‹ Prequel: Thunderstorms
Status: it's not necessary to read the prequel.
Hurricanes
II
Dakota left Orlando's house early in the morning as he slept, she didn't want to disturb him anymore than she already had. When she went to leave she couldn't help but look at the slumbering man and she had to stop herself from smiling at his composure. She didn't know this man and even if he had shown her some kindness, she couldn't trust him.
The rain had stopped but the sky still held dark, empowering clouds over everything. She tried not to give in to the threat and began to make her way to the road so she could find an open post. Although she didn't give in to the urge, Dakota felt like skipping. This was always the exciting part of moving around because finding a job meant that she had successfully brought a new change to her life. Dakota had turned over many leaves since she left home at the age of nineteen.
Killarney was one of the more quieter towns she had chanced upon and she could sense that this place would be a good change. She needed to be somewhere where she wouldn't be disturbed all the time by the company of others. Of course, Dakota realised the goodness of having a connection with another person, as she had felt with Charlie, but she knew what was right for her. Having close relationships with people wasn't necessary to lead a good life, much like how possessions were not integral to living. The only thing Dakota found she ever needed was a roof over her head and some clothes to wear. In any case after what had been forced upon her in Devon she would always find it hard to trust people. Even if she did try to be friendly.
______________________
Dakota's search thus far had been unsuccessful, no one had a job for her at that given time and Dakota scolded herself for thinking there would be something available with the current economic climate. Dakota had never thought such things would be worth knowing and now that she had been refused on all accounts she felt like an idiot, she'd had a decent job in Glasgow. Her annoyance at herself quickly subsided however, Dakota knew that it had been her time to leave and although there were a few who protested she did it anyway. She had needed to do it for herself just like she had needed to runaway despite Charlie's obvious devotion to her.
She had never understood why he had cared for her, back then she was an obnoxious, slightly psychotic girl who wanted out. Nothing she had done could have welcomed his presence but he searched her all the same. Not even her family had come searching, although that was to be expected.
When she finally felt deflated from the steady stream of rejections Dakota walked to the nearest pub. She hoped that a drink would help her feel less upset by it all. While walking across the street Dakota noticed how the sky had darkened in anticipation of another thunderstorm, clearly she had chosen the perfect place to move to.
From the clock on the wall Dakota realised it was five o'clock, an hour that could be seen as too early to be drinking, this hadn't appeared to stop the loud people that were scattered over the stools. Dakota tried to get the attention of the barman, she was sitting in the furthest part of the bar and it proved to difficult. Only after five other orders was she acknowledged. The Irishman smiled at her and waited to hear her order because she had been distracted momentarily by his features. When he left to get her drink she couldn't help but notice how similar he was to Charlie, or at least how similarly he held himself. After he had given her drink, and she had paid, he winked at her and smiled, she was unsure what the best response would be so she remained indifferent.
Dakota sat in that bar for longer than she had originally planned because of the bartender. She didn't know why her eyes kept wondering back to him but they always did and on more than one occasion he'd noticed. She didn't want to give him the wrong idea so she kept forcing herself to look away. Her emotions were getting confused because of the resemblance he bore to Charlie and it was almost as if the only reason she kept looking back was because she hoped it would be him. But it never was so she resorted to leaving the bar inconspicuously in order to find a place to stay.
As she walked she heard someone running behind her, she assumed it was someone on a job and continued to look ahead. She jumped when the bartender placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her from walking, he was breathing heavily for a few seconds before he spoke to her.
"Where are you going? I'll walk you there." She was flattered by his kindness, clearly he had just finished his shift.
"I haven't got anywhere to stay yet so you can't exactly walk me anywhere."
"You can come home with me."
"I'm sure I can manage, thank you."
"Come on," he said taking a hold of her arm, "come home with me, you know you want to." Dakota ripped her arm away from his grasp.
"No, I don't."
"Don't kid yourself, you were eye-balling me all night."
"I'm not interested." Dakota began to walk away from the man but he clearly wasn't having it and as he took a hold of her shoulders sharply Dakota realised what this man could do to her. He scared her. She had seen the look he was giving her because the same thing had happened to her once before and she swore she would never be a victim like that again.
"Take your hands off me." Her demand only caused him to hold onto her more tightly and she squirmed in his grasp.
Impulsively she kicked his shins and once he let go of her she ran as fast as she could. Although she didn't know where she was going she ran and as she did so the rain began to descend from the sky. She only vaguely recognised her surroundings but as the sound of running behind her drew closer she lost the will to care. The man closed the gap between them faster than she had anticipated. He pinned her to the ground and she cried out. She tried to claw at his face as he held her down. Dirt clung to her hair as she writhed under his weight. He held her wrists down effortlessly to have control over her. The only thing she could do was scream and this angered the man. He struck her quickly and then several times more when she tried to scream out again. She lost her consciousness.
______________________
When Dakota finally came around she was somewhere else. Her eyes were bleary and she had to rub them as she shot up from her position. When a pair of hands held her from her shoulders she recoiled and screamed. She tried to kick the man that was standing beside her, he was overpowering her.
Whilst she was screaming at him she noticed that he was shushing her in an attempt to calm her down. This only made her writhe in his grasp more. Her head pounded furiously and she found it difficult to clear her head. Desperately, she began to hit the man's chest wildly. Only when he finally let go of her did she stop screaming and held her knees to her chest defensively.
Orlando didn't know what to do as Dakota began to rock back and forth to a steady rhythm, muttering inaudibly. Every so often she would speak of someone called Charlie, someone who had promised to keep her safe, but couldn't. Orlando watched her, perplexed at how different she was. She hadn't realised that he was in her presence, he was sure she thought he was the lowlife who had caused this pain. He had dealt with the boy sufficiently and had brought Dakota here. He knew he'd have to take care of her until she was out of this state of mind.
To his surprise Dakota stood up and tried to reach the door. He quickly did the same and stood in front of her so she was incapable of reaching the door. He told her she couldn't leave when she was so sick, he noticed that she was crying. Dakota protested and tried to push him out of the way before the movement became too demanding on her body and she crumpled to the floor. Orlando, shocked by the unfolding events, took her in his arms and laid her back down on the bed. He couldn't do anything now except return to the seat he had set out beside her and wait for her to wake up.
The rain had stopped but the sky still held dark, empowering clouds over everything. She tried not to give in to the threat and began to make her way to the road so she could find an open post. Although she didn't give in to the urge, Dakota felt like skipping. This was always the exciting part of moving around because finding a job meant that she had successfully brought a new change to her life. Dakota had turned over many leaves since she left home at the age of nineteen.
Killarney was one of the more quieter towns she had chanced upon and she could sense that this place would be a good change. She needed to be somewhere where she wouldn't be disturbed all the time by the company of others. Of course, Dakota realised the goodness of having a connection with another person, as she had felt with Charlie, but she knew what was right for her. Having close relationships with people wasn't necessary to lead a good life, much like how possessions were not integral to living. The only thing Dakota found she ever needed was a roof over her head and some clothes to wear. In any case after what had been forced upon her in Devon she would always find it hard to trust people. Even if she did try to be friendly.
______________________
Dakota's search thus far had been unsuccessful, no one had a job for her at that given time and Dakota scolded herself for thinking there would be something available with the current economic climate. Dakota had never thought such things would be worth knowing and now that she had been refused on all accounts she felt like an idiot, she'd had a decent job in Glasgow. Her annoyance at herself quickly subsided however, Dakota knew that it had been her time to leave and although there were a few who protested she did it anyway. She had needed to do it for herself just like she had needed to runaway despite Charlie's obvious devotion to her.
She had never understood why he had cared for her, back then she was an obnoxious, slightly psychotic girl who wanted out. Nothing she had done could have welcomed his presence but he searched her all the same. Not even her family had come searching, although that was to be expected.
When she finally felt deflated from the steady stream of rejections Dakota walked to the nearest pub. She hoped that a drink would help her feel less upset by it all. While walking across the street Dakota noticed how the sky had darkened in anticipation of another thunderstorm, clearly she had chosen the perfect place to move to.
From the clock on the wall Dakota realised it was five o'clock, an hour that could be seen as too early to be drinking, this hadn't appeared to stop the loud people that were scattered over the stools. Dakota tried to get the attention of the barman, she was sitting in the furthest part of the bar and it proved to difficult. Only after five other orders was she acknowledged. The Irishman smiled at her and waited to hear her order because she had been distracted momentarily by his features. When he left to get her drink she couldn't help but notice how similar he was to Charlie, or at least how similarly he held himself. After he had given her drink, and she had paid, he winked at her and smiled, she was unsure what the best response would be so she remained indifferent.
Dakota sat in that bar for longer than she had originally planned because of the bartender. She didn't know why her eyes kept wondering back to him but they always did and on more than one occasion he'd noticed. She didn't want to give him the wrong idea so she kept forcing herself to look away. Her emotions were getting confused because of the resemblance he bore to Charlie and it was almost as if the only reason she kept looking back was because she hoped it would be him. But it never was so she resorted to leaving the bar inconspicuously in order to find a place to stay.
As she walked she heard someone running behind her, she assumed it was someone on a job and continued to look ahead. She jumped when the bartender placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her from walking, he was breathing heavily for a few seconds before he spoke to her.
"Where are you going? I'll walk you there." She was flattered by his kindness, clearly he had just finished his shift.
"I haven't got anywhere to stay yet so you can't exactly walk me anywhere."
"You can come home with me."
"I'm sure I can manage, thank you."
"Come on," he said taking a hold of her arm, "come home with me, you know you want to." Dakota ripped her arm away from his grasp.
"No, I don't."
"Don't kid yourself, you were eye-balling me all night."
"I'm not interested." Dakota began to walk away from the man but he clearly wasn't having it and as he took a hold of her shoulders sharply Dakota realised what this man could do to her. He scared her. She had seen the look he was giving her because the same thing had happened to her once before and she swore she would never be a victim like that again.
"Take your hands off me." Her demand only caused him to hold onto her more tightly and she squirmed in his grasp.
Impulsively she kicked his shins and once he let go of her she ran as fast as she could. Although she didn't know where she was going she ran and as she did so the rain began to descend from the sky. She only vaguely recognised her surroundings but as the sound of running behind her drew closer she lost the will to care. The man closed the gap between them faster than she had anticipated. He pinned her to the ground and she cried out. She tried to claw at his face as he held her down. Dirt clung to her hair as she writhed under his weight. He held her wrists down effortlessly to have control over her. The only thing she could do was scream and this angered the man. He struck her quickly and then several times more when she tried to scream out again. She lost her consciousness.
______________________
When Dakota finally came around she was somewhere else. Her eyes were bleary and she had to rub them as she shot up from her position. When a pair of hands held her from her shoulders she recoiled and screamed. She tried to kick the man that was standing beside her, he was overpowering her.
Whilst she was screaming at him she noticed that he was shushing her in an attempt to calm her down. This only made her writhe in his grasp more. Her head pounded furiously and she found it difficult to clear her head. Desperately, she began to hit the man's chest wildly. Only when he finally let go of her did she stop screaming and held her knees to her chest defensively.
Orlando didn't know what to do as Dakota began to rock back and forth to a steady rhythm, muttering inaudibly. Every so often she would speak of someone called Charlie, someone who had promised to keep her safe, but couldn't. Orlando watched her, perplexed at how different she was. She hadn't realised that he was in her presence, he was sure she thought he was the lowlife who had caused this pain. He had dealt with the boy sufficiently and had brought Dakota here. He knew he'd have to take care of her until she was out of this state of mind.
To his surprise Dakota stood up and tried to reach the door. He quickly did the same and stood in front of her so she was incapable of reaching the door. He told her she couldn't leave when she was so sick, he noticed that she was crying. Dakota protested and tried to push him out of the way before the movement became too demanding on her body and she crumpled to the floor. Orlando, shocked by the unfolding events, took her in his arms and laid her back down on the bed. He couldn't do anything now except return to the seat he had set out beside her and wait for her to wake up.
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