Chapter 11 Did You Notice Something?
“Where the hell are Vincent and Sivan?” I hear my father shout.
Inside his office, things are more chaotic than I’ve ever seen them.
Crew members are bumping into one another, shuffling in and out of the room as we walk in.
There are papers strewn all over my father’s desk, and Gwendolyn is lying atop the pile.
He’s pissed. He never takes his sword out inside his office unless he’s angry or lecturing me.
Since there are so many people here, he’s not gonna lecture me.
“What took you two so long?” my father asks me.
“We came as soon as you asked us to. What are you yelling about?”
My father sits on the corner of his desk, while Sivan’s dad walks over and stands beside him. “You boys left the ship,” Captain Crawford says. “Thought you weren’t feeling well?”
“We just needed a bit of air,” Sivan says.
My father nods his head slowly, taking in the sight of the two of us. “Well, it turns out that Harlow has decided she wants to call off your engagement. Now, why is that?”
I’m completely frozen and unsure of what to do, or how to answer. One part of me wants to celebrate what he said, but I have a bad feeling about this.
Lyndon, Captain Crawford’s first mate, hastily makes his way over toward him. He whispers something into his ear, then walks back outside of the room.
“Alright,” Captain Crawford says. “Seems like the last time Captain Slicer’s ship was spotted was ten days ago off the coast.”
“Which coast?” my father asks.
“Your coast, here, what else would I be talking about?” Captain Crawford answers.
“Doesn’t make any sense,” my father says. “How would none of my guys have seen that?”
I just had an ominous feeling wash over me, along with a thought that I definitely won’t share with anyone. But in three days, this will be my problem, since I’ll be a captain then. This also gives me a chance not to answer the question about Harlow.
“Captain,” I say to my father. “If he was here ten days ago, and the messenger is still here; what does that mean for us?”
My father points at me. “This doesn’t concern you right now. The only thing I want to hear from you is what happened with Harlow. We will deal with Captain Slicer.”
I pull my head back. Kind of embarrassing to be talked to like that in front of the crew, but it’s my father’s ship, so there’s not much I can do about it.
I had no idea she was going to call it off, but I’m still a bit hesitant to be happy about it.
“What do you mean what happened? Nothing happened, Captain.”
My father isn’t buying the shit I’m trying to sell him right now.
He stands from the side of the desk and walks around it.
“Well, that’s not what her mother said. I heard that the engagement is off.
Now, try again. What happened?” my father asks, sitting down in his captain’s chair.
He rubs the blade of his sword and looks at Captain Crawford.
I glance at Sivan, who’s displaying the most neutral expression ever.
He’s not giving anything away. No one has any clue of what we’ve been doing—it’s strange that hiding this can feel both exciting and awful at the same time.
I don’t know where Matteo is; he normally bails me out of these situations.
I look around the room for him, but he’s not here.
I just realized he hasn’t texted me at all today, which is also really strange. I didn’t see him this morning, either.
Sivan leans close to my ear. “Why are you looking for him?”
I turn my face toward his; he’s so close to me now. My body, despite the situation we’re in, is kind of reacting to the scent of him, and his warm breath on my ear. “How do you know who I’m looking for?”
The tip of his nose touches the top of my ear, brushing my earring. “You’re looking for Matteo because you’re used to him bailing you out. You don’t need him. You belong to me,” he says and steps toward my father’s desk.
Chills, actual chills, run up my spine from the hotness of what he just did.
“Captain,” Sivan says. “Vincent was still not feeling well after he rested. I took him out to get some fresh air. We saw Harlow briefly before we left. She didn’t mention that she would be calling off the engagement.”
Our fathers exchange a look. It feels like they know something, but that can’t be it. We’ve been really careful. Well, I did just go down on him on the dock, but no one saw that.
“Is Harlow pregnant?” Sivan’s father asks.
“What?!” Sivan and I both shout.
“No, of course not, why are you asking me that, Captain Crawford?”
Sivan holds a hand on his head, rubbing his temples. “Yeah, Captain, why would you ask him that?”
Captain Crawford holds his palms out. He shrugs a bit and glances at my father.
“Your dad and I just find this whole thing very strange. You say you don’t like the girl, then you announce your engagement.
Sheena was absolutely hysterical; she came in here screaming that Harlow wants to call off the engagement. ”
My father’s arms are crossed as he strokes his goatee.
“So, if she isn’t pregnant…then why did you propose so suddenly?
You said multiple times that you wouldn’t marry her, you just said it yesterday, in fact.
Now, just a day later, Sheena is yelling at me because Harlow is crying her eyes out again. What am I to think about all this?”
I have no idea which way to lead this conversation at this point. “Captains, there’s a lot going on. I don’t know exactly how to answer your questions. But no, she isn’t pregnant. I haven’t slept with her since the beginning of the year, so if she is pregnant, it isn’t mine.”
Sivan lets out a long audible exhale, frustration and annoyance are clear on his face. “Hey,” I whisper. “Don’t worry about it.” Instinctively the back of my hand brushes his cheek to comfort him.
Everyone in the room has suddenly come to a standstill. They’re all looking at us.
What the hell did I just do? A straight man wouldn’t rub his friends face like that. Our fathers look more than a little confused. I quickly pull my hand back and give a little laugh, trying to shrug the behavior off, while patting Sivan’s shoulder.
Sivan is obviously holding in a laugh; he’s completely unbothered by everyone staring over.
The door to my father’s office swings open wide, bringing a draft that blows a few papers off my father’s desk. What the hell? It’s Matteo, his clothes are a bit of a mess, and his face is flushed. He’s coming at me—no, wait, he’s headed for Sivan.
I quickly stand in between the two. “Whoa, whoa, what the hell are you doing?” I ask. “Why are you coming at him like that? You’re not gonna hit him. Back up.”
Sivan places his hands on my shoulders and moves me to the side. I step back in front of him again. Matteo won’t hit me, but he will for sure hit Sivan. “Don’t move me like that, he was gonna fucking hit you.”
Matteo’s gaze is locked on Sivan. He looks like a wild animal right now. I have no idea what happened to him.
My father stands from his desk. “What the hell are you thinking?” he asks Matteo. “Did he say that you were going to punch Sivan?
Captain Crawford lifts his chin toward him. “Yeah, did he say you were going to hit my son?”
“I haven’t done anything,” Matteo says, eyes still locked on Sivan.
Sivan’s head tilts to the side. The two are evenly matched in height and weight. I’m not quite sure which would win in a fight. But I don’t want to find out either.
“You two,” Matteo says, looking at the two of us.
“You made her cry because you two can’t just leave well enough alone.
Because you two can’t just leave one another alone.
Why are you doing this? She was happy. I was happy.
And you, Sivan…” He takes one step closer toward Sivan, who matches him, taking a step forward himself.
“Hey!” my father shouts, coming around the side of his desk. “What the hell are you talking about, Matteo?”
Captain Crawford looks around the room, realizing that a large number of both crew members are still inside and paying close attention. “Rodri,” he says, gesturing around the room. “Let’s clear some of these out, hmm?”
My father nods and points to the door. “Yes, everyone out.”
The crews quickly exit at my father’s order, leaving only the five of us.
“Now,” my father says, “what’s going on? One of you start talking. Preferably you, Matteo, because you wouldn’t lie.”
Matteo laughs with his mouth open. “Ha! Lie? Me? No, never, now your precious little Vincent here, and this…” he says, still extremely close to Sivan.
“Did you just call me this? Don’t talk to me like that,” Sivan says.
My body is half in between the two of them, which is the only reason I think neither has punched the other. Matteo would be in a lot of trouble for hitting Sivan because of Sivan’s status; if it were just a normal crew member, they would have already started punching one another.
“Yes, Matteo, he is quite right,” my father says. “Don’t care what’s happened, you still have to show respect. It’s the crew’s way. You know that.”
Sivan and Matteo are still caught in a murderous stare-down.
“That’s right,” Sivan’s father says. “We still respect Captain Slicer, even though I’m gonna blast his head off when I see him.”
“No, no, I’m gonna take care of Slicer,” my father says.
“No.” Captain Crawford stops his foot. “That is not what we decided. We decided that whoever saw him first would take care of him.”
Our fathers are stuck in this stupid little discussion while Sivan and Matteo look like they’re going to kill each other. There is so much hate in the silence between them.
“Matteo, what are you even pissed off about?” I ask him. “Sivan didn’t do anything. You’re being ridiculous.”