Crashing Waves Page 17

  Rory tried to comprehend what had transpired between them and justify her actions, but the uncontrolled passion terrified her. "I've never been aggressive like that with anything, except surfing, and surely never another person. That will never happen again."

  "I hope you're not serious," Austin chided.

  "I'm very serious. It was unintentional and I apologize," Rory said as she turned around and walked away. I completely lost control of myself.

  ~ ~ ~

  As soon as the sun rose the next morning, Angel met her daughter as she descended the staircase, asking her to step into the library. Rory sighed and followed her down the hall. She wasn't in the mood for another go around with her mother. All she wanted to do was get on a plane and fly as far away from Australia as fast as possible, but the thought of sitting next to Austin for the eighteen hour journey made her queasy.

  "Have a seat," Angel said, sitting across from her.

  Here we go…again. Rory sighed. "We don't have to do this now."

  "Yes. Yes, we do."

  "Fine."

  "Rory, for what it's worth…I'm sorry," she ended just above a whisper.

  "Don't do this now, you're too late…"

  "I know…I…ever since your accident…"

  "Please…"

  "I almost lost you too…Rory,"

  Rory saw the tears running down her mother's face and felt a tear of her own slip away. "I can't just forget…"

  "I don't expect you to. I know I was wrong…"

  "Wrong? You kept me from my family and you took him from me!" Rory yelled.

  "I didn't know what else to do…"

  "It's not that easy. I'll never forgive you. You tossed me aside and forced me to believe my grandparents were the reason you kept me from my father's family. He was my God damn father!"

  "I know Rory, I know and I'm so sorry. I can't apologize enough for the things I did when you were younger. I did what I thought was best for both of us."

  "That's bullshit and it's way too late for sorry. You pretty much wrote me off too, when I moved away from here. At least until my accident, which by the way you obviously used to get yourself elected so way to go. I'm glad I was able to help you out by cracking my skull and drowning! I fucking died on that beach and you didn't give a shit," Rory screamed as tears poured down her cheeks.

  "That's not true. I rushed to your side. You’re my daughter, Rory, and no matter how much you hate me or think that I hate you, I will always love you."

  "Then why the fuck did you leave me in that hospital when I refused to come back here to recover? I couldn't walk, I couldn't talk, I barely knew who the fuck I was and you just left me! I hated you for making me feel like I wasn't worth your time!"

  Angel stared at the floor, wiping tears from her face. "You…you needed Martie more than you needed me. She was the one you were asking for and wanting to see when you finally woke up from the coma. What was I supposed to do? I can't compete with her. I never could. She replaced me in your life a long time ago and I've learned to accept that."

  "Martie? She has nothing to do with this. You're my fucking mother!" Rory shook her head. "I get it now. You'd taken everything else from me and tried to take her away by bringing me here to recover, but it didn't work. She was the one thing you were unable to take away. When are you going to wake up and accept that I'm an adult and you can't run my life?"

  "Rory, you pushed me completely out of your life when you moved away. Then, you brought Martie with you the first time you came back and I thought you were making the same mistakes I had made. I didn't want you to suffer the heartache that I had gone through. Your father and I were barely making ends meet before he became sick."

  "Yeah, but no matter what, you were both happy."

  "That's true, we were about as happy as anyone could be living in a shack and barely making enough money to pay the bills."

  "That's not my life."

  "I know. I realized after your accident, that you had everything you'd ever wanted in your life. You'd found happiness and become very successful all on your own. I was so proud of you and I didn't know how to tell you that and it was too late. Your world had shattered in an instant, just like mine, but the difference was, you had Martie there to pick up the pieces."

  "You left because you thought I'd replaced you in my life with Martie? That's ridiculous. You're my mother. She's my best friend."

  "We both know she's more than that and…I'm glad you have her in your life."

  "She'll always be there, but only as my best friend," Rory corrected.

  "Is that because of the schoolie you brought with you?"

  "Austin is just a friend. She has nothing to do with any of this. Martie and I had broken up long before the accident because we're better off as friends. If you'd been an actual mother to me all of these years, you would've known that."

  "Fine. There's no need to continue beating a dead horse, Rory."

  "I need to get ready to go. The last thing I want to do is miss my flight," Rory said, walking out of the room.

  Angel saw Austin coming down the stairs with her suitcase a few minutes later. "Bob would've brought that down for you."

  "Thank you, but I've got it."

  Angel stepped closer. "I don't know you and I don't know what your intentions are with my daughter, but Rory's an extraordinary person and if she allows you in her life, you must be pretty exceptional yourself. Trust me. I know what it's like firsthand to be on the outside looking in. If you care for her, like I believe you do, hold on tight and never let go."

  Chapter Thirteen

  Rory had been back from Australia for nearly three weeks. Despite how hard she tried, she couldn't get Austin off her mind. She avoided her on the long flight home and had gone as far as blocking all of her calls. She was scared she'd be tempted to go into the fire smoldering between them again. The flames had burned her once, creating wounds that would probably never heel. She'd lost all self control, allowing the hunger deep inside of her to take over. The only time she'd ever felt like that had been when she was dropping on a double overhead wave. She'd had to let go in order to own the wave, using everything it gave her and riding it like its purpose in the ocean was solely for her use. Treating Austin aggressively and using her like the face of a wave had broken Rory, splitting her at her core.

  It was too late to take it all back. The damage had been done. Feeling the same powerful yearning for Austin that she'd once felt for surfing both alarmed and terrified her. She felt paralyzed. She heard the crashing waves again and sensed the calling, but it wasn't the ocean summoning her. It was Austin.

  Why do I need you so much? Rory thought of Austin as she stared at the waves washing ashore under the moonlight. She'd been sitting on the beach behind her house for the past two hours, trying to justify her actions over the last few months. She had been driven by a passion that ran through her like the blood in her veins. Nothing made sense, yet everything circled back around to the young woman who had invaded her mind and her heart.

  Regardless of how badly she wanted to turn away from Austin and run in the opposite direction, Rory knew the fighting was over. She was defeated. She'd finally come to terms with knowing that Austin had come into her life for a reason. Austin awakened parts of her that she thought were dead and gone, making her feel alive again. Her soul had risen from the bottom of the ocean floor. Denying it, she would only be lying to herself.

  ~ ~ ~

  Rory had made a promise to Austin and she intended to keep it. The next morning, she dressed in black pants with a light blue blouse that brought out her baby blue eyes, and drove towards the address on the invitation that she'd received two days before.

  She arrived at the concert style arena with twenty minutes to spare as she parked in an open space and walked inside. Thousands of friends and family members were seated in the upper and lower level areas and the arena floor was full of graduates sitting in folding chairs. Rory took a seat on the side in the lower level,
but was still too far away to make out any of the students' faces.

  ~ ~ ~

  The commencement ceremony had finally begun. Austin was tired from spending the last two days with her mother and father since they'd arrived separately. She wished they'd just get along enough to see her graduate and then go back to their separate lives. She stared up at all of the people in the surrounding seats, wondering where each of them had decided to sit. Her chest ached, knowing the one person that she had wanted to be there more than anything, wasn't. She hadn't heard from Rory since the day they'd said goodbye in the airport. Austin wasn't sure who was happier, Rory or Lori, when she saw that Lori had surprised her, arriving in time to pick her up. She'd left half a dozen messages and had sent her an invitation to the ceremony. All had gone unanswered.

  Austin wasn't exactly sure where things had gone wrong in Australia. One minute, she was asking Rory about her family and the next, she was up against a tree with the world spinning off its axis around her. Seeing the raw desire in Rory's eyes and feeling it as she touched her, had been the most incredible experience of her life. She craved Rory like a desert awaiting a thunderstorm. It scared and excited her. Knowing she may never see Rory again, made her feel frozen and numb. She'd been going through the motions for the past few weeks, finishing her final exams, and making sure she had everything in line to graduate, all while working double shifts and surfing every day. She was tired, but sleep had been the farthest thing from her mind each night.

  ~ ~ ~

  Rory watched as the two hour ceremony finally ended. Each graduate stood, tossing their cap into the air and cheering. She smiled, remembering what that day had been like for her. Her mind drifted back to Angel and the heated conversation they'd had just before she'd left, but her eyes locked onto Austin before her thoughts could go any further. She quickly made her way through the crowd, stopping when she noticed Lori and an older woman with blond hair who was rushing up to Austin with her arms spread wide. She watched the mother and daughter exchanging hugs and wiping away tears as they smiled together. She thought of Angel again and the relationship she longed for, but would never have. A man with brown hair and a thin beard walked up to the group, hugging Austin. When she saw Lori wrap her arms around Austin's neck, she turned to walk away.

  "Rory?" Austin questioned, staring at the impeccably dressed woman. She grabbed her arm, spinning her around.

  "Congratulations," Rory said. "I…uh…I should go."

  "No, please don’t go." Austin reached out, interlacing her fingers with Rory's and pulling her along. "These are my parents, Janice and Derrick."

  Rory stuck her hand out, smiling briefly at Lori, who was standing between the man and woman. "Rory Eden," she said.

  Janice eyed her suspiciously. Rory watched her eyes, letting go when they landed on her and Austin's joined hands.

  "I need to get to the office, but I wanted to say congratulations."

  Austin walked a few feet away from her family with Rory. "I'm glad you came…I…"

  "We need to talk, but that can wait. Today is your big day. Go celebrate with your family and call me in a day or two." Rory patted her arm and walked away.

  ~ ~ ~

  Rory walked from her office into the conference room down the hall. She opened the file she'd been carrying, displaying its contents on the table in front of her.

  "I'm glad everyone was able to make this meeting on short notice. I've been going over our P&L statements for each department. We obviously know the prime of snow season has passed and we're coming up on the backbone of surf season. I wanted to let you know that we finished the snow season with record numbers. Our winter apparel line has taken off. We surpassed our budget and there are still a few months left for that category. We took on a fairly new department and a brand new category this year for snow and they have both produced unbelievable numbers. At the rate we're growing in this department, we could easily surpass Burton to be the leader in the snowboarding industry by this time next year." She paused, changing the page in front of her to another spreadsheet.

  "With surf season coming to a head, we have a lot of work to do. This is our bread and butter, ladies and gentlemen. This is where we shine. We are the leader in the surfing industry and I intend to keep it that way. For the past two years, the surfing industry has driven this company and I expect this season to greatly exceed the budgeted numbers. We also have the new additions to the summer apparel line that are starting to pick up dramatically. I expect this category to exceed its budget as well. Does anyone have anything to add on the categories or departments?"

  Martie spoke first. "I think the numbers that we're producing are amazing so far and if the surf department continues in the same direction that it's heading in, then we should definitely exceed all of our expectations."

  "I agree, the sky is the limit," Lisa chimed in.

  "Wonderful, Lisa, you'll need to make sure the April events are covered by all of our reps. I will not be attending any of the tour events for the next two months. I will however, be in France for the Roxy Jam at the end of May. I have some personal business to attend to and I'll be out of the office for about three or four weeks. I'll have my phone and laptop with me and I'll be checking in daily. Please rely on Martie with any pending or time sensitive issues. I know this isn't the best time of year for me to take some time off, but I'm confident that everyone knows how to do their jobs. Starting with the Roxy Jam, I plan to be at the rest of the events this year. Are there any questions?" She paused. "None? Wow, speechless, I love it," she said, grinning as she closed the file and stood up.

  Outside of the room Martie caught up to Rory. "Don't start. Meet me in my office." Rory cut her off before she could say anything.

  A few minutes later, Martie slammed the door to Rory's office. "What the hell is going on?"

  "You're making an ass out of yourself. Calm down."

  "Rory, I don't get you? Where are you going now?"

  "I'm going back to Oahu for a little while."

  "Your beach house in Pupukea? Why? You haven't been back to Hawaii since the…oh, Rory, are you sure about this?"

  "Yeah, I need to go back. It's time."

  "Do you want me to go with you?"

  "No. You're needed here…besides—"

  "You're taking her? You've barely spoken to me about your trip to Australia and you haven't mentioned her once. What happened while you were there?"

  "Martie, she needs consistent training on unpredictable waves if she plans to go pro. You know how that works. Hell, that's why I bought that house anyway, for my own training."

  "I can't believe you're doing this, Rory."

  "It's not your—"

  "Are you surfing again?" Martie wanted to choke the life out of her best friend.

  Rory looked deep into Martie's green eyes. "Martina, I'm going to forget you had to even ask me that."

  "I'm sorry," Martie sighed.

  "Let it go. I made a promise to Austin and I'm going to follow through. I'm giving myself a few weeks to teach her how to make her style consistent and competition worthy. There's a small amateur competition at Chun's Reef, in three weeks. If she's good enough to enter that, then I'll let her. Whatever happens there will be the clincher. She'll either do really well and be able to enter the next Pro Am qualifier, or she'll fall back on the college degree she just earned. I guess we'll see."

  "So you have this all worked out do you?"

  "Martie, you're my best mate, back me up just this once, please. Bloody hell, you're as cross as a frog in a sock!"

  "English, Rory!" Martie shook her head.

  "Oh, piss off," Rory grinned.

  Martie laughed. "Alright. You want to do this, then fine, but don't say I didn't tell you otherwise. I'm not…I can't be there to pick up the pieces of your life this time, Rory. I just can't do it."

  "I know. I'm not asking you to and my life's not falling apart. My company is on top and my life is finally going in some kind of direction. The
re's nothing you need to worry about."

  "Going back to Hawaii for the first time since the accident is going to be the hardest thing you will ever do. I…I wish I was going with you."

  "I know, mate. I'll be okay."

  "I can't believe you're taking her there with you. There's something going on that you're not telling me."

  "I can't explain it, Martie. I feel like I can give something back to the sport if what I see in her is real. It scares me to death. I don't want her to get hurt. I couldn't…I don't know what I'd do, but I made her a promise and I don't break promises."

  "That's definitely the truth. Why does it have to be her? That's what doesn't make sense to me."

  "I don't even understand it myself. She…there's something about her. She makes me enjoy surfing again. I don't know what that means."

  "Are you in love with her?" Martie asked.

  Rory looked across her desk and into her best friend's golden eyes. "I don't know," she sighed. "You're the only person I've ever loved, but this…this is something completely different."

  "If she breaks your heart I'll beat her to death with a surfboard," Martie said, seriously.

  Rory raised her eyebrows, believing without a doubt that the woman sitting across from her wasn't lying.

  "When are you leaving?" Martie asked.

  "As soon as I tell her and…"

  "What! You haven't even talked to her about this?"

  "No." Rory looked away shyly.

  "You always do everything ass backwards."

  "Yeah. Yeah. She's busy with her family. She graduated from Cal State yesterday."

  ~ ~ ~

  Rory sat in the sand behind her house, nursing a glass of whiskey as she listened to the crashing waves. "I hope you know what you're doing, Eden. This could seriously backfire in your face." Rory reached up, running her fingers over the pendant that rested in the hollow of her neck. I miss you, Dad. I know you're watching over me. I know you're the one who saved me. I'll never tell anyone, but I saw your face as you pulled me off the bottom. That's why they found me. They thought I'd started floating up after hitting my head, but you were pulling me to the surface for them to reach me. Rory chased away the few tears they fell from her icy blue eyes and walked into the house.