Page 86 of The Suite Life
All at once, his expression changes, like he’s just had an epiphany. His eyes light up as he slaps his leg excitedly.
‘I’ve got it,’ he declares triumphantly. ‘I know where they are – come on, quick.’
With new-found determination, Donnie dashes off in the direction Lucy and Rick disappeared in last night. I hurry to keep pace with him, navigating the sand slipping beneath my feet. Determination, mixed with a bit of luck, keeps me upright, and I can’t help but think the balance gods are smiling down on me today – because I have no right to be this vertical, in these conditions.
As I catch up with Donnie – only because he’s slowing down – I know where we are and, suddenly, everything falls into place.
‘Do you really think…’ I begin.
‘Come on, let’s see,’ Donnie replies.
We’re outside the beach hut, the same one we nearly got stuck in a few days ago when we couldn’t get the door open. Donnie attempts to open it, but it won’t budge. Then he tries the same lift and twist motion that he used to free us the other day and, thankfully, it works.
I smile with relief as we look inside the hut and see Lucy and Rick, sprawled on the floor, fast asleep in each other’s arms.
‘Lucy,’ I whisper. ‘Lucy, wake up.’
Lucy stirs, her eyes fluttering open. A smile graces her face when she spots me, but as her gaze shifts to Donnie, she suddenly remembers where she is.
‘Oh my God,’ she exclaims, nudging Rick. ‘Rick, quick, wake up.’
Lucy leaps to her feet and rushes over to hug me.
‘Oh my God, we thought no one would ever find us,’ she confesses. ‘We came in here to talk, and the door got stuck. We didn’t have our phones or anything, so couldn’t call for help.’
‘What time is it?’ Rick mumbles. ‘The wedding…’
‘You’re all good; we’ve got time to get you guys ready,’ I reassure them. ‘It was Donnie who figured out that you would be in here.’
Rick extends his hand for a handshake but decides on a bear hug at the last moment.
‘Thanks, pal, you’re a hero,’ Rick tells him.
‘Donnie saves the day again,’ Lucy cheers. ‘Oh my God, there’s so much to do; I need to get ready and…’
I usher Lucy outside, to get her some air, because she’s starting to flap.
‘Go, go,’ I insist. ‘I’ll catch you up. I’ll just let Nathan know everything is okay – I promised I would call him. You guys are okay, right?’
Lucy nods.
‘He should have told me,’ she says. ‘But he didn’t want anyone getting hurt unnecessarily. I suppose it makes sense but… Are you okay?’
Rick and Donnie are still inside the hut, so I lean in closer and lower my voice.
‘I’m great,’ I tell her. ‘Something happened between me and Donnie. I like him, I really do.’
‘That’s great. He seems like such a nice guy,’ Lucy says, pulling me in for another hug. ‘Right, I can’t even imagine how bad I must look. Tell Nathan crisis averted, and catch me up.’
I take my phone from my pocket and call Nathan, letting him know that we’ve located Lucy and Rick and the show can go on.Relief floods through his voice. Whatever issues Nathan and I have had, there is no denying that he and Rick love each other – they’ve been friends since they were kids – and I wouldn’t ever want to come between that. Since our break-up, I’ve always done my best to be around him, for Lucy and for Rick, but it hasn’t been easy. But that’s what you do, for the people you care about. I imagine things will be much easier, now that I know I’m over him, that I’m happy to move on – who knows, I might even get to enjoy the wedding, something I didn’t think was remotely possible.
Rick walks out of the beach hut, offering me a wave before dashing off towards the resort to get ready. Part of me is scared to let them wander off again, in case we lose them, but I know last night was just one of those things. Ahh, I bet they can’t wait to tie the knot.
After assuring Nathan that we’ll all be there soon – he had a similar thought to me, that we shouldn’t let them out of our sight – I head back towards the beach hut where I left Donnie.
‘…of course I haven’t told her,’ I overhear Donnie saying into his phone. ‘No, and I don’t want her to find out. I’m going to her sister’s wedding today – can we talk about it later?’
I back away from the door, recoiling in horror like I’ve just stumbled upon a body, retreating to the safety of the beach. It’s only a matter of seconds before Donnie joins me.
