FORGET ME

CHAPTER 04

My eyes slowly cracked open, and I gazed up in a mindless daze at the dark blue sky. A bird flew past, and the sound of the waves and my own breathing filled my ears. I felt the soreness in my body, but I remained still, attempting to gather my thoughts, to find anything in my blank mind.

"Are you awake?"

At the unexpected deep voice spoke, I jolted upright, forgetting all the pain in my body as I stared back at the gray eyes before me. My eyes widened, and I struggled to catch my breath, frantically looking around at my surroundings.

I was in a small boat, with nothing but an endless expanse of ocean stretching out in all directions.

"Wh-where?" I stammered, my voice hoarse and my throat clogged up as I looked around.

"It's the morning. You slept the whole night." At my blank stare, he rephrased, "The ship sank last night," I heard him utter the words and overwhelming emotions hit me like a ton of bricks, causing me to freeze. Memories of the harrowing events flooded my mind like a waterfall. The fancy dinner, the sound of shattering chandeliers, the desperate attempt to flee to the deck, the heartbreaking moment when we were entrusted with a couple's child, them being swept away by the waves, Larisa getting on a lifeboat, and finally, Jamie.

Jamie.

A wave of nausea surged through my body, and I bent over the edge of the boat, emptying my stomach into the sea. I couldn't hold back my sobs as I struggled to come to terms with the tragedy that had taken place and I had escaped from.

Gasping for breath, I sat up and weakly reached out to take the opened water bottle that the man was holding out to me. After drinking almost half the bottle, I turned to thank the man, "Thank- Wait, IT'S YOU!" I watched in horror at the familiar man, while he simply blinked up at me.

"You! The player from the bar yesterday!"

The man gave me an annoyed look and retorted, "Excuse me, lady. I have a name you know."

"No, no, no," I muttered to myself, and hands disheveling my hair as scurried away from him, "Of all the people I had to be stuck with, it had to be YOU!" Tears surfaced in my eyes again, "And p-poor J-Jamie! H-he! He- oh my God," I gripped the edge of the boat tightly as I sobbed my heart out not only for Jamie but also due to the shock of what happened.

The man next to me awkwardly patted my back, "I'm sorry about your boyfriend."

I stilled, the memory of Jamie's first and last kiss which was implanted on my lips before he left forever. D-did he really like me? I found myself sobbing out again, too overwhelmed with emotions to think straight. "He-he was no-not my b-boyfriend. But h-he sacrificed himself for our safety!"

The young man nodded, looking down to his lap, "Yeah, he saved me, saved us." He sported a solemn, empathetic look on his face, which was contracting to his previous flirtatious and teasing character I had seen the previous evening. This new demeanor didn't match him at all. But we did go through a tough time yesterday; even the happiest person in the world won't be smiling right now. Though we had only known each other for less than a day, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him as he looked as if he was on the verge of breaking down.

Well, weren't we all? None of us spent the day thinking we would die the next moment on a sinking ship.

I looked at our surroundings again, taking in the boat and ocean we were in. A strong sense of fear and helplessness took over me. Something I had never thought would happen has happened and I have no sense of direction, hope or control of what may happen in the future. "I c-can't believe our ship sank- it all seems like a nightmare," I sniveled, tightening my arms around me. "I hope Larisa made it out alive."