The Fate of the Muse - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,72

Susan about my paintings I never would have met her, and Cruz never would have met Bradley. Most importantly, she might not have gotten elected, and Lue’s farmland would still be in jeopardy.

I was feeling satisfied with myself, and more positive about everything when I stopped at the little beach market for a big bag of cat food. I looked up to see a brightly colored tabloid by the checkout stand.

“Swimsuit Model Gives Kiss Of Life To Matt Stone!” was the headline, and the picture of Shayla bending over Matt’s unconscious body was the same as the one I saw on the internet earlier. A movie star, a beautiful girl, and a tragic accident– the story was custom made to sensationalize. I picked it up, looking around guiltily, and flipped it open. The next picture I saw made me gasp in shock.

It was a photo of the helicopter, and Matt’s stretcher was being hoisted onto it with Kimo right behind, obviously shaken and facing the camera as he climbed aboard. Standing in the crowd right behind Kimo, clear as day, was me. My heart sank.

It wasn’t like I planned on keeping the events of the past few days from Ethan; I simply wanted to break it to him on my own terms. Now my hand was going to be forced, for someone would surely bring it to his attention, if only because of hometown heroine Shayla. I bought the cat food and left, feeling uneasy.

I was upset again, and there was no Ethan around to pacify me. I wanted to go surfing, but I needed to stay focused, to be there when he got back. I fought to be patient, and decided to go home, grab a book and wait. When I heard Dutch get in I jumped up, hurrying to see if Ethan was with him.

I almost ran headlong into Abby, who was rushing from the kitchen to throw her arms around Dutch. She was always relieved when he made it home safely.

“Hi Marina, welcome back,” he smiled at me over Abby’s shoulder.

“Hi Dutch,” I looked out front, “Where’s Ethan?”

“I dropped him off at the apartment. He said he had some work to do.”

“Oh,” my voice was small. He must know that I’d gotten back by now. I retreated to my room, pacing nervously. I’d been trying to call him at home, but there was no answer. I sat down to read some more, but it was pointless. Frustrated, I set out to find him.

His truck wasn’t at his apartment or Lue’s farm, and I drove around aimlessly, looking in the neighborhoods where he did the bulk of his landscaping work. The longer I looked, the more my anxiety grew, and I found myself nervously chewing my nails. I finally went back to his apartment and sat in my car, fighting the urge to go surfing with all my might. Just when I was about to give up and give in, he pulled into the parking lot, and I jumped out to race towards him.

He moved slowly when he stepped out of the truck, and he didn’t smile when he looked up to see me coming. I stopped in my tracks and then my heart followed suit. He wore the same cold, hard look on his face I’d seen before.

“What do you want?” he asked angrily.

There was only one explanation, and I could scarcely believe how unlucky I was.

“You saw the stupid picture, didn’t you?”

I could see the muscles in his jaw clench, and he turned away from me to walk towards the stairs.

“Ethan?”

He kept walking, and I trailed after him.

“Wait!” I called out, “You’re being unfair!”

He stopped in his tracks, turning slowly to face me, “You lied to me! You could have just told me that you wanted to see him again.”

“No! I mean, I didn’t plan anything! I was there for Shayla! We just ran into him!”

“And I’m supposed to believe that?” he spat out the last word.

“Yes,” my voice cracked.

“I don’t want to talk about it. Just leave me alone… alright?” He sounded serious, and I watched him trudge up the stairs, fatigue in every step.

“Ethan, listen to me!”

“No,” he said, “Go away.”

I stood there, stunned, flinching at the sound of the the door slamming shut. Evie said that when he told me “no” I could be sure that his feelings for me were real. Isn’t that ironic, I thought, feeling anything but loved at the moment.

I started up the stairs after him, but stopped, afraid.