I scoffed, unable to believe what I was hearing. “It’s a bit more than that, don’t you think? That’s not safe! What about when someone needs to get home? What if there was an emergency with the girls?”
“Well, normally, they’d have the phones, I guess, so getting the catamaran back would only take a day or so. It’s not like this is a normal circumstance, and the resort is new. They’re learning. I’ll bet they never make this mistake again. For now? His words exactly were, the island provides. So, I guess we just wait.”
Once my laces had been tied, I stood up, hands on my hips. “I don’t like that. How long will it be until the phones are back up? This is such a safety hazard.”
He nodded, laying his head back on the pillow once more. “I’m sure they’re working on it as quickly as they can.”
“You don’t seem concerned.”
“The only thing I can be concerned about at this exact moment is making sure I don’t projectile vomit across the room.” He squeezed his eyes closed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
I blew air from my lips, watching as my hair flew up and out of my face. “Okay, well, I’m going for a run before it warms up too much more.”
“Don’t stress, babe. Everything’s going to be okay.”
I nodded, though he couldn’t see me, and even if he could, he had no way of knowing that was true. Everything was far from okay as it was, and I didn’t truly believe that was going to change any time soon.
As I walked out of the hut, I heard him call, “Stay close,” which was further proof that he was just as worried as I was.
I hadn’t run in months, but it was the only thing that worked to relieve my most debilitating stress. I had to move, to free my mind and think only of keeping moving.
I jogged down toward the water until I hit the wet sand, packed enough to run on, popped my AirPods in—incredibly thankful Bluetooth still worked on the island—and began to run.
Within minutes, I felt my stress begin to melt away. It was the most beautiful, miraculous thing, the way my burning thighs made everything else disappear.
The beach was breathtaking in the morning with no one around. As the sun came further above the horizon, I watched its reflection dancing on the waves and saw the silhouettes of birds that crossed in front of it.
It was peaceful and reminiscent of the first morning when we’d boarded the boat, sailing away from the life we’d known and preparing for our long ride to the island—and the first glimpse when it came into view.
I remembered the way I felt, hopeful, but also a bit fearful of what was to come. Why hadn’t I trusted that gut instinct? Why hadn’t I said no to this trip altogether?
But no matter what, whether we’d come or not, Emily would’ve been here, wouldn’t she? She was the one chosen out of what must’ve been hundreds or maybe thousands of applicants. If we weren’t there, would she still be alive?
Maybe, if it was truly an accident. Maybe if something hadn’t upset her, she wouldn’t have tried to swim.
But if it was murder…if someone actually meant to hurt her…I had to believe that us being there or not hadn’t affected her death. Right? Because, if not, that would mean it was one of us who’d killed her, and that wasn’t even an option.
I glanced behind me as a chill ran over my arms, feeling sick to my stomach. I could still see the huts in the distance, though they were getting smaller the farther I got from them.
In the far distance, I could see the tiniest hint of the relaxation center, its lights still off for another hour. The small dots of white lounge chairs speckled the beach. It was completely desolate, except for one dark shadow sitting in the front row of chairs.
I slowed my jogging for a second as I pulled an AirPod away from my ear, the music stopping in an instant. What was he doing? I took in the familiar shape, the face I knew so well as I grew near.
He wasn’t looking up, he either couldn’t hear me or didn’t care that I was coming.
Was he asleep?
Or…dead?
“Andy?” I called, moving faster in a hurry to get to him as the worst possible scenario swam through my head. Please, no.
To my great relief, he looked up finally, staring at me as I made my way to him. I stopped, my hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath. His eyes were red and bloodshot. He’d either been crying, still drinking, or both.
“What are you doing out here?” I asked, when he hadn’t said anything.
He jutted his chin toward the ocean. “Emily wanted to watch every sunset while we were here.” His lips quivered, and I was assured the redness in his eyes was from tears. “I couldn’t even make it to the first one. I was tired, jet lagged. I told her there’d be…plenty more.” He sniffed, rubbing the back of his hand underneath his nose.
“Andy, you didn’t know. You can’t keep blaming yourself for what happened. It was an accident—”
“No,” he cut me off sharply. “No, it wasn’t an accident.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Emily didn’t go swimming that night. It wasn’t an accident. Someone murdered her.” He stared straight ahead, conviction in the deep timbre of his voice.
“Y-you don’t know that, though, Andy. You shouldn’t think like that.”
“I do know.” He nodded, swiping a hand under his nose again. “I didn’t want to believe it, but I know what happened to her.”
My blood ran cold. “What do you mean? You know what happened to Emily?” Was he delirious? He didn’t seem to be. In fact, he seemed to
