Page 57 of Totally Shipped
I won’t drown myself if Leander is gone. But part of my heart will forever be dead. This I know.
GRAY
Irun until I hit the end of the sand. Now it’s just rocks and coral.
I look back along the beach to Daisy’s huddled form. Shit, I have to find him. He has to be alright.
“LEANDER!”
Picking my way over the boulders, I try to stifle the panic rising inside me. The waves crash over the rocks, knocking me over. The drag tries to pull me into the ocean. I’ve cut my shin and my elbow. The blood dripping into the water takes me back to the moment the shark dove under. The last moment I saw my friend.
I’ll see that creature in my dreams, from now until the day I die. The black, flat eyes and gaping mouth, like a diabolic grin.
I think of meeting your end in that mouth.
Could anything be more terrifying?
I have to believe it would be quick. Please, Jesus, that it would be quick.
There is no Leander anywhere around these rocks. Nothing to do but head to the other end of the beach and look again at that side. I have to believe there’s at least a chance he’s still alive. That little fucker. I blink away tears. That little fucker making me cry.
Killian is still holding Daisy. I hear her wail but I just blaze straight past her, increasing my speed.
“LEANDER!”
The waves suddenly get calmer and the noise of the crashing ocean calms, like the sea is holding its breath.
“GIVE HIM BACK!” I yell at the surf. How can we ever walk away from the beach? Turn our backs and head into the jungle. It will be impossible.
“Are you there?” I whisper, moving slowly over the craggy rocks.
Fuck. I slip and slice myself again.
“Fucking get it together, you little shit,” I hiss. “I can’t go back to Daisy without you.”
My breath is coming out ragged. I balance precariously and wait for my heart to stop thumping so hard.
“Now would be a really good moment to show yourself, brother.”
Some movement catches the corner of my eye. A seabird flies low across the water. I watch its path.
And that’s when I see.
A hand. It moves slightly as the waves come in.
I make my way across more of the rocks. I’m not going fast because I don’t think I want to see.
“Leander?”
The hand. It moves again as I get closer.
“Leander?”
“I’M HERE.”
KILLIAN
“It’s OK, Daisy. He’s safe, we’re all safe.”
