Chapter Sixteen #2
“You mean that she’s alive?” Beth looks up at me, her face lit by the glow of her phone screen.
She cocks her head, eyeing me sympathetically.
“Palmer, no. Of course not. Emma’s right, Gigi’s doing this all for publicity.
She’s squeezing every drop she can out of Courtney’s disappearance, like she’s always done.
But that note was lower than ever, even for Gigi.
Can’t say I’m that surprised. Gigi would do anything to increase her social following. ”
I roll onto my back and stare at the window hatch overhead.
Wrestling to keep my thoughts from running wild and imagining Courtney hiding somewhere on this ship.
I shudder, recalling the desperate, haunting entries of the captain’s log on the ship, The Demeter, in Dracula, which Beth convinced me to buddy read with her last October.
One by one, the captain’s crewmen disappeared while keeping watch in the night until the captain was the only one left, alone on the ship with the vampire who murdered his men.
When the ship reached a harbor, the captain’s body was found bound to the ship’s wheel.
Beneath us, the hull moaned as the boat swayed.
“Palmer.”
My heart hammers in my chest as I consider for the first time since our high school rafting trip that Courtney might have survived.
“Palmer.” Beth’s voice cuts through the darkness, only inches away from me.
I turn onto my side. “What?”
“I just googled Gigi and found an article posted yesterday. It may not be true, but you know how Gigi’s husband wasn’t at our send-off at the marina and how she was so against us turning around?”
“Yeah?”
Beth lowers her voice a notch. “This article says that Gigi is being sued over allegedly buying more than two million followers. And her social media accounts will likely be taken down. And her husband Alex is divorcing her. There was no prenup because Gigi believed he was much wealthier than her. But the article stated he’s not really a hotel heir and instead has a criminal record in Europe.
According to the piece, he’s pushing to split her net worth and demanding some very hefty spousal support. ”
I draw in a breath. I didn’t think it was possible to feel sorry for Gigi, but I do. “Do you think it’s true?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me. Plus, it explains why she’s so desperate to finish this trip.”
I think back to the tears in Gigi’s eyes when the captain said we might have to reroute. And her painkillers disguised as seasickness pills.
“That’s awful about her husband.” I think of Matt, then his young girlfriend, before pushing them both from my mind. The boat tilts, and my stomach churns. “I don’t know how I’m going to sleep through this,” I say, although it’s not the storm that has my mind spinning.
I feel Beth sit up, then hear her rustling through her bag.
“Take a Dramamine,” she says.
“I’m not that nauseated. I’m more . . . scared.”
“The captain said he’ll turn back if it gets any worse. He’s been sailing for over thirty years. I think we can trust his competence.”
It’s not just the storm that I’m scared of. “You’re probably right,” I say, hoping to convince myself.
“I’m always right.”
I sense Beth’s smile even though I can’t see her. “Here.” She nudges my arm with her hand. “Take one anyway. It will help you sleep.”
I take the bottle from her and sit up. Beth flicks on the ceiling light as I reach for my water bottle beside the bed.
“Thanks,” I say after swallowing a pill.
“No problem.”
She kills the light, and we lie in silence on our rolling bed until Beth’s breathing morphs into soft snores. My thoughts drift back to Gigi. Her seemingly perfect life is just as messed up as mine.
I recall the five of us, setting out on that hike twenty years ago, not knowing we’d come back as four and how it would eat at us forever.
Beneath us, the hull groans. My mind reels with the idea of Courtney on board, back for revenge over what I did to her. A shudder runs down my spine.
When I finally succumb to sleep, I dream of Courtney.
“Palmer, wake up. I think something’s wrong.”
I open my eyes to Beth shaking me in the dark. Rain pelts against the foredeck above our bed. My head feels fuzzy from the Dramamine I took before falling asleep, and I wipe drool from the side of my mouth.
“Where’s Nojan? Have you seen him?” Adam’s panicked tone sounds right outside our stateroom door.
“No, we were sleeping.” I recognize Emma’s gravelly voice. “Why? What’s going—”
A fist raps against our door. “Palmer? Beth?” Adam shouts. “Have you seen the captain?”
Beth sits up. I hear her flick the ceiling light on, but we remain in darkness.
Rap, rap, rap.
“Hey, Palmer. Beth,” Adam calls.
Beth slides out of bed as I sit up, suddenly wide awake. She opens the door. Adam’s flashlight shines on her, illuminating her bed head of dark waves. The rest of the boat is dark.
“Have you seen the captain?” His tone is curt. Panicked.
It sends a ripple of fear down my spine.
“No,” Beth says. “We were asleep.”
The flashlight beam swings toward me. I squint and shake my head, lifting my hand to block the light shining in my eyes. On the other end of the boat, a door swings open, flapping against the wall as we roll over a swell.
“What’s going on?” Gigi calls. “Why aren’t the lights working?”
Adam spins around. “I just got up to take my shift at the helm, and Nojan’s gone,” Adam says.
“Shit,” Beth mutters.
Outside our room, Emma gasps.
Heart pounding, I get out of bed and grab onto Beth’s arm as the floor dips. This boat is too small for someone to go missing on board. My veins constrict with panic as I tighten my grip on Beth’s upper arm. “Oh my—” The boat tilts, and I fall to the side, pushing us both against the wall.
“Nojan must’ve gone overboard in the storm,” Adam says.
“What?” Gigi exclaims.
With my heart in my throat, I draw in a sharp breath as the floor sways beneath my feet. Overboard? But how?
“All the rope tethers are still on the boat,” Adam adds.
“You mean he’s . . .” Beth’s voice trails off.
“Gone,” Adam says.
No. “He can’t be.” I stare at Adam, thinking of my girls. I have to get home to them. I push past him. “Nojan has to be here somewhere.”
Adam blocks my path. “Stop. I’ve already checked. If you go up there without a life vest, you’ll just end up in the water with him.”
“We need to call the Coast Guard,” Emma says. “They can look for him, hopefully before it’s too late. We can’t stay out in this storm without a captain.”
Adam’s flashlight beam swings toward Emma. “We’ve lost power. Unless I can get it back on, we can’t call anyone.”