Chapter 38
S.S. DOMINION
Adria woke up under a pile of limbs, the gentle rocking of the ship having lulled her into one of the deepest sleep she’d had in years. The narrow bed barely contained the four of them, but somehow, they’d managed.
Through the small porthole window, morning light danced across the metal walls of their cabin. The last few weeks on the ship had been so easy, she didn’t want it to end.
Bryson’s eyes found hers, and the two shared a brief moment of solidarity. Today was their last day on the ship.
Elena had made it out of Mexico, Eric had made it to the Port of Santos, and later that day they would be joining him, and eventually she would meet X.
Every one of them understood the importance of today going smoothly, but she felt that Bryson was more uneasy than the rest.
Adria hadn’t quite put her finger on why. The four of them had spent so much time in their room, she hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to him alone. Adria was hopeful when they settled at X’s, she would finally be able to get him one on one.
Kaydon hadn’t self-harmed once on the trek. A fact that Adria rewarded him for regularly.
“Can we just stay here forever?” she said to Bryson.
Bryson ran his fingers through Seth’s hair. “We can’t leave Eric all alone.”
He meant it as a joke, but it felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her. A day hadn’t gone by that she hadn’t noticed his absence.
Adria couldn’t shake his words from before she had left, You’re in good hands.
Did he not feel like he had a purpose with her anymore?
Adria knew she was going to find a way to show him how far from the truth that was. Her life would never be complete without Eric. He was beyond family. Better than a big brother or a father figure; she could not, would not, imagine her life without him.
Pulling an oversized t-shirt over her head, and the cotton caught briefly on her unruly hair, she made her way above deck.
Salt air hit her face as Adria stepped outside. She leaned against the railing, enjoying the sight of the sun hitting the water. Bryson was the first to stand next to her. Putting both arms on the railing, jaw working silently as he stared out into the sea.
Something was bothering him today.
“Hey, you,” she said, moving her hand on the railing to touch his. He moved his gaze from the ocean to her face.
“You okay?” she asked, giving his hand a squeeze.
Something flickered behind his eyes, but Bryson gave her a warm smile. “I’m perfect, gorgeous.”
Adria wanted to push, wanted to ask more questions. She opened her mouth, but the metal door clanged behind them and Bryson’s gaze snapped back to the water.
“I am going to miss this view every morning,” Kaydon said, steam rising from his coffee mug. Seth appeared silently at her other side, pressing a warm mug into her palm.
Bryson’s shoulders tensed with each breath. The same way hers did when she was swallowing words. She needed to talk to him. He wanted to pretend that everything was fine, but Adria was an expert at hiding pain, and she saw right through him.
The sea stretched before the four of them, deceptively calm after days of pitching and rolling beneath their feet.
They had been through three storms, four nights of raging sea sickness and many mornings of watching the sun paint the water gold.
Now, dark smudges of land interrupted the clean line where sky met ocean.
Adria’s tea slowly cooled from the wind, the lukewarm contents going untouched in her hands. She watched the colors dance off the water below. It was a beautiful morning. Except Adria couldn’t help fixating on the shadows beyond. And she couldn’t help but feel like everything was about to change.