.”

Bice glared at his employer. “Last night you were begging me
to help with her. Now, you tell me to butt out? You musicians are all the same,
crazy.”

Harmon moved back to his desk, grabbed his glass and
finished the drink. “Hang around in case I need you. You’ll be the first to
know what I decide.” He slammed the glass onto the desk, spewing the remnant of
the ice across his newly-written lyrics. He muttered under his breath, and
wiped the cubes into the floor.

“The girl is nuts.” Bice added. “She doesn’t belong here. You
can’t put your career on hold because of an unwanted freak you happened to
find.”

A movement beyond Bice caught Harmon’s eye. His mouth fell
open, as his heart slithered down his legs and onto the rich burgundy
carpeting. He watched his life giving organ beat on the floor near his feet.
Maybe he could grab it quickly and shove it back into his chest before anyone
noticed.

Heaven was standing in the doorway, ghastly pale and had
quite obviously heard everything the two men had said. Tears once again fell from
her eyes. She was covered in sand, and her shirt was wet. Her beautiful blonde
hair hung limp and dirty from her tryst on the beach.

Bice whirled around and gasped. “Heaven, I’m sorry, I didn’t
mean it.”

She stood in the doorway and stared at the men who hated her
so much. She realized with clarity it was time to go. Maybe one day, she’d find
someone who cared about her. First, she’d find Dreams. They would find another
island away from this place, away from these men who had done nothing but call
her a freak and threaten to send her away.

She raced from the study and staggered out the front door.

* * *

Bice raced out the door behind her, and gave chase across the
enormous lawn.

But she was as fleet as a deer, and easily outran him. His
breath soon came in ragged gasps, as his legs grew weak. “Heaven, I’m sorry, I
didn’t mean it!” He called after her.

Harmon soon joined the chase, easily catching Bice in only
moments. He’d been an athlete since high school, already used to running and
leaping across stage after stage. This had kept him in shape for the many fine
women who once adored him. He powered past the tiring man, sneered at him and
quickly caught up to Heaven.

He lurched forward and grabbed her arm, bringing her to a
sudden stop. Her momentum propelled her forward, and pulled him after her. She
lost her balance, and stumbled to the ground.

Harmon sat beside her. “Heaven, I can’t tell you how sorry I
am, how sorry we both are. Try to understand Bice was only speaking out of
frustration, after seeing you act that way on the beach.”

“I hate him.”

“No you don’t. And, stop with the waterworks.”

“I do hate him so, and I’ll cry if I want to.”

“No, that’s not true.”

“What’s not true?” she asked. “I can’t cry?”

“I don’t know, I already forgot.” He laughed. “Now, let’s go
have that talk. Afterward, you can sit by the pool and go for a swim. Let’s
forget this day and look forward to a new tomorrow for you.”

“A new tomorrow?”

“We’ll talk in the study. Come on, let’s go.”

He took her hand and lifted her to her feet. He certainly
wasn’t used to a female loathing him. Any female. He knew she would need time,
time which he had plenty of. He’d spent too many years searching for her. He
wasn’t about to give up on her so soon.

Bice followed them silently into the study and watched as
Harmon showed her a chair opposite his desk. “I’m sorry Heaven. I lost my
temper when you hurt Hawk. He’s a good man and didn’t deserve that.”

She gazed deep into his eyes. She could tell he meant what he
said. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have done that to him.”