Chapter 48
Forty-Eight
C ooper
We’re on Ethan’s boat as the water glistens in the fading sunset. One last sail around the island before we have to return to Manhattan. At least our work is interesting, but being on Nantucket always makes me want to stay for the entire summer, just like old times.
“You ready for the drama when we get back?” I ask Ethan while he adjusts the sails.
He understands sailing better than I ever did.
It’s been one of his hobbies for years. When we got our trust funds, this sailboat was his first big purchase.
He named her Juliet , which I said was stupid, especially when he wouldn’t tell me why.
Since when did my brother give a shit about Shakespeare?
“What drama?” he huffs as he works, catching the practically nonexistent wind and getting us moving again. He says sailing is both an art and a science whenever he drags me out here, and I stand around clueless.
Some things never change.
“Oh come on… Your new girlfriend?” I prod. “Arden? And you? That’s going to be drama.”
He chuckles, a boyish smile on his face. “Whatever it is, I’m not worried about it. We’re committed to each other.” He catches my eye and winks. “She loves me.”
Oh hell, he’s in trouble. “Of course she does. You’re a lovable guy, Ethan. She’s lucky to have you.”
“Nah, I’m the lucky one.”
The sudden mechanical roar of a speedboat revving its engine makes us both jump.
We turn to see a shiny small boat headed directly for us.
My heart speeds, but logically, I know the driver will see us and move.
People are idiots out here sometimes, but they don’t run into each other on purpose.
Probably some rich old guy, showing off his newest toy.
I squint, trying to make out the people on the boat… and the whole world slows.
“Is that…?” My voice trails off when I catch a better look at the man behind the wheel with his familiar tall build, faded Harvard ball cap, and the grimace on his face.
It’s Gregory Laurence, and he’s coming right for us.
“Shit,” Ethan mutters, dashing for the steering wheel.
Greg’s boat barrels forward, and I count the heads, my mouth drying. His entire family is on board.
Ethan has abandoned the sail, so I take over, fumbling with the rigging to finish getting it up. The speedboat doesn’t waver.
Ten more seconds, and we’re dead.
“He’s going to hit us!” I point to the water. “Jump!”
Ethan and I lock eyes, understanding quick between us. We move… but it happens too fast. One second, we’re on deck, and the next the speed boat is on us . Ethan dives into the water just before we’re hit, but I’m not fast enough.
The impact is pure chaos.
Metal screeches against wood, violent and all-encompassing.
I’m thrown airborne so fast I barely have time to register what’s happening. I don’t know which direction I’m flying when I slam into the water. Pain explodes through my body. Pain and pure terror.
It’s as if every inch of my skin is on fire, but my right leg burns beyond reasonable belief. It’s so bad that I can’t even scream.
I open my mouth and gag on ocean water. My vision blurs. Salt stings my eyes and throat. My lower body slices through what feels like a million razor blades.
Ice cold grips me immediately, pulling me downward, but the pain keeps me awake. I thrash, trying to pry my way to the surface. My lungs burn as I fight the weight of the water and the weight of my own panic.
Kick. Just kick.
My right leg’s not moving the way I’m begging it to. It’s sluggish. My stomach flips; I can’t feel that leg anymore.
I force my eyes to focus, look down. A scream rips through my throat, and a rush of water invades my lungs.
Red water.
An unnatural cloud of crimson in the endless deep blue. It’s thick with salt and blood and death and darkness.
The world around me grows quieter, as if the ocean is swallowing me whole.
There is a single thought—a stark truth and the last one I have before everything goes blank.
This is how I die.
All too quickly, my eyes snap open, and my throat constricts, heaving a wave of blood and salt water over my chin. The sharp pain returns tenfold, spreading throughout my entire body.
I blink wildly, my surroundings slowly coming into view. I’m laid out flat on a boat deck. Ethan is above me, mouth moving but no sound making it to my buzzing eardrums. Sybil is at his side, frantically tying something above my right knee.
I want to yell at her not to touch me; she’s making it worse. But I can’t speak unless it’s to scream. I can barely even move. Blood pours out of my mangled right leg, my life draining with it. I’m fading fast.
I peer around. Chandler, Amelia, and Arden… Their pale faces are streaked with tears. They’re looking at me like I’m already dead. Maybe I am. Why is there so much pain?
I don’t want to look at my leg.
But I do… and my stomach hollows.
A mess of bone and sinew sits under my knee, blood seeping rhythmically from the rope-tourniquet.
I don’t recognize it; can’t get my mind to tell me that it’s my leg.
Mine. This suddenly inhuman limb is attached to me, causing a fire so hot I’ve become numb.
My eyes fall closed, salty acid churning in my stomach, threatening to make an appearance.
Ethan pats my cheek, his words finally having a sound. “Stay awake. Stay alive.” He demands it, demands me to look at him, but I’m too tired to open my eyes again. I’m done. He doesn’t really believe I’m going to survive this, does he? He can cry, he can beg, but it won’t stop the bleeding.
I want to say something, but I can’t speak. There’s not even energy for that. There’s nothing. I have nothing.
“You’re not leaving me, Coop. Do you hear me? You’re staying right here,” my brother orders.
It’s not like I want to leave him, but this overwhelming need to close my eyes is beyond my control. My brother and I may have come into this world together, but it’s becoming clear that we won’t leave it together, because this needy darkness is also calling to me.
I give in and the world, the pain, and everything disappears.