"Time to wake up, girly," A hand pushed hair back from my face. "Lots to do today." Suddenly I recognized the voice. My eyes flew open, I grabbed Grahams hand and pushed it away from me. I rolled over and I heard him chuckle. "Okay, princess, have it your way."
Suddenly the floor was the ceiling. I yelped as I flailed out of the hammock and onto the floor. "You dick." I glared at Graham.
"Some one had to wake you and I was the first to volunteer." He shrugged. "Anyways, we are discussing the little stunt that you pulled. You best be present."
I sighed and pushed myself off of the floor. "You best not get on my nerves." Graham chuckled and climbed the ladder to get above deck. I changed out of the shorts that Izzy let me borrow and back into my jeans.
Once dressed, I climbed up the ladder. Leda greeted me with a smile. Instead of her usual colorful sari, she wore jeans and a long sleeve Henley. "Good morning." She handed me a cup of tea. "As much as I understand why you snuck on board, Graham has a point. It's not safe."
" I couldn't just sit back helpless. I've been absolutely helpless before, and I never want feel that way again." I explained.
"I know, dear." She smiled and turned to look at Graham as he walked to wear we were sitting.
"Do you know how to swab a deck?" He grinned.
•••
Several splinters later, I laying on my hammock and massaging a stiff neck. Who knew this boat had so much floor to mop?
I heard footsteps climbing down the latter and sighed, silently chanting that it wasn't Graham. And I was wrong, unfortunately. "Great job. Tomorrow, you and the twins sand the railings down." He said. Did he just complement me non-sarcastically?
"Who are you and what did you do with Graham?" I asked, sitting up. He sat down in the hammock next to mine.
"Funny." He rolled his eyes. "Any way, I'm down here tonight. Leda's taking my bed."
"Mmm, an actual bed." I hummed. After all this time on board I had nearly forgotten what an actual stable bed felt like.
"Stiff neck?" Graham gestured to my arm, which was lazily massaging the crook of my neck.
"Yup." I replied.
"Try not sneaking on board a ship where you're unwelcome." He grinned.
"Ah. For a second there I thought you were going to offer me some real advice." I rolled my eyes.
"Well, apparently not everyone knows that little tip."
"I knew I shouldn't. I just disregarded it and did it anyway." I laid back down into my hammock and stared at the wooden ceiling. "Anything is better than just sitting around."
"I disagree." He said.
"Oh yeah? What's worse?" I scoffed.
"Torture."
"Sitting around doing nothing is pretty much torture."
"No, it's not." He said grimly. The joking tone had disappeared from his voice completely. I didn't know how to respond, so I said nothing. We fell to the sounds of waves hitting the boat.
The next day was uneventful, as well as the day after that. I spent them doing chore after chore. Neil taught me so much that I could practically run this boat all by myself. The only upside was that I was doing something, anything to distract me from the dread that Tavern's life was hanging in our hands. If we didn't get this in time, Tavern would be gone. My best friend would be gone.
"How's it going?" Neil asked. I looked down at the mess of rope in front of me. I was so caught up in thought that I completely forgot about the knot Neil was trying to teach me to tie.
"Knot well," I winked.
He chucked and handed me another piece of rope. "I'll have to show you the ropes on how to tie it."
"That would be great. You see, I'm just very tierable at this. I can knot seem to do it right." I laughed.
"You'll just have to keep tieing. Do knot give up." Neil grinned.
"With all that rope I'm sure you will be able to make two nooses!" Izzy said sarcastically. "Those were the jokes I've ever heard." I could see Leda smiling to her self over Izzy's shoulder.
"They were kinda CORNIElius, right?" I turned to Neil. He rolled his eyes.
"You had to say my full name, Leda." He grinned.
"It's a beautiful name. Be proud." Leda smiled softly.
"Thank you." Neil said.
"I'm ready to give up." I threw rope back into the pile.
"Good, it's time for dinner." Wisteria said. I happily complied. After a rationed meal, I went to bed with a half full stomach. Graham was in the still spending the night in the hammock, much to Leda's protest.
(A.N; so as you may have realized, I will go a while where I post and then I'll drop off the face of the earth. That's pretty much because I'm bipolar (sadly not on medication). I usually post when I'm feeling more energetic and creative. Also short chapter, I know. I've been trying to make them longer but I'm impatient and I like to simplify things. Also just curious, what's your guys' favorite book? And who's your OTP? Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy and feel free to message me. I would love to talk to you guys.)
