Last Voyages

Chapter 1

Isabella's POV:

I let out a sigh before stretching my hands above my head, feeling sleepy from the late night I had last night. Sluggishly I pulled my long hair into a high ponytail, hoping to keep it in place for the day.

My hair had grown back out over the last six years and I hadn't given the thought to cut it. It was down to the bottom of my back again, and pulling it up was the easiest way to deal with it, because cutting it off would remind me of something I would rather not remember.

"Layla! Layla come back over here!" I call out to my daughter, seeing her beginning to wander out the front doors, but seeing that she was caught, gives me a sheepish smile and closes the doors again.

Layla was the reason I got no sleep last night. She kept having nightmares and coming to me crying, and instead of trying to calm her down and send her back to her room, I let her stay with me and we ended up talking for two hours before the curious little girl fell asleep.

I was able to get my own house four years ago, a beautiful little cottage not too far away from my mother's house, with a nice view of the ocean. It wasn't extravagant like the mansion I grew up in, but it was lovely nonetheless. 

Layla came up to me, her bright green eyes shining as her blonde hair bounced up and down from her excitement. 

"Momma, come on! We going to see Gramma!" she says and I smile at her, nodding my head and slipping my shoes on. "Don't worry, baby girl. We're going." I say, taking her hand and leading her towards the door. 

Once we got outside, we strolled down the beach side, Layla laughing and having fun picking up different sorts of shells and clumps of sand. She was my world now, and I can't imagine anything worse than something happening to my baby. 

It was painful sometimes seeing her green eyes, because they were a reminder of the person who left me alone to raise her by myself. I almost wish she had inherited my blue eyes...but then another side of me was glad she didn't. 

"Momma! Momma! Look!" she yells happily and I come out of my trance, smiling as she pointed out at the sea. "The sun looks pretty!" she exclaims and I look, seeing the sun reflect on the water in the morning light.

"It does look very pretty." I agree, smiling down at my daughter, who was just as curious and amazed by the ocean as I was. "Can we go out there?" she asks curiously and I swallow hard, shaking my head. 

"No, we can't go out there right now. The waters aren't safe." I say, gently taking her hand and leading her down the beach towards my old house. "Pooey." she mutters and I giggle. "One day I'll take you. I promise." I say reassuringly and she gives me a dazzling smile. 

Her blonde hair was curly, just like her dad's, but she did inherit my bone structure, at least. She also was a tiny little girl, not very tall at all. But that was fine, she was absolutely adorable. 

"Is Gramma going to come outside today?" Layla asks me curiously and I shrug my shoulders. "We'll see how she's feeling, okay?" I say and she nods her head, seeming satisfied by my answer. We continued to walk until we came to the familiar house, the door opening before I could even knock.

"Ahh, Miss Isabella! It's so good to see you again." Darla cooed as she saw me and I gave her a bright smile. "It's good to be here." I reply, leading Layla inside before Darla closed the doors behind us. "Miss Darla!!" Layla exclaimed happily, giving the old maid a hug. Darla laughed at my daughter's antics, giving the small girl a hug.

"Well it's good to see you too dear." she teases and Layla smiles up at her. "Where is she?" I ask and Darla motions to the study. "Doing some work so early this morning. She needs a break." she replies and I thank her quietly before taking Layla's hand and leading her towards the study.