Call of the Sea

Chapter 1: Island Paradise

The bright sun in the clear blue sky, the white grains of sand in the beach, the wonderful smell of the sea carried by the winds that was what I expected as I got down the plane. And here I am greeted by the cold wetness of rain and howling winds of an upcoming storm. This is supposed to be the best birthday ever, a vacation with my friends on the island paradise where I was born and here I am sitting in the pouring rain waiting forever for the hotel shuttle to pick me up. I called over an hour ago and my phone is already at ten percent. My friends couldn't come and my precious vacation is ruined by a dreadful storm.

"This day can't get any worse than this." I groaned. Then as my luck would have it a really nice silver sports car ran in high speed at the puddle in front of me drenching me more with water plus mud. Letting out a frustrated scream and a string of curses my mother would never approve of, I hurled one of my already wet traveling bags into the middle of the deserted street. I didn't notice but I was already crying at that point. Kneeling at the muddy road, I screamed in fury. "God! What did I do to deserve this?"

I continued sobbing at the muddy road and noticed that the rain suddenly stopped hitting me. I looked up and see a man, a really tall and well-built man, holding an umbrella over me. I jolted away from him and the slight protection of the umbrella.

"Uhmn... Sorry for startling you miss. Do you need any help?" his voice was soft yet masculine with a hint of an accent I can't place where.

I shook my head, "No thank you. I'm already waiting for someone." I could feel my teeth chattering. I know he seemed nice and all but I just don't get help from strangers. He might be a rapist or worse a serial killer.

"By the looks of you miss, you've been here a while and I doubt anyone will want to drive all the way here just to pick you up because the storm is getting worse." I could feel a smirk in his words even if I didn't look at him.

"Why would you want to help me anyway? I could be a murderer or something." I snapped.

"I doubt you can overpower someone like me and I kind of feel bad for drenching you in mud." That got my attention. I noticed the same silver sports car just a couple of yards away. I was starting to feel the mud starting to seep through my jeans.

"Fine. Can you help me get to my hotel?" I already know that this is a bad idea but I really want to have a warm bath and just sleep the rest of this nightmare away.

"Alright. Come on." he said as he reached out for my hand. His hands were quite larger than mine and I savored the warmth. He led me through his car. He sat me at the passenger seat and I could feel the mud sticking to his really expensive car seat. I suddenly remembered my luggage and before I could say anything he shut the door and quickly loaded my muddy luggage into his trunk. As he got into the driver's seat he was almost the same as me wet and muddy.

"Sorry." I mumbled.

"No worries. It is my fault anyway." I could see that he has a really charming smile, too bad I couldn't see his whole face because the lighting was bad.

When we got to my hotel, it seemed that my reservation was canceled because I didn't check-in on time and all the rooms are full. After they just informed me that all the other hotels are already full, I walked out of the building before I ripped someone's head off. I sat at the entrance stairs with tears threatening to drop at any second.

"Hey, you okay?" asked a familiar voice. I noticed that the handsome stranger earlier just a meter away from me waiting in with my luggage. Seeing my bags, I started bawling my eyes out. Where the hell will I sleep now? This is just the best vacation ever!

"Hey... shhh... What's wrong? Tell me and I'll see if I can help." He said as he sat beside me and started patting my back.

Wiping my tears with the back of my hand, I looked at him. His face was still a mystery to me because he was sitting in front of the light. But I noticed a really prominent jaw and dark blonde hair. "Oh nothing..." lacing sarcasm in my voice. "I just missed my check-in and every single hotel in this wretched island is full. So, I'll probably sleep under a tree or something. Hopefully, I'll catch pneumonia and die. It would be so good to end my miserable life. I hope mom and dad will forgive me. I didn't even get to celebra-"

"You can stay with me." he cut me off.

"Really?" I said startled at his statement. Man, I must be really desperate to even consider a stranger's offer.

"Don't worry. Consider it as part of my apology."

"But you've done enough already, driving in this weather. You could've just left with my bags at the door and left. You didn't have to wait for me."

"Let's just say, I had an inkling feeling that you might need more help. And who's to say I can't be a good Samaritan once in a while?" he shrugged and smiled at me. I could feel my heart warm with just that smile.

I don't know what came over me but I blurted out, "Okay." With that, he again led me to his car, reloaded my luggage in his trunk and drove to Go knows where. I was too tired to pay attention to the road that I drifted off to sleep. I felt a faint nudge on my shoulder, "We're here."

To say that this was a house was an understatement. It was bigger than a house it was a mansion. I didn't have time to gape at his house since I was abruptly ushered inside because the wind started to pick up. He led me to a room before I could even appreciate the beauty of the house's interior.

"This will be your room." he stated. "I think we both need a hot bath because we're both drenched. And I doubt you can find any usable clothes in your luggage because it is dripping wet. I'll get you some of my sister's clothes for the time being. I'll ask my housekeeper tomorrow to do the laundry and to salvage your clothes. There's a built in bathroom in this room so, I'll be back with some clothes." with that he left the room and closed the door. Without even looking around I removed my wet clothes and went straight to the bathroom. Good thing the bathroom was stocked with soap, shampoo and conditioner since all my essentials are in my bag. It probably took an hour to take off all the muck covering my body and once I was finished I fished out my hair brush from my hand bag. My mom had the right mind of forcing me to use my waterproof handbag so my cell survived with my wallet and other simple essentials.

I started brushing my waste length chocolate brown hair. I discovered a hairdryer in one of the sink drawers and opted to use it. As I was drying my hair, I noticed that my normally bright green eyes turned dull due to exhaustion.

'I really need some sleep.' I thought.

"Hope I don't get murdered in my sleep." I said aloud as I wrapped the fluffy robe I found on top of the bathroom counter. When I got out of the door I noticed a set of white pajamas on top of the queen sized bed. I reached closer to feel the material that was when I noticed the note on top.

Here's something for you to change into.

Don't worry my sister hasn't even worn that yet.

Sleep well.

- G

"At least I know his name started with a G." I muttered to myself. 'Gunter maybe? Or Garry?' I kept on making up names as I changed. I must've been more tired than I thought because by my 114th name I fell asleep.

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I know... You don't even know their names yet. I thought I'd save the introductions for a better time. Hope you enjoyed it! :)