Jake
The water was cold against my skin, but it did wonders to clear my head. I needed that - needed space to think, away from Laura. Away from the tension that had been simmering between us since the moment we crashed on this godforsaken island. I dove beneath the surface, letting the coolness shock me into focus, then resurfaced and floated for a while, staring up at the sky.
Laura. I couldn't stop thinking about her. Since that night… the night we first met… I'd pegged her as just another woman looking for a good time, willing to trade anything for a quick thrill. We'd ended up in bed within minutes of meeting, and I'd immediately labeled her. Cheap. Easy. Disposable. That's all there is to them. Women. All they care about is the money and I'm not known to be stingy with my money. I make sure to pay them well, at least that way, they don't get bitter and decide to drag me for what's not.
But I had been wrong.
As I treaded water, I thought about how she'd stood her ground during that interview, how confident and defiant she was when she showed up in my office, refusing to let me intimidate her. The Laura I met in that room was nothing like the woman I'd assumed her to be. She wasn't desperate for attention or validation, she had layers, complexities I hadn't taken the time to understand. I had let our first encounter color my perception of her.
And now? Now we were stuck on this island together, and all I could think about was how I'd misjudged her. I'd been so wrong. Playing those cards made me realize another part of her. She's intelligent… has more to offer than those other women.
I swam back to shore, wiping water from my face as I pulled myself out of the ocean and grabbed a towel. I dried off my body and threw on my shirt just in time to look up and saw her approaching from the cottage, a determined look on her face.
"Hey," she called out as she neared me.
"You're awake already?" I asked while she hugged her waist and smiled.
"Yeah, I woke up not too long ago."
"You up for exploring the island?" She asked while I raised an eyebrow, not sure if I was in the mood for a hike.
"Explore? Why? It's not like we're gonna find a five-star hotel out there. We're surrounded by water, Laura, remember?" I teased while she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.
"Come on, Jake. We don't know how long we're going to be stuck here, and I'm bored. Don't you want to see what's out there? Who knows, maybe we'll find something useful."
I sighed, knowing she had a point. The thought of sitting around the cottage all day wasn't exactly appealing, and if I was being honest, I could use the distraction. "Fine," I said, tossing the towel aside. "Let's do it." I chimed and she smiled broadly, which was almost contagious.
Laura
I woke up to an empty bed, the sunlight streaming through the cracks in the cottage walls. For a moment, I forgot where I was… lost in the haze of sleep, but then the memories came rushing back. The crash. Jake. The isolation. We were still stuck here, and God knew when or if we'd be found.
There was the thought of Jackson finding me too.
I sat up and for the next few minutes, just allowed myself to be drowned in my thoughts. After some minutes, I finally stretched, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, and walked outside. The air was fresh, and I could hear the ocean in the distance. Jake was by the water, drying off after what looked like a swim. He had his back to me, his broad shoulders tense like he was deep in thought.
I bit my lip, feeling restless. We had been cooped up in that cottage for too long, and I needed to do something, anything to break free from my wandering thoughts. The more I stay isolated, the more the uncertainty of my thoughts would keep scaring me. That's when it hit me. Why not explore the island? It wasn't like we had much else to do, and if we were going to be here for a while, we might as well know what was around us.
I made my way over to Jake, calling out to him. "Hey, you up for exploring the island?"
He turned to face me, his expression unreadable. "Explore? Why? It's not like we're gonna find a five-star hotel out there."
I rolled my eyes, planting my hands on my hips. Typical Jake, always with the sarcasm. "Come on, Jake. We don't know how long we're going to be stuck here, and I'm bored. Don't you want to see what's out there? Who knows, maybe we'll find something useful."
He hesitated for a moment, then let out a sigh. "Fine. Let's do it."
I smiled, feeling a bit of excitement for the first time in days. We set off into the trees, following a narrow path that wound through the dense foliage. The island was beautiful, in a rugged, untamed kind of way. The sun filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground as we walked.
"So," I said after a while, breaking the silence between us. "You've been quiet since we left the cottage. What's going on in that head of yours?" I finally asked after rehearsing it in my head for the umpteenth time, wondering if he would find it okay or not.
Jake shrugged, not meeting my eyes. "Just thinking."
"About?" I pressed further.
He glanced at me, then looked away again. "You. Us. This whole situation." I was taken aback a little bit when he said this. I wondered why he would be thinking about us. I just hope I haven't crossed a other line - I thought to myself.
I raised an eyebrow, curious. "Oh? And what about us has you so deep in thought?" I asked, trying to hide my thoughts.
He stopped walking and turned to face me, his expression serious. "I misjudged you, Laura. After that night we first met… I thought I had you figured out. But I didn't. You're not who I thought you were."
I blinked, caught off guard by his honesty. "Sir…" I stopped when I saw the weird look on his face.
"Why use sir now? Haven't you been calling me by my name? I'm not going to fire you. I can't. At least not while we're still stuck here." He let out and we both chuckled.
"Jake…"
"I know, I know," he said, running a hand through his hair.
"I'm rude, stubborn, and grumpy, right? I know, okay? I just… I didn't give you a chance. And now, being stuck here with you, I see that. You're more than what I thought." He chimed in.
I actually had something else in mind but after hearing him, I wasn't sure how to respond to him, so I just nodded, grateful for his words even if I didn't know how to process them.
We kept walking, the silence between us now comfortable instead of awkward. As we rounded a bend in the path, something caught my eye, a small structure nestled in the trees.
"What's that?" I asked, pointing ahead.
Jake squinted, then grinned. "Looks like another cottage."
I quickly looked away when he said this. I wasn't about to have another 'it's your fault' episode happen again.
"Come on, let's check it out."
I hesitated, a sense of unease settling over me.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Jake. We don't know who or what could be in there."
He waved off my concern, already heading toward the building. "Relax, it's probably abandoned. We'll just take a quick look."
"Jake, seriously," I called after him, my voice tinged with worry. "We don't know anything about this place. What if it's dangerous?"
"I know why are scared? You think I'm going to blame you if something goes wrong. I'm not, so let's go in and stop being a baby." He said reassuringly but more than the blame part, I didn't like how the cottage looked… like it was haunted.
I wanted to persuade him again but he didn't listen, he didn't even wait. Before I could say another word, he was already at the door, pushing it open without a second thought.
"Oh my goodness," I let out in fear as I closed my eyes halfway, scared to watch the horror that was about to happen.
After some seconds of silence, I finally opened my eyes. Nothing had happened. Jake was okay.
"You're still not coming?" He asked.
I stood there, torn between my fear of what might be inside and my fear of being left alone outside. With a frustrated sigh, I ran after him, cursing under my breath.
"Please watch over me oh lord." I thought inwardly.