My heart slowed down as I gazed at him. He was nice, and we would be on an adventure soon. “Well, it’s gorgeous. And I need to thank you for this offer. I haven’t caught a break in a while. I’ll be less rude from now on.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said.
For a second, my lips tingled like he’d kissed me.
Then his phone rang, breaking the moment.
He stood. “I have to take this call. Wait for me, and we’ll walk back together.”
I nodded. Staying sounded easy, but my skin tingled. He started talking, and I decided to explore the ship. If I knew the layout, hopefully, I would be less intimidated.
I went up a deck and found some bedrooms. I checked out the bathroom, which was small, but the view was nice. Maybe I would get a window in my room and wake up every day looking at the blue ocean. I leaned against the window and closed my eyes.
In another life, one where things had gone differently and I hadn’t ended up with my scars, maybe I would deserve to be there. I fell on the bed and replayed the worst moments of my life. We had gone headfirst into the other car. My mother had thrown herself on top of me. I’d screamed.
The door opened, and I jumped off the bed. I hadn’t meant to lie down or be caught looking like I was sleeping. Until then, I had always been a good worker who avoided doing anything wrong. I didn’t know why I’d been possessed to ignore a simple order.
Gerard tapped the wall. “Well, let’s head back.”
“Let’s race back,” I said quickly, like we were more than what we were.
My heart pounded as I flew past him, mostly because I needed to escape. My life was no fairy tale. And as soon as I understood exactly what I was supposed to master to get the job done, I would be happier. The less I thought about my life and my mistakes, the more I could breathe.