That was when I saw her walking up the pier

[seeyousoonthen]

Savannah had found the book a few days ago and had, of course, cracked it open. The very first line made her eyes sting and tear. Surely it couldn't really be John's story. But that very first line, My name is John Tyree. I was born in 1977, and I grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, she just knew and she had to keep reading. Even against her

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[jdick]

With his guitar over his shoulder once more, Joe was heading up from the beach toward the Hamlet when he saw Savannah. Lifting one hand to wave at her, he paused for a second, frowning, because it seemed like she was crying and, as he was pretty sure he'd told her before, he sure as shit did not like to see nice girls crying. Not here, not back in Vancouver. Nice girls didn't deserve shit like that.

"Hey," he said as he got closer, his mouth still pulled down into a frown, brow creased. "What's wrong?"

[seeyousoonthen]

Savannah looked up and she knew she'd been caught. There was no concealing her tears. The best she could do was wipe her cheeks.

"It's..." she started, then a rogue sob caught her and she choked on it for a minute. She held up the book to show him.

"I found this," she finally said. "It's about me. Oh, not really. It's about the boy I loved. Love. It's about us."

[jdick]

"Fuck," Joe muttered, looking at the book with a frown. He didn't want to take it, he knew how that ended, knew how fucked up it was to read about someone else's life. It was the sort of shit he avoided. The bookshelf could be a real bitch, which was why he collected and kept the books he knew were safe.

"I got one, too," he said, coming over to sit beside her. "It's a shitty thing."

[seeyousoonthen]

"Oh, Joe. It's got my future. Life after now. A few years from now I'm so different. Everything goes wrong and it's...it's just so sad," she said. "I drink. I've never even had a beer or anything. And I get married, but my husband dies of cancer. Isn't that just terrible?"

[quileutejacob]

Jacob had always been a sucker for a crying girl. He'd comforted Bella over Edward and even more recently, he and Belle had first met when she was crying over the rose from home. So it wasn't really surprising that when there was a girl crying on the beach, he sat down next to her and asked if she was okay. It's just what he did.

"Hey, are you okay? What's going on?"

[seeyousoonthen]

Reaching up to wipe her eyes, Savannah nodded mutely. The hot tears cooled quickly on the palm of her hand when the gentle breeze from the ocean began to dry them. Was she okay, she wondered. Was the past and the future and a book marked fiction worth crying over?

"I'll be okay," she finally assured him. "It was just this book. You know."

She was sure he didn't know, but she wasn't going to outright lie. That would be wrong. She simply dodged the truth of what was on the pages.

[quileutejacob]

"I try not to read the sad ones," Jacob said, giving her a little half grin. Truthfully, he didn't read very much at all, and left all that to Belle.

"Is there anything I can do?"

[seeyousoonthen]

There was nothing anyone could do and she knew it. Savannah shook her head and managed a soft, sad smile. Just the act of smiling cheered her a bit. The pull in her cheeks and the curve of her lips did wonders for the soul, she thought.

"Not really," she said after only a moment of thought. "It's really only a book. I don't know why I let it get to me so. Just one of those things, I guess."

[usethecompany]

"Miss Curtis?" Although the island population's modern manners had softened the remnants of Kennedy's strict upbringing and expected custom, the sailor remained loath to intrude upon a private moment. All emotional moments fell under the purview of the private according to the standards he had been taught, but it wounded his heart to pass by such a regularly delightful and happy young lady without a word far more than it offended his sense of propriety to encroach upon her.

"Forgive me, Miss Curtis," he said, taking a knee beside the girl. "But I must know what's wrong and how I might fix it."

[seeyousoonthen]

It did her heart well to know that there were such kind people around, ones who would lift her up when she was low and who would be there for the happier times, too. It was good to remember that here and now was different than her life back home in almost every way.

"It's really nothing, Mr. Kennedy. Just this silly old book," she said as she gestured to it before she reached up to dry her eyes. "Haven't you ever read something that was just so sad? I can't even finish it, to be honest."

[usethecompany]

He had adopted to modern dress more easily and quickly than some, but the custom of carrying a handkerchief never left him. Kennedy offered this to her now, as well as a sympathetic smile.

"I am a voracious reader, Miss Curtis, and I will admit that some stories have been powerful enough to send me to tears. But I find that if the story's any good, the ending will make it worth the struggle. Is yours not so good?"

[seeyousoonthen]

"Oh, it's a beautiful story," she admitted, her voice shaking just a bit. She took time to dry her eyes with his handkerchief and spared a thought on how kind a gesture it was.

"It's just beautiful. It's about a boy I know. Knew. Before here."

[not_the_s]

There was one thing that Kon knew. He had his girls. And maybe he had 'his boys', too, but definitely his girls. He had a handful on the island. Cissie, Cassie, Alexis, Claire. And Savannah. They were the people he'd take care of before almost anything else and there was Savannah. Crying. It made his heart break because he wasn't sure why. He didn't think she was seeing anyone. Had someone disappeared?

In the end, he didn't say anything. He just knelt behind her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her quietly. Either she'd tell him what was wrong or she wouldn't, but he would be there for one of his girls.

[seeyousoonthen]

Perhaps it should have startled her but it didn't. Savannah closed her eyes and felt the breeze on her skin and smelled the salt in the air as she leaned back into the arms of a ghost. John Tyree, her beautiful, wonderful soldier with his strong arms and vulgar tattoos and his sweet nature. She remembered his temper and his touch. She remembered his smile and his voice. The words on the pages had brought it all back, every moment of those first two perfect weeks. The book had refreshed her memory of the days she knew true love.

The solid warmth of the body and the arms weren't John's. In her head she knew that. But in her heart she wanted it to be so and she let her imagination run wild. What if it was him? What if this island had drawn John the same way it had drawn her? What if they would have another chance to have the life she'd dreamed of before it all fell apart, before she'd grown up and they'd grown apart? What if it was true love that held her so sweetly on the beach

[not_the_s]

Kon sighed softly and closed his eyes. She was crying, but he couldn't help thinking that this was nice. It felt nice to be able to hold someone, to be able to be there for someone again. Cassie didn't need him anymore and, even if she did, it was probably better that he didn't go there again. He wasn't sure that Savannah really needed him, but with her hands keeping him where he was, it was clear she wanted him. At least she wanted someone and he was glad he could be there for her.

He pressed his lips to her hair and stayed quiet. He wanted to know what was going on, but if that meant that she would get up and go, he was almost beginning to not want that.

[seeyousoonthen]

The breeze blew steadily, catching single hairs and pulling them across her face. They tickled her lips and cheeks like cobwebs, causing her to let go of his arms and gently reach up to pull them away.

There was a scent on the wind, distinctly masculine but absolutely not John. Savannah couldn't begin to decide if she was relieved or devastated. Slowly, so very slowly, she turned her head to see who it was that was behind her. To see that it was truly a man and not a ghost.

As soon as she saw Kon, Savannah closed her eyes. She shifted so she could rest her head comfortably against his shoulder. She couldn't will her lips to move so she simply basked in the comfort the closeness offered, fearing all the while that he would ask her to explain why she was beside herself.