Island.

Chapter 23

Twenty Three.

Ava’s POV.

The sunlight was blocked by huge gray clouds. The wind whipped my hair around me as I walked to the cave. Dull light filtered its way down the opening of the cave, illuminating the pool that seemed bottomless. It made small bands of white splay across the walls of the cave, making it look like it glowed.

I tried to hurry. I came here to get Keanu’s paintings because there was storm that was coming. I didn’t want him to lose all of them again, so I tried to come here a few days before this storm came.

There had to be at least forty paintings, all made by him and each one more beautiful than the last. There were paintings of absolutely everything that just reminded you of this island.

The beach, the trees, the school, the houses, the shops-- it all screamed Hawaii. He captured the very essence of the people that lived here and was able to portray that in his work. He was very passionate about what he did, and was never ashamed , like how he used to be.

I noticed a couple of blank canvases, tucked away in the far corner of the cave. There was something off about the way they were placed there. It looked as if they were placed to intentionally cover something. Now this was his space, and if he wanted to hide something then I should respect that. But we did agree that there would be no more secrets between us.

My curiosity got the best of me, and I found myself pulling those blank canvases out of the small space. There was a hole in the wall of the cave, that looked unnatural. Like it was carved. And in the space was a wooden box. Hesitantly opening the box, the first thing I saw was a fresh sheet of paper that was covering something. I lifted the paper up gingerly, trying not to jostle the box in any way, fearing that something might fall out of the box and end up in the pool. 

Underneath the crisp paper, was a small pearl bracelet. The rich white of the pearls glowed along with the cave, and the bracelet itself didn’t look brand new. It had a small heart charm at the end near the clasp and on the charm was a little inscription.

These violent delights, have violent ends.

A line from Shakespeare’s play. I think this belonged to his mother. It looked very expensive and vintage. Like it was custom made for someone. I placed the dainty bracelet back into the box and tucked it into the pocket of my sweater. I was almost positive that Keanu wouldn’t want anything to happen to it.

I fought against the wind, carrying each and every one of his paintings to his aunt’s shop, where she said she would gladly keep them until the storm passed. Weary from all the effort, and finally done, I trudged against the raging storm. I walked up the steps to his house, and gently knocked on the door.

It was different now, coming here after finding the box. Would he want to explain it to me? Would he shut me out again?. And then there was Jay. What were we supposed to do about him? He was still on the loose and the police didn’t have any actual proof that he was the one who shot Keanu. And he was nowhere to be found.

I just wanted some time for us. Me and Keanu alone. I felt like every time we were alone, we were interrupted or that we never had time to actually see each other. It was annoying as hell.

He opened the door, with red puffy eyes. He had been crying. I pushed my way in, taking care not to push him in the process. I wanted to know what upset him, because it was upsetting me.

“What happened?” I asked him, he just closed the door, and shook his head. He walked over to the couch and plopped onto it. He looked so hurt, and he wasn’t even trying to mask his pain. Something tugged at my chest, to see him like this. It wasn’t right.

“Tell me what’s wrong. I can’t help you if you wont tell me.” My own eyes were starting to blur. He just sat there as still as a sculpture, with tears streaking his face. I sat down beside him, trying to hold his hand. He numbly took mine, but it didn’t feel warm. Something was definitely wrong.

I tried to guess the problem, and then started begging, but he never said a word, and just shook his head.  This hurt, because I couldn’t stand this. It felt like every time I saw him in pain, I died a little too. And it wasn’t helping that he was silent about the whole thing.

“I‘m sorry, Ava. I didn’t want you to see this.” He said.

His voice was cold, and distant. So much different than what I was used to. I didn’t like this side of him, the side that shut everyone out. It wasn’t like him. But I didn’t speak. I wanted him to do all the talking. After a few minutes of waiting he finally did.

“Everything has just been crazy lately. With Jay and stuff. And today is…” he trailed off, his voice breaking with the endless tears falling down his face.

“Two years ago, on this day, I lost everything.”

Understanding flooded through me. He was mourning for his parents. It killed me inside to see him like this. But I couldn’t possibly know how he felt. The measure of pain because I myself have never experienced anything like that. I came over to him, and hugged him, trying to ease at least some of his pain. He buried his face in my neck, searching for comfort, which I gladly gave. I cradled his head, stroking his hair. The feeling of abandonment was very prominent. He was abandoned. And he didn’t know how to deal with it.

“Its like every time I think about them…I just cant help but think-Know that it was my fault. ” He said, his voice rising in anger.

“You can’t blame yourself for what happened. It wasn’t your fault. Don’t think that.” I was almost praying that he would at least listen to something I said.

But he got up abruptly and walked swiftly to the door, and just started pacing for a while. Back and forth, seeming to be lost in his sadness. In his thoughts.

I just sat there, not knowing what to say. I felt like if I said anything at all, it would set him off. I didn’t want to make him angrier than he already was.

I thought that maybe this would be a good time to take out the bracelet. I took his hand in mine, and he instinctively looked at me. I fished in the pocket of my sweater and pulled out the box, holding it up to him.

“I, um found this at the cave. I went there earlier to clear out your stuff. There’s a storm coming.” I saw his eyes widen in realization, but sadness consumed them once again. He took the box from my hand and opened it, revealing the pearl bracelet.

“Thank you, but how did you find it?” He asked. And I explained about how I saw the oddly placed rocks and then the hole in the wall. He nodded in time, but he was distant.

“Ava,” he finally said, and my eyes shot up to his. He looked broken, like a toy that couldn’t be fixed.

“Yes?” I asked almost desperately.

“I, um, really don’t mean to sound rude, but I want to be alone right now.” His voice was as dead as the look in his eyes, and held that same distant, miserable monotone. I was pretty sure that the hurt was showing on my face, as much as it crushed me inside. But he needed time and space.

“Okay,” I said softly and starting towards the door. 

“Keanu,” I said right as I stepped out. I turned to see him look up.

“I’ll always be here,” I reassured him. He gave a small nod, and I made my way out, careful to lock all the doors before I was gone.

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Short chapter, I know. Theres still a bit of action left to go. :)