The Arrangement

Chapter 6

Hello lovlies, sorry this took so long, it's not as long as I'd like, but it's better than nothing. Enjoy <3 please vote and comment. <3

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Chapter 6

It didn't take long for the routine to take over. It turns out Trent does know his way around a boat and has been sailing every since he was little. He and Jason bonded easily enough and he got along well with Santiago. Merideth didn't care, but Rory and he were like oil and water. They just didn't mix.

Honestly, other than the occasional quarrel between Rory and Trent, things were starting to look like any other research trip. For some reason that I couldn't fathom Rory was fuming at Trent after he offered to cook dinner and it turned out quite delicious. We caught our own food while we were out on the ocean. Today, we caught Mahi Mahi. Somehow, even that became a fight. It was going to drive me nuts these two. After ten minutes of snarky comments and cold glares I was fed up. I stood up and slammed my hands on the table. I couldn't take it anymore.

"I am going to bed." I walked out of the room and out onto the deck. I was so over the fighting. Why did they have to hate each other? How was I going to make it through the next few weeks if this feuding didn't come to an end?

"Hey, you okay?" I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard Rory behind me.

"Oh god, you scared me."

"Sorry. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." I shook my head. I didn't want to talk about it.

"You've always been a bad liar." Rory smiled.

"Leave it alone, Rory. I don't want to talk about it."

Rory leaned up against the rail next to me and nudged me with his shoulder. "Hey. It's me. I know you. Sometimes better than you know yourself. You can't lie to me. And you can talk to me."

"Rory, I don't want to talk about it. Got it?"

Rory didn't say anything for a long moment. He just stood against the railing next to me, looking out over the water. After a few minutes of this he nodded. "Okay. So, you have any news on research?"

This is why I loved Rory. If I asked him to drop it, he usually would. If I asked him to pretend like nothing was wrong, he'd play along. Sometimes, like today, he would even give me a distraction.

"Hey," I jumped again when I heard someone behind me. "Mikaela, you okay?"

I turned to face Trent. "I'm fine."

"Then what has you all upset?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yes, nothing. I'm fine. Perfectly fine."

"Come now, love." Trent walked up and his hand went to my chin. "Let's be honest here."

"Hey," Rory put himself in between Trent and me. "She said she's fine. So, leave her alone."

"And if you believe her, you're just as stupid as you are stubborn."

"At least I'm not trying to force myself where I'm not wanted."

"Not wanted? Oh my, then I guess you don't want me to fund your research? Why didn't you say so? You're more than welcome to leave the team at any time. No one is forcing you to be here."

"Stop it! Both of you!" I shouted. I could not handle this. There was a tightness in my chest. I wanted to cry, but not in front of them. I shoved my way past them and ran to my cabin. I locked the door and threw myself onto my bunk. I let myself let go and sobbed into my pillow. I hated confrontation and fighting. I couldn't take it. It drudged up too many bad memories.