Mia's Heart (The Paradise Diaries) (5 page)

Yes,
I’ve heard of the saying.

The
size of a man’s foot is supposed to be directly parallel to the size of his…
um, male unit.

I
can’t even help myself.

I
eye his foot.

And
it is gigantic.

My
eyes fly to his face and find that he is nodding again.  And then he
laughs.

Gavin
is shaking his head.  He’s never seen me blush so much.  That much is
true.  I’m usually unflappable.  But this guy.  He gets to me.

And
I’ve almost decided that I hate it.

But
the verdict is still out.

Because
I might like it.

Gavin
drops anchor and the waves really are crazy.  The boat is rolling on top
of them and I have a brief sense of hesitation. 

“Should
we stay out here?” I ask him hesitantly.

He
looks at the water and shrugs. 

“We’re
here now.  Let’s just take a quick dive and then we’ll head in.”

I
nod.  “Fine with me.”

I
pull my wet suit on over my bathing suit and slide the mask onto my face. 
Gavin lifts the oxygen tank onto my back. 

Quinn
watches us prepare.

“Is
there anything I should be doing?” he asks.

Gavin
shakes his head.  “Nope.  The boat is anchored, so you won’t go
anywhere.  We’ll be back up shortly.”

Quinn
nods and Gavin grabs my hand and we jump over the side without hesitation.

It
is instantly calm beneath the water.

It
is exactly why I love to dive.

Nothing
can reach us here in the quiet underwater world.  No troubles, no stress,
no worry. 

My
flippers slide through the water with ease, propelling me downward.  My
hands cut through the crystal blue water and Gavin is right beside me.  I
glance upward and I can still see the outline of the boat above.  It looks
like a giant whale from here. 

I
turn my attention back to the water below me.

I
can just see the moss-covered tip of a mast of a sunken galleon when a strange
sensation ripples through my body.  I stop moving and the sensation
grows. 

It’s
a rumbling vibration, a weird shaking.

It’s
literally rolling through my body, like I’m sitting in a car with the bass
turned up too loud.

I
look at Gavin, my eyes wide. He is frozen too, floating in place in the water.

Our
eyes meet. 

And
then we notice that the sandy sediment on the sea floor is rolling toward us in
murky billows. 

What
the eff?

The
water continues to vibrate and shake around us and the moment that I think the
word
shake
, it occurs to me.

Earthquake. 

Chapter Five

Gavin
realizes it at the same moment that I do and we both spin and propel ourselves
upwards. 

HolyEffingEarthquake.

I
burst from the surface of the water and grip the side of the boat and I can
still feel the rumbling in the sea.  In order for us to feel it all the
way out here, the earthquake must be enormous.  We haven’t had a big one
in years and years, way before my lifetime.

Gavin
pulls himself over the side and then reaches over to give me a hand.  I
land on the floor of the boat in a clumsy heap and instantly start pulling off
my stuff.  My flippers, wetsuit and oxygen tank land in a pile. 

“What’s
going on?” Quinn asks.  He can see the anxiety on our faces and I’m sure
he can see the vibrating water.

“Earthquake,”
Gavin tells him.  Gav isn’t even undressing, he’s turning the boat toward
shore in his flippers, guiding the boat with capable hands.

Quinn
looks startled and he stands up to look out at the horizon. But the rough water
knocks him back down. He sprawls in a seat and stares at me in shock. 

My
heart thumps in my chest.

This
isn’t good.

And
from the look on Gavin’s face, the dead-serious expression that he never, ever
gets, he knows it too. We’re right in the middle of a serious situation, maybe
even dire.

I
gulp. 

As
we race toward the shore, jumping hard over waves, my teeth jar every time we land. 
We hit the water so hard that I can’t believe the belly of the boat doesn’t
splinter into pieces.  I grit my teeth and hold on. 

Quinn
is silent now and I almost wonder what he’s thinking, but then I’m distracted
by trying to hold on to the things that keep trying to fly out of the boat,
like life preservers, bags, flippers and so on.  I’ve never seen the
current or waves so bad.

We
fly into the bay and the way the boats are rolling on the waves as they sit in
their slips is unnerving. They are haunting and spooky as they move with the
sea.  One of them has flipped onto its side and I know that it will
sink.  Water is flooding its deck.  Debris is floating in the water;
oars and cushions and cups and pieces of wood, and I am almost too afraid to
look onto the shore. 

But
I do.

And
I gasp.

The
Harbor Master’s building is in rubble, in an absolute shambles. 

And
the complete seriousness of this hits us.

“Holy
shit,” Gavin breathes.  He reaches over and grabs my hand as he noses us
into his slip.  “We’ve got to move.”

“But
where should we go?” I ask as we scramble from the boat and onto dry
land.  The ground is not moving, but after a moment, I feel a short
rumble.

Aftershocks.

They
vibrate my feet and I gulp.

Even
the air feels scary, like a premonition or foreboding.  Or
something.  I try to ignore it. 

“I
don’t know,” Gavin admits.  He climbs up beside me, then releases my hand
to help Quinn from the swaying boat.  “Somewhere other than here.”

“We
should stay together,” Quinn points out calmly.

He’s
right.  And I say so. 

There’s
no one else in the harbor, something that I find strange.  Although,
looking back, I realize that there wasn’t really anyone here when we left.
Everyone else was smart enough to not venture into the waves.

Gavin’s
cell phone rings and we look at each other, startled.

In
the heat of the moment, we had forgotten that we had phones.

He
picks it up and I can see the relief on his face as he talks to his mom. After
a few moments, he hangs up and looks at me.

“My
parents are fine.  But the Earthquake was bad.  Roads are
blocked.  My parents say to go to the Old Palace and wait there.”

I
gulp. 

With
shaking fingers, I pull out my phone.  I try my house and there is no
answer.  I try again, and this time, I get a weird busy signal. 

This
can’t be good.

“Gavin,
I’ve got to go to my house,” I tell him. 

He
looks uncertain.  “But my parents said we should wait at the Old Palace.
I’m sure yours would want you to do the same thing. Your father is probably
there.”

The
Old Palace is the Capitol building of Caberra.  It houses the courts,
various government agencies and the Prime Minister’s residence and it is where
our fathers work.  It is located in the heart of Valese and it is in the
exact opposite direction of my house from here.

Quinn
steps forward.  “Surely we can drive past Mia’s house on the way to the
Old Palace,” he says.  “It’s only a little out of the way, right?”

I
am grateful for this. I am shaken and scared and it’s nice to have someone back
me up.  Although, I’m fairly certain that Gavin would have taken me
anyway. He nods reluctantly now.

“Okay. 
If the roads are passable.  We have to watch for downed power lines,
though. We don’t want to get electrocuted.”

I
gulp again.  I have the feeling this is going to be a national disaster.

As
we walk to Gavin’s car, a large black Land Rover, I try to call my house
again.  I get the weird busy signal again.

A
heavy feeling settles in my stomach. 

Something
isn’t right at my house.

I
know it right now.

We
drive in silence and from the passenger seat, I stare at the carnage from my
window.  Houses are in rubble everywhere.  Beautiful ancient
buildings and shiny modern ones too.

This
can’t be happening. 

But
it is.

Sirens
wail and the entire scene seems to pass by in slow motion.  I know it is
because I’m in shock. And anyone would be in shock.  Gavin seems to be,
too.  Quinn is quiet in the backseat and we watch people walking
aimlessly.  Everyone seems astounded.  People are dirty, their
clothing torn.

Our
home country is a wreck.

“It’s
probably a good thing we were on the water,” Gavin says quietly.  “We
weren’t in a building somewhere.”

And
then it hits me.

My
parents don’t know where I am. 

I’m
supposed to be in my room, but I left.

I
left without telling them.

My
heart lodges in my throat and the guilt is unbearable.

We
are able to drive through the carnage and reach my house.  But when we get
to the electric gates, they won’t open when I punch in the code.  And I
realize that there must not be any power. 

“Can
you give me a boost?” I ask Quinn.  He looks surprised. 

“You
want to climb over that?” He eyes the tall brick wall.  “How will you get
back over?”

I
shrug.  “I’ll figure out how to push the gate open.”

“I’m
coming with you,” he says firmly, as he cups his hands for me to step
into.  I’m surprised, because he doesn’t know me or owe me anything. 
But I don’t say anything.  I step into his hands and he vaults me over the
wall.  He quickly follows me, and Gavin after him.  The three of us
make our way up my long driveway and I can’t believe my eyes.

My
house is in rubble.

Trees
are down everywhere on the property and it truly looks like a warzone.

This.

Can’t.

Be.

Happening.

Everything
is still and silent. And then there is another rumbling aftershock and I can’t
help but gasp. The sound is noisy in the silence.

This
is freaking insane.  My crumbled house is like an eerie ghost town.

“It’s
going to be fine,” Quinn tells me quietly.  His presence is calming. 
I hadn’t noticed that before, but it is true.  “I promise.”

“How
can you promise that?” I ask him. “You don’t know.”

“I
do know.” He nods confidently. 

But
I don’t feel so confident.

Everything
is spookily calm and quiet.  I don’t see my mom or even the servants,
which is odd.  It’s only been half an hour since the quake.  This
causes a heavy feeling to lodge in my throat.  Where are they?

I
push through the rubble of my front door and find that everything is knocked
down in my house.  The walls, the ceiling, the doors. Wires are hanging
haphazardly, chandeliers look hauntingly gaunt and skeletal as they hang limply
in the air.  

“Mom?”
I call out.  My voice seems small in this silent chaos.

“Adrianna?”
Gavin yells. 

No
answer. 

I
plow forward, pushing broken and jagged things out of my way.

Quinn
grabs my arm. 

“Be
careful,” he warns me.  “There could be exposed wires.”

I
gulp.

Then
continue on. 

My
mom would have looked for me in this mess.  She wouldn’t have left,
because she would think that I was under the rubble in my room.  Because
my room is where I’m supposed to be.

My
heart is heavy as I head down what is left of the hallway leading to my room.

There
is no noise here but for the crackle and pop of debris. 

“Mom?”
I call again, but my voice doesn’t contain any hope.  Because if my mother
is here, she is unable to answer and I don’t want to speculate on why that
might be.

“Mia,”
Gavin says uncertainly as the building rumbles and moans around us. “We
shouldn’t be here. This isn’t safe.”

Even
as he speaks, a piece of the hallway wall tumbles in front of us and Quinn
yanks me out of the way.

“Let’s
go,” Gavin urges me.  His eyes are anxious. 

“Just
a minute,” I insist.  “I just have to look inside of my room.  That’s
where she would have gone.”

“You
have one minute,” Gavin says firmly.  I nod and he stays right on my
heels.  Quinn still has my elbow.  And everything is a blur.