Her pulse beat in her throat.“Camila… where’s Silvia?”
Tossing her own gear into a heap in the corner, Camila looked at her as though Desi had grown gills.“Silvia Spike?That old homeless lady who used to sleep down by the storage warehouse?”
Fear punched through Desi’s chest.“Yes.”
Camila frowned.“Des, she died last year, remember?”
The room spun.Desi gripped the counter to keep from collapsing.“How?”
Camila shrugged, bored.“Who knows?Hunger, maybe.Sickness.She was homeless.Old.”
The words hit like stones.Ethan was the one who’d first noticed Silvia.His church had brought her food and blankets.
Without him… no one had cared.
Desi’s vision blurred.The shop seemed to ripple like heat over asphalt.Ten minutes underwater, and somehow a lifetime had shifted.
She drew a deep breath.So much had changed.
And yet, she’d only been in the waterten minutes.How was that possible?
She stumbled behind the counter and moved the mouse.The computer screen flickered awake, humming softly.
The teenager finally glanced up, chewing her gum.
Camila jingled her keys.“I’m getting a smoothie.Want one?”
“I’ll go!”the girl piped, already grabbing her jacket.
The bell above the door gave a hollow ring as they left, neither sparing Desi a glance as they chattered down the boardwalk.
Silence pressed in.Only the soft crash of waves against the pylons and the faint whine of the fan filled the space.
Desi stared at the computer screen.Rows of numbers and charts swam before her eyes.No dives scheduled today.None tomorrow, and few all month.The profit margins were bleeding red.
Her throat thickened.It’s dying… her shop was dying.
By the time Camila and the Pumpkin returned, Desi sat slumped on a stool, staring blankly at the room that had once been her pride and joy.
Camila slurped her smoothie.“You okay?See the Kraken while we were gone?”
The Pumpkin snorted.“Can I leave early?”
Desi blinked, unable to fathom how this girl—this careless stranger—fit into her world.“Yes.Go.”
The girl didn’t wait for a second invitation.
Desi turned to Camila.“Do you know how bad things are?We’re sinking.The numbers, Camila, we’ll be under in months!”
Camila shrugged.“Not my department.Maybe more ads online?My friend’s majoring in marketing, I can ask—”
“Never mind.”
Camila leaned against the counter, twisting her straw.“Maybe Chad’s helping the problem along.He’s always whining about money.I’ve seen him by the register a few times when he shouldn’t be.”
A chill crept through Desi.“You think he’s stealing from me?”
Camila raised her brows.“Didn’t say that.But… maybe keep an eye out.”
