Chapter 8

Alaina was looking out of the hotel window, they have been in New York for only a few days. Neither one of them had spoken or even been out of the room. She was thinking about everything that happened, she almost of understood what Abigail had done. Almost. It was at that point of time that was her favorite time of the day, when the sun was barely in the sky. Pinks, reds, and oranges colored the sky and the clouds. It was at this time when she could think most clearly. She knows that her sister didn't leave with the intention to be with someone else. And if that had been the case, she would have told them.

Perhaps they were too harsh with her. No, over a decade goes by without so much as a phone call or text message. She told herself. And the whole time she has been with him. She moved away from the window and paced back and forth. She might not have intended it, but she could've at least made some kind of contact with them the past few years. It's true that time moves more slowly for them, but even still. It's not any excuse. They were worried about her.

Either way, she was not going to let her ruin her and Arianna's shopping trip, they were going to have fun. She walked out of her room to find Arianna in the kitchen. She walked over to the closet and grabbed two coats, she handed one of them to her sister.

"Let's go shopping. That's what we came here to do, don't let her ruin anything for us." Arianna took her jacket and smiled, "Precisely what I was thinking, let's go and have some fun." They were laughing as they walked down the stairs into the hotel lobby. "Should we get a cab or should we walk?" Arianna asked.

Alaina thought for a moment, "It's a gorgeous day, let's walk. Besides we can get there faster than the cab anyway." Arianna laughed and they started down the street. After a few stores they were already loaded down with shopping bags. When they couldn't carry anymore, they sent them back to the hotel and they stopped at a restaurant to get something to drink. They were seated and the waitress took their drink order and walked off. Their sister wasn't even thought about.

Arianna was smiling as she spoke. "Ok, that was fun, but we have to get some bathing suits. I want to go to the beach."

"I do too, I want to go surfing. It's been a long time since we have hit the waves." She paused to think for a second. "Why don't we leave tomorrow?"

"Why don't we leave today? I mean, it will only take a few seconds to get back to the hotel and within a few more we could be packed and ready to go and it's still early."

Alaina thought it was a good idea. She didn't want to wait either, she was anxious to see the Pacific Ocean again. "We will have to go buy new suitcases first. Everything we bought won't fit into the ones we have now. We can new bathing suits when we get there, LA has better stores for them anyway."

"Let's go." Arianna called to the waiter to bring the check. They paid and as they walked out Alaina pulled out her phone to call the airlines to find the next flight to LA. They were in luck as one was leaving in two hours. They still had enough time to get suitcases and get to the airport without having to wait too long. She told them to book them for two seats and gave them the credit card number. They found a store not far from the hotel and walked in. They thought it would be best to get two big suitcases. It would hold all of their stuff and still have room to spare.

When they got back to the hotel Arianna went up to the room and started packing while Alaina checked them out of the hotel. Ready to take another flight, the sisters got into a cab and headed to JFK Airport. Both of them with smiles on their faces and without a single thought of despair. They had just gotten through airport security when they called for their flight to start boarding. They took their seats in first class, and argued over who got the window seat. Alaina won the seat and was bouncing up and down.

Arianna laughed at her sister "Calm down, we will be leaving in," She paused for a second. "Six minutes." She added.

"That's too long. I want to leave now. I'm glad you wanted to leave today. By in the morning, we will be riding the waves. And I can't wait." She let out a squeal of excitement.

The pilot came on the speaker "This is your captain speaking, thank you for choosing American Airlines. This flight from New York to Los Angeles will be leaving in a few moments. Please fasten your seatbelts and have a pleasant flight."

Alaina tried to calm herself and sat back in the seat. The flight attendants had already closed the doors and were putting on their seatbelts as well. They plane pushed off from the gate and started down the runway. Smiles big on their faces and the plane inched off the runway and into the air, higher and higher they climbed. When they leveled off the pilot turned off the fasten seatbelt sign and the attendants got up to deliver food and drinks.

Neither one of them got food but they took a couple of cokes. The flight was a seven hour flight and it seemed to take forever. By the time the pilot came back on the speaker to announce they were about to land, they were almost bouncing out of their seats. The sky was so clear that when Alaina looked out of it, she could see the ocean. When they finally landed on the tarmac and got to the gate, they were already out of their seats waiting for them to open the door to let them out.

They made their way down to baggage claim and decided that instead of getting a cab they would just rent a car. The city was too crowded for them to move around too fast without being noticed. They got a car and loaded their bags into it.

"We will need to find a hotel and get checked in before we go to the beach, then we still need to go buy bathing suits and find a surf shop to get a couple of boards." Alaina said.

"Well, let's go then! We are wasting time just standing here talking about it. I'm ready to be in the water already." They laughed and got into the car and headed towards the hotel. Because of traffic, it took them the better part of an hour to get to a hotel and get their stuff to the room. They hurried and got back into the car and headed to one of the city's more popular surf shops, having decided to get their bathing suits there as well as the surf boards. They were grateful they didn't have far to go from the store to the beach as it was just a few blocks away. They quickly changed and all but ran for the water.

They paddled out a little way, then waited for the right wave to come along. When it did, both of them turned their boards and started paddling. They caught the wave and stood up. They looked at each other, both with looks of pure ecstasy on their faces. Their only feelings were happiness forgetting their troubles. Arianna cried out with such joy as she took her board to the top of the wave then down it again. Neither one of them noticed how everyone within that section of the beach and the other surfers were watching them.

They were having so much fun that they had forgotten about almost everything else. And for once Alaina didn't see the same face that haunted her for so many years. They paddled out and rode back so many times they lost count. It was starting to get dark when they decided to head back to the hotel and change clothes.

"Let's go out tonight instead of staying in." Arianna had walked into the bathroom where Alaina was washing all the salt water out of her hair.

"Go where?" was her reply.

Arianna thought for a minute. "Let's go to a club. I want to go and dance. I'm so exhilarated I just can't sit still. This was the best day we have had in a long time and I am so happy." She let out a squeal of excitement. Alaina laughed. "Ok, yeah, let's go."

Arianna went to her room to pick out some clothes to wear. She sat down on the bed and let everything that happened that day sink in. Just yesterday, they were in New York and miserable. Now they were in Los Angeles and happy. Surfing, clubs, and more shopping, it's a good thing they had a lot of money. Their family had a lot of money, so much that they had spent what would seem like their whole inheritance and really didn't even dent it. And that was when they were still human. But all of that money in one account had almost tripled its size over the years. No matter how much they spent, it would take more than a couple of hundred years to go through it all. Even then they still had money coming in from oil wells and some stocks that Abigail had bought and other investments. They had houses all around the world and in so many different countries.

She sighed and looked out of her window. The sun was setting, the sky was purple and dark blue with reds and oranges dancing over it. She smiled as she stood up, what a wonderful day. She went over to the closet and got out her favorite pair of jeans, a blue satin shirt that hinted just a little at what was under it, and her black leather boots. She pulled out a pair of diamond earrings that dangled just a little, and the bracelet that their mother had given her on her sixteenth birthday. She glanced in the mirror as she walked out of her room.

Just like an ordinary girl going out to party, she thought. She smiled and walked out to find Alaina standing there wearing a white, black, and red silk shirt, black pants, and a pair red heels. They both looked stunning. Alaina put her arm through Arianna's as they walked out the door and rode the elevator down to the lobby. As they walked out into the night air, Arianna had a sudden thought.

"Let's buy a house here. A beach house, I'm not going to be ready to leave in just a few weeks. I want to stay here for a little while. Do some more surfing."

"Ok, we can find a realtor tomorrow. I was thinking somewhere a little remote though. Not quite in the city but not too far away either."

Arianna smiled. This was turning out to be a really great day. They walked out onto Ocean Avenue and found a few clubs. They decided to go to this charming little place since it looked like it was the busiest. They walked past the line and right up to the bouncer who couldn't stop staring at them. Without a word he moved the rope to let them in. Once they got in loud music hit their ears. Just what they wanted, the place was packed. It took them a few minutes before they finally maneuvered their way to the bar and ordered their drinks.

Taking their drinks, they made their way to an almost empty table. Half empty glasses and bottles were on the table but nobody was there. They called over a server and had her clear the drinks. They stood there watching people dance before they finally joined in. After a few hours of drinks and dancing, they decided to call it a night and head back to the hotel.