Conflicted: Keegan's Chronicles (14 page)

Venice was beautiful, and exciting. The
colorful buildings were so close to the edge of the canals, they
seemed to shoot out of the water. Tourists clogged the streets,
though Keegan didn’t think they could be called streets. More like
a cobblestone maze, she thought more than once as she followed her
family.

The city was bisected by canals, so sections
of it were connected by bridge. However, they weren’t normal
bridges; they were made completely of stairs. That meant Warrick
and his stroller had to be carried over every one.

Keegan felt bad for anyone in a
wheelchair.

“This place is not stroller friendly at
all,” Emerald remarked as they hefted Warrick over yet another set
of stairs.

“If we ever return it will be without
children,” Richard laughed.

“I agree,” Emerald said, tossing him a
smile, “but I’m glad the kids got to see it. Though it would be
better if Warrick was older.”

They had some time before they could check
into the hotel, so they browsed shops and picked out some souvenirs
and gifts. Keegan also got a mask for her collection.

Seeing all the masks lining the shop wall
gave her a great idea. She sent Lauren a text.
Great idea. Masquerade theme for our
prom.

Lauren replied back.
Genuis. How’s trip?

Amazing

Jealous have fun xoxo

Everyone was pretty tired so they took a
water taxi back to the hotel to get some sleep for the cruise in
the morning. Keegan couldn’t wait. Cruise ships always had the best
food and you could eat as much as you wanted.

Their hotel was dirty and smelly, so Keegan
was glad they only had to stay one night.

“Donald, can you come to my room and watch a
movie?” Keegan wrapped her arms around his waist.

“I don’t think so, Keegan.” Her father gave
her a stern look.

“You guys are lame. We aren’t going to do
anything.”

“Why don’t you just go to the boys’ room and
watch a movie?” Her mother was clearly trying to keep the
peace.

“Thanks a lot, Mom. As if we haven’t had
enough of Keegan for one day,” Thaddeus grumbled under his breath.
"Come on Sam let's at least pick out the movie before she ruins
that too.

“You’ll live, son.”

“Let’s order some room service!” Keegan
exclaimed, pulling Donald towards Thaddeus’s room.

They stayed up till after midnight, snacking
and watching movies, before Keegan headed to her own room.

Donald walked her to her door, their hands
swinging playfully between them.

As they came to a stop at her door, he
whispered, “Good night,” and leaned down to kiss her. Her stomach
filled with butterflies at the touch of his hands on her waist as
he pulled her close to him. She fell into his kiss, forgetting
anything but how it felt.

Keegan closed the door and leaned back
against it.
How can
this be wrong when it feels so right?

Racing across the room, she threw herself on
to the bed. She had feelings for Donald, it was true, but despite
the way she felt, Rourk still remained in her thoughts.

She thought of her chosen at the oddest
times. He was probably doing well at basic training and was almost
done by now, or at least the first phase. Her father explained the
process to her, and it was a long one. He said Rourk would break
many of the records while he was there because he was that good of
a solider.

If only she knew more about her chosen. She
couldn’t even remember what he liked to do.
Maybe I should have given him more of a
chance
, she thought, staring at the ceiling.
Too late for that.

Besides, she had Donald.

Grinning at the thought of him, Keegan
rolled off the bed and jumped in the shower. After such a long day
of traveling, the hot water felt so good on her skin. She stayed in
the shower until it turned cold and then went to bed.

***

The next morning she was awakened by her
brother banging on the door and yelling, “You better get up. The
breakfast bar closes in fifteen minutes.”

That was enough to get her out of bed. “I’ll
be right out.”

She threw on a pair of blue, worn sweatpants
and a school t-shirt. Tossing her hair up in a ponytail she ran
down to eat. It was obvious everyone had been awake much longer
than she since they were already showered and ready to go. Keegan
wolfed down a couple of croissants, some ham and eggs, and coffee
in record time. The food wasn’t that good, but she couldn’t expect
the best from a stinky hotel.

The worst part about a cruise was waiting in
the line to get on the ship. That took forever. “Come on, Mom,
can’t we use magic to skip the line?”

“Keegan, you are getting ridiculous. We’ll
be onboard before you know it.”

An hour later they were finally able to get
to their room and settle in. They decided to grab lunch while they
waited for the mandatory safety brief. Keegan refused to go. “I’ll
just stay in my room and disappear when I hear the door for the
check.”

Her mom was so fed up with her by that time
that she agreed. Keegan grinned and went and laid back on her bed.
She’d go through her photos while they wasted an hour or so on the
drill. Thirty minutes later she heard the doorknob turn and she
felt the familiar tingling as she disappeared. She loved her gift.
Too bad she wasn’t able to use it more often.

When everyone returned they went and checked
out the boat. It was huge; there were sixteen floors for the guests
alone. They had a rock climbing wall, miniature golf, skating rink,
basketball, and a cool teen room. Plus all the pools and hot tubs.
It was too cold for swimming, but Keegan planned on spending a lot
of time in the hot tub.

Later that night, Donald and Keegan decided
to go check out the teen hangout. They were having a dance party
which of course was right up Donald’s alley. Keegan loved dancing
with him even if it was somewhat embarrassing. She thought it was
so cute that he really thought he was a good dancer. Her favorite
part was when a slow song would come on and he would pull her
close. The rest of the room seemed to disappear.

“I’m so glad you were able to come.” She
smiled up at him.

“Me too. I feel like the luckiest guy in the
world.”

“You are.” Keegan laughed and tiptoed to
kiss him.

***

The next morning they docked in Koper,
Slovenia, a beautiful little coastal town. It was chilly on the
water so they bundled up before they headed out. Keegan pulled on
the green sherpa hat she had bought in Nepal that she loved so
much, and her new tan mid-length wool coat. Her parents just wanted
to go walking and explore the town. Thaddeus and Sam wanted to stay
on the boat, big surprise there. They said they wanted to have the
arcade to themselves. Her brother was a serious nerd at times.

Keegan looked around trying to figure out
what they should do. “Donald, lets go on the horse drawn carriage.
I’ve always wanted to do that.”

Donald grabbed her hand and they crossed the
street to where the woman was standing on the curb, running a brush
over one of her horses. “Can we get a ride?”

“Of course, I can take you around the town
if you’d like and we can stop at one of the cafes.” Her English was
pretty good.

Keegan looked up at Donald and smiled. “That
sounds amazing!”

They jumped in and the woman handed them a
colorful wool blanket to drape over their legs. Donald wrapped his
arm around her, pulling her close to his warmth. Keegan rested her
head on his shoulder and sighed. “This is the most romantic thing
I’ve ever done. It’s like something out of a movie.”

Donald turned her face towards him and
leaned down to kiss her softly. Keegan felt like she was floating
on air. She didn’t think she had ever felt so happy.

The town was beautiful and the cafe was nice
and warm. They were friendly, even with the language barrier.
Keegan really needed to work on her language skills. All she knew
was
ciao
,
which was hello and goodbye in Italian.

After the cafe, the woman took them by an
old castle. It was pretty, but also a little creepy.

“Would you like to go on a tour of the
castle?”

“Not this time, we just want to stay in the
carriage as long as we can.” Keegan smiled at the woman.

“I understand. Young love is a beautiful
thing.”

Keegan blushed.
Were they in love?
Keegan wasn’t
sure she even knew what it felt like to be in love. Donald squeezed
her tighter and ran his hand through her hair, staring deep into
her eyes.

Maybe they were.

***

They next day they got off the cruise in
Croatia, another coastal town as lovely as the last. This time,
they walked around town with the rest of the family. They stopped
at a local cafe and had some pizza. It was really cold out so they
didn’t stay off the boat too long. Once back on the ship, Keegan
and her mother went and spent some time in the spa.

“So what do you want to do, the works or
just a massage?”

“Let’s do the works since tonight is the
formal dinner.”

“Ok, but your Dad and I are not going to the
dinner. You know Warrick can’t sit through something like that.
We’ll be eating at the buffet. I think you and Donald are on your
own. You won’t be able to bribe your brother into getting dressed
up.”

The spa receptionist escorted them to the
relaxation area. Keegan loved being pampered. She figured her
mother was just humoring her since this wasn’t really her
thing.

“I have to admit Donald is a nice boy. I can
see why you are interested in him.”

“Isn’t he so cute, Mom?”

“He is pretty cute. He’s got the orange hair
going for him.” Her mother laughed.

After spending three hours in the spa, they
went back to their rooms to get ready for the formal dining. Keegan
loved to dress up. She pulled out her dress and held it up in front
of her, spinning around.

They already did her hair and makeup at the
salon so all she had to do was slip into the dress. It was a full
length Grecian style dark green flowing dress. Keegan slipped on
her heels and checked herself out in the mirror. Her hair was up
with a couple of loose curls and her makeup was pretty dramatic,
especially in the eyes.

Keegan made her way to the boys’ room to get
Donald. When he opened the door he took a step back. “Whoa, Keegan,
just when I think you can’t get any more beautiful you show up
looking like this. Wow.”

“Thank you.” She twirled around and
smiled.

“You are so adorable when you blush from a
compliment.”

“Well, I guess you’ll have to keep giving
them to me.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem.”

“Ok, let’s go. You know they get cranky when
we’re late. I want us to get our pictures taken together too.”

Their time on the ship passed in a whirlwind
of sun, lazy days, and Donald. Keegan couldn’t remember a time when
she’d been so happy or at peace. When the time came to return home,
she wanted to hold on to him and Italy as long as she could.

As they were getting into their class A
military dress uniform, Rourk looked over at Tommy.

He was seated on his bed, putting on his
boots. His face broke into a huge grin. “We made it, man. I wasn’t
sure I was going to at times, but thanks to you, we made it.”

Rourk smiled. “Enjoy the moment, but don’t
get too excited. There is still a long journey ahead of us. We
still have three weeks left here for airborne before we move on to
the big leagues. This will seem like a joke once we start the
Special Forces selection process.”

Tommy went silent a moment as he buttoned
his shirt, then cleared his throat. “Rourk, I’m not sure I am cut
out to be a green beret.”

“Nonsense,” Rourk said sharply. “Don’t ever
speak like that again around me. Confidence and a positive attitude
will take you a long way.”

“What if they separate us?”

“That’s a possibility, Tommy, however I have
a feeling we’re stuck together through this. Life is funny that
way.”

“I sure hope you’re right.”

The barracks were filled with activity and
excitement was palpable in the air. It brought a smile to Rourk’s
face. Human or elfin, soldiers were soldiers. Most were
anticipating seeing their family members after so much time apart.
Rourk wondered if he would be the only one without anyone. Probably
not. Tommy’s parents were coming and he seemed to be happy about
that.

Because of Christmas, they had two weeks off
after graduation. Rourk wasn’t sure what he was going to do with
his time off. He had debated going home to see Keegan, but he
wasn’t sure he could handle the rejection. He had been planning on
hiking the Appalachian Trail, eventually. Maybe he’d start that to
pass the time.

When they were all lined up and their
uniforms were inspected, the soldiers were sent out to receive
their certificate of completion. Rourk stood straight as a rod when
they called his name. He was slightly taken aback when they
announced he was the Distinguished Honor Graduate. They gave a
speech about him being the top of his class and making them proud.
Rourk’s eyes scanned the crowd and he was surprised to see his
father, Richard, and Thaddeus beaming at him.

His heart dropped, was Keegan there? He
looked around but did not see her anywhere. A wave of sadness
washed over him, but he put one foot in front of the other and
walked off the stage, hoping his emotions did not show. Everyone
clapped and some of the guys chanted “Kavanaugh.”

Rourk should have felt proud of the
accomplishment, but all he could feel was a deep emptiness
throughout his body. He wanted to be anywhere else.

Once Rourk was able, he walked over to see
his father. Greg gave him a hug, much to Rourk’s surprise. “I
didn’t expect to see you guys here.”