Strings of Fate: The First Loop

CHAPTER 60 - THE OCEAN GAVE HIM BACK

My breath caught a little, but I nodded. “Maybe I am.”

We stood there in that breath of a pause, just the hush of waves behind us, the chatter of our friends growing distant.

“I’ll see you at dinner?” he asked.

I nodded again. “Yeah. I should probably go fix my hair.”

“Don’t,” he said, and the way he said it stopped me in my tracks. “You already look like something the stars would br jealous of.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I just looked at him.

And he didn’t wait for an answer, just smiled like he knew I’d carry those words with me, turned and walked toward the boys. I stood there for one more second, sea breeze tugging gently at the edges of my towel, my heart fuller than I remembered it could be.

Then I turned toward the rooms, letting the quiet sound of his voice walk with me.

I hopped into the shower, let the water rinse the remnants of ocean on my skin. Then I stepped into the hot tub, soaking into the warm water that smelled like lavender and coconut and apples. It was almost 30 minutes until I decided to get dressed. I stared at my refection in the mirror, it felt like I am staring at a strangr, a happier one.  I twisted the cap of my perfume, the soft floral sweetness blooming in the air like it was practicing for tonight. Amber Romance. James once told me I smelled like sunlight and comfort, whatever that meant. I sprayed a little on my dress, my wrists, my neck… and then, impulsively, just a little on my hair. Just in case he leaned in.

The mirror reflected a girl who looked calm, almost radiant in yellow. But inside, I was floating somewhere else, caught between nervousness and something that felt strangely like hope.

I was brushing out the final tangle in my hair when the door burst open with a crash.

“B!!!” Inez’s voice tore through the room. She was breathless, her eyes wide with something that didn’t belong in this beautiful evening.

I turned fast. “What...”

“S-something happened to James,” she gasped. “He...he tried to save a kid from drowning and, ...he never came back up. He was just gone, B… he never surfaced...”

Her voice cracked.

I stood frozen. The brush slid from my fingers and hit the tiled floor with a quiet clatter.

Gone.

The word cracked across my chest like thunder. My knees buckled but didn’t fall. My lungs forgot how to move.

“The sea takes what it wants,” I whispered.

And then I ran.

Down the hallway, past the glassy-eyed guests and startled staff. Down the stairs so fast I nearly flew. My sandals slapped against the floor, my chest burning, my eyes already wet. The air grew saltier, heavier with every step, until the shore opened up in front of me like a cruel, endless grave.

“JAAAAMMMEESSS!” My scream tore out of me, raw and high and agonized. I ran to the edge of the shore, waves clawing at the sand like fingers pulling him farther from me. “No... no... NO...”

I kept running until the sea touched my ankles, the salt stinging like cuts.

Then strong arms wrapped around me.

“Betty, stop!” Matt. His voice was shaking too. “He’s not...don’t...”

“LET ME GO!” I fought him, weakly, desperately. “I need to...he might still be... I can’t lose him... I can’t...”