Page 23 of Hate Wrecked

“Are you glad I came now?” she asks

I laugh. Shaking my head. “No.”

“Why?”

“Because look at us.”

“It would have been you, alone out here, if I hadn’t come,” she says.

“I can take care of myself.”

“I’m aware.”

“And if you had just got on your plane, you wouldn’t be here. You would be back in the States, safe.”

“Am I not safe with you, Rowan?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose and let out a sigh. “Why must everything be a fight with you?”

Riley shakes her head. “You started the fight earlier. And if I weren’t here, you never would have gotten the captain to shore yesterday.”

At this, I shut the fuck up. Because I wouldn’t have. I nod my head, clearing my throat. “Well, when I get home, I probably won’t have a job anymore.”

“Why?” Riley asks.

“You really think your mother is going to keep me on when I let you come with me? When my last task was to get you on that plane, and I failed?”

Riley rolls her eyes. “She won’t fire you.”

“Are you going to be the one to fight for me again? That would require you talking to her.”

Riley eyes the bag by her feet. The one I saw her shove her mother’s manuscript in. “Maybe I will.”

I stretch out on the sand, angling my body toward the firelight. I’ll take it—a small indication that she will forgive Desi. I close my eyes briefly, listening to the waves and pushing away every intrusive thought vying for center stage in my mind. When I open my eyes, I see Riley watching me, studying the shadows on my face, chest, and down.

I need to get off this damn island.

Nothing good will come from this.

Nothing good ever comes from being alone with Riley Williams.

A SLOW DREAM

RILEY

I wake with a start,dawn creeping over the horizon. Slowly, I step out of the tent and see our fire smoldering; the water before me peaceful and serene. It’s almost eerie.

I check the belongings near the tent. Nothing is missing, swept away by the wind or damaged, but a creeping feeling washes over me. What if we aren’t alone on the island? What if the curses Rowan hinted at are real?

I shake my head, walk around the tent, and rub my hand over my arms where gooseflesh has risen.

Today, everything will be okay. We will get the lifeboat in the water and move to Falcon Island. What we should have done as soon as we got here. Except, we had to wait. We had to take care of a body…

I sit in the sand and wrap my arms around my eyes before the sun rises, creeping over the water, illuminating where everything went wrong.

The ship is still above water. Still hanging on.

From inside the tent, Rowan stirs. And just like the sun, I turn to watch him rise. He wipes the sleep from his eyes, his hair disheveled and the wrinkles around his eyes prominent—beautiful. When he’s done wiping his eyes, he locks them with me. A grumpy good morning falls from his mouth, and I nod in return, turning back to the sun.

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