Chapter Twenty
They hadn’t come.
Kash had been so sure that yesterday would be the day. Everyone would figure out that he and Ginger weren’t where they were supposed to be, and they’d discover what happened and would come and get them. Or Donny would come back, laughing his ass off about how pathetic they were.
But no one came. The island was just as silent as it had been when they’d been left there on Friday afternoon.
It was disheartening, but Kash refused to get depressed. Yes, there was always the chance that they’d be there for weeks or more, but he knew his mom. She was like a dog with a bone, she wouldn’t give up until she found him. That’s just how she was.
He and Ginger had spent another night on the couch, huddling together for warmth. Both their bellies were growling because they’d eaten all the canned food they’d found in the house. Kash really didn’t want to break into another cabin, but he would if no one showed up to rescue them by dinnertime.
“Kash?” Ginger asked.
“Yeah?” He was lying behind her, his arm around her waist, the other under his head as a pillow. He wasn’t very comfortable, didn’t really enjoy being all snuggled up to his ex-tormentor like this, but he wouldn’t ever admit that to her. It wouldn’t be nice.
“I’m scared.”
It wasn’t something Kash didn’t know. She’d said that several times in the last three days.
But he wasn’t going to yell at her or tell her to shut up.
He was just as scared, and even though Ginger was probably the last person he’d choose to be in this situation with, he was still glad he wasn’t alone.
“I know. Me too,” he said after a moment.
“And cold. And hungry.”
He rolled his eyes. Yeah, he’d heard those complaints over and over from her too.
“Same.”
“And I have to pee.”
He chuckled at that. “Then get up and pee,” he said reasonably.
“But I’m cold and hungry.” She giggled.
Kash couldn’t help but laugh with her. “Later this afternoon, I’ll go check out the houses again. Maybe I missed some cans of food somewhere.”
“Would you mind if I went with you? I’m going stir crazy in here.”
“Of course I don’t mind,” he said honestly.
He was glad she finally wanted to do more than sit and cry all day.
He could understand being scared, but it seemed silly to him to cry all the time.
That didn’t solve anything, it just made your face puffy.
Besides, they didn’t have the water to spare in their bodies.
“Do you think they’ll come today?” she whispered.
Kash sighed. He wasn’t sure if it was better to say yes and raise her hopes, only to have her fall into a depression again when no one showed up. Or be a jerk and say no, that they’d probably be stuck on this island for weeks.
He finally settled on saying, “I don’t know. I hope so.”
“He wasn’t always such a jerk,” Ginger said softly. “Donny. When we first started dating, he was really nice. Buying me lunch, bringing me flowers, telling me I was pretty . . . you know, things like that.”
Kash pressed his lips together. All those things were superficial.
He thought about the things Linc did for his mom.
Made her dinner so she could eat when she got home from work, invited her and Kash to live with him practically rent-free, looked after him so his mom didn’t have to worry .
. . those were things that mattered. Not flowers and compliments.
“Huh,” he said after a moment, not knowing what else to say, but realizing Ginger was waiting for some sort of response.
“But then he started getting possessive. Didn’t want me hanging out with my friends. Telling me I was stupid, then laughing and saying he was just kidding. I gave him my virginity, and he didn’t even seem to care that he hurt me.”
Now that was a topic Kash really didn’t want to talk about. He knew about sex, but he wasn’t interested. “That sucks,” he told her.
She sighed. “I realized I deserved better. But he didn’t like it when I broke up with him.”
“Obviously,” Kash blurted.
To his surprise, Ginger laughed again. “Yeah. Anyway, I wised up and still . . . here I am.”
“This isn’t your fault,” Kash told her.
“Isn’t it? You’re here because of me. Because I was stupid and followed Donny because he wouldn’t give my phone back. He picked you because he was mad that I’m seeing someone he sees as a nerd.”
“First, this is on Donny, and only Donny. He made the choice to do this, planned it all out. Got Owen and Scott to agree to help him. It’s not your fault.
Second, you should probably stop calling your new boyfriend a nerd.
I mean, I don’t mind the label, because to me, nerd means smart. And I like being smart.”
“Yeah, you kicked my butt good in Trivial Pursuit,” Ginger said.
He had. And he’d even tried to throw the game, but it was hard not to answer the questions correctly.
“I have no right to ask you anything, because we’re nothing to each other, but please don’t ever go back to him. Donny.”
“Never,” Ginger breathed. “And . . . we’re not nothing. We’re friends now, remember?”
“Yeah. But again, you don’t have to say hi to me at school, I understand it would make you look bad to your friends.”
“Screw that,” she said. “This experience has taught me that I’ve been a shallow bitch.
Judging people for things that just don’t matter.
I don’t care about your red hair, or that you’re skinny, or that you’re in the robotics club.
You’ve been amazing out here, and I wouldn’t have known what to do without you. ”
Okay, that wasn’t exactly a compliment, but Kash knew what she meant. And was pleased about it. “And I don’t care that you’re rich and stuck up and care way too much about clothes and makeup. You’re pretty okay yourself, Ginger.”
She laughed. “I guess I deserved that, didn’t I?” she asked. She sat up, allowing Kash to sit up as well. They rearranged the blankets so they each had one wrapped around their shoulders.
Looking Kash in the eye, she said, “All I’m trying to say is . . . I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted.”
“Just like that?” she asked skeptically.
“Just like that,” he said firmly.
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
“Now I really do have to pee,” Ginger said.
“Me too.” They shared a small smile before standing. “You go left and I’ll go right?” Kash asked.
Ginger nodded.
The rest of the morning went by extremely slowly. They played another game of Trivial Pursuit, but it was hard to concentrate when their bellies were growling so loudly. The weather had warmed up a little, so that was a relief, but it wasn’t warm by any stretch.
“Want to go for a walk?” Kash asked Ginger.
“No, but yes. Anything to get out of this cabin.”
Kash had no destination in mind, but figured they could walk around and check out the island, since they hadn’t been able to do so before now because of the cold.
It really was a pretty place. He wasn’t surprised there were people who built cabins out there.
Even though it was so far from the mainland, he could see the appeal of the peace and quiet.
They were circling back around to the cabins, to see if they could get into one of the others that had been boarded up tight, when an out-of-the-ordinary noise registered.
He froze, and Ginger did the same.
They shared a look—then started running toward the dock at the same time.
A motor! There was a boat out there. Maybe they could signal it somehow. Make someone see them and come investigate.
His heart beating out of his chest, Kash burst from the tree line ahead of Ginger and stared in disbelief at what he saw. The boat they’d heard was coming straight for them! It wasn’t puttering around in the water, wasn’t a pleasure craft—it was coming for them!
Joy and relief filled his heart. They were rescued! The last three days felt like an eternity, but knowing he wouldn’t have to be stuck here for weeks made him almost dizzy with gratitude.
“They’re really coming for us, right?” Ginger asked.
“They are,” Kash confirmed. He couldn’t stop smiling. He couldn’t see who was on the boat, but it didn’t really matter.
As the craft got closer, Kash realized he was wrong. It did matter.
He could see both his mom and Linc standing at the side of the boat. They looked anxious and kind of freaked out, but just knowing the two people he loved most in the world were there, that they’d found him, broke through the stoic front he’d been putting on for Ginger.
He burst into tears, not ashamed in the least.
His mom had come. She’d found him.
Kash could’ve sworn Linc jumped out of the Coast Guard boat before it even stopped at the dinky little dock. Then he was in his arms. The embrace hurt, but Kash didn’t care. Having Linc’s arms around him was the best feeling he’d ever experienced.
Then his mom joined them, wrapping her arms around him from the back.
He was sandwiched between them, and their warmth seeped into his soul.
Strangely, no one said a word, they didn’t need to.
The love they had for each other, and the relief they all felt, was so large it didn’t need to be expressed.
Eventually, Linc relaxed his grip and lowered Kash to his feet. He hadn’t even realized he’d picked him up. He put his hands on Kash’s shoulders and stared into his eyes. “You okay, Bud?”
“Yeah.”
“Not hurt?”
“Not really. Hungry, cold, and tired, but okay,” Kash said honestly.
He heard his mom sniff next to him but didn’t take his gaze from Linc’s. There were so many things he wanted to say, but the only thing he could get out was “I love you.”
The change in Linc was immediate. Kash thought he might cry. “I love you too, Bud. So much. I’m so proud of you for staying strong.”