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“You really screwed up this time, Kelsey Rae,” I grumble to myself, walking as swiftly as possible to the other side of the island. The light from the moon guides my way, and I stick as close to the shoreline as possible. At least I applied a thick layer of mosquito repellant before leaving my house earlier. I go through the long line of what-ifs as I approach the opposite end. We have multiple small islands all along the area. This so happens to be the only one that survives low and high tide. There’s always a place to park your boat, hop out, walk around, have a bonfire, and whatever else the locals or tourists want to do.
I find an abandoned piece of driftwood a bit away from the shoreline and cop a squat. I knew attempting to pull my phone out of my pocket while walking near the water could end up in a catastrophe. Right now, it’ll be my lifeline to get away from here. I place my drink in the sand and pull out my phone, finally. Only I’m not prepared for what I see. There’s a slew of texts.
Talon: Siren, stay on the island. Do not get in the boat with anyone. I’m on my way.
Mom: Please be safe, honey. I know you’re an adult, but from what Talon told us, it’s not a great idea to be out there. I love you.
Dad: I’m behind Talon. He’ll be there before me. Don’t leave with anyone except one of us.
The time stamps on the messages are from a while ago. I hurriedly read through them one at a time then first answer Talon, since from what I’m told, he’ll be here first.
Me: Talon, please hurry. Thank you for coming to get me. I’m on the opposite side of the island from the group.
I watch as the blue line moves across the screen. It gets toward the end and comes to a screeching halt. There’s a need to back out and make a phone call, except it’s an open waterway to get here, meaning there’s no wake once you’re out of the canal from our place, and there isn’t another until you get closer to the island. The likelihood of Talon hearing his phone ring is unlikely. Should he answer, I’d have to scream, and the last thing I want is to draw more attention to myself. Clearly, my phone decided to take a giant shit at the wrong place and the wrong time.
Instead, I wait away from the crowd who I saw doing drugs. To each their own, but I’m not jeopardizing my career by staying near them. I’m not risking my life riding back in a boat with them. I’d rather sleep on the island, call in late to work, be put on probation if necessary, since, you know, I’m still the new girl on the block.
Honestly, any- and everything sounds more appealing than being near a group of people who could end up endangering not only themselves but me and others.
“Please hurry, Talon,” I say into the night air, hoping that he’s almost here. A breeze blows across the water. I’d usually bring a bag with a portable phone charger, a snack, and a sweatshirt of some kind, but I wasn’t expecting to be out here this late. I’m so unprepared, and all I can do is rub my arms with my hands to ward off the chill. I know one thing for sure: I will never ever hang out with Mariah again. Celebration or not, this isn’t what I signed up for, and I want not one single part of it ever again.
10
TALON
Ibooked it the whole fucking way here. A twenty-minute trip took fifteen. The only time my throttle wasn’t fully open was during wake zones. I’m not sure how far behind me Ed is or when he’ll show up. Hopefully, it’s when I’ve got Kelsey safely in my boat. I’m approaching the island, riding around the backside before rounding the front. I pull my phone out. There are a couple of texts.
Ed: Ten minutes out.
Lisa: I haven’t gotten a response from her yet.
Not a single message from Kelsey. My gut bottoms out. She’s not overly obsessed with her phone. She’ll keep it near her, and when she sees an alert, she’s quick to respond. At least that’s been my experience with Kels so far. Mom has mentioned similar, which is why she’ll have Kelsey come in and work more than anyone else around.
I drop the phone back into the cup holder. Now is the time to keep my eyes peeled. Truth be told, I should have waited for Ed. There’s no telling what kind of trouble I can stumble upon. It’s probably for the better that I didn’t go into too much detail about what happens out here. When you’re on the water, people forget voices carry, and I just so happen to be near the docks working, hearing every single thing. The rumors aren't rumors when you get the information firsthand. A lot of drugs, a lot of drinking, and a whole lot of illegal fishing. The dumb fucks will hang themselves out to dry soon enough. If they’re dumb enough to brag about it out in the open, it’s only a matter of time until they’re caught. Hell, depending on what I find tonight, there might just be an anonymous tip sent to FWC.
I idle my way around, eyes peeled and looking for Kelsey. The bonfire is blazing, not at all in control, and could very well spread throughout the whole island. Jesus, tonight is going from bad to worse in an instance. The only good thing about the fire is I’m able to see who all is there. The bad thing is I can’t see Kelsey anywhere.
“Motherfucker.” I move away from where the party is, glancing down at my phone. Another text has come through, this one from my mom.
Mom: Lisa just called. You need me or Grandad, we’ll be there.
The minute my eyes lift away from the screen, I see a flickering of light in the distance. I move slowly toward the faint beams, hoping like hell this is Kelsey and not some drunk from the party hallucinating on some shit.
“Talon!” Siren’s voice reverberates over the water the closer I get. Damn, she’s a sight for sore eyes. Kelsey is walking toward the water as I pull into the sandy bank.
“Talon,” she says again, this time walking through the waves crashing along the shore. I hit the button for my power poles, an anchoring system that doesn’t require the usual anchor, making it a fuck of a lot easier.
“Kelsey, stay where you are, woman. You don’t have anything on your feet.” The boat engine is still running, trimmed in the water, and I jump over the side. I land on my feet. My neoprene deck boots are a fuck of a lot more protection than what Kels has, which is fucking nothing.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Her arms wrap around my neck. I pick her up, and instantly, her legs are wrapped around my waist.
“Where’s your phone, siren?” I ask before I do what I really want, which is take her mouth with mine.
“Nothing will send. I tried texting you, and when it wouldn’t send, I did the same to my parents. Nothing’s working on it. I’ve turned the damn device on and off, but no dice.” Tears stream down her cheeks and that’s when she plants her face in the crook of my neck.
“It’s alright, Kels, you’re good now. We’ll get back home, figure out your phone, and buy you a new one if necessary.” Damn, it’s clear to me I’m going to have to tell Kelsey again what exactly she means to me.
“I’m okay, promise. I was worried I’d have to sleep on the beach, miss work, and I worked myself up into a frenzy with worry,” she says without taking a breath. Yeah, I’d say she’s still worked up as fuck.
