I felt a cold chill blow over me, a puff from the north. Addie didn't have a chance.
"She's going over! She's going over! Addie, no!" Priya screamed enough for us all. I watched the wind push my sister's mast all the way over, the little yellow hull following. I watched helplessly as the wind tossed my sister into the icy black water.
Chapter 39
"Nick!" I yelled. He stared at the sailboat as it bounced in the water like he didn't know what to do. "Nick, find the boathook."
"I don't have it!" he shouted into the wind as I drove closer to the sailboat. I could see Addie's head bobbing in the water.
"Addie! Swim to the sailboat!" I screamed, hoping my voice carried. Addie seemed to understand. Arms flailing, she made some progress toward the yellow hull, although she kept disappearing beneath the waves. Aw we grew closer, I could hear her screaming, her voice choking on water.
"Help! I... help…!" It was hard to make out what she was saying.
"You are not dying, Addie," I whispered. "You are not allowed."
I threw back the throttle when we were close, but not so close that I’d worry about running Addie over with the outboard. The growing waves made it hard to control the boat. Kismet was a good three minutes away and the scream of a Coast Guard siren carried across the water. They would all be too late. Addie's head slipped beneath the waves, then she sputtered to the surface, gasping and choking. "She's not going to last!" I watched her go down again. "She's caught on something."
"They'll be here in a minute," Nick said. "Don't go in there, Cass. At least wait for the other boat."
I could see Kismet's bow and the green light of starboard moving closer. "No. Not him."
"What?" Nick asked.
"Take the wheel." I yelled, abandoning the controls and moving to the back of the Whaler. "Priya, be ready to pull us out! I don’t care how."
"What are you doing, Cassie?" Priya yelled. Crying and shaking, she stood up and the rocking of the boat knocked her right back down. In the time it had taken to reach Addie, the waves had grown into serious whitecaps. "Don't go in there. You'll both die."
"I'm going in."
"No." Priya jumped up unsteadily, her fingertips grazing my arm as I dove into the black water. The shock of cold squeezed the air out of my lungs like a vice. I shot to the surface, and took a big breath. The air screeched as I sucked it into my lungs. Oh, my God, it was cold.
"Addie!" I screamed, trying not to swallow water as I swam against the waves. The life jacket made it difficult to pull through the water. My jeans felt heavy with water. I couldn’t get any momentum. "Hold onto the boat, Addie!" She was about thirty feet away from me, her head barely out of the water. Her eyes caught mine and widened with recognition. I took another breath and tried to swim toward her, but it was so hard to make progress pushing against the chop of the surface. I needed to dive.
I unzipped my life jacket and threw it toward my sister thinking I might be able to grab it again. I dove underwater kicking as hard as I could. My legs still felt heavy, but it was easier to make progress beneath the chop. Underwater, I heard a roar of motion, the splashing and distant motors of boats approaching. Addie had on a life jacket, but she still couldn’t seem to keep herself from sinking beneath the surface. Something was pulling her into the deep.
I couldn't believe how cold I felt, my muscles tightening with every passing second. I hadn’t realized how quickly we had drifted away from her. I felt like I was swimming through a liquid much thicker than water and I'd only been in the Sound for less than a minute. I only had to swim another fifteen feet or so. It wasn't that far, but for every stroke forward, a wave pushed me back again. I needed to reach her and hold onto the boat. If I could get to the little yellow boat, we could wait it out until help arrived.
"Addie!" I screamed and pulled myself through the waves, spitting as cold, green saltwater filled my mouth. I didn't see her anymore. I spun around in circles, wondering if I'd managed to turn myself around. Had I somehow gone the wrong way? "Where are you?" I cried and took in a mouthful of saltwater. I spat it out, gagging on something that tasted like green algae. Addie had disappeared.
"Cassandra!" RD's voice reached me. I could see Kismet's bow light coming closer. "Cassandra!"
How did he know I was out here? He was already gone when I stole the Whaler to rescue Addie.
A wide beam of light moved across the water. RD stood on the bow of the boat, a small spotlight attached to the rail. "Cassie!" His voice hoarse, he didn't sound angry anymore. He sounded terrified. "Cassie, where are you?" I needed help, anyone's help. I had no choice.
"Over here!" I screamed, trying to make myself as high as possible in the water. I took a breath and swam as hard as I could toward the spot I’d seen Addie go under. My sister had been there moments before. She was there. She had to be. "Over here, RD!" I held the side of the yellow sailboat, guiding myself by the edges, my fingertips growing number by the second.
"What are you doing here?" RD shouted. I could see him on the bow, not his face, but his shape. He threw a life ring into the water. "Why were you sailing? Are you out of your mind?" He had come to rescue me. He didn't know Addie had stolen the boat.
"Not me," I shouted. The spotlight shone right on my face. I turned my head to the side, trying not to look directly into the light while I spoke. "My sister. I have lost my sister. It's Addie."
I heard something that sounded like a choked cry. "Addie-Day!" I screamed. Addie popped to the surface, splashing. She was within arms reach and she made a horrible, slurping noise when she surfaced. She disappeared again under the waves.
"Cassandra. Hold onto the life ring!" RD shouted.
I kicked away from the boat and grabbed the float. I kept my eyes fixed on the spot where she'd disappeared. Reaching down, I searched the water. Moving my arms and legs, I hoped I could feel her, but she'd sunk deeper. I had to leave the surface.
"Don't let go!" RD shouted. His was just a voice in the darkness. I could feel tension in the line as he pulled the life ring. He was pulling me toward his boat.
"No. I need to find Addie!" I shouted.
As the light from Kismet flashed overhead, the sirens grew closer. I had no idea where Nick and Priya were in the dark. I was so turned around, I couldn't have pointed to San Sebastian, but I knew my sister was drowning right at my feet. Nothing else mattered to me.
I let go of the life ring and dove down until I felt her thrash against me. I hooked my fingers through her lifejacket and kicked as hard as I could, making it to the surface for a split second before a sudden jerk pulled us back underwater. I found her again, and she beat against me with her hands. With every punch, I struggled to keep from inhaling. Salt water stung my eyes and I couldn't see anything but bubbles and blackness all around me. Where was she stuck? I tried to feel for a line around her body, a torn sail wrapping around her legs. I managed to pull her away from the underwater tangle again, holding her head up high enough for her to get air.
"Breathe!" I screamed, kicking furiously, trying to keep us both above water.
She gasped and coughed. I'm not even sure she knew I was there. She kicked and squirmed as if she didn't know me. "Addie, it's me," I gasped. "I've got you." Her life jacket helped us both float, but it didn't matter. She wiggled and flailed her arms, knocking me in the jaw so hard she slipped out of my arms. I followed her underwater. Grabbing a fistful of her hair, I pulled her to the surface one more time.
"We just need to keep you above water for a few more seconds, okay, Addie-Day?” I tried to swim toward Kismet but I couldn’t find the boat. I was so turned around I could barely keep track of the capsized sailboat. "RD!" I screamed. "The life ring!"
Addie was so heavy. My whole body screamed with fatigue. Addie looked at me for a moment, eyes wide with fear. She tried to climb over me toward the air, dunking me down into the water. I couldn't keep us both on the surface. No matter how hard I kicked, it wasn't enough.
With all of my str
ength, I lifted Addie as high as I could. I felt the tangle of the boat trying to rip her from my arms, so I kicked even harder. My lungs grew tight as every ounce of oxygen squeezed out of them like a dry sponge.
I opened my eyes and saw that everything had changed colors. An emerald-green beam cut through the water and Addie looked like an outline in black near the surface. Bubbles surrounded us and rose like tiny balloons of light.
I couldn't do this. I was going to have to breathe.
Addie felt so heavy, but she was only a black shadow in my hands. We were turning into silhouettes. We were becoming stained glass.
I felt warm and sleepy and the green water didn't feel so bad to me anymore. And it made sense when I felt Addie being pulled away from me, because she was only a shadow. She was so light in the water, I didn't even mind letting her go.
It's impossible to hold onto shadows.
She needed to get out of the emerald-green water and back into the sun. Lights filled the water. I could see flickering colors of red and blue. The light made the water so warm. I tried to kick to the surface and follow, but it was so far away. How had it gotten so far away? That’s when I saw my Father. Suddenly he was above me his hand reaching through the rays of warm light.
I was right. He’d never left the water. I understood why he’d stayed.
I stretched toward him with my grey fingertips, trying to reach that glittering silver surface. I kicked, but my legs wouldn't move. My chest opened up and I breathed. I breathed underwater.
Chapter 40
Water filled my lungs, but it felt just like air. It didn't hurt. I was a mermaid. I could swim and breathe beneath the sea. I moved my hands through the water, unfurling my fingertips in the shiny, green light. I smiled.
So this is it. This is drowning, I thought. This isn't dying. It's different. It's transformation. A girl dives into the black water and discovers she's really a mermaid, diving down deeper to escape to this world beneath the surface. And this is what happened to Dad. The water changed him, too. Had he wanted to become something else and swim away like I did?
Where had Dad gone? He’d been there a moment ago.
I felt so sleepy and the water felt so warm. But if I became a mermaid, I'd be all alone. I didn't want to be alone underwater, even if I did get to swim with Dad again. I didn't want to fall asleep. I didn't want to die. I belonged with my family, with Addie, Mom and Aunt Lucy.
The water exploded above me. I felt arms catch me like a fish in a net. I knew I was moving closer to the sky and I wondered if I would still be a mermaid or if I would die like a fish out of water up there. I disappeared.
You can be without air, without oxygen in your lungs for two minutes before the cells in your brain start to die. Your body soaks up every ounce of oxygen it can and when it has nothing left, it robs oxygen from other cells, shutting them down, killing them one by one.
I had only stopped breathing for about one minute. Addie’s breathing had stopped for more than two.
I woke up with the taste of saltwater and vomit in my mouth.
"You're all right." A man with a salt and pepper beard knelt beside me. He spoke softly as if he didn't want to startle me. I could feel the itch of a wool blanket against my arms. I wiggled my fingers and toes and looked around. "You're gonna be just fine." The man wore a yellow rain slicker and had dark, leathery skin.
I struggled to sit up and recognized the red and white Coast Guard symbol painted on the side of the white boat. "Addie," I gasped. "My sister." My voice was raspy and sounded shredded, as though layers of vocal chords had been stripped away.
"You gave us quite a scare," the man said, smiling at me.
I saw him glance over his shoulder as I sat up. At the front of the deck, a group of people huddled around something. It reminded me of standing on Jekyll Beach, the way everyone had crowded around when they'd seen my sister in the water. "Where's my sister?" I struggled to stand. "What are they looking at?"
"Still. Be still. You need to rest." He held my shoulder and gently tried to get me to lie down again.
"No!" I struggled and writhed away from him. Pushing the blanket off, I staggered to my feet.
"Hey." He reached for me.
"No!" I turned around and belted him in the stomach. I don't think it was that hard, but I surprised him just as the boat dipped into a big gully. He lost his footing and fell onto a metal bench as I ran down the deck.
Through the crowd, I saw Addie on a stretcher with an oxygen mask over her face. A man held her hand in the air as if he was searching for a pulse and her skin had a blue hue to it. She looked dead. All of the color had drained away, leaving her lime-green and lemon-yellow jacket as a screaming reminder of how bright she had been minutes before.
"Addie! No! No, Addie!" I screamed, pushing through the people. "Let me see my sister!"
A short, barrel-chested officer with spiky, black hair grabbed me. He lifted me off the ground effortlessly, even though I was much taller. "Easy there, sister."
"What's wrong?" I gasped, crying and screaming. "What's wrong with my her?" I sobbed. "Addie! No. Not Addie."
He carried me away while I tried to kick myself free from his iron grip. He spoke in a strong, even tone. "We need to get her warm. And we need you to rest."
"But is she okay? She doesn't look okay!"
"Your sister is a very lucky girl. We’re taking very good care of her. If it weren’t for you, she wouldn't be here."
If it weren’t for me, she never would have been out there.
The officer set me on a bench and wrapped another blanket around my shoulders. It reminded me of the first day RD had offered me a towel during the rainstorm. He'd told me to stay warm. He'd made it so easy to jump aboard. Where was RD? He'd been on the water, unless I'd imagined him. The Coast Guard boat powered across the Sound, heading straight for the mainland. Kismet could never keep up with this ship.
"My friends? There were other boats." I didn't see RD or Nick and Priya. I scanned the water as we sailed. I didn't see any lights, just the approaching flicker of the port. "Where is everybody?"
"Everybody’s fine. They all went back to the marina and we're going to the hospital. Now, let me take care of your sister. You were a very brave girl..." He searched for my name.
"Cassandra," I whispered.
"Cassandra." He smiled. “If it weren't for you and your friend, your sister would be in a heap of trouble."
"My friend?"
"The guy who pulled you both out of the water. We took a quick report from him, but he said to tell you he was sorry. He couldn't stay. He said you'd understand. I thought you knew him."
I bit my lip and nodded. I didn't even try to fight my tears. I let them fall down my cheeks, mixing with the dried saltwater on my skin. Had it really been RD? He'd called to me from the sailboat. I was sure he'd gone out in Kismet to rescue me. Had he really saved us both?
The crew prepared for docking dropping fenders and holding heavy lines for tying up. A pair of ambulances waited for us on the dock lights flashing. I figured there one was for Addie and one for me.
"Do you remember his name?" I asked. “The guy who saved us.”
"Yeah. Dawson, I think. Ronald Dawson?" The officer stood up and waved at a paramedic making his way across the deck with a wheelchair. "I'll have to double-check, but I'm pretty sure that was it."
Ronald. Ronald Dawson. In all the time I'd been with RD, I'd never even asked him what RD stood for. I thought he'd come into this world named RD, that someone like him didn't have an ordinary name like everyone else. I was wrong.
"So, you know him?" The officer asked, helping me into the chair. They wouldn't even let me walk on my own.
"No," I said. "I don’t know him at all.”
Chapter 41
Aunt Lucy stood with arms crossed just inside the doors to the emergency room. Flashing red and blue lights danced across her face as they unloaded me. She looked pale and drawn. I felt sick with guilt knowing it was m
y fault we were at the hospital. Everything tonight stemmed from my bad decisions and lies.
A paramedic wheeled me inside. I didn't need the wheelchair, but I wasn’t given a choice. As the doors whooshed open, Aunt Lucy ran toward me throwing her arms around my shoulders. She was crying. "Cassie. Oh, thank God." She kissed the top of my head and hugged me so tight she reminded me of Mom. She was the only other person who ever hugged me like that. "You're safe. Thank God, you're safe."
She felt so safe, so familiar. Feeling her tears on my neck I started crying again, too. I didn't think I had any tears left, but I felt this surge of emotion I couldn’t control. Happiness mixed with sorrow. I’d caused so much trouble.
"They took Addie," I hiccupped, holding onto Aunt Lucy’s neck. “She was so pale. It was horrible. She looked blue.”
"Excuse me, Cassandra." I felt a warm hand on my arm and looked up to see a tall nurse standing beside me. She had a sweet smile and wore a smock covered in colored elephants. “We need to get you checked in now.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
"Of course." Aunt Lucy stood up and wiped her eyes. "Yes, of course. Let’s go." Aunt Lucy didn't let go of my hand, and she walked right beside me as the nurse wheeled me down the hall.
"Is Addie here?" I asked, Aunt Lucy.
"Yes." She squeezed my hand. "They brought her in a few minutes before you. She's all right, sweetheart. The doctors just want to give her a little more attention."
"Is Mom here too?"
"Yes. But, she’s sleeping. We’ll see her in the morning."
The nurse wheeled me into an exam room. I sat on a beige table with a thin privacy curtain beside it. The nurse took my temperature and blood pressure scribbling notes on a clipboard. She had a kind face and the elephants on her smock reminded me of Addie’s stuffed animal collection. "The doctor will be here in a few minutes." She left us alone.
I felt like someone had opened me up and drained every drop of energy from my body. On my bare legs, blue green bruises were beginning to show. My eyes stung in the bright light of the hospital. Everything hurt and I felt cold in my core as if I’d carried the icy water of the Sound back with me. My heart ached but, for the first time all summer, I wasn't aching for RD. My heart ached for my family.
Lie to Me (an OddRocket title) Page 23