Laying here in the middle of whatever ocean this is with the sun hitting my face, away from everyone on that damn boat, is exactly the escape I needed. So what if I specifically told Calvin to pack the swan floatie and he still brought this hideous pink flamingo? No one's going to see that it doesn't match my Victoria's Secret bikini anyways.
I place an earbud into each one of my ears and select a playlist off my ipod, which I slip into the bra of my swimsuit. I'm not very worried at all about whether my technology might fall into the ocean. Calvin could easily replace anything I need as soon as we get back home anyways.
I roll my eyes to myself at the thought of my stupid boyfriend-- wait, no, fiancee. Right. Another one of the mundane richy rich frat boys that mother and father have set me up with to keep the family legacy going. And now I have to marry him, a deal I made with my parents. They let me go to college, and in return I get married to a man of their choosing. God forbid they let their daughter into the world educated and single.
Which is how I ended up on a cruise ship, celebrating my newfound engagement to a man I know next to nothing about.
Hence, the getaway on a pink floatie, in the only place I have to escape the chaos that is my fiancee and our families: the ocean. One of the many things I'll most likely be able to get away with, as I'm pretty sure I remember one of the crew members specifying that we shouldn't go out on the water alone, especially without telling anybody.
But hey, I'm a 23 year old woman with her life already planned out for her and nothing on the horizon but a meaningless wedding. What's the worst thing that could happen to me? I've got absolutely nothing to lose.
So as I shut my eyes and let my skin soak in the soft rays of the sun, my blond hair spilling out of the edge of the floatie, I feel myself relax for the first time in a while. With the smell of salt water washing over me and the waves lightly rocking me, I drift away to sleep.
* * *
"Holy shit, a dead body!"
A voice pulls me out of my slumber. I'm vaguely aware of my bed being dragged forward, taking me with it as the voice I'm hearing keeps muttering profanities.
Hold on. Beds don't get dragged.
This realization makes me jolt up. The voice, which I now recognize belongs to a girl, yelps in surprise.
The girl, a tall brown haired thing with a baggy white tank top, stares at me with a dumbfound expression. "You're alive!" she shrieks.
"Yeah, I'm ali-"
And then I realize where I am.
I'm still laying on a floatie. The pink one I fell asleep on. It's washed up on a beach, which feeds into what looks like a big forest. And all behind me is nothing but a huge expanse of water.
I nearly trip over myself as I scramble off of the floatie and stand up. My bare feet sink into sand, which is warm from the hot sun beating down. Spinning around in a 360, I take in my surroundings and confirm my suspicions.
I'm on a fucking island.
"This is a fucking dream, right?" I say to myself.
Spinning on my heel, I face the girl, who's still staring at me with her mouth hanging open wide.
"Who are you?" she questions, shock evident in her voice.
"Who am I?" I exclaim incredulously. "Who. The fuck. Are you?"
If the girl registers my outbreak, she doesn't show it. "I-I'm... Karlie."
"Karlie," I echo dumbly, as if her name is going to explain why I'm literally on a fucking island with some strange girl who's dressed like a hippie.
"Who are you?" she repeats.
"Taylor," I respond. "Swift," I add in case she recognizes my family name. "Where the hell am I?"
Karlie shakes her head at me. "I-I don't know. An island?"
I laugh humorlessly. "Well, yeah, I gathered that. If you don't know where you are, then how did you get here?"
Karlie cocks her head at me like a puppy. "I live here," she states simply.
I clench my fist, fingernails digging into my palms in frustration. This girl is making no sense. How can she live here and not know where she is? Is she playing with me? Is this all a prank set up by Calvin or something?
"Okay, Karlie," I practically growl, my patience wearing thin. "I need you to get me to the nearest boat. And I need to borrow your cell phone to call my family so I can figure out where I am, okay? Please."
Karlie bites her lip, looking down at her feet, which are squirming in the sand. "Taylor I don't think you understand," she says slowly. "We're the only ones here. And there's no way out."
A/N So this is the new story I've been working on. Let me know what you think. Second chapter will be up soon!
