Overboard (4 page)

Brenna looked at him, trying to evaluate whether to
punch him or believe him. “What have you been up to, Dylan?”

“I’ve been preoccupied,” he said lamely. “I have a
lot to think about.”

“Like what?”

“Why are you getting mad at me? I haven’t done
anything wrong!”

“I just want... the truth. I want to know what’s up
with you. If you’re not with Marissa, are you with someone else?
Are you going to break up with me?”

“You’re obviously out of your mind, and I am too
tired for this,” he told her, rubbing his temples as he walked to
the door. Holding it open, he said, “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.
Right now, I’m going to bed.”

Brenna could take a hint. She walked out of Dylan’s
suite, feeling worse than when she had entered. The status of their
relationship wasn’t clear, and Marissa was still nowhere to be
found. She hoped everything would be clearer in the morning.

Looking up, Brenna could make out Hallie’s silhouette
in the hall, standing by the doors to the staircase. Maybe, there
was something in her posture as she stood nonchalantly with her
chin in the air, but Brenna got the impression that Hallie was
pleased with the discord she had caused.

* * * * *

The next morning Brenna slept in. She wanted to avoid
eating breakfast with the others. When she felt it was safe, she
went down to the dining hall and helped herself to the buffet. The
cook was serving chocolate chip pancakes which were to die for, but
she couldn’t eat with her life in shambles. Dylan was neglecting
her. Hallie was mad at her. Marissa thought she was insensitive.
What else could go wrong?

“Good morning.”

Brenna was jolted out of her thoughts as Chelsea
joined her at the table. She had a small helping of pancakes on her
plate and a cup of coffee.

Gazing at Brenna thoughtfully, Chelsea took a seat
beside her. “Didn’t you hear me the first time? I greeted you when
I first came in, but you didn’t seem to hear me.”

“I have a lot on my mind,” Brenna admitted, mashing
the pancakes on her plate with her fork.

“Like what?”

“Dylan and I had a fight last night...”

“Oh, no,” Chelsea said, appearing concerned. “What
happened?”

“Something stupid,” Brenna said, shaking her head at
her behavior. “I let Hallie manipulate me into arguing with him. I
listened to her lies, but it will never happen again.”

Chelsea nodded. “Make sure it doesn’t... Or else, I
will have to step in, and that... might get ugly.”

There was enough steel in Chelsea’s voice to make
Brenna shiver. “I’ve got it covered,” she said, feeling suddenly
fearful. She excused herself from the table and left the dining
hall in a hurry.

As she made her way to the reception area, she
wondered if she should pay a visit to Marissa, but an incredible
need to see Dylan came over her. Stopping at the large lobby,
Brenna tried to think of where Dylan would be. She thought he could
be in the dance hall, running through all the liquor the bar had to
offer with Orman. However, Dylan wasn’t much of a rule breaker so
she knew that searching for him there would be a waste of time.
There was an arcade by the lobby, but she knew he wouldn’t be found
there. Dylan never wasted his time with video games.
The
pool
, she thought, knowing he would prefer to be outdoors.

Making her way to the deck, she thought of what she
would say to him. Did he even want to talk to her at that point?
She didn’t care. She had to know where they stood in their
relationship...

When she finally reached the deck, she breathed in
the salty sea air and gazed at the deep blue horizon. There was not
a cloud in the sky, and the feeling of the sun warming her skin
made her feel at ease.

Making her way to the pool, she found Dylan exactly
where she thought he would be. He was lounging by the water,
sitting on a side chair with his feet up on a rattan ottoman.
However, he was not alone. He was having a heated discussion with
Hallie. She was showing him a file full of papers, pointing out
important tidbits.

Staring at them intently, Brenna was too far away to
hear the conversation although she did try. As soon as Dylan
noticed her approach, he stopped talking in mid-sentence.

He glared at Brenna momentarily before telling Hallie
their conversation was over.

Outraged, Hallie rose to her feet in a huff and
stomped away without acknowledging Brenna’s presence.

“She is in a good mood,” Brenna commented
sarcastically, watching Hallie until she was out of sight.

“You upset her last night,” he replied, appearing
irritated. “What do you want?”

“I just want to talk,” she said calmly, taking a seat
in Hallie’s abandoned chair. “I wanted to tell you personally that
I am sorry... I should have known better than to listen to Hallie,
but I didn’t... It was almost like she wanted me to fight with
you―”

“Stop, Bren,” he said, cutting her off and appearing
disgusted. “It is not her. It is you. Stop blaming other people for
your actions.”

“I’m not! I just―”

“The truth is you haven’t been the same since last
summer, and I am tired of waiting for things to go back to the way
they were.”

Jumping to her feet, she glared at him. “What are you
saying?”

“I need a break,” Dylan said coldly.

“A break?” Brenna repeated in shock, feeling a hole
in her chest as if something had been ripped out of her. Then her
mind began to reel, and she began to spout out questions without a
breath. “Is it because of Marissa? Or Hallie? Or whatever happened
with Morgan?”

“No,” he answered, shaking his head. “I knew this
trip was going to be a disaster, and it has been one thing after
another with you. I am tired of the drama. We need a break, and
then maybe the old Brenna will come back.”

Dylan didn’t wait for Brenna to respond. He put his
hands up to silence her and walked away, leaving her standing
alone.

“I thought you had it all handled...”

Surprised, Brenna turned to see Chelsea. She didn’t
realize that she was standing right behind her. Feeling bothered by
her friend’s presence, she asked, “What are you doing sneaking up
on me like that?”

Chelsea smiled wryly. “I didn’t sneak up on you. You
were just so lost in thought you didn’t hear me.”

Glaring, Brenna crossed her arms in front of her.
“Sure...”

“I thought you said you had it covered.”

“I did,” Brenna said, unwilling to admit that things
were not as under control as she had hoped.

“Is that why Dylan stormed out of here like he
couldn’t stand to be around you anymore?”

Embarrassed, Brenna averted her gaze, choosing to
stare down at the ground than look at Chelsea again. “I―,” she
stared to speak, but she could not summon the right words to quiet
Chelsea.

Chelsea leaned forward and whispered, “If you ask me,
all this is one person’s fault...”

“Marissa’s,” Brenna concluded, trying to follow
Chelsea’s lead.

“Yes! You heard Hallie... Marissa has been after
Dylan since you got on the ship.”

Brenna nodded, recalling how Marissa didn’t want her
to look for Dylan when she arrived on the boat. She remembered how
Marissa had stomped out of the dining hall after Dylan. She
recalled how Marissa told her not to forget that they were friends
as if preparing her for a betrayal...

“So, what are you going to do about it?”

“I am... going to confront her,” Brenna answered
hesitantly, feeling unsure over whether she was about to do the
right thing. “I am going to ask her what is really happening...
with Dylan.”

“Good,” Chelsea said, smiling sadistically.

Brenna smiled back although she wasn’t exactly sure
why...

* * * * *

Brenna pounded on the suite door. She wondered if
Marissa was awake since she hadn’t seen her all morning. When
Marissa didn’t answer the door, Brenna concluded she must have had
a bad hangover. She was about to walk away when she heard Chelsea’s
voice in her head, telling her to stand up to Marissa.

She reached for the knob and turned it. The door
opened with a click and Brenna stepped inside. “Marissa?”

Brenna stepped further into the suite, realizing the
curtains were pulled tightly closed and blocking out the light.
Walking over to the sliding glass doors, Brenna pulled back the
curtains, bathing the suite in light. “Get up, Marissa,” Brenna
said as she began to whirl around to face the bed. It took her a
few seconds for her brain to register that the bed was empty. As
her eyes wandered the room, she realized nothing had changed since
the night before. Everything was exactly as it was...

She couldn’t stop this nagging feeling creeping up in
the back of her mind. Although the room was neat and tidy,
something was off. Something was wrong... Marissa was nowhere to be
found.

Brenna stared out of the glass doors, debating over
what to do. Should she tell the others that something was wrong?
Would they agree? Would they think she was crazy? What about the
loud thump that came from Marissa’s suite the night before?

Overwhelmed, she began to sob. She had known Marissa
all her life, and she wouldn’t be able to bear it if something had
happened to her...

Brenna shook herself, feeling foolish. What if she
was just overreacting? What if Marissa was somewhere on the boat
having fun?

Wiping her eyes, Brenna eyes caught something on the
deck. She opened the glass door to get a better view of the thing
which glinted in the sunlight. She bent over and picked up a
flimsy, silver charm bracelet that was lodged between the wooden
boards.

Picking it up to inspect it, she gasped, feeling her
heart quicken. Brenna knew the bracelet well... She had given it to
Marissa for her eleventh birthday. She never took it off.

Brenna held up the charm bracelet in the sunlight,
making out a single blond hair that was entwined in the links.
Inspecting the bracelet, she was able to see that it had been
broken. It seemed to have rusted... Her eyes opened wide when she
realized that silver doesn’t rust, but blood does!

“Brenna?” Orman called from inside the suite.

In her surprise, she dropped the bracelet and it slid
across the deck.

“What are you doing?” he asked, joining her on the
balcony.

“Something is wrong, Orman,” Brenna told him
frantically, picking up the bracelet before it slid off of the edge
of the balcony. “Marissa didn’t sleep in her room. I haven’t seen
her since yesterday, and now, I just found her bracelet!”

Putting his hands up in a gesture of mock defense,
Orman appeared bewildered. “Calm down, Brenna. What are you talking
about?”

Holding it securely in her grasp, she held up the
bracelet to his face. “Look at it!”

He cupped his hand and Brenna placed the bracelet in
his hand. He inspected carefully, running his thumb over the dried
blood which was caked in between the links.

“We have to report this,” Brenna said hysterically.
“We have to call the National Guard! Marissa could have hit her
head... She could have fallen overboard! Or someone could have done
something to her...”

Orman grabbed Brenna’s shoulders and forced her to
look at him in his eyes. “Don’t be stupid. Listen to me,” Orman
said sternly, shaking her slightly back to her senses. “Are you
listening?”

Brenna nodded, looking up at him fearfully.

“We have to get rid of this bracelet,” he said
without an ounce of hesitation.

“No,” Brenna said, shacking her head in confusion.
“There was blood on her bracelet! The bracelet was broken as if
there had been a struggle. We have to report this!”

Orman shook his head. “Listen to me... This bracelet
could hurt us. We have to get rid of it,” he said calmly. He let
Brenna go and stood closer to the railing, looking over the edge at
the ship’s wake. “The deck must have been slippery. She could have
easily fallen, hit her head and went over the rail. That would
explain the blood. Understand?”

Sobbing, Brenna nodded.

“We know nothing. We will search the ship for her,
but if she is gone, no one is to blame,” he said before he tossed
the bracelet into the ocean.

Wiping her tears, Brenna stood silent, watching the
symbol of her life long friendship slip underneath the waves.

* * * * *

Brenna went to her room, standing before the sliding
glass doors and looking out into the horizon in a state of shock.
She didn’t remember the journey there, but when she reached her
destination, she quickly came to her senses.

She had so many questions... Orman said he would
answer them all once he staged a search for Marissa and called the
Coast Guard. Yet, Brenna had no concept of the time that had
passed, and every minute that passed dragged on like an
eternity.

She was shaking.

Surely, there would be an investigation, and everyone
on board would be deemed a suspect. Yet, Orman’s plan made sense.
It was totally plausible that Marissa could have slipped and hit
her head, causing her to lose consciousness which then led to her
falling overboard. Such an idea, once implanted into the mind,
seemed quite believable. However, Brenna couldn’t stop the nagging
feeling which was gnawing away at her...

“Did you see Marissa?”

Brenna jumped and spun around. She breathed a sigh of
relief when she laid eyes on Chelsea. Confused, Brenna glanced at
her suite door and saw it ajar. “How did you get in? I thought I
had locked it...”

“Did you really think a cheap lock could keep me
away?” Chelsea asked with a dry laugh. “Did you see Marissa when
you went to her suite?”

Brenna shook her head violently. “No,” she said
nervously.

“No?” Chelsea questioned, appearing confused.