Chapter 7 – Good Byes

“I heard in the radio that tomorrow will be the last day of the storm” TOP said, when they were both in the bedroom him on the floor and Dara on the bed. Dara didn’t answer him. “If it doesn’t rain the whole day tomorrow I will send you back with the fishermen. You got all the shots you needed right?”

Dara didn’t answer. She was feeling hurt, He was really eager to get rid of her. He didn’t want her. Well ever since day one he made that clear but somehow it was a hard fact to accept for Dara but she knows that the right thing to do was get away from him. She can’t feel these feelings for him.

“Dara? Are you listening?”

“Yeah, I heard you loud and clear. You’re the boss after all and you know what would be good for all. I will sleep now” She said and tried to hide the truth that she was hurting inside, that she was torn between wanting to stay with him and take of him and wanting to get away so that she will not fall in love with him more.

“Okay. Good night Dara”

“Good night T.O.P.”

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Just like what the weather forecast said, it stopped raining the next day. Usually after a storm TOP would be out in the sea and swimming all day and enjoying the sun, but how can he enjoy the day if someone who somehow managed to crept inside his heart was bound to leave.

He lie awake in the make shift bed he was sleeping in for the past few days, someone else was occupying his bed and He wanted to climb beside her and snuggle, beside her but He doesn’t know for sure that Dara would like that. She hates his guts and they don’t seem to get along well but why does it look like that TOP have fallen in love with her?

 I can ask her to stay but what will be the reason I will give her if she asks why she needs to stay? Someone like Dara was a free soul; He knows that she will not be bind by someone. She’s an independent woman who is strong and strong willed and free spirited.

The first time He laid eyes on Dara He already knows she’s trouble. Sandara Park, what a beautiful name which suits her fine because she’s also beautiful and what makes her more charming is that she doesn’t know what is her effect on people, on men especially. Her eyes were hypnotizing, but she has a smart mouth and bad attitude and I had the bad decision of allowing her to stay in the island with him.

TOP stood up quietly so that Dara won’t wake up. He went out and busied himself with other things so as not to think of her anymore. He cooked breakfast and then went out of the house. It wasn’t long when Dara came looking for him.

“Good Morning, What are you doing?”

“I’m building a small dock”

“That’s nice, the fishermen could use that. You need any help?”

“I can do this alone, just go back inside and pack your bags, the fishermen will soon go”

“I already packed my things last night”

“It seems that you are ready to go, please just stay inside the house” Just stay away from me or else I won’t let you leave me. He thought to himself.

TOP noticed that Dara didn’t say anything and she seemed angry. That’s understandable, He keeps ordering her around and He knows for a fact that she hates being told of what to do.

“Why are you so mean TOP? Even if I just a lowly employee of yours, can’t we at least be friends? After all we have been acquainted for a few days, and I’m going to leave soon might as well we end things in good terms right?”

She was right, TOP had to admit she was pretty cooperative with him and obeys him. She deserves a decent treatment, she deserved to be a friend but with just one look at her TOP wanted more than friendship with her and He can’t allow that to happen, Dara wouldn’t like it.

“It already came from you, you are leaving you don’t have to make an effort, we met this way and we end it this way too”

“You’re right, you don’t need anyone anyway right? You don’t need anyone in your life. Go on and push all the people who want to be close to you, let’s see if you can last. You can’t go on living alone for the rest of your life TOP, No one is an island remember that!”

“I may not be an Island but I happened to own an Island. I’m rich I can buy happiness and I won’t be alone”

“I ”

“You’re a photographer Dara, not a fortune teller you can’t predict the future. You never know what will happen!”

“Then I hope you’re happy now”

“Whatever!”

“What the is happening to me?” Why did I do that to her? He thought. He wanted to run after her but what will he say? He clearly hurt her and it will be no use to say sorry after all that he said to her. He smashed the hammer harshly and he accidentally hit his finger.

A loud scream and a crash went after it. It was Dara. He didn’t even have to react to the pain of being hit by a hammer in his finger and it was bleeding, he didn’t care. He sprinted towards where the scream came from.

He almost fainted when he saw Dara unconscious and lying under the woods he piled that morning that he will use for the dock. He called her name but she was not moving. He immediately removed all the blocks of wood from her and all the blood left his face when He saw that Dara has an open wound on her head and it was bleeding profusely.

He forced himself not to panic, because he will not be able to help Dara if He panics. He breathes deeply and thinks of what to do. He can’t move her because she might have a spine injury and it might severe her if He moves her without assessing if she has anymore injuries.

He called the fisher men and instructed them to ready the boats and they will rush her to the nearest hospital after they gave her a first aid to stop the bleeding. They lifted her as a whole to the house carefully and lay her on the sofa. It will be dangerous for them to transfer her via boat because her wound might pen again and starts to bleed the waves are not yet that tamed and it started to drizzle.

He instructed them to head back to the city and to call his friend who owns a yacht and that he needed someone to be transferred to a hospital. Dara is still not waking up and it started to worry him what if there was an internal haemorrhage in her brain of if she acquired an infection in her injuries. She needs to be examined by a doctor as soon as possible.

He gathered all her things and He saw a small black notebook on top of her bag. It was a planner with contact numbers of people, it might be her friends. He takes note of it and went back to the living room to join Dara.

He almost jumped for joy when He saw Dara awake and was sitting down on the sofa. He almost wanted to run and hug her but then He remembered what had happened before she had the accident, and it was his fault why that happened to here. Surely Dara is angry with him right now.

Dara looked at him when He approached her. Her face was blank, no emotion in her eyes, not even anger. “Where am I?” Dara said.

“In the house” He sat down beside her “You got into an accident, the woods that I piled fell on you and you hit your head”

He let her process what happened to her, she seemed disoriented. He wanted to touch her, to comfort her and soothe her, she must be in pain her injury was really serious and it never stopped bleeding until they patch it up with a gauze and antiseptic solution.

He wanted to punch himself in the face for bring this misfortune to her, for bringing her pain. He wanted to correct everything but it looks like that everything was too late. The damage has already been done to her.

“How are you feeling?” He asked suddenly concerned because He touched her head and she looks like she was in pain.

“My head hurts badly” She said. She touched her bandage and TOP held her hand back to stop her from touching it, and when their hands came in contact TOP jerked his hand away when he felt a sudden jolt in his insides, like an electric shock flowed through his body.

“Don’t touch it, it might bleed again” He just simply said.

“Sir the yacht is here” Daesung said to TOP and he just nodded. Daesung noticed that Dara was already awake. “Thank goodness you’re already awake” He said to Dara.

“Dara let’s go, you need to see a doctor” TOP said to her but he noticed that Dara moved away from him. She seemed really confused and it worried him.

“Dara? Who’s Dara? And who are you? Why do you want me to go with you” She asked. Daesung and TOP just looked at each other.

“You’re Dara! That’s your name and I’m TOP your boyfriend” He said, He instructed Daesung to load all Dara’s things on the yacht.

“Boyfriend? Why… Why can I remember anything? I don’t know anything that you are telling me” She said and  she started to move away from him again.

“It’s okay you’re safe with me, I’m here now” He said and held her in his arms, her face buried in his chest, He tenderly soothe him by the back of her head.

“Stay away from me, I don’t know you” She tried to push him away but He held her still.

“Hey… I’m your boyfriend, don’t worry I will take care of you” He said and Dara seemed to relax in his arms and heaved a sigh.

He had never felt so protective over someone, let alone a woman that he barely knows but he felt compelled to do it. It was the first time he felled like this over someone, and considering that this woman hated him and even considered him a an enemy.

“Let’s go, Babe… Dara” It felt good to call her that, to call her babe, that it felt natural.