The Secret Beneath The Waves

Chapter 15: The Engagement

On July 11, 2018 I was notified that this book has reached 101 reads and 51 votes. Thank you so much!

~Ananya Ramesh

*picture of Aidan at top of the page

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Chapter Fifteen - The engagement

A timid knocking on the door interrupted Spencer's sleep. Stretching she tiredly opened the door to find a familiar mop of wavy auburn hair. From the look of the sky, it seemed about three in the morning. "Jane?" she yawned. "Yes" came an accented voice as Jane pushed past her into the room. She was pacing, the same route Spencer usually did: from the desk to the fridge and back. Over and over again. On her fourth round, Jane turned to her. "Aidan's gone. We can't find him" she said. "What about Maxence?"

The weight in Spencer's chest felt heavier. "He died." she said plainly. Jane's blue eyes widened. "Oh. I'm sorry." Spencer smiled thinly. "It should be me saying that to you. I am sorry for the loss. You seemed like you knew each other for a while." Jane nodded. "Yeah." she sighed. "We were engaged." Spencer's mouth gaped opened in an o. Jane pressed her lips together and Spencer recognized the look. It was how Aidan had looked when they though Edward had died in Nassau. She was trying not to cry. "Crying is a sign of weakness." Jane said, when Spencer figured out her expression. She kept twisting a simple silver ring, with a small diamond encrusted in the center. Over and over again. She probably didn't even realize that she was doing it. Spencer shook her head. "Crying is embracing the sorrow and learning to accept it." Jane glared at her. "No it's not."

Spencer mutely nodded once, sliding a cup of coffee across the counter to her. Jane accepted it, the look of anger gone as quickly as it had arrived. Spencer fingers curled around her own cup as she brought her knees up to her chest. They sat like that, Jane on a bar stool and Spencer on the couch, soundlessly. Sunlight streamed through Spencer's think blue curtain about two hours later. Jane rose. "I need to talk to your captain. Where is he?"

Spencer mumbled out directions to Andrew's office and Jane left, the cup of coffee still full. Just seconds after Jane left there was a knock at the door. Opening the door she found Tony with an enormous stack of papers in his hands. Shawn was next to him, looking like a walking billboard. Two cardboard cutouts with the same information as the flyers were strung on his front and back. He looked absolutely miserable and pencer hid a smile. Tony handed her a flyer. "The boat needs repairs to be done. Andrew refused to do them for years so for the next two months, we have to leave." Spencer stared at him. "I can't leave." she said. She had lived on this boat for the past three years, this exact room ever since she had gotten the job. "Neither can I" Oliver walked up in the same get-up as Shawn. He looked even more woeful, if possible. Spencer had sold her small, cramped studio apartment in Chicago when she had gotten the job working for Andrew. She still had saved up money but the idea of living back there brought a groan to her lips. She took the flyer and shut the door to the sight of Shawn and Oliver waddling off to the next bubble, Tony following awkwardly behind.

Spencer almost went blind by looking at the flyer. In bright red font on a neon yellow background, it said in all caps, "ALL WORKERS MUST LEAVE BY 9PM TOMORROW. ANY STUFF NOT TAKEN WILL BE DISPOSED OF. THERE IS NO WORK TODAY, IN ORDER TO GIVE YOU ALL TIME TO PACK AND ARRANGE FOR TRANSPORTATION", signed in an elegant hand by Andrew. Spencer sighed, crumpling up the flyer and throwing it in the trash. She quietly got out her backpack, tossing random things in. A picture frame of her and her sister. A movie ticket stub. A stack of postcards. When she filled up the bag she shoved it on her bed, pulling out one of two suitcases. The handle squeaked as she tugged the smaller suitcase out from underneath her bed. She hadn't looked at them in ages. Dragging it out the door and down the stairs, she made her way to her office and went through the same process. She unpinned the various pictures on her wall and her calendar. She took her post-its and other office supplies. Grabbing her water bottle she walked away, not wanting to look back at the empty office.

Placing the suitcase in a corner, her backpack in it, she sat down on the bed. Pulling out her laptop she searched up available apartments. The only other option was going to her parents house, and she definitely could not do that. Her sister was god knows where, probably hitchhiking through Greece by now. The perks of being a travel author. Finding an apartment and reserving it for the next two months, she walked out, in search of food. She had cleared out her fridge in a midnight snack raid a few days ago. Knocking on Adri's door she heard a "come in" and swung open the door. Adri was sitting at her counter, vehemently typing at her laptop. "I can't find an apartment that's cheap." she grumbled. "Just bunk with me" Spencer shrugged, opening Adri's fridge. Adri looked at her.

"Really?"

"Yeah. We'll split the rent. Do you have any food?"

"You'd let me room with you? I'm so disorganized!"

" So am I. Food?"

Adri waved her hand in the general direction of a box of biscuits and croissants on the counter. Spencer picked up a croissant, peeling off the flaky layers. Adri turned to her. "Where did you even pick an apartment?" Spencer rolled her eyes. "Chicago"

"And you're mad because...?"

"That's where I used to live. I directed tours of the city. It was horrible. An absolute nightmare"

"It doesn't seem that bad."

"Imagine learning useless facts and having to recite them over and over again."

"So...school?" Adri looked confused. Spencer snorted, "yeah. You have money saved up too right? I have no wish to forage for a new job." Adri nodded. She turned on the TV, both of them curling up in the well worn armchairs placed in front of the television. "Why would you choose Chicago if you didn't like your past job there?" Adri questioned. Spencer shrugged, "I don't really know. I guess it'll just be a familiar place." There was a knock at the door followed by a nasal voice yelling, "Shelbey!"

Rolling her eyes, Spencer got up and went to the door. "You weren't in your room, I figured you would be here." he said disdainfully. Spencer nodded. "Anyways, I would like you and your group to go to the same place in these few months. Not all of the people involved with the illegal genetic experiments are dead or incarcerated. Some are still out there. All are angry. They will try to take you one by one, so please stick together. You hurt their pride more than their numbers" Andrew explained. He seemed kind of desperate. Spencer nodded again, surprised. "Thanks.....f-for the t-tip." she stuttered. Andrew waddled away without another word. "Andrew wants us to stay together?" came Adri's incredulous voice from the kitchen. Closing the door Spencer walked over. "Yeah" she breathed, as well puzzled, but something else Andrew had said jolted another question.

"How come you never told me about you being Andrew's niece? Besides the obvious part of it being Andrew."

A smile played on Adri's lips. "I didn't want anyone to think that I got in just because Andrew favored me. I already have sexists bozos to deal with"

Spencer smirked at her choice of words. "Andrew doesn't favor anyone."

"Yeah. Try convincing Timothy and the other idiots in Genetics of that."

Spencer mulled it over. Adri did have a valid point. "Come on" she tugged Adri towards the door. "We have to go tell the guys. It'll take loads of convincing as it is." Adri groaned but let Spencer pull her out the door, in search of three stubborn ass men. 

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