Page 56 of Totally Shipped
We push and push until the mess of bamboo sticks carrying Daisy is completely ashore. Killian pulls Daisy into his arms, and I lay there panting.
That’s when, through her sobbing, I can finally make out her words.
“Leander…where is he? He went under…” she wails.
My heart stops. I look around and realize for the first time he’s not with us.
“LEANDER!!”
Killian and I stand as one. I look up and down the beach. Nothing.
“LEANDER!”
“Go left, Killian, I’ll go right. Daisy—keep looking out to sea, scream if you see anything.” Not waiting for a reply, I set off running, moving through the surf, looking desperately for any sign of him.
Fuck.
All the way to the end of the short beach, I run. No sign.
This can’t be happening.
DAISY
Gray sprints back to me. I’m at the ocean’s edge, scanning the water desperately.
“Anything?” he asks.
I force the lump out of my throat and whisper, “Nothing.”
“I’m going further out.” Killian shouts, and gestures up the beach.
Gray pulls me into his arms, but I remain stiff. “Did you see the shark actually attack him, Daisy? What did you see?”
What did I see? Blood, a massive mouth, sharp teeth. What did I hear? Screams.
“I don’t know,” I tell him. My voice is surprisingly steady. “It was all so chaotic. I saw him, and then Harvey did his thing, and then it was just a race to the shore. I didn’t see.”
How could I not have seen where he went?
That’s when my knees give out, and I collapse onto the wet sand. Now the tears come, great hulking sobs.
“Daisy, breathe. Come on now, babe, breathe with me.”
In the distance I hear Killian shouting. “LEANDER!”
I shake Gray off me. “Go look, and keep looking, Gray. I don’t need you. Please, just go look.”
Gray gets to his feet, strokes a hand across my wet hair, then takes off running. I don’t care if I hurt his feelings. No one should be worried about me at the moment. I want all their attention on my sweet Leander.
Leander.
There is a story in Greek mythology about a handsome young man named Leander. He falls in love with a beautiful priestess named Hero. But she lives on the other side of a dangerous river. Every summer night, Leander swims the river to be with Hero.
But summer turns to fall, and fall to winter.
And then Leander drowns, trying to swim to his love.
Hero throws herself into the raging winter river and quickly drowns herself.
