Chapter 3

We must have passed near the doctor’s office because I heard “Hey Em!” from behind me. I turned and there was Eddie, arm wrapped in a cast, a big doofus smile on his face.

I looked quickly at Mom; they were all standing there, waiting on me. Mom gave me an oh my god look and said “Don’t be long” and led them down the hallway.

“Are you okay?” I asked, turning back to Eddie and walking up to him.

“Sure am, thanks to you!” He was pretty animated for a boy who just got a cast for a broken arm.

“What? Me? I didn’t do anything.”

All of a sudden Eddie got very serious, moving a bit closer, then reaching out with his unbroken arm, his hand gently touching my shoulder. He looked straight into my eyes.

“Em. I don’t know how you did it, but I know you did it. You saved my life. I felt you, catching me, and tossing me back up onto the ship.” Then the big lunk leaned down and kissed me on my forehead, then skipped away. Skipped. Who skips?

After dinner, Mom took me for a walk.

“Is there anything you want to tell me, Embry?” I hadn’t realized it but Mom had walked us back over to where Eddie had fallen.

“I’m not sure what you mean, Mom.” I knew what she meant.

Mom gave me the eyebrow. There was some tv show that she would watch, Star Track or something, where this alien had these really weird eyebrows, and I think she practiced imitating him. She was doing it now. It meant she didn’t believe me.

She then tipped her head toward the rail, silently telling me she wanted me to look. I didn’t need to look. I just shook my head.

Mom relaxed her eyebrow. “There’s no lifeboat there, Embry.” She turned toward the sea and just leaned on the rail, not saying anything. I joined her, looking out, noticing the sun preparing to say goodnight.

“Lucy?” she said, quietly, after a few moments.

I felt a lot of pressure.

“Yes.” I heard a slight intake of breath. She stayed quiet for another minute or so.

“The time Jaelyn scored the goals?”

This time it was my turn to gasp. How did she think of that?

“Mom! Everyone picked on her and she was so sad--” and then I just stopped talking.

“Yes.” She had waited for me.

We watched the sun sink below the surface, and neither of us was in any hurry to leave.

“Were there others?” She almost whispered this to me. When I didn’t answer, she turned her head toward me and saw that a tear had rolled down my cheek.

“Embry, it’s--” and I just moved in for a hug and began sobbing.

“What’s wrong wif me,” I blubbered, Mom, cooing and holding me, rocking gently, telling me it was okay when I knew that it, and I, were far from okay.

It wasn’t until I turned 17 that things went off the rails. After the cruise ship incident, Mom had set me up with seeing a therapist, and that didn’t help much as she felt I was manifesting all of this in my mind to give me a sense of purpose. Really?

Mom also took me for some tests at the hospital, brain scans, which turned up nada. All of this was done on the down low, mind you, and not talked about at the dinner table. Dad had become somewhat distant.

I mean, he wasn’t exactly the rah-rah type or the give-me-a-hug type, but now he was even less forthcoming. Made me sad to think that I was negatively influencing my parents’ lives.

Kinsley wasn’t affected, she was going to graduate with honors and had already been accepted at Vassar College, her first choice. She was President of the Senior Class and was dating a hot football player, so her life was pretty much perfect. We didn’t talk all that much, until the incident. That’s when my life started getting crazy.