Page 10 of If They Knew

JULIE

Sitting alone in the dining room, I gaze around, marveling at its beauty. Theo was right—he’d told me his father spared no expense making this ship extravagant. This dining room looks like it belongs in a fairytale. Positioned aft of the ship, it’s bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows, highlighting the ornate tiled floor. Each window has an intricate lattice pattern and thick navy curtains tied back with nautical ropes, enhancing the charm. The room features round and oval tables covered with white linens and faux candle centerpieces, creating a romantic atmosphere.

Sitting alone, lost in thought, I stare out at the vast ocean. I can see ominous clouds rolling in, but they make the sunset all the more dramatic, even if the weather causes the ship to rock a little harder. My tranquility is shattered when Tyler intentionally steps in front of the window, blocking my view.

“Hey,” I say, looking at him, then at his sweatpants. “I see you dressed for the occasion.” My voice was laced with sarcasm.

“Thanks, I’m comfortable,” he responds.

“I’m pretty sure the dress code isn’t sweatpants and t-shirts.”

“It’s okay. I know the owner, and I’m sure he won’t mind,” he says, winking.

“Look, Tyler, you may have handed everything over to your brother, but everyone on board knows you're a Parrish, so can you try and take things more seriously?” To avoid looking at him and getting mad all over again, I pick up my menu and study the appetizer list.

“Yeah, whatever,” he says. I glance up and catch him rolling his eyes. “Where’s Theo, and what are you going to get?”

Without looking up from the menu, I answer, “I haven’t decided, and I’m not sure when Theo will be down. He should be here any minute.”

“I feel awful. Do you have any Tums? I think I ate something that my body doesn’t agree with.”

“Nope. But I'm sure they’ll have something in the medical center, or whatever.”

“Okay,” he says, his voice sounding a little weird. I look up and notice how hard he’s gripping the back of one of the dining room chairs. “All this swaying is making me feel even worse. I’m going to stop there on my way back to my room.” He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Come to think of it, he is looking a little green, I guess.

“Yeah, I hope the rest of the cruise isn't like this. I assume that’s why Theo isn’t here. He must be busy dealing with the weather, it–”

I’m startled by the sound of glass shattering behind me, and everyone turns to see what happened. A waiter is staring at the floor, an empty tray in his hands. His face turns beet-red, and he mumbles apologies as he squats down and starts picking up the shards of broken water glasses from the floor. Something catches my eye, and I look up to see the chandelier swaying. I frown, turning back to my table just in time to see the red wine in my glass shift and slosh up over the rim and onto the table. Just as I make eye contact with Tyler, my wine glass spills over, painting the white linen a deep maroon.

Throughout the dining room, the sound of glasses shattering alongside plates and cutlery crashing to the floor fills the air. “I've never seen a ship… tip this much.” I take a deep breath, unable to stop my heart from racing. I stare down at the red wine stain blooming across the tablecloth like a bad omen. The entire room tilts hard to the right, and a woman at the table across from me screams as more plates fly off the tables. I ball my hands into fists to stop them from shaking. I really hope Theo gets here soon.

I look over at Tyler, he’s gotta be as scared as I am, but he looks across the room, grabs an ice bucket meant for champagne and vomits, then sets the bucket down.

“Fuck. I feel better.” He wipes his mouth on a linen napkin, “I’m sure it's nothing, just some big waves outside. The crew will probably steer clear of the storm at any moment. Try to stay calm.”

I turn to my right and see a counter lined with metal water pitchers begin to slide violently to the left. I grip the table as tightly as I can, hoping it will somehow hold me in place. I feel my heart racing. I watch, as in slow motion, the ship tips again and the water pitchers slide to the opposite side, crashing onto the floor. People around the dining room stand and rush for the exits. Tables and chairs slide to one side of the room, some toppling over and crushing people in the process. Tyler, now panicked, grabs my arm and yanks me to the floor.

“You were right. Something's wrong. We need to find Theo. Now.” His voice is trembling, and he has a frightened look I've never seen on him before. The look sends a chill straight down to my bones.

Quickly, I pull out my phone and tap Theo's name. The screen instantly flashes ‘CALL FAILED’ along with a low battery alert. I realize my service is out, but I try to send a text anyway. As soon as I hit the send button, my phone dies. Hoping it went through, I slide my phone back into my pocket.

“My phone died, but Theo should be upstairs at the bridge. Where's your phone?” I ask, doing my best to keep from freaking out.

“I left mine charging in the room. Come on, we can check the bridge. Let’s take the stairs, the elevators aren’t safe. Stay low,” he says.

As we head toward the stairs, an announcement blares, instructing everyone to take cover. Suddenly, the voice cuts off as the lights flicker and the power goes out. Darkness engulfs the room, and the sound of screams and people running fills the air. In the chaos, a woman knocks me to the floor, and my left hand slams down onto a broken wine glass, the glass stem piercing through my palm like a nail shot from a nail gun. The pain is white-hot, and I scream. Moments later, emergency lights activate, illuminating everything. I see the glass stem embedded deep and scream again in shock. I grab the broken glass, biting my lip to hold back another scream. With a quick motion, I pull it out as fast as I can. Blood streams down my arm, splattering drops onto the floor. I look around and spot a white linen napkin on the floor and I grab it, wrapping my hand tightly. Wincing in pain, I clench the linen with my teeth and tie a knot to stop the bleeding.

“Are you okay?” Tyler asks.

“No, but we need to find Theo. I’ll be fine,” I say, trying my best to mask the pain as we crawl toward the dining room exit.

“We should head to the atrium and go from there. This stairwell's too packed with people trying to escape,” says Tyler.

As I move cautiously down the hallway toward the atrium, I hear glass shatter again and more screams. For a moment, we stand, but as soon as we do, the ship lurches violently, knocking us into the wall next to us and back down to the floor. We are just a few feet from the atrium’s entrance when the ship tips sharply again, and a loud crash reverberates through the hall. When we enter the atrium, I gasp. The elevators have torn free from their cables and are crushed on the floor. People are hysterical, running and screaming. Several individuals try to rescue two people trapped inside a crushed elevator; however, the shattered glass walls, still partly intact with large broken pieces, make access difficult. Some bystanders manage to reach inside and pull out one man. As he is lying on the ground, a woman begins CPR and calls for help. I’m paralyzed as memories come flooding back….

I’m twelve years old on a family road trip with my parents, a journey we’d been planning for months. My parents weren’t wealthy, so they'd saved for over a year to make the adventure happen. It's our first family vacation in such a long time, and I’m beyond excited. The cross-country drive will take us all day and all night, and everyone called where we were going the most magical place on earth. I’m excited to finally be tall enough to ride all the attractions and can’t wait to eat all the junk food. We’d been on the road for several hours and it was late at night, and I was hungry and cramped from the car ride. I kept whining for dinner—I was starving and cranky.

When my parents spotted a fast-food sign at the next exit, they told me I could choose any of them. We exited the highway and came to a stop at a red light. I spotted the glowing sign, and my stomach grumbled. I kept complaining about how long it took for the light to change, yelling “It's green, go!” once it finally did. My mom, behind the wheel, didn't check for oncoming traffic, and she hit the gas, and at the same time, another car sped through the red light and slammed into us.