Chapter 23
Another chill ran down my spine.
There had to be a logical explanation.
That’s what I kept telling myself. No one could have gotten into the en suite while I was showering. I would have noticed them.
Wouldn’t I?
I mean, I was off in my own world with my eyes closed at times.
Maybe the previous occupant had written on the mirror, and the oily residue from their fingerprints remained. If that were the case, I’d have noticed it before.
Wouldn’t I?
Maybe a stew was trying to leave me a message and had written it during turn up after we left this morning. Maybe certain crew members knew something I didn’t.
Look, there are a lot of things about this world that I can’t explain.
But I know there is something more than meets the eye.
I’ve felt it. I’ve seen glimpses of the future that came to pass.
Intuition? Coincidence? Something else? Who knows?
But Kate’s spirit writing messages to me in the mirror was not something I wanted to wrap my head around.
She was a figment of my imagination.
Wasn’t she?
With my heart still pounding, I got dressed and looked around the stateroom once again to make sure nobody was hiding in the walk-in closet or anywhere else. Then I peered into the hallway. It was empty.
I closed the door, went back into the en suite, and looked at the mirror again. By that time, the steam had dissipated, and the message was gone.
I called Vanessa.
She answered after a few rings. "Hey, what's going on?"
"Can you come down here? I need to show you something."
"What?" she asked in a skeptical voice.
"Just come down here.”
"Okay. I'm on my way."
She ended the call and was at my door a few moments later. I let her in, gave another glance down the hallway, then closed the hatch and latched the deadbolt.
"So what's going on?" she asked, suspicious.
"Okay. Don't freak out."
She sighed and gave me a look. "What is it now?"
"I'm not going to make a big deal out of it or anything. I just want you to promise not to freak out."
"I can't make a promise not to freak out when I don't know what's going on."
"Something was written on the mirror.”
Her brow knitted. "What do you mean?”
I stepped into the en suite, blasted the hot water in the shower, then stepped back into the cabin and closed the door.
I told her what I had seen on the mirror.
She rolled her eyes. "So what?"
"Don't you think it's odd?”
After enough steam had gathered in the en suite, I opened the door. Through the haze, we both looked at the mirror. It had fogged over, but there was no message.
No warning.
My jaw dropped. "It was there before.”
"It’s not there now.”
I shook my head in disbelief. "No. Somebody came into this room and wrote a warning on the mirror. Maybe one of the crew."
"Why would somebody write a warning to you?"
Then it dawned on me. I almost didn't want to say it, but I did anyway. "What if Declan wrote it? A message. He doesn't like me. He wants me off the boat. What if he's trying to freak me out?"
Vanessa scoffed. "Declan?”
"Yes, Declan. He's worried I'm going to screw up the deal. You said so yourself.”
An exasperated sigh escaped her lips again. "Teagan, why are you doing this?”
"Doing what?”
"Making up all this drama. Is it just for attention?"
I clenched my teeth and glared at her. "No. It's not for attention. I don't want or need attention.” I paused. "In case you haven't been paying attention, I almost died today.”
Vanessa frowned. "I know. I'm sorry that happened to you. I'm glad you're okay,” she said, trying not to sound annoyed. “But don’t you think maybe that stress could be getting to you a little?”
"You’re damn right it’s getting to me."
"Don't you see the pattern here? You experience a traumatic event, then you make up these wild stories… like Kate, or the writing on the mirror. Maybe it's your way of coping with these events.”
My blood boiled. I felt like my head was going to explode. It took everything I had to maintain my calm. "It's not my way of coping.”
"Then what is it?"
I took deep breaths and a long pause to steady myself.
“This is the same shit you did in high school. All this drama. All this psychic bullshit. You always had to be the center of attention.”
“What?” Vanessa always had to be the center of attention.
“It was your move to get any guy you wanted. Create drama, play the victim, get rescued by the knight in shining armor.”
“That’s not true.”
“That’s how you got my boyfriend.”
“It is not. I didn’t steal your boyfriend. Trent came on to me at Becky’s party. I turned him down.”
“Not what I heard.”
I sighed in frustration. “People can say whatever they want. Doesn’t make it true.”
She glared at me.
“Why are we still talking about high school? I thought we put the past behind us?”
Vanessa shrugged.
There was a long silence.
I broke the tension and said, "Don't you find it the least bit odd that my regulator failed?”
"I think it's unusual, yes. But things like that happen."
"I think someone's trying to get rid of me.”
She balked. "Oh my God, are you serious?"
"Yes, I'm serious.”
"Who stands to gain by your demise?"
I looked at her like she was an idiot. "Isn't it obvious?”
She finally caught on. Her eyes narrowed at me. "Are you saying Declan sabotaged your regulator?”
I shrugged. "The thought had crossed my mind.”
Vanessa sneered at me. "No. Just no. Don't even go there. I don't want to hear any of that nonsense.”
I stood there like a child scolded.
Vanessa growled in frustration. "Are we going to have a problem?”
After a long pause, I said, "No. No problem. I'm just trying to talk through things with my friend."
"Well, maybe you shouldn't talk about every crazy thought that runs through your head.”
My jaw dropped, and I huffed. I was so mad and hurt. My throat tightened, and my eyes filled. I sat down on the edge of the bed and sobbed. "I just don't know what's wrong with me. I don't know if I'm losing my mind or what."