Story: Leviathan (chapter 2)

Authors: ALLjapan

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Chapter 2

Title: Leviathan- Chapter 2

Chapter Two
"So, your folks won't let you stay on your own huh?"
"Nope, it's as if they're afraid that I'd burn down their precious house or something, it really stinks." I scuff my foot in the floor boards and fiddle with the necklace that had been the gift Gracie had been so excited to give me. Gracie was sitting at the small kiddie table drawing away in a book with a look of certified concentration. Tom and Louise sat together snuggly on a single seat couch that looked about ready to fall apart. And yet still seemed to hold the pair finely. Leaving Annette and I the only option of sharing the small two seater couch. While Tom and Annette hadn't been looking she gave me a waggle of her eyes brows suggestively.
I had given her a warning look in return at the wrong moment and Tom had caught me. He noticed some silent conversation and raised his eyebrows looking from Louise to me. This earned him a look of innocence from Louise and an awkward avoidance of eye-contact from me.
So now I sat chatting in general with Louise, Tom and Annette. "Well that's a shame, Tom and I often have our place to ourselves, completely entrusted."
"More like our parents don't really care. Not in a bad way." Tom corrects himself realising that he just made his parents sound like jerks. "Just like, they're…relaxed y'know?"
"Yeah. I get it."
"Oh, well I for one am glad you're here cuz. I've wanted to introduce you to Tom and Annette for a while now."
"Well they'll have to put up with me for two weeks now!"
Annette laughs beside me and swirls around on the couch. She lays back sitting into the couch more and slings her legs over my lap. "Us? Put up with you?!" She flutters long lashes at me and grins cheekily. "More like YOU will have to put up with US!"
This makes everyone laugh. Me nervously and Tom and Louise exchange agreeing looks with Annette. Gracie is the only one who does not. She looks over innocently for a moment before sticking her tongue out and phasing out back into concentration on her picture.
"Well, I'm sure I'll be able to cope with whatever you guys can throw at me."
Louise smiles. "I'm sure you can!"
"So what do we do for the rest of the afternoon?" I asked looking at the other three.
"Well we could go for a walk on the beach for a while?" Annette suggests looking to see what the rest of us would say.
"Sure!"
I shrug smiling unsurely. I really didn't mind what we did. But having Annette half laying on me was…awkward to say the least. Anything was better than this… "That sounds fine to me."

"Beach it is then!" Tom says. He tickles Louise making her jump off of him and he laughs getting up and hugging her around the waist in apology.
"Hey!" Louise elbows him playfully and pulling her hair over her shoulder she goes and kneels by Gracie. "Do you want to come?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Gracies answer is immediate and she jumps up with excitement dropping her pencil on the table.
At this Annette (thankfully) gets off of the couch and starts to clamber down the ladder. I follow, and then Louise then Gracie then Tom last. Once on the ground Gracie demands a piggy ride and Louise helps her on Toms back. We laugh and chatter on the way down to the beach Gracie being the centre of attention as she asks me questions and tells me all about the beach. She tells me about how Tom would toss her in the waves on really hot days and they all went swimming together. From what I could gather these four were tight-knit. They were close, just by being with them all I felt so happy. I couldn't even remember the reason of why I ever even considered wanting to stay home. What had I been thinking?!
Once we reach the rocks Gracie gets off of Toms back and starts racing ahead on the rocks. I feel worried for a second and watch her carefully.
"Hey, Tan, you remember when we used to climb these rocks?" Louise asks me.
My worry for Gracie lessens immediately and I look down smiling in memory. "Yeah, I remember. We used to OWN this place."
"Totally, we were like, the best at climbing."
"And you still are." Tom put in his two bob taking Louises hand in his and smiling at his girlfriend. "Second to me only, of course."
"See how modest my brother is?" Annette says sarcastically so that Tom can still hear. Her eyes have a playful glimmer and I laugh as Tom puffs out his chest proudly.
"I am rather modest aren't I?" He says playfully in a deliberate manor.
Annette rolls her eyes as we weave between the jagged rocks and boulders, I look ahead again trying to spot Gracie. When I can't I begin to look around my heart-rate quickening. "Where's Gracie?!"
All four of us look about and I jump forward clambering atop of one of the rocks. I crouch on top of it not trusting myself to stand as wind tugs at my tangerine tussles of wavy hair. I spot her and smile. "I see her she's just ahead." I smile deviously and decide to demonstrate MY climbing skills father by launching myself from one rock to another. I stand on this one and then start playing hop-scotch from rock to rock. I nearly miss my footing on one rock but catch myself and use my momentum to my advantage launching myself over the next rock; as you would in a game of leap frog. I land on the rocky/sandy ground doing a barrel roll before standing slowly as I look over my shoulder. The wind works with me as I turn blowing the hair from my face. Toms mouth is slack jawed, he quickly straightens up before shouting out at me.
"Alright show off! Maybe I'm not best!"
I cannot help but feel proud of myself as Annette pokes fun of her brother and I look ahead to see Gracie running toward me carrying a stick. I brush hair from my face as the wind changes direction and stay kneeling down as Gracie comes closer.
"Hey Gracie, What have you found there?" I call out over the wind.
As she runs closer I asses the thing in her hands. It is smooth and was taller than the seven year old who was rushing forth. Upon a closer look I soon realised that the stick was no stick at all and was in fact stone by the looks of it.
"Lookit, lookit!"
I take the stick just as the other three catch up, we all look at the 'stick' and my eyes are quickly drawn to the sapphire at the end of it that was about the size of my palm. My eyes widened in shock and I smoothed my hands over the surface. "Woah." I breathed in awe at the feel of the slightest carvings in the grey stone.
"Is that a sapphire?" Louise murmurs in bemusement. I pass the 'stick' to her and she, tom and Annette all look assertively at it. It's passed between us and ends up within Annettes hands last.
"A staff?" Annette throws the suggestion out in the air and we all shrug.
"Where did you find this Grace?" I asked my littlest cousin my brow furrowed with a slight frown.
"Up ahead. In a cave."
"A cave?"
"Yup, it was weally big too." Gracie watches the staff and reaches for the sapphire touching it with her small hand. "Pwetty."
"Yes, very pretty." I murmur as it is passed to me again. "You guys wanna check the cave out?" I ask looking at the party around me.
"I don't know, the cave systems here are unpredictable, they can collapse, or go on forever. No one has really been in them."
"Yeah," Tom agrees with Louise stroking his stubbled chin a little as his own brow now furrows. "Also the tide is low at the moment. But I'm sure it will begin rising soon."
"How long 'till the tides begin to rise?"
"'bout and hour or two."
"Well," I say thoughtfully leaning on the staff a little. "If we just take a look at the entrance or something. I mean, I just wanna see where…" We all glance at the staff and sapphire as I finish my sentence. "Where THIS came from."
"Sounds fair enough." Annette smiles. "I wanna know too, don't tell me you two don't want to know, that you aren't curious?"
Tom and Louise can't help but agree.
"Okay, Gracie baby, show us the way!" Annette exclaims. Gracie giggles and happily leads the way skipping and telling us to 'keep up'. She really did love leading us. Her curly hair bobbing along with her skip and the wind tossing it back and forth.
This was going to be interesting.

[End notes:

chapter two for all of you!

 

<3

]

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