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“You’re welcome. I’d give you the goodnight kiss he should be giving you, but he’d be pissed off. Night, Caitlin. Pleasant dreams.”
“Night, Ruric, and thanks.”
She shut the door, wondering if everything Ruric said was true, that Levka was really interested in her but couldn’t show it, maybe until he felt better about himself. The ship rolled partially on its side, and she grabbed the doorframe to the bathroom. Terror filled every inch of her, the memory of her family’s yacht rolling on its side, the way the ship lifted and fell in the rising waves, rising and crashing with a thunderous boom.
Lightning flashed outside even through the lightweight curtains. She pulled them aside, but couldn’t see the water for the dark, except for the rain streaking against the glass.
Her stomach roiled when the ship lifted again and dropped with a bang. She bit her lip, causing it to bleed. Sitting down on the mattress, she clutched at the bed frame and closed her eyes. She didn’t need her lifejacket yet. She didn’t need to panic. It wasn’t like before. Not like before.
You’ll be lower in the ship, more in the middle where you won’t feel the waves as much, her foster mother had assured her. The people who really have the ride are the ones in the bow of the ship.
Deeper in the ship. Safer.
Caitlin changed into dry clothes, then walked back to the balcony door and peered out. If the ship went under, she and Alicia could get off by way of the balcony. Unless the ship’s vacuum or whatever it was, sucked them under when it went down. She swallowed hard. The ship’s engines roared, the ship rolled, rose, and crashed.
For an hour, she tried to sleep in her jeans and T-shirt on top of her pink bedspread, but the storm grew worse. “Alicia,” she whispered.
“Hmmm.”
“Alicia, let’s get our lifejackets on.”
“Hmmm.”
She tugged at Alicia. “Come on. We’re already dressed. Let’s go up to our lifeboat deck and…” Alicia didn’t stir.
Caitlin grabbed their lifejackets and said, “Alicia, sit up.”
Alicia sat up on the mattress.
Caitlin shoved the lifejacket at her. “Put the lifejacket on.”
Alicia slipped her arms into the lifejacket.
Taking a deep breath, Caitlin grabbed her hand. “Come on. We’re going somewhere safe.”
Leading Alicia, Caitlin made her way to the deck where they’d conducted the lifeboat drills and found Levka sitting on a sofa playing a game of cards with his friends, his wheelchair nearby. All at once, she felt like an imbecile, wearing a lifejacket, holding Alicia’s hand and a pole to keep her footing as the ship rolled again.
Levka looked up at her, his face nearly expressionless, though she thought she saw a hint of surprise. His friends turned around to see what caught his eye, and all of them smiled. Her skin heated with chagrin.
In a flash, Ruric rose out of his cushiony chair and took Alicia’s arm. Stasio did the same for Caitlin.
“Kind of rough weather we’re having, eh?” Stasio guided Caitlin to sit beside Levka.
“I couldn’t sleep.” Caitlin clutched her lifejacket.
Alicia passed out as soon as Ruric sat her down on a sofa nearby.
“Hot chocolate?” Levka asked.
Caitlin nodded. “That would be nice.”
Arman got up to get her some.
“We couldn’t sleep either,” Ruric said. “After we got some dry clothes on, we came up here, but we didn’t think to bring our lifejackets. Smart move.”
“Paranoid is more like it,” Caitlin said, but no matter what, she couldn’t take it off.
The ship continued to rise and fall, and she wondered how high the seas were and how much pounding a ship this size could take before it succumbed like her parents' yacht had.
