AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Noticing the same thing, Leo says, “You gonna come see us in Chicago?”
“I’d like to,” Ares says. “But I’ll be working over the summer.”
“I’ve got a fuck-ton of air miles . . .” Leo says, trying to indicate that he’d pay for the flight without embarrassing Ares.
“Thanks,” Ares says, noncommittally. “I’ll miss you guys.”
“Well, don’t miss us yet,” Leo says. “You still have to tolerate a long voyage back to civilization with us.”
By the time we board the ship, the main deck is already packed with students. Unlike the voyage over, we’re all going home on the same day. The net strung between the masts is already full of raucous Juniors, and there’s barely a place to lean, let alone sit down. We end up jammed in the bow with a bunch of Freshman Spies.
Everyone is talking over their plans for the upcoming summer. I hear Shannon Kelly tell her friend Jean Hamilton that she plans to stopover in Spain before going home to Dublin. I had a Contracts class with Shannon first semester, but we don’t cross paths much being in separate divisions. Plus she’s best friends with Gemma Rossi, who I don’t hold a grudge against, but prefer to avoid.
Throwing her mane of curls back over her shoulder, Shannon spots me standing behind her and gives me a strangely guilty look.
“Hope there won’t be so many people seasick on the way back,” I say to her. “We can’t all fit along the rail.”
“If anybody pukes on me, I’m throwing ‘em over,” Shannon says. She hesitates, then leaves her friend, drawing closer to me instead. She glances over at Leo, engrossed in his conversation with Ares.
“So you’re with Leo now, are ya?”
“Yes,” I say. “I am.”
She nods, chewing on her lower lip.
I can tell she has something on her mind. My father always told me that the best interrogation method is silence. If you want to hear what someone has to say, then shut your fucking mouth.
So I just look at her, calmly and quietly.
“I didn’t want to say anything . . . when you were with Dean . . .” she says, her voice low so it won’t carry beyond the two of us.
I stay silent, waiting.
“I don’t even know if I even saw anything . . .”
She takes a deep breath, tucking her hair back behind her ears. This is a useless maneuver, since the curls spring free again immediately.
“You remember the night we had that party down on Moon Beach,” she says. “The first party we had down there . . .”
“Yes,” I reply, in a neutral tone.
“Well . . . I was standing there talking to Gemma. She had a bit of a thing for Leo and he had just been named Captain, so she was wondering if she should go congratulate him. Then Dean came up to us, which was sort of weird, ‘cause he never talks to us. He had two drinks with him. And he passed one to Gemma, just one. And he told her she should give it to Leo.”
I swallow, my throat making a clicking sound.
“Did she?” I say. “Did she give it to him?”
“Yeah,” Shannon nods. “Leo drank it. Then a little while after, Gemma said he seemed really fucked up . . .” she trails off. “I didn’t want to get in the middle of it. Gemma’s my best friend. She didn’t mean any harm. I thought it wasn’t my business, especially once you started dating Dean. But now that you’re with Leo . . .”
“Thanks for telling me,” I say, faintly.
“No problem,” Shannon says, her cheeks flushed pink. She turns away quickly and rejoins her friend.
The ship is pulling away from shore, heading out into open water. The deck rocks gently with the waves. I feel like I’m reeling far more than the motion of the boat would cause. I feel like I might fall right over.
I forgave Leo for that night. But now a much more sinister possibility is striking me: the idea that Leo might not have required forgiveness at all. The idea that he might have been drugged.
Drugged by Dean.
