14

lone survivor – the wrecks

"just cause I shot first, doesn't mean it didn't hurt."

I was eight years old when the Costa Concordia ran aground. 

I remember watching the news coverage, seeing this massive cruise liner lying on it's side in Tuscany, terrified tourists realizing that there was nothing they could do but watch the boat go down. What was even more haunting was seeing photos of the after. The side that had been submerged was rusted and collapsing. The youngest that died was five years old.

Six months later, my mother announced that she had booked us a Carnival cruise. I cried on the way to the port in Los Angeles, and TJ held my hand the entire car ride. I made such a fuss in the terminal about worst case scenarios and lifeboat procedures and 'are we all going to die's that TJ went to the captain and explained out situation. The captain would end up taking us to the bridge to show me just how safe the Carnival Breeze really was.

TJ always looked out for me, in small ways that I always assumed he thought were unsubstantial.

Seemingly, that was what he thought he was doing now, clutching Nate Macauley by the collar over a glass dining room table. There was blood running down Nate's face, a clump of which he spat onto the hardwood floor before turning to TJ.

"I didn't do anything to her, mate. I swear to god. Whatever mess you think we're in, Charis has nothing to do with it.

"Tyrone!" I shouted, running after Jeremy. "TJ, stop! You're hurting him!"

At the sound of my voice, everybody freezes. TJ's fist is halfway to Nate's face, and Nate is grasping for my half-full Smirnoff, no doubt to use to bash TJ's head in. Nate sheepishly lowers the bottle, but TJ doesn't put him down.

"Did he touch you, Charis?" TJ's tone is steely, scary, even. It was the tone he used when he found out about me and Jeremy. The tone he used when he went after Jeremy with a baseball bat, lucky that coach didn't press any charges. He was benched for two games.

It scared me to see him like this. Usually, flying off the handle was my thing.

"No. Nate didn't touch me, he didn't hurt me. He's kept me safe since the shooting." I reached out, voice shaky as I touched TJ's arm. "Let him go, Ty."

Begrudgingly, he loosened his grip on Nate's collar, allowing the other boy to get away. He stuck his middle finger up at TJ before pushing through the crowd. Vanessa, one of Addy Prentiss' friends, opened the French-doored fridge, passing Nate a bag of frozen cauliflower to hold to the cuts on his face before she wrinkled her nose in disgust and walked away from him to rejoin the huddle.

"Hey, it's that girl from the TV!" One girl shouted over the Luke Bryan song, clutching on to her boyfriend's lacrosse jersey. "What if the killers followed her here! What if we get shot?"

I wasn't listening as I let TJ pull me into his arms, his embrace signalling safety, security. Family. He'd gone full Dominic Toretto before, and I had no doubt that he'd do it again without hesitation once he knew what we had gotten into.

"I've been trying to call." He said quietly. "Ever since the report first broke, I don't know why we have the news on anyway. Mom and Dad probably don't know yet. You know they're probably watching the rugby now. Or asleep."

"My phone's been on do not disturb. The last thing I needed was for it to ring while Lords' cronies were chasing us."

TJ pulled back. "Lords? As in, Iain Lords?"

Crossing my arms over my chest and drawing in a shaky breath, I nodded. "We're fucked, TJ. I don't know what to do. I need you right now."

TJ nodded, taking stock of the situation, seemingly forgetting that we were in the middle of a house party, surrounded by Bayview's finest and most gisspy. I had no doubt that Vanessa was already tweeting this entire mess to her followers. I'm sure it was a confidence boost for her, finally having the hot gossip before Simon.

Shit, Simon.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, scrolling past all the missed calls from TJ until I found the AboutThat notification, smearing blood across the cracked screen protector in the process. All eyes were on us, even Nate's, which I feared may soon swell shut from how hard TJ had hit him.

I'm sure we're all familiar with local legend Iain Lords. Drug kingpin, gangman and all around Bayview mobster. He's known for his dealings with the Euro-centric gangs in town: the Romanians, the Polish, Italians. Albanians, especially. But we don't have too many of those here. I can tell you what I do know, though. CF has fostered a very special relationship with NM! Are any of us really surprised though? The punk rock princess was bound to go off the rails eventually. I'm sure you watch the news, and if you rely on me for it, well then here it is: CF and NM are both wanted in interest to a shooting that took place outside of a restaurant on the Starlight Strip mall. The victim was Albanian, and I can bet that the main suspect is IL. Well, well. How the turn tables on Bayview's finest. Wrong place wrong time, or could it be something even more sinister?

"That motherfucker." I growled, clutching my phone. "Not a single call to make sure that I'm not dead, but he makes extrapolative guesses that just so happen to be right and he think he can post them on his godforsaken blog?"

Jeremy shook his head. "That's exactly what they're saying on the news. It's not giving Lords anything new to go on."

"But if he thinks there's an inkling of truth to this, that other people now know he's involved," Nate started. "Then there's not a single person in Bayview that's safe, much less Simon himself."

"Wait, you know the weasel that writes this shit?" Jeremy gawked. "He almost got me arrested!"

"That's what happens when you fuck a teenager, Ruffallo."

"Our birthdays are less than a year apart!"

"Boys!" I scowled. "That's enough! What are we supposed to do now?"

The crowd was beginning to dissipate, going sparse as partygoers realized there wasn't anything left to see. A tall boy, lanky and dark haired, dressed in tight fitting jeans and a pristine white Polo shirt with the Ralph Lauren logo embroidered just above his nipple came over to talk to us. And I know about the placement of his nipples because you could see them right through his shirt, in case anybody was interested.

"If I may, I have some legal suggestions." He began, outstretching his hand. "Flynn Jacbosen, I'm a friend of Jeremy's."

"Charis." I said shortly, refusing to shake his hand. Nate didn't shake either, just frowing at Flynn while TJ introduced himself.

"Lords has guys everywhere in Bayview. We've studied him in school. I'm going to be a lawyer in the White House, you know."

Jeremy snickered, hands in his pockets as he stared at the popcorn ceiling. The song had changed, some Darke song I didn't recognize playing as the usual party sway resumed, unaware of the life-or-death consequences those of us left in the kitchen would have to face. The recourse for actions we had no control over.

"Nobody gives a shit, Flynn. We can't care if we're dead." Jeremy pointed out, slumping into a chair. "The way I see it, the cops are the only option."

"So you've said." I rolled my eyes, still clutching his keys in my hand. "But as Flynn has so lovingly pointed out, not in Bayview."

"You need to avoid all major roadways. No highways, definitely not the interstate. Take back and residential roads." Flynn instructed. I didn't trust him. Something about his manner made me queasy. Maybe it was the hair gel, maybe it was the way he talked, like a politician or a celebrity lawyer. "Drive until you're well away from Bayview, two or three towns over."

TJ nodded. "I know a back way to Redondo. No other cars, we can gun the Charger and be there before daybreak."

"We can't take the Charger. It's too easily recognizable." I added solemnly, glancing over at Nate, who still hadn't said a word. I regretted the things I said to him, of course I did, but the mess we were in now just reminded me how different out lives truly were.

I think it reminded him as well.

"Take my car. I drive a Honda Civic, and so does every other college student." Jeremy insisted. "Charis has the keys."

"Charis," Nate said slowly. "Why do you already have the keys?"

Well, shit. I was not about to tell Nate and my brother that I had just spent the last hour having a heart to heart with my ex-boyfriend in the laundry room, where he told me that he very much still cared about me and urged me towards self-preservation, a.k.a leaving Nate behind to get shot by a drug dealer.

"I'll tell you in car." I said quietly, shaking my head. "Are you sure we should be taking Flynn's advice? I don't trust him."

Flynn rolled his eyes, cracking open a bottle of Budweiser. "I can hear you, you know."

"Good." Nate spoke for the first time this evening, dropping the frozen vegetables, bag now covered in congealed blood, in front of Flynn. "You said yourself that Lords is everywhere. And you're a law student, which would make you prime pickings for a drug lord."

"I'm the only person trying to help you right now!"

"And when you lead us straight to Iain Lords? What then?"

"Nate," I shook my head, arms crossed over my chest. I couldn't bring myself to reach out, to try and calm him down. "We don't have a choice. We can take a chance and run, or we can stay here and die."

Nate stopped to think for a minute, storms in his dark eyes as he inhaled and exhaled with the grace of a yoga teacher, fists clenches at his sides, a few droplets of blood on the collar of his resort shirt.

"Okay. But if we're going to go, we need to leave now."

"I'm coming too." TJ insisted, placing a hand on my shoulder. "If Charis goes down, I go down with her."

My heart swelled with complex emotions. Part of me wanted to insist that TJ stay here, where it was safe. If anything happened to me, mom and dad would need their son there to keep them level-headed. I couldn't put my parents through the horrors of losing both of us, especially when they had almost lost me already, if not physically, then mentally. But I also felt stronger with my brother by my side. We weren't proper twins, but we had always felt like it. He had half of my soul, I was convinced. I needed TJ with me if I was going to make it out alive.

Forresters needed to stick together..

"I'll stay here." Jeremy added. "Run point and let you know where the investigation is at and if the cops are on your trail. Don't worry about getting my keys back, I'll see TJ eventually."

"So, it's settled." Flynn laughed, slamming his hand down on the table. "Godspeed, my friends. Iain Lords isn't an easy man to hide from."

And Flynn Jacobsen's smile was the last thing we would see before we headed to the garage, following Jeremy's lead. Flynn's smile was dark and hazy, almost malicious.

As if he knew something that we didn't.