Washed Up ≫ A.I

Chapter [23]

[Charlotte Kendall]
Day 10

Everyone's on the beach again. The spits of storms had passed and Benson was teaching all of us how to light a fire by hand, now that Ashton's lighter is a dead flame but I don't think anyone was paying attention. I haven't looked in Tyson's direction but he hasn't stopped looking at me.

Brandon had forgiven Ashton for attacking him the night before only because Denise forced him to and Emma has acted as if nothing has changed between all of us. I want to talk to her but she hasn't given me the time of day.

For the first time, I have felt more alone here on this island than ever before. Every once in a while I would find Ashton around yet he never has much to say now. I wonder what he is thinking most of the time when we are together.

+Day 14

The sun is out and burning my flesh all around. My old sunburns are peeling and my energy level is dropping by the minute. Today was extra hot on the beach so I cut one of Denise's stolen jeans into shorts and spent the rest of the day under this crooked palm tree.

Ashton and Brandon went swimming and caught three clams. Luckily those two worked out their differences as Ashton proved to abandon his nightmares at night. However, the night before I did catch him standing near the water only to wake him accidentally and keep him from sleeping the rest of the night peacefully. After that Ashton basically left me with one word answers to everything.

Besides that happening, I haven't done anything except eat two bananas and stare at the sand. Once in a while, I would look up and notice just Ashton in the water. The waves would sweep him up and toss him back behind them. Every time the water reflected off his tan skin, it glistened in the hot sun.

The girls all shaved carefully for the first time in two weeks with a sharpened cap Benson created from Ashton's lighter. It surprisingly worked but not as best as an actual razor. And no one cut themselves. The boys shaved as well, except Ashton. He kept his beard and long hair shagging around his face. His tips have turned blonde and dead at the end. Emma has still dismissed me from talking to her about Ashton and I and I still don't know how much longer I could keep it up with her.

Benson had left earlier this morning to look at the higher ground for food. He wants a safer spot for our camp. He left with no further explanation as to where he was going exactly. We picked fruit and we waited till dark. It wasn't until the next morning we were all interrupted by a rustling through the trees. It wasn't until that morning everything on this island changed.

+Day 15

My eyes haven't been shut since the sun came up this morning. Everyone was sound asleep including Ashton who was closest to the fire, cradled on his right side. I sat most of the time beside Emma, brushing my fingers softly through her hair as she rested her head on one spare cloth of a t-shirt. I also played with the fringe ripping at the bottom of my cut jean shorts. All seven of us had been sharing the little that we had left from the pile of clothes the twins were wearing when they abandoned the ship that first night. We are all getting the hang of this routine, the slow, sitting, and waiting routine.

I haven't left the beach for any particular reason either. For days now, Benson and Brandon would collect water inside their coconuts and the two tin canteens left from the rescue raft. Whatever is brought back to eat I will only take a bite every so often. It's when you are no longer starving that you know, you are dying, and I'm scared for not being as hungry.

Ashton rolled over twice before huffing deeply and springing forward from his sleep. I looked up at him quickly with big eyes while holding my breath from making a sound. It was no use; Ashton was wide awake with sweat and sand stuck to his bare chest and side. He ruffled his hair a bit, shaking the sand from his ears and forehead.