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They walked down the ramp off the boat and stepped into the humid Puerto Rico air. The sun glimmered on the water. They passed a clump of kids wearing T-shirts from Ulster Prep, Jordan’s school. “Do you want to say hi?” Emily asked.
Jordan looked at her blankly. “To whom?”
“To …” Emily trailed off. They’d already passed the Ulster kids; the moment was gone.
“So what are we going to do?” she asked instead. “Wander the streets? Sit at a café and listen to mariachi music?”
“Patience, grasshopper.” Jordan bumped Emily’s hip, then took a sharp left and walked to a second dock full of tethered yachts and sailboats. She marched down the dock as though she knew it, stopping at a long, square, motorboat bobbing gently on the waves. “This’ll work,” Emily thought she heard her mumble.
She stepped onto the boat. It rocked slightly under her weight, and she stretched out her arms for balance. She strolled to the cockpit and peered at the gauges. Then she opened a hatch next to the steering wheel. After a bit of fiddling, the motor started up.
“Well?” she called to Emily over the growling sounds. “Are you coming aboard or not?”
Emily blinked. “Is this your boat?”
Jordan laughed. “No, silly!”
“Then what are you doing?”
Jordan leaned against the steering wheel. “Whoever it belongs to hasn’t tended to it for a long time.” She pointed to a sticker on the side. “See? The license is out of date. And there’s a ton of film on the side—it hasn’t been cleaned in years.” She patted one of the leather seats. “Poor old girl. You miss going out to sea, don’t you?”
“But we could get in huge trouble! I thought you were trying to stay under the radar!”
Jordan grabbed a captain’s hat that was hanging from a peg by the wheel and popped it on her head. “Life isn’t worth living if you’re scared all the time.”
Emily glanced over her shoulder, half expecting to see A’s shadow slipping behind a Chris-Craft parked near them. But no one was there. It was just her and Jordan and a dockful of boats. Jordan was right: She was scared all the time. When had she last actually had fun?
She tentatively put one foot onto the boat. “Just a little ride, okay?”
“Yay!” Jordan whooped, rushing over to help Emily aboard. She gave Emily a huge hug, holding her for a few extra beats. Emily’s skin tingled. The promise of more hugs like that was reason alone for breaking the rules.
Jordan untied the boat from the slip. Then, with a spin of the wheel, she backed the boat into the harbor. A salty-smelling breeze kicked up, blowing Emily’s hair around her face. In seconds, they were passing the cruise ship, then a bunch of sailboats. As they rounded the old fort on the outskirts of town, Emily looked down and noticed something. The bottom of the boat was glass. Fish swam gracefully just inches below her, visible in the bright sunlight.
“Oh my God!” She placed her palms on the glass. “Jordan! Come see!”
Jordan let the boat idle and walked into the hull, too. Tropical fish glided under her feet. Ocean plants waved gently. “Wow,” she said.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Emily breathed. “We don’t even need a dive mask!”
They watched the water in awe for a few minutes. But as Emily stared at the abyss, her happy mood began to shift. Not even a year ago, Tabitha had been washed away in this very same sea. Fish just like these had swum around her body impassively, witnessing it wasting away. Seaweed had lodged in her hair and ears. The salty water had eroded her slowly, meticulously, until only bones were left.
A strange noise gurgled from the back of her throat. Jordan turned. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Emily managed.
Jordan inched closer, her green eyes wide. “No, you’re not. Are you freaked that we took this boat?”
Emily wrapped her arms across her chest, suddenly cold. I’m freaked about everything, she wanted to say. But if she opened her mouth, she feared all her secrets would spill out in a matter of minutes. She couldn’t tell Jordan about Tabitha. It was too dangerous.
“I’m glad we’re out here,” she finally managed. “I needed to do this. Get away from my life.”
Jordan cocked her head. “Things at home are really that bad, huh?”
Emily nodded, feeling a lump in her throat.
“Your parents?” Jordan guessed. “You said they didn’t want you around.”
Tears pricked Emily’s eyes, and she nodded again. “They hate me.”
“What happened, exactly?”
Emily eyed her, then took a deep breath. This was one secret she could share. “They found out I had a baby last summer. When I told them last week, they didn’t just freak—they shut down.”
Jordan blinked slowly. “You had a baby?”
Emily winced at Jordan’s shocked tone of voice. She was probably disgusted. But then she looked at Jordan’s face. It was kind and accepting. Go on, her expression seemed to say. I’m listening. I’ll like you anyway.
It all spilled out of her. The part about Gayle. Even reneging on the offer and leaving the baby on the Bakers’ doorstep. “After Isaac found out, I just thought it was time for my parents to know,” she said. “But now it’s like I’m no longer part of the family. They’ve been pissed at me before, but this is in a totally different league. I know I should hate them, but I miss them so much.”
