*~*Kamalei’s POV*~*

The entire ride after the sunrise, I told Zacky stories and legends of Hawaii. He was so interested in it and I was a little surprised. It certainly didn’t seem like something he would really care about. He was hanging on my every word it seemed.

We had just pulled into Wainapanapa State Park when I finished one last story. Zacky was so excited to see the cave I thought he was going to jump out of the truck and run the rest of the way to the caves.

“We’ve got to go down there and see it. Do you think we could go swim and go into the real cave part?” He asked me, his bright green eyes lighting up with excitement.

“Yeah we can but not until later. We can just go look from the outside first until we can set up camp first. I promise I will take you my funny Zacky boy.” I giggled at his eagerness.

When Matt pulled into the parking stall, Zacky jumped out of the truck so fast I thought he fell out at first.

“Come on my Lei girl. I want to go see!” he yelled enthusiastically.

“You want to go see what? Why are you so excited?” Brian asked getting out of Kelly’s truck.

“The cave. Lei told me these awesome stories and I want to go see it for myself. I can’t believe we are here.” He told him as he motioned for me to come on.

I stood at the edge of the truck and waited for him to pick me up and set me next to him. He looked like a kid whose been told they are going to Disneyland. I laughed a little at his silly grin plastered on his face. Everyone was staring at us two as I am sure we looked rather ridiculous.

“What is this story?” Matt asked me.

I pointed to the big red park sign with the story, showing the path to walk down to the caves. We walked over to the sign and everyone besides Kelly, Zacky, and I read the story. Zacky couldn’t keep still and he kept jumping up and down in anticipation. Finally when everyone was done, he picked me up over his shoulder and started running down the path.

“Zacky! What are you doing?! Be careful or we’re going to fall!” I screamed at him.

“We won’t fall. If we do, I’ll catch you Lei girl.” He said as he pulled me back off his shoulder.

We got down to the bottom and walked around to the entrance of the cave. I looked over to him and the look on his face was priceless. He was completely amazed at it and all I could think of was how mind-blown he would be when I showed him the actual inside of the cave later.

Everyone else finally caught up to us, looking inside at the ledges. It was a bright morning, so the reflections were crystal clear in the blue-green water.

“Be more careful with her will ya?” I heard from behind me.

I turned to see Matt scolding Zacky. Zacky looked insulted by Matt’s words.

“I know what I’m doing Matt. I wouldn’t hurt her.” He replied.

I smiled to myself at the two of them. I knew Matt was concerned, especially after this morning with my ribs and I knew that Zacky would never hurt me. It gave me a sense of security to hear them both trying to reassure each other.

“Does the water really turn red little Lei-Lei?” Jimmy asked leaning down and resting his chin on my shoulder.

“Yeah it does. Maybe it will tonight. I was going to bring Zacky back later to show him the cave inside. Do you want to come too?” I asked him.

“That would be super cool.” Johnny replied.

“Let’s do that later tonight if we can. We can all come and do it. I hope you boys can hold your breath good.” Kelly chimed in.

“See and the glow sticks will be perfect for it.” I said nudging Matt.

“Come on let’s get to the cabins and set up so we can get down to the fun stuff. You guys ever been to a black sand beach?” Kelly asked.

“Nope but it sounds cool.” Brian replied.

We all made our way back up to the trucks and headed over to the cabins. The guys all unloaded the heavy coolers and boxes while Val, Kelly, and I unloaded the bedding and clothes bags into the cabins. We had rented out 2 cabins next to each other on the park grounds. Val and Matt were going to share the big bed in our cabin, while Zacky and I slept on the bunk beds in the other room. Brian and Kelly were going to share the big bed in the other cabin, with Johnny and Jimmy in the bunk beds.

“You know your brother is not exactly happy about you and Zacky sharing a room. I had to talk him into it. He just doesn’t get it.” Val said as we grabbed another bag from the truck.

“I don’t see what he can’t get. Zacky’s my best friend. Why is he so crazy about shit? He acts like he doesn’t know Zack from some stranger off the street.” I replied annoyed with my brother.

“He just worries about you hun. I don’t think it would matter if he was Jesus. After this whole thing with Micah, he’s vowed to never let anyone hurt you ever again. That’s most of the boys, but even more so because he is your brother.” Val said trying to get me to see where my brother was coming from.

“I get it but I am an adult. I just hate walking on eggshells around him with Zacky. I have so much fun with Zacky. He’s my best friend. I mean, Kelly is too of course, but some things I can’t talk to her about like I can with Zee. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t know every little thing about my life.” I reasoned with her.

“Lei, I have a question to ask you.” She said as we unzipped a bag of blankets laying them out on the beds, “Do you like Zacky?”

I was a little surprised but tried to play it off with a quick reply, “Of course I do. He’s my best friend. I just said that.”

“No. Lei. You know what I mean. Do you like Zack?” she questioned stopping and looking at me.

I felt my face get hot and knew I was already answering her question, “Yeah. I’ve had a little rock star crush on him for a long time. It’s just a crush though. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Alright. I just wanted to ask. I promise I won’t say anything to him or to Matt either. Your secret is safe with me.” She replied crossing her fingers over her heart.

“Yeah, please don’t. It’s embarrassing especially since he’s my best friend.” I told her biting my lip.

She smiled and nodded. I knew she understood that I didn’t want anyone to really know. We unpacked all of the blankets and pillows and went back out to the truck to get more stuff.
I reached into the truck and pulled on a bag on the floor. It was strangely heavy and awkward. There was clinking noises coming from the bag as I tugged on it again in an attempt to get it out.

“What the shit?” I exclaimed.

“What’s wrong?” Kelly said as she came up.

“This bag is retardedly heavy. What the fuck is in here?” I replied.

Kelly reached over and unzipped the bag, revealing a plethora of bats, gloves, some rope, and a few hunting knives. I instantly knew what this was for.

“MATTHEW CHARLES SANDERS YOU BETTER GET OVER HERE NOW!” Val screamed out towards the cabins.

I saw my brother’s eyes grow wide and he looked like a child who had gotten in trouble. He looked at the other guys that were with him at the cooler.

“Shit…We’ve been found out…. Yeah baby?” He replied as he bounded over.

“What the hell is all of this?” she asked him.

“Uh……well, you see baby, it’s supplies.” He said rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

“Hmm. I see that. Why do you feel the need to have all of this Matthew?” she scolded him.

“Uh…” he looked at me for help.

“Because Val, we’re gonna murder that fucker.” Brian said with a big grin.

“Like hell you are.” Val said angrily.

“Don’t worry Val, I’ll take care of it.” Zacky said coming up behind Matt and Brian.

“OH NO YOU WON’T! You of all of them are the worst one.” She replied.

Zacky mockingly put his hand over his chest like he was insulted by her comment, “I am not!”

“Yeah, clearly Jimmy is the worst one.” Brian said laughing, pointing to Jimmy who was chasing a chicken with a broom.

“What?” Jimmy said as he looked up, letting the chicken get away.

“Look, baby. We can’t wait for the police. This is the whole reason we came out here.” Matt said grabbing Val’s hands in his as he spoke, “We are going to find Micah and beat him senseless. Look at my baby sister. He hurt her. I can’t let him get away with that. He doesn’t know who he’s fucking with. You fuck with my baby sister, you fuck with me, and when you fuck with me, you fuck with all my brothers too.”

Val shook her head, “Matt, you are going to all get arrested for this or worse and get hurt.”

“I promise we won’t baby. I promise. We will be fine.” He said trying to reassure her.

I walked away at this point, not wanting to hear any more of it. I didn’t want to think of something happening to my brother or my friends. Micah was a dangerous man, especially out here in Hana. This is where he hunts and I know he’s good at it. As much as I wanted my brother to hurt him, I didn’t want something to happen to them in return.

“Lei, you ok?” Kelly said as she came up behind me.

“Yeah, I’m ok. Just a little worried. You know, about them going after Micah. You know that he’s good at hunting and I’m worried something is gonna happen to them.” I said nodding in the guys’ direction.

“Kamalei, don’t worry. They will be alright. They may not have hunting under their belts, but I know for a fact that they can fight. I saw it after you left Cali. We went to a bar one night, and a fight broke out. They can handle themselves babes. Don’t worry ok?” she said trying to comfort me.

“Ok. If you saw it all first-hand then ok.” I said as she put an arm around my shoulders.

“Come on, I’ll help you unpack some stuff. Plus I want to talk to you about you-know-who.” She said wriggling her eyebrows at me.

We walked into the cabin and started unpacking the kitchen supplies, “What do you want to know?” I asked.

“How’s it going with Zee? You and him seem to be rather attached.”

“We’re just friends Kelly. He’s become a best friend to me. I can talk to him about anything.” I replied.

“So am I out then?” she asked.

“Of course not! You are and always will be my bestie sister for life. He’s just a new best friend. I really like spending time with him Kelly. We have a lot of fun together.” I admitted.

“I can tell. He was so emo when you left California Lei. If you had seen the turnaround in him, you would be shocked that it’s the same person. I think the two of you are good together.” She stated.

I put some pots in a cabinet, “Kelly? You haven’t told anyone I have a crush on him have you?”

“No. I swear. I didn’t even tell Brian. I know you are embarrassed about it. Why? I don’t know but I think you should just go for it.” She replied putting some cups in a neighboring cabinet.

“I don’t want to ruin it. It would just make things weird if he didn’t feel anything for me.” I said.

“Girl. If he tells you he doesn’t have feelings for you, he is lying. It’s written all over his face every time he is with you.” She told me.

“Shut up. I don’t even want to talk about it anymore. Val asked me and I told her too.”

“Well at least all of us ladies are on the same page.” Kelly smirked at me pulling the last thing from the bin.

“Come on. I need a beer so I can relax. We should hit the black sand beach too.” I told her pulling her with me outside onto the large wraparound patio.

“Val go put on a bathing suit. Let’s go down to the beach.” Kelly said as an irritated Val came up the stairs onto the patio.

“I don’t know. I’m so annoyed with Matt right now.” She stated.

“More of the reason to go down there, have a few, and relax.” I told her putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Alright. Give me a minute.” She said going in and finding her bag.

“Hey you donkeys!” I called out to the guys on the other patio surrounding the cooler, “You all ready for the beach?!”

“Who are you calling donkeys? I know you aren’t talking about us!” Johnny yelled back.

“Oh I am talking to you guys alright! Can you bring some beers in a bag please!?” I screamed over.

The guys got some beers in a bag and we all walked thru the park down to the black sand beach. Val, Kelly, and I brought our beach chairs and sat in the sand popping open beers as the guys decided to make sand balls and pelt each other with them. I dug my toes deep into the sand. My leg hurt from all of the walking today but I wasn’t about to admit it and have Matt baby me all day.

“This is so gorgeous. We are going to have to come back to Maui for vacations more often.” Val said halfway thru her beer.

“You have an excuse now.” I giggled.

“True. I can’t wait for you to move in with us Kamalei. I’ve been surrounded by those 5 guys for years and I need another female around the house to help me get my way.” She laughed.

“I can’t believe this is really happening. Kamalei, thanks for taking me on that trip.” Kelly said smiling at me.

“Thanks for coming with me. I couldn’t have done it alone.” I replied taking a big swig from my beer.

Zacky, covered in black sand came running up to me, “My Lei girl, wanna go in the water with me?” He asked holding his hand out to me.

I blushed from the surprise of him just asking me the way he did. Kelly and Val both had shit-eating grins on their faces as they knew that I liked him.

I placed my hand in his as he pulled me up, “Sure Zee.”

My leg was really starting to hurt now and the sand wasn’t helping. Thankfully I was holding his hand as the pain took over and I fell down. He pulled my hand and wrapped his other around my waist.

“Hey, you ok my Lei girl?” he asked, his bright green eyes even brighter in the sun.

“Yeah. My leg is just sore. Please don’t tell Matt though. He’s going to make me stop drinking and I rather drink then take those pills and pass out.” I pleaded with him.

“I won’t tell him. Do you want me to carry you?” he questioned.

“No but will you help me?” I asked.

“Of course I will.” He said as I felt him tighten his grip on my waist as we walked.
I winced again as the sand got more solid beneath my feet as we reached the shore.

“You sure you don’t want to take one of the pills my Lei girl?” he asked concern in his eyes.

“Yeah. I’m sure my Zacky boy.” I smirked at him even though I was in pain.

We waded out into the water and I started to float around never letting go of Zacky’s hand. He smiled as he grabbed me by my waist again, turning me away from the big wave that rolled thru.

“Trying to drown?” he joked as he held me.

I blushed, “Why? You gonna save me?”

“You know I would, but I’m trying to prevent that from even happening in the first place.” He laughed.

“Oh Mr. Vengeance! You’re my hero!” I jokingly yelled as I threw my arms around his neck, causing him to cradle me in his arms.

This time he blushed and smiled as he put his hand to my face dramatically, “I’ll save you from these rogue waves my darling!”

We burst into laughter as Matt swam up near us. He looked confused at our strange positions and laughter. His confused look made me laugh even harder, causing my ribs to hurt too.

“Ow… Ow… Ow…What’s…ow…wrong Matt?” I asked him thru my laughs.

“What is so funny? I was just coming to see if you were ok? I saw you fall in the sand and get smashed by that wave.” He said.

“I’m lovely Matthew! Mr. Vengeance, my hero saved me!” I said tossing the back of my hand over my eyes, tossing my head back theatrically.

“You two are so fucking weird. No wonder you are best friends now.” Matt joined in on our laughter.

It was nice of Matt to finally lighten up and somewhat accept me and Zacky as best friends. I smiled at Matt before turning and smiling at Zacky. He released some of his hold on my body and I let go of his neck as I floated away in front of him. I swam between them putting an arm around both of their shoulders.

“I love you guys. You’re both my heroes.” I said kissing both of them on their cheeks.

Val ran up the shore with her camera, “Smile you guys!” she yelled as she took a picture of the three of us.

I grabbed both of their hands and let the wave lift me up and float me in front of them. Zacky smiled as he looked down at me shaking his head. Matt smirked at me also shaking his head.

“You are so silly Kamalei.” Zacky said as he pulled me deeper, away from shore.

Matt let go of my hand, letting Zacky pull, “I’m going in. I’m getting cold and I need another beer.”

“Wait for me.” Zacky called out to him, “You going to be alright by yourself?”

I nodded letting him go and follow Matt in. He looked back and checked on me as I floated in the water.

Am I going to be alright by myself? Yeah. I think I can manage. I’m alone now and I’m ok. So much has happened and so much is about to happen. This vacation/mission is what I needed to end my journey on Maui. It’s just started but I can tell it is going to be great, not only for me but for everyone. Thank you, Hana. Thank you for welcoming me home one last time before I go…

Notes

Here's another chapter my pretties! Hope you guys enjoy! There are a few picture links in there to help visualize. Mahalo for all of your reads and comments! I <3 all of you! Mahalo!! <3 <3 <3