The Butterfly Keeper

21

TWENTY-ONE

"WANT ONE?"

I open my eyes and see Sebastian towering over me with a handful of strawberries that look unripe and tart. He gives me a tight head nod and lowers his hand to me. Instead of reaching for one, I close my eyes and shift to lay on the other side of my stomach so my back faces Sebastian.

"They're not that bad." He adds.

I still don't respond, to which Sebastian takes as an invitation to keep me company and sits on the edge of the porch beside my head. Although I'm sour and callous towards him, I know Sebastian likes having me around.

But I don't.

"No," I begin to say as I feel Sebastian getting comfortable sitting next to me. "Go."

"What?" He speaks with a gruff, mouthful. "You've been out here alone since yesterday."

Cramming my eyes tighter, I let out a small sigh and curl my fingers over the wooden planks. "I don't want you here, I was here before you." I sound childish, but I don't plan on moving from the front of the house. It's the only place with shade and that doesn't reek of fresh paint.

Yesterday, after finishing the room, Sebastian continued to paint the hallway, bathroom, and half of the living room as I laid out on the porch, pretending to be asleep. Sebastian didn't bother me for the rest of the day and left me to sleep outside. He did leave two pillows and a blanket beside the door, but the island is far too humid for that.

"Well, I built this." Sebastian argues, sounding equally as childish as me.

I open my eyes and open my mouth to say something, but the words dry. It's troubling to even think he built all this to keep me caged up in the middle of nowhere, imagine how fucking troubling it is to talk about it and be reminded. I don't say anything back.

We stay quiet for awhile, neither of us making a single movement except for Sebastian's occasional, light chewing. I wonder my look through the surrounding palm trees and gaze over the white, immaculate sand to end up zoning my eyes to the ocean.

"What...what's this place called?" I ask, soft enough so that there's a chance Sebastian won't hear me. I place a hand flat and push my upper body upwards so that I'm sitting and looking at him.

"Palmerston Island."

I remember Mia saying that the island is distanced from the rest of the world, how did Sebastian come to find this place? How was he able leave and return to build the house and transport things?

I clear my throat, "How did you know about here?"

Sebastian hums lowly and I see him throw a strawberry out into the sand ahead of us. "I read about it in a book." He drums a finger on the wood. "And then I did a lot of research."

"Did you come here frequently? Like before...?"

He continues to drum his finger and slightly tips his head to the side. "Yeah, sort of."

I bring my lower lip into my mouth and nibble the corner of it, tearing my eyes away from Sebastian as his drumming dims and his stare sinks deeper into the side of my face.

Flickering my eyes back to him, Sebastian places his hand in between us, almost close to mine, and leans his body back.

"How?" I eventually ask.

"What do you mean?"

I look down at his hand and remove my hand from where it sat and tuck it underneath my thigh. "Mia said that it's hard to come and go." I leave out the part where she said Sebastian is good.