Hijacked at Sea

II

I lounge against the railing, watching as dolphins dive and splash through the wake the ship leaves behind. Somehow, by the skin of our teeth, we made it in time to the ship. It's still a mystery to me how. They were about to shove off without us, but we did it. We're here.

The hot sun beats down merrily, and though I know it's impossible, I can almost feel the new freckles forming across my nose from the sunlight. Cam is flirting shamelessly with one of the bartenders, but she doesn't seem to have her heart in it. Maybe she knows that it's a bad idea to score drinks before dinner. Her eyes are focused on something behind me.

Cam catches my eye and nods with a jerk of her head. I look at where she indicated and feel my eyes widen as my stomach drops. Anger surges through my gut as I turn to narrow my eyes at Cam. She jinxed it. She had to say that one little thing that ensures things will go bad no matter what. She walks away from the bartender to stand beside me as they reach us.

"What the hell are you doing here," she demands, glaring at the three people I would rather not have ever seen again.

Michael just arches an eyebrow, his arm slung casually over Liz's shoulders. She nuzzles closer to him with a smug look on her face that makes my heart clench in pain. At least Markus looks uncomfortable. I'd be willing to bet Michael didn't tell him that Cam and I were gonna be here.

"I believe I'm spending my spring break on a luxury cruise," he says snidely.

He looks down at me, mocking pity in his eyes.

"I didn't expect you could afford the flight, let alone the cruise," he sneers.

I look down, trying hard to keep from running away. Pain and humiliation set my face ablaze.

"C'mon Lizbette, Michael, let's go see if our rooms are ready," Markus says, avoiding looking at me.

"So how'd you do it," Michael asks, a dark grin forming across his lips.

"Leave us alone," Cam snaps at him, but he ignores her.

"Oh I got it," he says, snapping his fingers. "You slept with someone for the ticket. I mean, you like to pretend you're some big innocent sweetheart, but we know the truth, don't we?"

"Michael, leave them alone," Markus says in a hard voice.

"No, no, let him speak," Cam says, her voice low and dangerous.

I grab her arm as she steps between me and Michael.

"You have something to say to my boyfriend, Skank?" Liz demands, glaring at Cam.

"Enough," I squeak, but they ignore me.

"Yeah, I do, slut," Cam says, stepping into Liz's personal space. "Got a problem with it?"

"You're just fucking jealous," Liz sniffs.

"Jealous? If you think that he isn't going to pull the same shit on you that he pulled on Liv, you've got another thing coming. He's gonna dump your skanky-ass just as quick, after cheating on you too," Cam sneers.

"Listen here, you stupid dyke," Liz starts, igniting the rage that had begun to build within me.

"ENOUGH," I shout, pulling Cam back. "It's a vacation, Cam. They're not worth it."

Cam stares at me like I've grown another head for a moment before shrugging. I turn and walk away, holding onto her wrist in case she tries to go back, but she follows behind me the entire way to our cabin. I fumble with the key for a minute, tears blurring my vision. She reaches around me to grab the keys from my hand.