AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why? We’re just getting started!”
Adela took Jack by surprise by briefly locking lips. “I’m going for a little stroll to clear my head. I’ll be back soon.”
Jack’s hand splayed over her lower back, pulling her back in when she wanted to walk away from him.
“Nobody wanders off alone, remember?”
“I’ll stay close to the hut so you can still see me, okay?”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“See you later, Adi,” Zane said.
“Later, sis. I hope you’ll have a good one,” Reed said before pinching his nose like he smelled something bad.
The wind carried Adela’s giggle as she walked away from their hut at the edge of the beach, just in front of the overgrowth leading up to the jungle.
Zane and Reed closed him in from both sides as they all three watched the curvy brunette with the sad eyes walk away. No matter how hard Reed made her laugh, or how hard or often Jack had made her come today; her hazel eyes still mirrored profound sadness.
He questioned if her missing friends were the only reason behind her melancholy. He suddenly remembered how she’d talked about her mother in the past tense.
“Do I have that same look in my eyes?” Jack asked while he watched the wind pick up Adela’s long hair, blowing it to the side in a silky breeze.
Reed furrowed his brows. “What look?”
Zane nodded since he instantly knew what he’d meant. “Yeah. Her missing friends ain’t the only thing making her sad. She’s obviously grieving. I think you should talk to her.”
Jack swallowed his dry throat. He knew that if he would breach the subject of her deceased mother, he would be next to share his life story. He never talked about what happened.
“If it weren’t for your dad, I would have spiraled out of control. I don’t know what would have happened to me, honestly. I’m hardly the expert on the topic, Z.”
“Maybe that’s exactly why you should talk to her. After hitting rock bottom, you’ve made it out, man.”
It didn’t feel like he made it out. Some nights, he would find himself still trapped against that car, hearing his sister’s gut-wrenching screams from the backseat where he couldn’t reach her.
“I think we should let her be for now. She’s obviously been through a lot,” Reed said.
“That’s exactly why we need to keep a close eye on her,” Zane said.
Jack eyed his friend. “She’s not depressed, Z.”
“Nah. But your girl has some mad determination. I wouldn’t put it past her to go out for a solo tour and search for her friends.”
Jack understood where Zane was coming from. “Yeah. We’ve all seen her working her ass off today. She thinks she’s responsible for not keeping all of her friends close after their boat sunk.”
Reed sighed. “Shit. I heard Cami talk to Dom last night about their boat sinking. Adi did everything by the book. There was nothing she should have done differently.”
As an experienced sailor, Reed knew what he was talking about.
“Maybe you can talk to her, man.”
Reed slapped his back. “I will.”
“Okay, let’s look out for some more branches for the sides of our hut. Anyone up for fire duty?”
Reed lifted his hand. “It will give me time to keep an eye out for our girl. Maybe if she comes back, I can talk to her, eh?”
