“I’m glad.”
And I mean it. I know how important she was to Noa, and I regret not being there for her when it happened.
Still, Noa seems heartened, even amused. “Wait until my father finds out you sent those flowers,” she adds. “He’s going to hate that.”
I sniff a laugh, assuming I’m not her father’s favorite person right now, not after disappearing from Noa’s life. He would certainly be justified.
Noa and I fall into an easy silence, same way we keep falling. Doesn’t matter that we’ll eventually hit the ground, both of us bruised and wondering if it was worth it. And yet… I still can’t help myself.
I was always going to come down to her beach. Fuck, I knew that before I even got on the helicopter to fly out here.
Noa taps my arm, fast, insistent. “Jamie,” she says, her voice sharp with something between disbelief and fear. She doesn’t look at me. Just points.
I follow to where she’s indicating across the water, scanning the stretch of thick, wild Everglades. At first, it’s a blur of brush and broken trees, and then I spot it. Tucked in the back as if it’s hiding on purpose.
The roof of a bright pink building.
It doesn’t belong there. Not out here in the middle of nowhere. Bubblegum pink against the muted greens and browns of the Everglades—surreal. And honestly? Fucking creepy.
There, surrounded by splintered trees and soggy marsh, the building just… sits. Like it’s been waiting for us.
“Please tell me that’s not where we’re going,” I say, half joking, but my voice lands flat.
The others are already at the side of the boat, watching it like they’re under a spell. They begin congratulating each other. They’re thrilled.
Me? Not so much. I curse under my breath as I turn toward the reeds. The water shallows quickly, slapping gently at the hull. I yank the throttle back a gear, the boat groaning as we slow.
“Tech!” I snap, jerking my head toward the bank. “We need a plan.”
He comes to the wheel, scanning the area. He motions to a break in the reeds a few yards ahead. “There,” he says. “Go really slow. It’s super tight.”
It looks impossible, large patches of land mixed with cracked tree limbs from the storm. “Have you ever actually been down this path?” I ask him.
Tech smiles. “No one’s been here in decades.”
“Of course,” I mutter, annoyed at the amount of stress I’m putting on my boat. I lower the gear even more, just enough throttle to keep the blades moving, but slow enough that I’ll be able to untangle any debris that might get stuck.
As I ease my way through the water, I can hear the hollow scrapes along the side of my boat. Hopefully it’s not tearing up the paint, but honestly, that’s the least of my worries. I’m just trying not to get stuck.
Up ahead, I spot what looks like the crumbling edge of a concrete dock. Behind it, a single-lane road cuts through the marsh, leading toward the pink building.
I keep us moving, slow and deliberate. I manage to get us close to the barrier, and Tech jumps out. Shawn follows, helping him secure us to a jagged piece of rusted rebar that’s sticking up from the concrete.
Once the boat is tied off, I hold out my hand to Noa. The second her fingers touch mine, it’s a jolt of electricity through my arm. She feels it too—I can tell by the way her breath catches.
We step onto the cracked concrete, the sound of water trickling through the deep crevices beneath us. The road looks as if it has been submerged for too long—the moss on the pavement slick and wet. The twisted branches of the trees reach toward the sky as if trying to block out the sunlight. Birds, distant and eerie, call out, and the sound is almost unnatural, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
I glance at the others, then back at the building.
“I’m not waiting in the boat,” I say, firm.
There is no way I’m sitting alone on that water, too far away for them to hear me scream for help.
Tech sniffs a laugh, waving his hand like he doesn’t care either way. He stares ahead, taking it all in. Then slowly, he starts to smile before looking around at us, his eyes a little misty.
“Welcome to the Starline Hotel,” he says.
“Holy shit,” Shawn says, bouncing up and down. “We seriously found it!” She pulls him into a hug and Noa joins in.
