Page 102 of Hate Wrecked

I need a gun. I have no fucking doubt they have one.

I decide to chance it.

The air below deck is thick with salt, stale sweat, and weed. I move quietly, listening for any noise from above or from the shore.

When I reach the radio, I immediately start flipping switches and adjusting dials. "Come on,” I mutter. The old radio crackles, a whisper of static filling the room, and for the first time in days, I let myself hope.

I press the receiver to my lips. “Mayday, mayday. This is Rowan Finn. We are stranded on?—”

Nothing. Just static.

I try again, my voice sharper. Butch and Chuck might hear me, but I have to fucking try.

“Anyone, come in. This is Rowan Finn. I am stranded on Elderslie Atoll with Riley Williams. Is anyone there?"

Silence.

I grit my teeth, forcing myself to stay calm. The radio is intact, but maybe I don't know how to use it. Now that I’m inside the boat, I see it isn’t as new as I thought. Still, it should have a working radio. The men didn’t mention theycouldn’tradio back home, just that theydidn’t.

I exhale, dragging a hand down my face. I can’t go back up empty-handed, so I dig through the storage compartments. I find a flare gun, half a box of matches, a large Bowie knife, a Karambit, and a handgun. I make sure it’s loaded, and after more searching, I find a box of bullets.

I load the wet bag and head toward the stairs. I make it to the top step just as I hear the scream.

THEN

RILEY

The party hummedand thrashed in the living room, threatening to make me deaf. I walked down the hall, my body swaying from the music and the alcohol.

When I opened the laundry room door, I felt the loss. Rowan wasn’t there waiting for me and wouldn’t be there waiting for me again.

I had ruined whatever we had. I had made a choice, and I chose Barry and this madness. I longed to return to my father’s house. My sisters didn’t come much anymore, and were starting to resent me for coming.

And why did I do it anymore? Rowan was gone. Barry was out there, ignoring me again. And my mother was a ghost of herself.

I closed the door, closed my eyes, and breathed in as I reached for the necklace under my shirt. The one Rowan had left in the sand.

Someone opened the door before I could pull myself up onto the dryer to sit. It was Asa.

“What are you doing here? The party is out there!” his speech was slurred, and his eyes glazed over.

I was tipsy but not on his level. I could never be on his level.

As I got older, Asa talked to me more and more like a friend, like a peer. And maybe that had something to do with me dating his best friend.

“I’m just tired,” I lied. I wanted to sleep, but it wasn’t for that reason. I wanted to feel nothing.

Asa walked in further, closing the door behind him. “Is this about that bodyguard?”

“No,” I said too quickly.

“It is.” Asa smiled. “You made me make sure he didn’t get fired, Riley.Youmade sure of it. You cared about him?”

“He was my friend.”

“Well, Barry,” he said, pointing to his chest, “Myfriend is the one who faced humiliation in all of this.”

I exhaled sharply, frustrated. Asa enjoyed playing the father figure, but he wasn’t my father. He would never be anything like my dad. “Whatever, he’s always messing around with other girls. Can’t I have a friend?”

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