No, there arebodieson board.
They’re lying on the deck and they aren’t moving.
People don’t remain perfectly motionless like that, not when things are going okay.
Hands grab my waist and yank me back.
I stagger and fall against Emilio, into his arms. He holds me tightly, his eyes wide and wild with fear, and we sit on the far side of the path away from the cliff’s edge. My heart’s hammering in my ears and I’m trembling uncontrollably all over as sour sweat pours down my back.
“Are you okay?” He holds me tighter, painfully tight. “What the fuck was that? You nearly went over. What the hell are you thinking?”
“I was just—I couldn’t even—” I can’t form a coherent sentence, can barely speak. What the hell did I just see down in the water? “There’s a boat.”
“A boat?” He looks confused and shakes his head. “There aren’t any boats around here. The water’s too dangerous.”
“It’s down there, I swear I saw it. There are people on the deck. Emilio, it’s down there, I just saw it.”
His eyes narrow. “You’re having an episode. Listen to me, Kaye. Take deep breaths. Deep, slow breaths. You lost your balance and nearly went over, but I got you. There’s no boat.”
I try to do as he says but I can’t calm myself down. I’m not in the grips of the panic attack anymore—no, this is very different.
Those were bodies on that boat, I’m sure of it.
“Go check,” I say, shaking him a bit. “Please, just go look.”
“Kaye,” he says sternly. “Stop it.”
“I swear this isn’t a trick. Please, Emilio, there’s a boat and I think there’s something wrong with it. I think the people are in trouble.”
He slowly rolls me off him and stands. I look up as he moves to the boulder hesitantly, but glances back at me like he’s trying to make sure I haven’t moved. I watch him, leaning forward, wrists on my knees.
He reaches the boulder I fell against and looks over.
This is my chance. If I rush him, I might be able to throw him over. Just like Lucy, he’ll tumble through the air and smash himself down onto the rocks. I’ll never get a shot like this again, where he’s so obviously vulnerable, and even if he drags me over with him, I can die with a smile on my face.
But I don’t move. The memory of his hand on my throat, his fingers between my legs, it keeps me pinned to the ground.
He moves back from the rock and my chance is gone.
“I know that boat,” he says, face grim. “You’re right, there are people on board.” He walks away from the edge. “It’s not our problem.”
My mouth drops open. “Not our problem?”
“Go back to the house, pet. Forget what you saw down there. Someone else will clean up that mess.”
“Those are people, Emilio. You can’t just leave them.”
“I can and I will.” He turns and begins back down the path. “If you were smart, you’d walk away too.”
I stand suddenly, outraged. “No! You’re not just going to turn your back on people that need help. Are you really a coward?”
He stops waking. His shoulders hunch and tense and he slowly turns back to me. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
“Help them. Please, Emilio. I’ll run back to campus and tell someone, but please. Help them.”
He takes a deep breath and slowly releases it. “There’s a path down to a small beach. The boat isn’t far. It’s a dangerous hike, and an even more dangerous swim. Do you know what you’re asking me to do?”
“Please. I can’t just leave those people down there.” The idea of walking away when the people on that boat might need our help is too overwhelming to consider it.