I looked around the small windowless room, feeling as if I were the one who’d kidnapped someone and gone out on the open sea. It had been a few hours since we returned to the Coast Guard station and I wanted to leave, but the buff, black-haired Coastie wanted me to go through my ordeal one more time. “Describe her to me again.”
I saw Elyse’s face as vividly as if she were sitting next to me. But I found her scars hard to describe. I explained as much as I could. How the scars made her face look like a jigsaw puzzle, each of the thick slices of skin a testament to what she had gone through as a child. I wasn’t sure why they needed so much information. From the way the boat exploded, I doubted her body would be intact. The thought made my stomach churn.
The officer’s thick eyebrows came together as he typed out my story on the laptop in front of him.
Not for the first time did I look at my bedraggled self in the mirror behind him. I wondered how many people stood on the other side, watching me give my testimony.
When I was finished, there was one question that I had to ask him: “How did you know where to find us?”
He closed his laptop and leaned his arm on the top of the table. “The boat was reported stolen the evening you were taken. The owner’s description of the woman lines up with yours. There was a short amount of time the boat was missing that we were able to get lucky and coordinate the rescue. If the owner hadn’t shown up until the next day, it might have been too late. Count yourself lucky.”
My lower lip trembled. Things could have been so much worse for me if the owner hadn’t returned to his vessel. I owed him my life. And at least now Kat and her family would get to know the truth about what happened to Joe. His memory would be preserved even if most of it was a façade. That was far behind me now and I had the strength of my family and Ryan to get me to where I needed to be.
When I was released, I rushed out to see my parents and Madison in the waiting area outside the room. I fell into Dad’s arms and squeezed him tight against me. Mom and Madison embraced me from behind. We probably looked incredibly corny in our group hug but I never wanted to be anywhere else.
“Sweetheart, are you hurt?” Mom asked.
I wriggled out of their grip. “I’m not hurt.” At least not physically.
I knelt in front of Madison and took her hands in mine. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I was so scared.”
“I know,” I said.
Mom touched my shoulder and I stood, keeping Madison’s hand in mine. Her touch soothed me. There was a chance I could have lost her to Elyse. I needed to feel her next to me and know that everything was going to be okay.
We went out to the parking lot to Dad’s Jeep. It reminded me of the night of Joe’s murder. And, even though I’d been through yet another traumatizing encounter, this time was different. It was finally over. And, while I’d mourn the loss of the sister I barely knew, she could finally be at peace.
We were halfway home when my ringtone blared from somewhere in the car.
Madison took my phone from the pocket attached to the back of the driver’s seat.
“I brought it with me.” She handed me the phone. “It’s Ryan”
My eyes welled up. “Does he know?” I didn’t want him to worry from the hospital, knowing there was nothing he could do.
“Once we found out you were safe, we called him,” Mom said.
“Though Detective Devereaux might have informed Ryan sooner,” Dad added.
I picked up the call. “Hi.”
A long sigh filled my ears. “Thank God!”
“How are you?”
“Don’t try and change the subject. I wasn’t just kidnapped by a psychopath. Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me everything.”
I needed a little time before rehashing the whole thing. “Can I come and see you at the hospital?”
“I pushed for Phil to get me released. I’ll be home later. Please say you’ll come over.”
I glanced at my parents. I wasn’t sure if they were going to let me go off on my own any time soon.
I held a hand over the speaker. “They’re releasing Ryan tonight. Can I see him?”
Mom clicked her tongue and I knew disapproval was coming. I couldn’t blame her.
“I’ll take you,” Dad said, glancing at me through the rearview mirror.
“I’ll be there tonight,” I said to Ryan, smiling at Dad.
“I’m going to hold you to that,” he said.
Devereaux had swapped bedrooms with Ryan so he wouldn’t have to go very far in his delicate state. Only one of his legs was injured and he had a pair of crutches to use when he needed to be mobile.
As much as Devereaux annoyed me, I allowed him to stay in the room while I recanted the story to Ryan. Either that or he would have made me do it at the police station. I did mention how Elyse was staying in the Chester Bay Inn. I was done keeping Devereaux in the dark—I’d paid dearly for that mistake. Maybe he’d be able to close his case for good if he found any evidence in her room.
Dad stayed in the other room while I spoke. I couldn’t imagine how he was feeling about everything. I made a mental note to spend as much quality time with my family as possible before school started.
After a few questions from Devereaux, he excused himself to give Ryan and me some privacy.
“That’s new,” I remarked. Any other time, Devereaux wouldn’t leave us alone.
“I told him to back off,” Ryan explained. “I won’t be able to hold him off forever.”
“It’s okay,” I said, scooting closer to him. “I’m used to it by now.”
Ryan squeezed my hand lightly. “Your gift came in the mail,” Ryan said, pointing to a brown shipping box. “I didn’t have time to wrap it.”
“Well, then, I don’t want it,” I teased.
“It’s custom, so I can’t return it. And I don’t think it will fit me.”
I grinned, opening the box. Inside, wrapped in plastic, was a red floppy beach hat. “No way!”
He adjusted himself so he sat up straighter. “Yes, way.”
The hat looked identical to the one I almost lost at the beach all those years ago, though this one was bigger. I placed it on my head and smiled so hard that my cheeks ached. “I can’t believe you found it.”
“I had to have it made,” he said proudly. “I picked out the fabric and everything.”
Without thinking, I leaned over and kissed him on the mouth. His hands cupped my face, holding me there. We lingered in the kiss for a few seconds before coming up for air.
“I guess you like it?” he asked, grinning like a madman.
“You guess correctly,” I said, kissing him again.
A text message arrived on my phone. I pulled it from my pocket. Who would be texting me? Mom and Madison knew where I was and Ryan was the only other person who messaged me on a regular basis.
“Who’s that?” Ryan asked.
I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. “It’s Rachael.”
“Rachael? Your ex-friend?”
I nodded slowly, reading the paragraph that she’d texted me. “She . . . uh . . .” I couldn’t believe what I was reading.
“The suspense is killing me,” Ryan said with a straight face.
I let out a little laugh. “She is no longer friends with Kat or Brittany. She left the group and wants me to forgive her.” There were so many apologies in one text. I couldn’t believe anyone would voluntarily leave the safety of the group. However, now that I had been out of it for a while, I understood. It was hard to keep your own set of values and needs when someone like Kat ran your life. It had its perks but the option to enjoy life without thinking of every single detail when it came to makeup or clothes or how you acted around others outweighed it all.
“That’s good?” Ryan asked.
“It’s good.”
“I guess you don’t need me now that you have your friend back.”
I sighed dramatically. “I guess not. You can go home now.” I couldn’t hold back the wide smile from spreading across my lips.
I lay next to Ryan, holding my new hat in my hands. I was careful not to touch any of his injuries. He rested his cheek against the top of my head.
I closed my eyes, inhaling his scent. I couldn’t believe through this nightmarish summer that I would end up in that position. I had the chance to start fresh in all aspects of my life. I’d work to repair the damage I’d caused with my parents regarding the adoption. I’d get the answers I sought, but it wouldn’t change our relationship. In fact, I’m sure it would make us stronger. My life could have been so much worse and I was grateful that fate had stepped in and rescued me from myself. And I had at least one friend and a boyfriend to start school with. I didn’t need everything I thought. I only needed them and my family. And I would be okay.
Maybe senior year wouldn’t be so bad after all.