I hate leaving it behind.
But staying would be worse.
“This is the right call,” Charlotte says beside me. “You always make the right call.”
“It’s easy when there isn’t another option.”
The yacht’s already shifting harder beneath us than I want it to, and this isn’t even the worst of the storm yet.
I’ve already checked everything that could break free and turn dangerous once the weather really hits.
Charlotte’s in the main cabin, wedged between two fixed structures with mattresses on either side of her to soften the impact if the yacht starts throwing us around. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best protection I can give her.
I stay near the porthole, watching the water and running the same calculations through my head again and again. Wind direction. Tide movement. Wave height. How much worse this still has room to get.
“You’re second-guessing yourself.”
“I’m assessing.”
“Same thing.”
I keep my eyes on the water. “The shelter was too exposed. If this turns, the tree line won’t hold.”
“I know.” Her voice stays calm. “I’m not arguing with you. I’m just saying you can be uncertain and still be right.”
That makes me look back at her.
She’s watching me the way she always does when she’s noticed something I didn’t intend to show.
She shifts, and there’s a flicker in her expression she tries to hide. I catch it anyway.
“How long is this going to last?”
“Probably all night.”
I cross the cabin and crouch in front of her, close enough to read what she won’t say out loud.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.”
“Charlotte—”
She exhales and finally meets my eyes. “There’s pressure down low. That’s the only way I know how to describe it.”
I hold her gaze for a second. “Tell me if anything changes.”
A small, tired smile pulls briefly at her mouth. “You’ll be the first to know.”
Not that there’s anything I can actually do if it does.
I go back to the porthole.
The wind hits harder now—there’s weight behind it. The yacht shifts against the sand and water, sharper than before, caught between grounded and afloat in a way it was never meant to handle.
I feel it through the floor.
The storm isn’t building anymore.
