Forgetting

Chapter 1

This is a remake of a fic I wrote when I was 14 on fanfiction.net. If youre interested in my other works, you can find me there as theladylillian

"Happy Monday!" Julia sings in my ear.

I glance in her direction from my seat at the breakfast table, a stormy expression painted on my face. "Julia," I begin, "please don't talk to me unless you got a reason." The locals know I'm not much for conversation, Julia among them. I wasn't sure what kept this bubbly bimbo coming back for more, but Mirabelle was nice enough to let me stay with her when my work took me to the Sunshine Islands. I figured I should be nice enough to tolerate her daughter.

"But I do have a reason, Vaughn!" she chirps. "I'm wishing you a happy Monday!" She gives me a toothy grin and a dainty side-hug, something she knows I hate. Julia has a habit of provoking me with such things. I'm not sure if her intent is to piss me off or if the silly girl genuinely means well. I wriggle out of her grasp and turn my attention back to my breakfast, stirring the warm porridge with a spoon too small for my hand.

Julia takes the seat across from me, placing her head in her hands, a mischievous grin on her lips. "Soooo, did you hear?"

I scowl and swallow a bite. "Hear what?"

Julia looks at me with a glimmer in her eye, the same one she gets when she hears some hot new gossip that she can't wait to pass along. Uh oh. "Well, I overheard my mom on the phone with Felicia last night. She told her that some girl moved into that gross abandoned farm. She's gonna try to actually grow stuff and raise animals in that dump, isn't that CRAZY?!"

I furrow my brow. "A girl is going to try to revitalize a farm that hasn't been used in decades? All by herself?" Julia nods furiously and I scoff. "She's got a lotta work ahead of her." I punctuate my sentence by taking another bite of porridge.

"And," Julia continues, "she just got here yesterday morning! I think my mom said her name's Chelsea. Will you come with me to say hi?"

"No, thanks."

"Aw, why not, Vaughnie?" I cringe at the sound of my nickname. "Because. I'm only here two days a week. Seems like a waste of time to bother introducing myself." I finish my breakfast and place my dirty dishes in the sink. "I don't have time for friendship when I'm here. I come here strictly for business." Julia opens her mouth to say something, something probably along the lines of I'm being a jerk, but I cut her off. "I'm going on a walk."

Julia smirks. "Didn't you just say you come here strictly for—"

"I need to clear my head, alright!"

I see Julia swallow a laugh. "Okay, Vaughnie. Have a nice time." I glower at Julia before making my way out the front door of the animal shop.

Cool morning air hits my face as I start off down the cobble stone road. I have no destination in mind, but my feet naturally take the familiar route to the beach, a place I like to visit often. It's a good out-of-the-way place to just sit and think. There's just something about the lulling sound of waves hitting the shore that I find comforting.

My boots hit the sandy ground as I find a place to sit beside the seaweed rock. The ground had finally thawed after weeks and weeks of the coldest winter the islands had ever experienced. I was happy to finally be able to sit in my favorite spot again without my backside catching frostbite. I lean against the rock, pull my hat over my eyes and just breathe in time to the sound of the waves. For the first time in a while, I allow my mind to drift, thinking not about work, but idle things, like the guitar I had sitting in the corner of my apartment I hadn't played in months and the stylish boots I saw in a store window in the city a few weeks ago. My thoughts drifted to the new farmer girl. Maybe I was being rude with that speech about my time at the islands being for business only. Maybe I should go introduce myself. I ponder the options, but the sound of my name brings me back to reality.