Chapter 6

The next morning, my mother came into my room with a worried look on her face. "Jaxon is on the phone. He's... insistent. He says he's planned a special day trip for us, a boat trip, to talk things over. He says if you still want to leave after today, he won't stop you."

"I don't want to go," I said, turning away.

"Honey," my mother said softly, "I know you're done with him. But Jameel and I... we think you should go. Say your final piece in a public place, and then walk away for good. Get the closure you need."

She was right. I needed to face him one last time, on my own terms.

"Fine," I said. "Tell him I'll go."

Jaxon picked me up an hour later, his mood bright and optimistic. He acted as if our fight yesterday had never happened. He chattered excitedly about the beautiful day, about the lunch he had packed. It was unnerving.

We arrived at the marina to find a beautiful sailboat waiting for us. As we were about to board, a car pulled up and Janice got out, wearing a stylish bikini and a large sun hat.

"Surprise!" she chirped, linking her arm through Jaxon's. "I hope you don't mind, Elfrieda. Jaxon thought I could use some sun. I've been so stressed lately."

Jaxon gave me a sheepish smile. "I thought it would be good for us all to clear the air. Together."

I just looked at him, my face a blank slate. I was beyond feeling surprise or anger. I was an observer now, watching the final act of this ridiculous play.

"Whatever you want, Jaxon," I said, and boarded the boat.

He seemed pleased by my compliance. He spent the first hour of the trip doting on Janice, rubbing sunscreen on her back, fetching her drinks, while I sat at the stern of the boat, watching the shoreline recede. I felt a strange sense of detachment, as if I were watching a movie of someone else's life.

After a while, I got up and walked to the bow, needing to put some physical distance between myself and them. The wind whipped my hair around my face, and the salty spray felt clean.

Janice followed me.

"Giving up so easily?" she sneered, leaning against the railing beside me. "I thought you had more fight in you."

"There's nothing to fight for," I said, not looking at her.

"You're right about that," she said with a cruel laugh. "He's mine. He was always mine. You were just a temporary inconvenience. A promise he had to keep."

"And you're a manipulative liar who preys on a man's misplaced sense of guilt," I retorted, finally turning to face her. "You claim to love him, but all you do is use him. You fake injuries, you stage dramas, you isolate him from everyone who cares about him. That's not love, Janice. It's a sickness."

Her face paled, then flushed with anger. She wasn't used to being called out. "How dare you!"

"I dare because it's the truth," I said calmly. "And deep down, he knows it. That's why he's so desperate to keep you happy. He's terrified of the moment he has to face what he's become."

Her eyes blazed with fury. She took a step toward me, her hand raised. "You bitch!"

Suddenly, she stopped. Her expression shifted from rage to a twisted sort of cunning. She looked past me, toward the back of the boat where Jaxon was. Then she looked at the water.

With a theatrical scream, she launched herself backward, off the side of the boat and into the churning water below.

"Janice!" Jaxon's terrified yell cut through the air.

He sprinted to the side of the boat, his eyes wild with panic. He saw her flailing in the water, screaming for help.

Then he looked at me. His expression was one of pure, unadulterated hatred. He thought I had pushed her.

"Help!" Janice shrieked. "I can't swim! I'm drowning!"

It was another lie, of course. I had seen photos of her on her college swim team.

Without a second's hesitation, Jaxon dived into the water after her.

I stood there, watching him swim frantically toward her, my heart like a stone in my chest. The boat, now unmanned, rocked violently as a large wave hit its side. I lost my footing on the slick deck and stumbled backward. My head hit a metal cleat with a sickening crack.

Pain exploded behind my eyes. The world tilted, a dizzying swirl of blue sky and bluer water. I pitched over the side, my body hitting the cold ocean with a jarring splash.

The shock of the cold water momentarily cleared my head. I surfaced, gasping for air, my arm and head throbbing. I could see the boat drifting away. I could see Jaxon reaching Janice, pulling her into a secure, life-saving hold.

"Jaxon!" I cried out, my voice weak. "Help me!"

He heard me. He turned and saw me struggling in the water, my blood leaving a faint pink trail on the surface. Our eyes locked. For a moment, I saw a flicker of conflict, of indecision.

But then Janice coughed weakly in his arms, her head lulling against his shoulder. "Jaxon... I'm so cold..."

His choice was made.

He turned his back on me, his focus entirely on her. "I've got you," he said, his voice carrying across the water. "I'm not letting you go."

He started swimming toward the distant shore, towing Janice with him. He didn't look back. Not once.

He left me alone in the middle of the ocean, with a head injury, a bleeding arm, and a boat drifting further and further away.

The cold was seeping into my bones, my limbs growing heavy. My vision started to blur at the edges. I was going to die out here. He was literally leaving me to die.

The sheer, brutal finality of it was the last thing I understood. He had made his choice. He had chosen her over my life.

My strength gave out. My head slipped beneath the waves, the world dissolving into a silent, green darkness. My last conscious thought was of my brother's face, his expression a storm of fury. I hoped he would make Jaxon pay.