I brace myself for the explosion. For the blast of the bullet as it fires through the barrel and collides with its target.

But all I hear is a click.

My heart sinks. I start over, try again, only to meet the same anti-climactic conclusion.

I know I did it right! Pivot the safety, cock the hammer, and shoot. The same way Daddy taught me.

"Surprise." Mr. McKenzie's pompous voice pulls me out of my head. When I focus beyond the gun, he's smiling. "It's not loaded."

Not loaded. Not loaded. Jessa and I spent the entire night playing victims and the gun isn't even loaded!

Rage spins my head, making me dizzy. For the last several hours, we've been terrified for our lives, and that man thought so little of us he didn't even bother to load his gun. We were easy targets to him. Just two more meaningless girls who'd gotten in his way. Walking jokes he would perhaps laugh about after the situation had passed.

But the joke's on him. Because I have nothing left to lose.

With a gut-wrenching wail, I toss the gun to the side and launch at him, taking him by surprise. His eyes spring open wide as I slam into his chest, the impact throwing him back. For a moment we're airborne, our feet leaving the safety of the deck, our bodies sailing through the air as if we have wings. It's not until we smack into the rail that I realize we've gone overboard.

But I'm not in the water. My fingers grip the edge, my feet thrashing aimlessly as waves lick the soles of my boots. Drew appears above me like a shadow against the storm. His mouth is moving, but all I hear is the ocean raging in my ears. He extends his hand, but I'm afraid to take it. Afraid he might let go so that I fall—but trusting him is the only chance I have at making it back on the boat.

Don't think, just do.

So, I reach for him. As he pulls me up, I try to climb, my boots slipping against the side of my boat, higher and higher, until I hurtle over the rail. I collapse against the deck, weak and out of breath, my lungs burning like they're on fire. When I look up, Drew is unhooking an orange life ring from the outside wall of the cockpit.

I push myself to my feet and clutch his arm, my hair plastered to my cheeks and across my forehead. "What are you doing?"

Rain streams down his face. "I'm saving him!"

"But why?" I scream, still trying to stop him. "He killed Ava. He killed your baby! He doesn't deserve to live."

"He's still my father." Drew yanks out of my grip and leans over the rail, searching the waves. "It's too dark!"

"Good!"

"I need to find him!" Drew squints into the water, his hand shielding his eyes from the rain.

"He's not getting back on this boat—I won't let him!"

"It's not up to you, Mia," Drew says. He faces me, rain dripping from the ends of his golden hair, making it look almost black in the dappled light from the helm. "I hate what he did, and I hate what he was about to do. But no matter what he's guilty of, he's still my family."

"You don't need him. You have your mother."

"I barely know my mother! She abandoned me."

The boat tips to the side, and I hold onto him for support. "She didn't! That's your father's fault, too. He told me he refused to give her custody. He said only he could raise you the right way. He's the one who's kept you apart!"

Shock jolts across his face, but then it dissolves. He's shakes his head. "I still need to protect him."

"Well, I don't!" I scream at him. "I'm leaving. You can either stay behind or come back with us and make this right."

Without waiting for an answer, I stalk back toward the cockpit when Drew grabs my arm. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Ava. I meant it when I said I loved her."

His confession hits me like a sledgehammer.

"That's not love. You're too selfish to care about anyone but yourself." There's so much more I want to say, but I settle on only one. "You would have made a terrible father."

Drew stares at me for a long beat and then nods in slow motion. "You should go."

"You're not coming with us?" Something twists in my stomach. Maybe disappointment? Not because I'll miss him, but because I want him to do the honest thing—for my sister.

His shoulders slump as if the rain is weighing them down. "I need to find my dad."

Drew gives me a sad smile before turning back to the water. He scans the perimeter, then repositions the life ring and jumps in. He doesn't look back.

My eyes blur with a mixture of tears and rain. As I stagger back to the helm, I pass Jessa, curled on the seat in a fetal position, her eyes closed. Passed out or escaping, I'm not sure which, and I don't care. I'm just glad I didn't have to keep her afloat in the water. But I do need to get her out of here—and fast.

The control panel is illuminated with gadgets and buttons, and two identical levers along the right side of the wheel. I have no idea what any of them are for, but I need to hurry up and figure it out. The engine is running. My goal now is to get this thing moving, but unlike a car—my usual mode of transportation—there's no obvious gas pedal.

"Okay, you can do this," I say out loud. My heart pounds in my ears as I contemplate what to do. "Think, Mia. You're not stupid. You got into boarding school for fuck's sake!"

"It's the stick lever closest to you," a voice croaks from behind me. I whip around and find Jessa sitting up in the seat, her hair wet and tangled, eyes squinting in my direction. "That's how you shift. It should be in the neutral position now—that's the spot in the middle. Push it away from you, and the boat will move forward. Pull it back, and it goes in reverse."

I nod and turn back to the console, take a deep breath and slowly advance the control forward. "Now what?" I yell over my shoulder.

"The other lever is the throttle—it's like a gas pedal. Pushing it forward will make it accelerate."

"Got it!" I turn back to the levers and shift it away from me. We lurch forward, the motion jarring my entire body.

Blackness surrounds us as we press through the waves. In the far distance, a series of lights dot the land, barely visible through the rain. Keeping an eye on the deck, I advance the throttle even more, pushing it as fast as it will go. The boat picks up speed, recoiling against the larger waves, but little by little, the lights along the coastline grow larger. Closer.

When campus comes into view, I turn the boat toward the docks, the waves pushing me toward them faster than what I'd like.

I pull back the throttle. "How do I park this thing?"

No answer. I turn around and Jessa's sprawled across the seat again, her eyes closed.

"Fuck." I line the bow up with the pier and idle the engine, but we're still moving forward. "Jessa, I could really use your assistance right now!"

She doesn't even stir.

I slowly accelerate, spinning the wheel like a mad woman to avoid the wharf, but the waves have different plans. We crash into the line of sailing boats and straight through the dock before hitting the sandy shore.

We're alive. It's finally over.

🔘

Woohoo—we're at the end! The next chapter will be an epilogue where it wraps everything up. The fates of Drew and his father could go either way. I'd love to hear your thoughts on what should happen! How do YOU think this should end?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting my stories. You're so fun to share them with!

Next week, I'll be posting a cover reveal for my next story on Instagram. It's already written in full, I just need to make some edits. Updates will start this month! All I'm going to say is that it's a YA dark historical thriller and unlike anything I've ever written before. If you want to check it out, you can find me on IG a/DarlyJamison. If I'm not following you back, let me know! I always follow Wattpad writers and readers! 🧡