Dolphin Tale 4

Chapter [8]

"Explain yourself, Sawyer."

Sawyer sighed, not looking at his mother. "Lacie kiss me, okay? I didn't want her to kiss me, but she did."

Lorraine Nelson sat down beside her son. "Sawyer, why didn't you try to stop her?"

"Mom, I've already had this conversation with Phoebe, okay? Can we just stop talking about this, please? I don't know why I didn't try to stop her, okay? I just don't know."

Lorraine sighed. "Honey, sometimes we all make mistakes, and that's okay, as long as you don't go too far. This is a bit far, though. What are you going to tell Hazel? Do you still love her, or do you love Lacie instead?"

"I still love Hazel, Mom, and I always will. Lacie was just temporary, I guess. Or maybe she wasn't. I don't know, okay? But I know that I love Hazel, and nothing can change that, not even this incident with Lacie."

"But what's Hazel going to think of this incident?"

"Mom, I'm not Hazel. How am I supposed to know what she's going to think? I'm not psychic!"

"I know that, honey. Just put yourself in her shoes. What do you think she's going think? Will she be upset? Will she understand? Will she be jealous?"

Sawyer stood up and walked to the door. "I get what you're trying to say, Mom. I get it, okay?" He sighed and walked out of the room.

***

"Lacie, can you come here for a minute?"

Lacie jumped off her bed and ran to her bedroom door. She opened it and ran down the stairs. "Yes?"

"What's this?"

Lacie looked at her mother and father, frowning. "What's what?"

Her mother waved a newspaper at her. "This."

Lacie raised an eyebrow. "That's a newspaper," she said slowly.

Her father sighed. "Read it."

Lacie took the newspaper and scanned the headline. "Lacie Armstrong and Sawyer Nelson: the next it couple." She gaped at the photo. "What the—?"

"Explain yourself, Lacie."

Lacie sighed and set the newspaper onto the kitchen counter. "We were supposed to be having dinner together. But Sawyer said he loved Hazel more than me. That broke my heart. I guess I was just desperate and acted without thinking. I love him. I still do. Is it wrong to love someone who loves someone else?"

Lacie's mother sighed. "I thought you knew that Sawyer had a girlfriend already. Hazel, I believe."

Lacie nodded. "Yeah, I know that Sawyer has a girlfriend. That doesn't stop me from loving him, though. I mean, I can still love him even though he loves someone else, right?"

"Lacie, you do realise what this is going to do to Sawyer's relationship with Hazel, don't you?" her father said gravely. "This is going to ruin their relationship. Everything that they built up between them is going to come crashing down. This one article; this one image will be like Hurricane Katrina to them. It's going to tear them apart."

"So this is all my fault?"

"We didn't say it was your fault, Lacie. We just think that maybe you shouldn't see him anymore. Maybe you should distance yourself from Sawyer to prevent further situations like this from arising. Maybe you should quit your job at Clearwater Marine Aquarium."

Lacie gasped. "No! I can't do that. I love Sawyer—"

"But he doesn't love you, Lacie. I'm sorry, but its true."

"Sawyer does love me. He just loves Hazel more."

Lacie's father sighed. "Listen, Lacie. Having you around Sawyer when Hazel gets back is going to make things worse for them, okay? I think it's best if you distance yourself from him. If you really cared about Sawyer, you would do this for him.:

"Don't make me feel guilty. It won't work, okay? It never works on me. Besides, I can't quit my job at Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Contrary to what you may think, I work there because I love animals, dolphins especially. Sawyer isn't the reason I want to work there. I love dolphins. I always have. My dream has always been to work with them, Winter especially."

"If you really cared for him, you'd do this for him. If you really cared for him, you'd put his interests first. But, it's up to you. We've just given you our opinion on what you should do. You probably think differently."

Lacie nodded. "I do think differently. And it is my decision. I will make my own decision as to what I want to do. If I want to continue working at Clearwater Marine Aquarium, then I will, and nothing you do or say will change that." She picked up the newpaper, turned and walked off.

Once she reached her room, she took out her notebook. The notebook she had hidden when Sawyer had first stepped into her room. The notebook that held her secrets. 

She found a pair of scissors and carefully cut out the article. Then she got some glue and stuck it into her notebook. She smiled, smoothing out the creases, admiring her handiwork.

Using a silver pen, she wrote, in her neatest handwriting...

I love you, Sawyer. I love you so much. I will do anything to be with you...

Lacie smiled, staring at the image. The memory would now be with her forever. She flicked through the notebook, smiling at the notes she had written before. Smiling at the poems she had written. Smiling at the plans she had made.

She closed the notebook and put it away. She couldn't afford to leave it lying around; the notebook was the key to her heart and soul. She poured every feeling, every thought, and every dream into it. It wasn't just the key, though. The notebook was her heart and soul.

Lacie stood and moved towards the window. She stood there, staring out at the world. Staring at the people walking their dogs. Staring at the cars passing by. She smiled to herself, remembering what she had written. To her, it seemed like a vow – a promise, even – that one day, Sawyer would be hers.

I love you, Sawyer. I love you so much. I will do anything to be with you...