by Rye Hart
“See? He doesn’t even remember. You came to prom drunk, spiked the punch, and got thrown out for it,” Chanel said.
“I remember that. You were a mess that night,” I said.
“I don’t know, sounds like a fun time to me,” Ana said.
“You would think that,” I said, grinning.
“Are you going to go tonight, Chanel?” Ana asked.
“I don’t know. I guess it could be fun, but it’s stupid to re-nominate a prom king and queen. Connie went a bit overboard with that one,” Chanel said.
“Finally. Someone said it. Who were our prom king and queen anyway?” I asked.
“You don’t remember?” Chanel asked.
“I don’t,” I said.
“Doesn’t shock me. That was when the two of you snuck—”
Ana stopped her statement, and I could feel Chanel tighten up beside me. I guess I had the answers to all my questions. Last night, Chanel was only trying to diffuse the tension. She didn’t really want a do-over for prom. She wanted to forget about the whole thing. I slid my hand onto her thigh, trying to pull her gaze toward mine, but she shrugged me off as Tommy cleared his throat.
“Like I said. Always missing out on the drama.”
“Seriously?” I asked.
“If you weren’t drunk all the time, you might not miss it,” Chanel said with a grin. “There was plenty of drama when we docked this morning.”
“I wasn’t drunk this morning,” Tommy said. “I was sleeping off my drunken state.”
“What do you mean there was drama this morning?” Ana asked.
“Just with us docking in Curaçao and then taking back off. Some people saw Luke get on board in handcuffs,” Chanel said.
“How do you know that?” I asked.
Chanel sighed, and I knew exactly how she knew. Because she had gone to see it. Why the hell did she insist on putting herself through that kind of shit?
“You could’ve come and gotten me, you know,” I said.
“He didn’t see me or anything. It was from a distance. You put a real beating on him,” Chanel said with a small smile.
“He deserved a real beating,” I said.
“See? More drama missed. What was I doing on the island that day?” Tommy asked.
“Getting drunk,” Chanel and Ana said in unison with a giggle.
I was pissed off at Tommy making the comments he was, but it seemed to be the only thing that had Chanel laughing. I was worried about her state of mind and about what had taken her from her room at seven in the morning alone to see that asshole get back on the boat. If people had gathered to see it, then rumors were already flying. I trained my ears onto the conversations around us, trying to get a good peek into what everyone was talking about.
“Did you guys see him in handcuffs? That was Luke, right?”
“What was he in handcuffs for?”
“Someone gave him a shiner and broke his nose. You think he got into a fight?”
“Luke? Geeky, scrawny little Luke? Nah. He probably got run over by a bus.”
“Then why was he in handcuffs?”
“Did he steal something?”
“He’s a millionaire. Why would he steal something?”
“Can you be arrested for acting like a pompous dick? He’s been doing it all week.”
“I saw four bodyguards with him. All dressed in security outfits. They looked hot too.”
The rumors were buzzing all around us. People were postulating why Luke had been carted on in handcuffs. Some were wondering what had happened while others were wondering what would happen to him once we got back to Miami. Tommy and Chanel continued to go back and forth as she rattled off memory after memory of Tommy being too late or too drunk to remember what was going on around him. But my focus was elsewhere. I was trying to find a way to get the rumors under control or at least get them away from Chanel so she could enjoy the rest of her trip.
“She’s right. You are pretty late. You were late last night for dinner, and you’re literally right next door to us,” Ana said.
“I can be late and pretty or on time and shabby. Take your pick,” Tommy said.
“I don’t think Ana minds shabby as long as you’ve got a big dick,” Chanel said.
“Hey, guys!”
I heard Connie’s voice come from behind me as she approached the table. Ana groaned, and Tommy rolled his eyes, but Chanel did something I didn’t expect. She pressed herself against me, her hand landing lovingly on my thigh as she leaned over my chest. Connie was passing out papers to the table, and Chanel was more than willing to take those from her.
“Did you guys see Luke this morning?” Connie asked. “What in the world happened?”
“What do you mean?” Tommy asked. “I was sleeping off some alcohol this morning.”
“All I know is he boarded in handcuffs. Did he get into trouble or something?” Connie asked.
“That’s usually what’s happened if someone’s in handcuffs,” Ana said.
“The prevailing theory right now is that he stole something,” Connie said.
“He tried to,” Chanel said with a murmur.
“What was that?” Connie asked.
“I said it serves him right. What kind of millionaire steals stuff?” Chanel asked.
“What are these names for?” Ana asked.
“The nominations for prom king and queen, girl! Make sure you cast your vote. There’s a box with a slot in it over in the corner you can put your ballots in later,” Connie said.
“Can we write in names?” Chanel asked.
“Nope. We’re using the same names from prom when we graduated. Nothing spectacular. Just a fun little thing to reminisce,” Connie said. “Can’t wait to see who wins! We have a beautiful crown for the queen this time around.”
“Uh-huh. Well, thank you for bringing these around,” Chanel said.
There was something in her eyes I couldn’t identify, which was odd because I prided myself on being able to read Chanel well. Her demeanor had changed completely when Connie approached the table, and when she left, Chanel’s demeanor went right back to normal. She pulled away from me, her hand left my thigh, and she tossed the piece of voting paper onto the floor.
“You okay there?” Ana asked. “You look a little murder-y.”
“Not all of us enjoyed our prom,” Chanel said. “Why do we have to relive it?”
Tommy’s eyes whipped over to mine as my heart sank to my feet. I didn’t know if I was ever going to be able to fix this. Chanel looked angry and defeated and tired. She had tortured herself this morning by watching Luke get on the ship by herself. She was standing on a limb that was shaking, refusing help from anyone who reached out to her.
I had no idea what had brought any of this on, but the only thing I could do was try to cheer her up.
“You guys want to go spend some time by the pool?” I asked.
“I’m always pool-ready,” Tommy said.
“Got my bikini on underneath my wrap,” Ana said.
Our eyes panned over to Chanel as she stared out the window near our table.
“Huh?” she asked.
“We’re all heading to the pool. You wanna come along? Some sun might do you some good,” Ana said.
“Oh. Oh yeah. Sure. Means I can get a drink,” Chanel said.
“That’s the spirit! We can go to this prom drunk, or we can drink and miss it altogether. Who the fuck cares about it anyway?” Ana asked.
“You know, I liked Winter Ball that year more than I did our prom,” Chanel said. “Do you remember that dance?”
“Like it was yesterday. You were in this beautiful royal blue and silver gown. Strapless. It poofed out everywhere,” I said.
“Then we went to Steak and Shake afterward for three fucking hours,” Ana said.
“Oh, shit. I remember that dance,” Tommy said. “The one where the ornament balls started falling from the ceiling and busting on the ground?”
“Holy hell,
that was that dance?” I asked.
“I can’t believe you don’t remember that. You got hit with one,” Chanel said with a grin. “It busted all over your head and put glass down your pants.”
“I still don’t understand whose bright idea it was to hang massive blown-glass ornaments from a fucking popcorn ceiling,” I said.
“Uh, that was me,” Ana said. “I was on the committee that year.”
“Why doesn’t that shock me?” Chanel asked. “Ana, you’re the reason Walking On Broken Glass became our class’s anthem that year.”
“That, I don’t remember,” Tommy said.
“You were probably drunk,” Chanel and I said together.
“How could I be drunk through an entire school anthem?” Tommy asked.
“I don’t know. You do some pretty outstanding things,” Ana said.
“Oh, really? And what do you like the best?”
“Well, that’s enough of that,” Chanel said. “Who’s ready for the pool?”
Chanel rose from her seat with a smile on her face. Even though her emotional state was erratic today, I was glad she was still choosing to spend the day with us. An afternoon of laying out underneath the sun would do us all some good. It would be relaxing for this event tonight, and if none of us wanted to go, then it would be a good way to waste time until the shows started instead. There was a magic show as well as a musical number show taking place during the re-prom, so we had our pick of what to do if none of us wanted to go.
I watched as Tommy wrapped his arm around Ana, escorting her to the deck as we followed behind. But even though I tried to wrap my arm around Chanel, she wouldn’t let me.
At least she was here and not off somewhere torturing herself.
CHAPTER 27
CHANEL
Seeing Luke this morning had been terrible. I wasn't sure what possessed me to go, but something inside me pulled me toward the front of the ship. The only conclusion I could come to over breakfast was that I needed to see for myself that he was handcuffed and unable to get away. There were four security guards who escorted him onto the ship. They were hanging onto him tightly as everyone stared and gawked. I stayed in the shadows, taking stock of the bruises Luke had around his eyes, and the way his nose sat slightly off center. Rhett really had given him a beating, and it only served to heighten the feelings I felt when I was around him. I learned that I liked feeling protected and defended.
But every time I passed by someone, I heard them whispering about it, postulating and wondering what it is he could have done. It made me sick to hear, but it made me even sicker to think about what had actually happened. Every time someone mentioned it, like Connie at our fucking breakfast table, my mind rushed back to that moment I spotted him when I was still trying to convince myself this was all innocent and that, if I ignored it, then it would all simply go away.
But it hadn’t, and my desire to keep things peaceful had almost ended in me being raped.
Between that and this stupid do-over prom, I wanted nothing to do with today. Rumors were flying around my head, and I was having a hard time focusing. If my mind wasn't on the fact that Luke was only a few levels below our feet, I was focused on that woman from the elevator a few days ago with Rhett, the same girl that Rhett had fucked on prom night.
That idiotic woman Connie Thomas had invited.
Leave it to Connie to invite someone to come with her who wasn't part of our class. Leave it to Connie to find some way to make this trip stupid and regretful. In high school, she had always been prim-and-proper and ready to throw her family's wealth in our faces while acting like she was doing something good for us. Like the beach house for our senior trip. Or this entire damn cruise. Or the catering halls her family would rent out because Connie wanted to get all of us together for a fucking weekend.
My emotions were bubbling in my chest, and I didn't want anything to do with them.
But after breakfast, where my mind swirled and grabbed onto any reality it could, we were all hanging out by the pool and having fun. The sun felt good on my skin, and the drink in my hand was helping me relax. Rhett’s fingers would brush mine every now and again, causing me to flex my fingers toward him. Ana and Tommy were all over one another, kissing and cuddling. He was rubbing her down with oil and making lewd comments she thoroughly enjoyed as Rhett and I grinned and shook our heads.
They could tell us whatever they wanted, but the two of them were in deep.
“How’s that tan coming?” Ana asked.
“Not focused on a tan,” I said. “How’s that public sex coming?”
“The hell does that mean?” Tommy asked.
“It means the two of you are all over one another, and it’s gross,” Rhett said playfully.
“I don’t think it’s gross, I think it’s nice,” a familiar voice chimed in.
I felt my blood freeze as I lifted my head from the lounge chair. I pushed myself upright and peeled my sunglasses from my face, taking her all in. Evelyn was standing there, with her tan skin and her bleach-blond hair and her dazzling white smile. She looked very different from that night at prom when I’d ripped the car door open and seen her between Rhett’s legs. But here she was, grinning at me as her eyes raked up and down Rhett’s body.
“The hell do you want?” Ana asked.
“Just wanted to come say hello,” Evelyn said. “You guys enjoying the cruise?”
“Oh, holy shit, is this—?” Tommy trailed off.
“Yeah,” Rhett said, looking like he wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
Evelyn sighed and looked from Rhett to me. “Look, I think you both should know that nothing happened that night.”
Rhett’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head and I sat up and took off my sunglasses. “What do you mean?” I asked, my pulse thumping in my ears.
Evelyn looked downright embarrassed now and her hands twisted in front of her. “I know what you saw, and I know what you think, but Rhett and I didn’t have sex that night.”
Rhett flew to his feet, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. “We didn’t?”
Evelyn took a step back from Rhett’s large, looming frame. “No, we didn’t. It was a set-up. I drugged your drink right before you guys left. When I saw Chanel go into the bathroom, I took the opportunity to get in the car with you. I was just supposed to kiss you, but then the whole thing took on a life of its own. Everyone thought we slept together, and I was too scared to say anything about it.”
“Why the fuck would you do something like that?” Ana asked, her face a mask of rage.
“Because I was paid to. Listen, I wasn’t exactly popular in school, and you guys were larger than life. I just wanted to fit in, so when I was approached, I didn’t want to say no. Honestly, I swear to you that it wasn’t supposed to get so out of hand. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” Evelyn said, sounding sincere for a change.
“Who the fuck paid you to do something like that?” Rhett asked.
Before she could answer, I jumped up from my lounge chair and ran from the deck. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I ran to the elevators and frantically punched the button, but when the doors didn’t open fast enough, I ran up the stairs. I needed to get away and find a quiet place to think.
For ten years I had thought that Rhett had cheated on me that night. I had held that picture of him with that girl on his lap in my mind’s eye for ten fucking years, and it was all a lie. A lie that had cost me my relationship with Rhett, a lie that had robbed me of the ability to have a functioning adult relationship ever since. That night was the reason I had had a string of meaningless one-night stands, never allowing myself to get too close to anyone.
I knew how much it had hurt to be betrayed by the person I had loved and who I thought had loved me, and I wouldn’t let myself get close enough to be hurt that like again. Damn her, damn her and everything she took from me.
And poor Rhett! He had beaten himself up for ten years over something he didn’t even remember.
He had actually convinced himself that he had slept with her because he thought he wasn’t good enough for me. He had carried that around with him, when it wasn’t even the truth.
My blood was roaring in my ears and I felt like I wanted to punch something. I got to my room and my hands were shaking so bad that I couldn’t even put the key in the lock. I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm myself down, but I couldn’t.
“Here, let me get that before you gouge the damn door frame,” Ana’s voice came up beside me.
I stepped back so that she could unlock the door. Once it was open, I stepped into our room and flung myself on the bed. The anger and the pain of that night came rushing back and hit me like a ton of bricks. I put my face in my pillow and screamed as loud as I could before the tears choked me.
I cried for what seemed like forever as Ana sat with me and rocked me in her arms. She smoothed my hair and tried to make me laugh, but I needed to cry. I needed to get out all the emotions that were bottled up inside of me before they consumed me.
When I had cried myself dry, I sat up and took a deep, shaky breath. “Why?” I asked Ana “Why would anyone do that to me?”
Ana shook her head and wiped the tears off my face with the sleeve of her cover-up. “Because people are colossal assholes,” she said.
“I never did anything to anyone in high school. I was a nerd for fuck sake!”
“Yeah, a nerd who had the hottest guy in school tripping all over his dick for you. It was bound to make someone jealous,” Ana said.
“But that was so hurtful,” I said, still trying to comprehend why someone would stoop so low.
“Uh, hello. Teenagers are total pricks, Chanel. You were always just too nice to see it.”
I shook my head, remembering something Evelyn had said. “She said someone paid her to do it. Who? Who would pay her to ruin us like that?”
Ana shrugged. “She didn’t get a chance to answer that. Connie came over and dragged her away before she could say. But, honestly, Chanel, does it really matter at this point? It’s been ten fucking years. At least you know he never cheated on you.”
I closed my eyes and let out a breath. “No, he didn’t. And I know I should take some comfort in that.”