by Paulette Rae
“And what point was that?”
“When the going gets tough, he can’t handle it. He’s the first to back off. He’s not good enough for you Kirsty.”
“Not good enough? Like he wasn’t good enough for Leigh? Like he wasn’t good enough for your sister?” Kirsten took a step toward him.
“Don’t even get me started on that. It has nothing to do with you.” Tyler raised his voice to match her own angry timbre.
“You’ve made it everything to do with me, Tyler. You drew me in from the very moment I arrived here, and now it has everything to do with me. You think sticking me in Brook’s dress isn’t sick enough? I know you want to drive Jamie away. Was it so wrong that he loved your sister?”
“Yes it was,” Tyler thundered. His eyes clouded over with the thought of his dead sister. “She was so wrong for him. She needed someone who understood her.”
“Like you did?” Kirsten questioned, dropping her tone.
“I loved her more than he ever could have.”
“She was your sister Tyler. Your sister!” Kirsten hissed.
“It didn’t matter. I was the only one who really understood what she had been through.”
“That doesn’t mean you had a right to rule her. To do things to her that brothers and sisters shouldn’t do.”
Tyler’s eyes clouded with rage and he grabbed Kirsten by her upper arms, his fingers digging into her soft flesh.
“I should ask you what lies Jamie has been filling your head with.”
Kirsten winced and wriggled to get lose from his grip but he held her fast. “Not Jamie, Tyler. Brook. I found her diary. She told me everything. How you were both molested by your father, how you were so warped by what he did to you that you did the same thing to her. It’s all there, right down to the last entry.” She gasped as Tyler gripped her tight. But she was compelled to continue. She had to know the final truth about Brook’s death. “She said she was going to tell Jamie everything, and that was her last entry, Tyler. The day before she died.”
“Her diary,” Tyler exclaimed, “Where is it?” He shook her roughly. Her head snapped back and her neck jarred painfully.
“Tyler, you’re hurting me,” Kirsten yelped. Tyler’s eyes cleared for a moment and he released her. She took a step back and rubbed her arms. “It’s back at the house.”
“Who else has seen it?”
“Nobody.” She could safely say it was the truth. Hopefully though, she thought, Jamie was getting every word of our conversation. She looked around the boat then back at Tyler. “Come on, Tyler. It’s just you and me. Time to be completely honest. Brook didn’t die while she was riding did she?”
Tyler glared at her with hatred. “What are you implying?”
Kirsten tried to keep her cool, but inside she was shaking like a leaf. “The other night you said you had been arguing. It was about Sarah wasn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Come on. Who am I going to tell? You said it yourself, Jamie has gone. It’s obvious he doesn’t care about me. This is between you and me. I just want to know the truth. You owe me that much. For Brook’s sake, please tell me.”
Tyler laughed snidely. “She was just like you; just like you are now. All high and mighty and taking the high ground. She wasn’t innocent, and neither are you.” He took a step toward Kirsten but she stood her ground. She didn’t want him to know that right now she was more scared of him than she had been of anything in her whole life. He wasn’t the Tyler she thought she knew anymore. He was a burning body of jealousy and hate. And if she wasn’t careful he would work out she wasn’t on his side. In fact it was possible he already had.
Tyler continued, “She wanted to leave me. After everything we’d been through she was going to go away with Jamie and leave me. She was going to take Sarah and I couldn’t have that.”
“Did you kill her, Tyler?”
“No,” Tyler snapped. He took another step toward Kirsten and this time she backed away. “I didn’t kill her. I just wanted her to listen. I just wanted to make her understand she couldn’t do this to me. She kept moving away from me; wouldn’t let me touch her. I tried to catch her but she slipped and fell down a ravine.”
“So you made up the story about her being knocked off by a branch?”
“I didn’t want Beth to know what had really happened. It would have destroyed her. There was no need for that after everything else. So I turned Brook’s horse loose instead, made it look like it had been a riding accident.”
Kirsten groaned and put her hand over her mouth. The colour had drained from her face.
“You do believe me don’t you, Kirsty?”
“Ah-huh.” Kirsten made a feeble attempt to nod her head.
“What will you do with the information I just gave you?”
Kirsten looked up at Tyler. “I told you, it’s just between us.”
“What about the diary?” He clenched his hands into fists, released them then repeated the exercise. Kirsten never let her eyes leave him.
She swallowed. “The diary is back at the house, Tyler. As soon as we get back I’ll give it to you.”
“You make it sound so easy.” He inched his way closer to Kirsten again. She didn’t want to but she moved away from him, her body willing her to do so through fear. “You weren’t going to give it to Jamie were you?”
“Well, originally I was. He was Brook’s wife, it’s rightfully his. But with him gone I guess it’s yours now.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re just telling me what I want to hear now?” Tyler’s voice was calm; too calm.
Kirsten attempted a smile. “Tyler, I’ve never lied to you.”
“I do believe that Kirsty. But something’s not right.” He lunged at Kirsten, tried to catch her by the arm again, but she was too quick and expected it. She moved to the side, only to realise her own mistake too late. To her right was a chilly bin and she tripped over it, her shin tearing in pain as the skin slid off against the rough plastic surface. She yelped as she lost her balance; her arm caught her weight on the side of the boat and she felt a crunch of bone. A hot bolt of pain shot up into her shoulder. As her weight shifted she felt her legs go into the air. Her body rolled off the edge of the boat and into the water. Being a warm afternoon the water was a cold contrast and Kirsten gasped as the salty liquid surrounded her. The sound here was far deeper than back in their bay, the water a deep bottle green.
When she came up for air Kirsten was dazed and had lost her bearings. She turned in the water to see unfamiliar hills in the distance. Sheep dotted the green like tiny balls of cotton. Behind her she heard a splash as Tyler launched himself off the boat. She gasped and using her legs she propelled her body round one hundred and eighty degrees in the water. She had no idea what Tyler’s intentions were. Did he mean to silence her, just as Brook had been silenced in the end?
She tread the water with one arm, while she nestled the other against her chest in pain. She wasn’t sure but she suspected the bone there was broken. As Tyler surfaced Kirsten scanned his face for any sign of his intentions. Behind him she could see the late afternoon sun lowering itself to sleep. The sky there had turned beautiful shades of pink and yellow. How ironic she thought to herself. What a fantastic sunset.
“Kirsty, are you okay?” Tyler spluttered as he shook the water from his face.
“I think my arm is broken.”
“Let me help you.” His voice was calm, soft and unfeeling. He reached out his hand but Kirsten could only stare at it. Something wasn’t right. She thought back to the night she had slipped getting out of the hot tub and how he had said the same thing. He’d sounded completely different then. This wasn’t the same Tyler.
“Tyler, please,” she pleaded with him.
“Kirst, come on. Don’t be stupid.” He was almost at her side now, but she couldn’t move from the spot. Where would she go anyway?
Tyler moved swiftly through the water and reached
out to her. Before she knew what was happening he grabbed her by the arm and she screamed out in pain.
“How convenient,” Tyler snarled, his lips turned up into a triumphant smile. “You made this so easy for me, Kirsten.” Before she could do anything he pushed her under the water, his hand atop her head as he held her beneath the surface. She fought to escape his grip but her arm was a white flash of hot pain. It consumed her. She fought the panic which rose inside her, made her lungs burn for air. Finally when she realised she would drown if she didn’t do something, she forced herself into a ball, pulled her legs into her chest and rolled away from Tyler. Using all her weight she pushed her feet into Tyler’s stomach and wrenched her body from his grip. She tried to ignore the pain in her arm as she swam down into the water, as far as she could on the breath she had left. She knew she was a stronger swimmer than Tyler, even with a broken arm. If she could just get far enough away from him she would be okay. Her heart sank as she realised he could just go back to the boat, and then it would be all over. He had the perfect killing machine then; he could run straight over her then and claim it had been an accident. She needed to get away and hide before he had that opportunity. When she surfaced for air she turned to see Tyler, following her as quickly as he could. His thickset body moved through the water behind her, closing the gap between them. She continued to kick away from him, easily putting a good distance between them in several strokes. He was no match for her in the water.
“Come on, Kirsten. Where are you going to go?”
She stopped and turned. She continued to tread the water and watch him, hoping for a moment to catch her breath and collect her thoughts before he pursued her again. He regarded her with a cool brown stare.
She was just about to speak when something cold and heavy brushed her ankle, and she glanced down into the murky depths. A long dark shadow moved past her in the water. Even in the fading light she knew what it was before the fin broke the surface. She froze with fear. Even the thought of Tyler wanting to kill her was nothing compared to being in the ocean with one of the finest predators ever created.
“Jesus!” she screamed. “Tyler, there’s a shark!”
Tyler gave a low deep throaty growl. He obviously thought she was trying to call his bluff.
The water between them rippled. A shiny brown fin broke the surface, followed by a smaller dorsal. The tail flicked and the cold blooded animal disappeared beneath the surface once more. Kirsten’s heart pounded in her chest, but she tried to stay as still as possible in the water. She knew that thrashing around would only send the shark into a frenzy. Tyler on the other hand panicked. He threw himself back in the water and paddled furiously toward the boat.
“Tyler,” Kirsten yelled. “Stay still.”
“Fuck that,” Tyler responded as he continued to clamber for the boat. Her words could do no good. She saw the terror in Tyler’s eyes and knew he was beyond control. There was nothing she could do except watch and hope he would make it back to the boat before the shark picked up on his distress.
“Tyler!” Kirsten knew if he made it back to the boat she would be on her own. Tyler would leave her to her own defenses. It would be another convenience for him if she was eaten alive.
Kirsten watched in horror as Tyler’s body jerked back in the water with such force that he disappeared beneath the surface momentarily. The shark rolled with Tyler’s body in the water. Kirsten saw the flash of its cream belly before it released him. A moment later Tyler resurfaced, sputtering and screaming. His eyes were wide, the
whites showing in disbelief. The shark had disappeared, but Kirsten wondered if it was just circling for another attack, or whether it had decided Tyler wasn’t really food and had moved on.
“Tyler, get to the boat, now!” Kirsten yelled. She tried to stay calm; told herself it was necessary if she wanted to avoid the same fate. She took a deep breath and let it seep between her lips, then moved through the water as quickly as she could without making too much of a disturbance. She saw Tyler reach the back of the boat, claw at the white fiberglass surface there in panic as he tried pull himself up. But the edge of the boat was too high and he couldn’t reach it. The ladder was still tucked neatly away inside the boat and there were no ropes over the side to grab on to. If he had been uninjured he may have been able to propel himself up out of the water. Kirsten finally reached Tyler. Ignoring the dull throb in her own arm she tried to take hold of him by the arms. He lunged at her; nearly forced her under again, but she managed to stay afloat. The pain in her arm flared and she winced. The water around them had become a murky red puddle and she knew Tyler was badly hurt. There was too much blood for it to just be a surface wound.
“Keep still!” Kirsten commanded as she tried to get past the panic in his eyes.
“Jesus, the fucking thing bit me.” His brown eyes were still saucers of disbelief.
“I know. Tyler, you have to calm down. Your heart’s going so fast it’s going to speed up your blood loss. Where did it get you?”
Tyler seemed to calm almost instantly. “My thigh. The bastard got my leg.”
“Okay we have to get you out of the water.”
“God Kirsty, I feel like I’m going to pass out.” Tyler’s face turned ashen and Kirsten shook him by the shoulders.
“You can’t pass out, Tyler. I can’t get you out of the water on my own.”
“Huh.” Tyler laughed at the irony. “You can’t get back on the boat anyway, can you?”
He looked down at her arm. “How are you going to pull yourself up with one arm?”
“Well we have to get you out of the water.” Kirsten gazed around for a solution.
“If we can get around the other side of the platform there’s a ladder. From there you’ll be able to get back onto the boat.”
“On the other side?” She looked annoyed. “Tyler, why did you tie the boat on this side, if the ladder is way over the other side?”
Tyler gave her a weak smile. “Well, I didn’t think we’d end up in the drink like this, did I?”
Kirsten scowled. “You know I’m still thinking if the roles were reversed you’d leave me here to die.”
Tyler closed his eyes. For a moment Kirsten thought he had lost consciousness, until he spoke, “You know you’re probably right.” He opened his eyes. “Why don’t you leave me here?”
“Because, I’m not you.”
“Kirsten, I’m so sorry.” Tyler started to shiver and Kirsten knew he was going into shock.
“We have to get you out of the water.” She moved around behind him. “Can you swim?”
“I don’t know if I can. Leave me here and get to the ladder. Once you’re on the boat we can figure out a way to get me up there. If you’re lucky the little bastard will come back and finish me off and you won’t have to worry about me anymore.”
“Tyler, don’t say that.” Kirsten’s voice was stern. “You’re not going to die so stop talking that way.”
Tyler reached out and touched her hand. His fingers were cold and they trembled against her. “If I get out of this, I will make it up to you, Kirsty. I know what I did was wrong, to you, to Brook. If you get me out of this I’ll get help. I need help.” His eyes held so much sadness that tears welled up in Kirsten’s eyes. “Please help me, Kirsten.”
“I will.” Kirsten touched his face and smiled. “You’re going to be fine, just hang on. You’re not allowed to pass out while I’m gone okay?”
Tyler nodded and Kirsten turned away. She did her best to move through the water swiftly and felt much better once she was between the boat and the oversized salmon nets. She felt as though they gave her some protection, however knowing the fish had lured the shark in the first place it brought little comfort. It took her at least ten minutes to work her way around the nets. Her arm throbbed and she leaned to her good side, using her left arm and both legs to propel her through the water. Getting her body up the ladder proved to be another mission. It was a rope ladder with wooden slatted st
eps, and it swayed to and fro in the water as she climbed with one arm. She slipped a few times and crashed into the boards above, but finally she was able to climb high enough to pull her weight onto her stomach then roll onto the floating platform. She stood and walked carefully back around the opposite side of the nets. The platform swayed under her feet and she moved with caution, knowing if she traveled too fast she would lose her balance and end up back in the water.
“Tyler,” she yelled frantically as the boat came into view at the other end. There was no answer. She scrambled over the side of the boat, ran to the stern and peered over the edge. Tyler was still there, barely conscious, his eyes closed and head just above the water line.
“Tyler!” His eyes opened and took a moment to focus before they settled on her face above him.
“You look like an angel.” His lips hardly moved as he talked, making him sound like someone intoxicated. She knew he was running out of time. She cleared the boxes away from the loading hatch, slid the board from its hold and cast it aside with little thought. This left a gaping hole in the stern and she was able to reach down to water level. She stretched out to grab Tyler but he was still too far away.
“I can’t reach you, Ty. You gotta try and get over here so I can help you onto the boat.”
Tyler used his arms as best he could to push himself through the water toward her. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. His body was shutting down.
“Come on, Tyler. Just a little bit further.” Kirsten stretched out as far as she could and finally caught the fabric of his shirt sleeve. She pulled him the rest of the way. She stretched his arms over the lip of the boat, but was unable to pull him up out of the water with one arm. Using both arms she reached over his back and took hold of the waistline of his jeans. Sucking in her breath she closed her eyes, trying to think just about Tyler and not her injured arm. He was hurt and he was going to die if she didn’t help him. When the adrenaline began to flow she gritted her teeth and pulled as hard as she could. Later she couldn’t recall who yelped louder, her or Tyler, but eventually his body slid from the water, onto the deck of the pleasure craft. As she opened her eyes the first thing that came to mind was that someone had been gutting fish. There was so much blood. It ran over the deck and down through the slots at the back of the boat. Tyler moaned as she rolled him over, his eyes closed once more.