The flashlight beam swings toward me. I squint and shake my head, lifting my hand to block the light shining in my eyes. On the other end of the boat, a door swings open, flapping against the wall as we roll over a swell.
“What’s going on?” Gigi calls. “Why aren’t the lights working?”
Adam spins around. “I just got up to take my shift at the helm, and Nojan’s gone,” Adam says.
“Shit,” Beth mutters.
Outside our room, Emma gasps.
Heart pounding, I get out of bed and grab onto Beth’s arm as the floor dips. This boat is too small for someone to go missing on board. My veins constrict with panic as I tighten my grip on Beth’s upper arm. “Oh my—” The boat tilts, and I fall to the side, pushing us both against the wall.
“Nojan must’ve gone overboard in the storm,” Adam says.
“What?” Gigi exclaims.
With my heart in my throat, I draw in a sharp breath as the floor sways beneath my feet.Overboard? But how?
“All the rope tethers are still on the boat,” Adam adds.
“You mean he’s ...” Beth’s voice trails off.
“Gone,” Adam says.
No.“He can’t be.” I stare at Adam, thinking of my girls. I have to get home to them. I push past him. “Nojan has to be here somewhere.”
Adam blocks my path. “Stop. I’ve already checked. If you go up there without a life vest, you’ll just end up in the water with him.”
“We need to call the Coast Guard,” Emma says. “They can look for him, hopefully before it’s too late. We can’t stay out in this storm without a captain.”
Adam’s flashlight beam swings toward Emma. “We’ve lost power. Unless I can get it back on, we can’t call anyone.”
Chapter Seventeen
Memorial Day Weekend, 2005
Courtney’s hair blew wildly out the passenger window of Beth’s van as we followed the 101 along the shores of Lake Crescent. I sat behind Beth, my backpack wedged between my legs, and sang along with Gigi and Emma to the Ashanti CD playing through the van’s speakers. As soon as the song ended, my phone chimed in my bag.
I flipped open my phone and saw a text from my mom.Be safe and have a great time! Don’t forget to text me when you get to the trailhead so I know you made it. Love you!
Courtney whipped around. “Let me guess. That’s your mom.”
I smiled. “How’d you know?”
Courtney shook her head. “I can’t believe she almost didn’t let you come. Good thing I got my mom to finally convince her.”
“I know.” I feigned relief even though I was secretly hoping I could get out of the whole thing. I’d had trouble sleeping last night, imagining a bear attacking our tents, clawing its way inside and eating me alive. I hadn’t told anyone besides Beth for fear of sounding lame. Especially not Courtney.
I tucked my phone back into my pack as we reached the end of the lake. The CD mixer changed to Avril Lavigne, and I grinned asCourtney sang off key to the lyrics of “Don’t Tell Me.” Behind me, Emma and Gigi stopped singing. Instead, they began to argue over who was the hottest actor: Josh Hartnett or Orlando Bloom.
Beth turned to Courtney. “Did you know it’s supposed to rain on Monday? The weather guy predicted a downpour starting early afternoon.”
Courtney patted Beth’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, mother. We’ll be driving home by then.”
I gazed out the window as Beth turned off the 101 onto Sol Duc Hot Springs Road, debating what I would tell the school board when they interviewed me next Tuesday. After Emma’s mom had sued the school, the school board had launched its own investigation into who’d planted the dish soap in the locker room. Fortunately, they’d been unable to prove who was responsible, so nothing had come of it so far.
While Emma had been on the bench at our state championship game, Courtney had been scouted by the Elliott Bay University volleyball coach. Last month, Courtney accepted a full-ride volleyball scholarship to EBU, even though her parents could’ve easily paid the tuition. Courtney’s parents were EBU alumni, and Courtney often bragged that they were some of the school’s biggest donors.
Without an offer to play for EBU, or any other major university, Emma enrolled in Peninsula College, a community college in our neighboring town of Port Angeles, where she’d gotten no scholarship but a spot on the team. And she’d have to take out loans for what her financial aid didn’t cover.
