"So, where are we headed, dear love?" she questioned seated in the passenger seat she had sat on last night. Glancing at him, he gave her a fleeting look with a chuckle and she couldn't help but say
"Changed it to 'creep' by the way" which had his head shooting her way at a speed, with a confused look that lasted for but a second before he realised she must have seen him last night, with a weary smile he questioned
"How did you know it was me?" to which she shrugged
"Kinda hard to miss the car you rode twice in one night, and the plating was the same" she said truthfully, and he chuckled then, shooting her a second-long meaningful look
"Quite perceptive" giving him a smile that said, 'you have no idea' she looked out the window
"Guess you could say that" The drive was an extra ten minutes before she saw them drive on a narrow two-way road, and before them seemed to be a short trail of cars driving in as they were.
She didn't get the chance to question him as to where they were driving into because a second later, she saw the back of a large ferry and she couldn't help but be excited at the prospect of being on the form of transportation for the first time ever.
"A ferry" he didn't miss the giddiness in her tone and he smiled her way, the drive much slower as if they were stuck in traffic as people carefully drove onto the Ferry.
"Yes. Never been on one?" he questioned, slightly happy for the beaming smile she shot his way, shaking her head and furiously so, she breathed out
"No. so where is it headed exactly. Honestly, I didn't even know Hawaii had ferries to begin with" she said
"I'm still not telling you" he said, and she let out air through her puffed cheeks and she frowned at him, as if to say 'come on' and he chuckled only to make a motion of closing a zipper of his mouth and she merely pouted like a petulant child and looked out the window.
Her disappointed mood however, didn't get to last long, for when she stood on the top deck of the ferry near the bars that kept her from falling into the clear waters of the ocean, she found that even if all she did was stand where she did, she would be happy, that it didn't even matter where he was taking her, for the view was spectacular.
It was when she told Xavier of her hunger that the man shook his head in refusal only to have her eat nothing but a single fruit of her choice with an excuse that he didn't want her to ruin her appetite. That gave her an idea of just where they were headed, but she didn't understand why they had to ride to another island just to go to a restaurant, alas, she conceded anyways.
She only came to understand his reasons when they were driving to their destination on a road on the side of a mountain, only to give out a view of the ocean on the other. The Maui Road he called it.
"The food better be worth it, cause you had me starving for like…two hours. I swear I could eat a whole cow right now" she complained, cranky like she always gets when deprived of food.
"You can quit your yapping now cause we're here" he said with a smile and she perked up in her seat then as they drove into a parking lot.
A sign stood on the side saying Hana Farms, and below it a list of three, Banana bread, bakery and deli and a local market. She was in love with the colours that surrounded the area, the colourful trees and flowers to the lively green plants. Xavier opened her door for her and they walked toward the Deli a few feet away.
The theme of wood counters and walls with wood artefacts hung here and there in the eatery scram native island vibes to her. They took a seat by an empty table, there being a few people as it was still early in the day. Taking hold of the menu on the table she asked
"So why come so far when I'm pretty sure Honolulu has many restaurants as is"
"Cause I knew this would be your first time here" he said, a fist to his cheek with his arms on the table, she gave him a look then and he added "Being that you're new and all" he shrugged and she nodded
"Okay, then. What do you recommend?" returning her eyes to the paper before her. Deciding not to help, he said
"Everything" mischief in his smile and she rolled her eyes then.
Squaring her shoulders, with a final look to the menu she said
"Fine then. I'll take the fish taco, the Saimin, and the garlic shrimp" she listed the names out to him. Amusement lit up in his eyes and he said
"Guess you weren't kidding when you said you were hungry, huh?" making to get up, she shot him a smile
"One thing you should know about me Xavier, is that, I never joke when it comes to food" she informed with an all of a sudden serious look on her face.
Xavier could only wonder to himself about the girl he left behind at the table. There was something about her he couldn't put his finger on, but he knew that although she seemed innocent, something else lurked in her eyes. He had seen it last night at the club and earlier when she informed him of his name change on her phone, it was a look always fleeting but he never missed it, and he aimed to figure it out.
Silence, it reigned over their table when their food arrived, him having settled for just a Huli huli chicken, which Bella of course couldn't stop eyeing in all its juicy appearance. She finished her foods first, before she shot Xavier a look, who had been so captivated by her eating like a starved child that he was yet to touch his plate of food. Chuckling with a shake of his head he leaned back in his chair and said
"Knock yourself out" and she couldn't help but hesitate and question
"Are you sure?" to which he nodded
"Mhmm" still uncertain being that he was yet to touch it, she simply outstretched her hand with a fork and stabbed just a piece of meat and to her plate. Corking his eyebrow
"That it?" and she simply nodded
"Gotta leave room for my chocolate ice cream, they do have chocolate ice-cream here right?" she asked with childlike hope. He couldn't help but furrow his brows, finding her hard to figure out. He took a bite of his food before responding
"Yea, we'll get it down the road. But how about we let your stomach settle first, yeah?" barely embarrassed by her own behaviour, she muttered out
"Fine" only to perk up again "Down the road? To where?" chuckling, he got to his feet, having eaten his food.
"Come on" he motioned with his head.
[Don't forget why we're with him to begin with Bella. You seem awfully distracted.] Sin interrupted in her mind and she stopped in her step before walking again. Xavier thought, there it is again, his brows furrowed in thought
"Are you okay?" he asked seated in the car seeing her mood having all of a sudden plummeted
"I'm good" she said, shooting him a fleeting glance with a tight lipped second long smile.
`If I had, you're just reminded me. so there's nothing to worry about is there.` She responded in her mind. Hating that she couldn't even have a day where she worried about nothing and just enjoyed the moments.
[People like us don't have that privilege Bella. So don't go thinking such nonsense again.]
[Remember, you're the one that came up with the idea to begin with. Those girls never said they needed a saviour.]
At Sin's words, her heart clenched for more reasons than one, however, she knew that even though they never asked for one, it was her responsibility to help now that she was aware of the situation. It was in her nature to do something when she could.
[Correction, it's in YOUR nature, I couldn't care less what happened to them. No one cared about what happened to us, no one Cares about what happens to us.]
"Can you take me home? I don't feel like an adventure anymore" Bella said out, her tone soft and broken
"Are you sure, this next place is the best, I promise, besides, what about your ice cream?" Ice cream, only for the ice cream she thought to herself. She nodded
"Okay"
Although the icy delight wasn't the best she had ever eaten, the view was the best she had ever seen.
Serenity, the waterfall of water offered her serenity, surrounded by lively trees so green with life, and the loud torrential pour quietened her mind. She thought of just how beautiful that part of the earth was, untainted by humans, it thrived in its element and it was breath-taking.
She sat dazed on the rock near the lake of the waterfall, Xavier on the other rock a distance from her. She looked at him then, took him in in his blue jeans and V-neck, he didn't have ray bends and his eyepatch of a blue eye was clear as day. She questioned then
"What happened to your eye?" at her question, the handsome young man looked her way, seeing genuine concern in her eyes, he couldn't help his own honesty when he let out a cold chuckle and said
"My dad happened" curious, she prodded
"Why?" he shrugged, gazing at the waterfall
"Let's just say he doesn't take well to defiance" he said. She knew then she was the reason behind his defiance, he was meant to hand her in, and for some reason he hadn't, and although she really wanted to know why, she couldn't outright ask him about his illegal trades lest she expose her motives for hanging with him.
"Do you defy him often?" she settled for that question. Narrowing his eyes her way he spat
"Do you usually pry where you shouldn't?" she shook her head then,
"No" it was clear to her that the entire thing seemed to be a sour spot for him, and she wondered just how much information she would get out of him. Seeing her fallen look, he felt slightly guilty, clenching his jaw he apologised
"I'm sorry. It's just, I'd rather not talk about it okay?" nodding she said
"Okay" and that was the end of their conversation as silence reigned again.
"What about you though?" he asked fully facing her in question, and she took a second before she looked at him in question herself
"What about me?" she started coyly, seeing this he chuckled lightly
"I mean why Hawaii? You here for college? Fun? Vacation? Or are you in witness protection?" he teased with the last suggestion and she lightly laughed then, thinking, if only, knowing at her bottom lip, she replied
"I guess you could say that I was looking for a new place to settle, some place different from a small town full of nothing but gossip with nowhere to go from there" she said, her lie a sound of truth to him being that he knew no better,
"Then that must explain your naive curious nature then." He said to which her head shot his way, her brows furrowed in question
"What do you mean naïve, I'm not naïve" she said in protest and he simply smiled with a light movement of his head and said
"You're in a place you've never been with a stranger that could possibly be a psychopath that lures girls into isolated area, only to finish them off. Let's not forget your willingness to go off with a guy you barely knew in the middle of the night without any consideration for your own safety" he stated, his eyes dead set on her own, an intense seriousness in the electric blues.
"I'm sorry to break it to you sweetheart but, you're terrifyingly naïve" and Bella found that she understood his perspective, for he had no idea that all it would take would be a change of her personality and he would be a dead corpse floating in the water left to be discovered by some poor soul that's never seen a dead body before.
"I guess you're right" she relented only take the opportunity and added "In that case, let's start with the basics, no?" he looked at her in question and she continued
"Of me getting to know you better, I mean, that's was the whole objective of asking me out again, right?" she asked, ignoring her guilt. He nodded and she said
"How about the Names. I'm Delilah Ray and you are?" holding her handout, he looked at her in amusement.
"Xavier Kekoa" he said, an attentiveness to his tone and she understood why, but she asked either way
"As in…" she left the question in the air and he nodded with a sigh
"Yea, the senator" chuckling she said
"Well then, I guess there's very little chance of you being a psychopath right?" he laughed then in disbelief,
"You're impossible. I'm starting to think maybe I should put a tracker on your phone just to make sure you don't wonder off into danger somewhere" he said
The day went on with the two asking one another questions, and he was surprisingly honest with most of them, and those in which he decided to be evasive with, she understood why. It was dark when they arrived back in Honolulu after another 90 minutes ride on the ferry.
Although her mood was unpredictable throughout the day, she still found that she had enjoyed his company to an extent. Both had somehow missed the car that tailed them until her apartment, and although she felt eyes on her, she thought them to be Xavier's, when she walked toward the doors of the foyer of the apartment building, and not a pair that belonged to more danger.