Page 53 of If They Knew

Kelly halts, then spins around to face Sara. She stares at Sara, breathing heavily for a few seconds before she drops the weapon.

“Sophie, come back here. Tyler isn’t going to hurt you. I promise. You know you can trust me. Please, Sophie, just come back over here,” says Sara, breaking the silence.

I stare at them both, utterly confused. Why did she call her Sophie? Kelly stands unmoving, staring at Sara. Slowly, Sara walks over and wraps her arms around Kelly, or Sophie, whoever she really is.

“Come on, let's go back to our room. I'll keep you safe,” she says, taking Kelly by the hand. As they both head toward the door, Sara calls over her shoulder, “I’ll explain everything later, I promise.”

The room is quiet. No one speaks, but from the looks on everyone’s faces, I’d bet anything we all have the same question running through our minds—Who is Sophie?

The only person I think may know the answer is Chris. “Who is Sophie?” I ask him.

Chris stares blankly at me.

“No idea. All I know is that Sara and Kelly have had a very strange relationship since I met them. You’ll need to ask them, not me.”

About an hour later, while we are trying to clean up all the mess and still tending to the wounded, Sara reenters the room with Kelly. Tears stream down Kelly's face, and she looks embarrassed.

Sara turns to Kelly. “It's okay, sweetie. It's time to tell them.” Kelly doesn't respond; instead, she keeps crying and walks toward the center of the room. I remain where I am—uncertain whether to approach or stay back. Julie doesn't speak or move either. Mary steps aside, giving Kelly a place to sit at the nearby table. Theo’s still unconscious, so we moved him to a patient room in the medical center where he can rest and regain his strength away from people bothering him. I glance around the room at the remaining passengers helping with the cleaning. “Thank you for all your help. Can you give us the room, please? Go find some room to get some rest, and we can all meet up later this afternoon to discuss what is going to happen moving forward.”

A few minutes pass and the room is cleared out, leaving only Kelly, Sara, Julie, Mary, Chris, and me. My eyes are locked on Kelly and I watch her nervously look around the room at the blood covering the walls, then to the bodies that are outside to be tossed overboard. She shifts her attention back to me. Her face is red and puffy from crying.

“If I'm going to tell you anything, I need to do it somewhere else. I can't be in here with all of this around me,” she says.

“We need someone to stay with Theo in case he wakes up,” says Mary.

“I'll do it,” Julie responds eagerly. I look back and see a flash of a look on Mary’s face that I can't quite make out before she shakes her head.

“No. I think you need to hear whatever Kelly and Sara are about to tell us,” Mary replies.

Before Julie can respond, Chris volunteers, “I can stay with Theo; Sara can fill me in later. I really don’t mind.”

“Thank you,” Julie responds. She opens her mouth to say something else but then she just bites her lips and nods.

“Okay, so where are we going? The entire ship is a disaster,” I say.

“We can go back to Paradise Cove. It's small and stuffy but it's not covered in bodies or blood,” replies Sara. “I know Paradise Cove, and I feel safe there for now. I don't want to be somewhere anyone could sneak up on us.”

“Sounds like a good idea, let's go,” I say, and we all make our way out the door.

29

KELLY/SOPHIE

I am horrified by the condition of Paradise Cove. The room makes me gag; it smells horrid, like urine and stale body odor. The place is a complete disaster and I almost tell everyone to turn around and go back to the medical center, but I think better of it. I’d rather smell the stink than see all that blood and a pile of bodies that are going to be fish food.

Light from the sun shines through a small porthole in the back of the room, casting only a little light. Sara walks directly to the back of the room and sits at the table closest to the window. Everyone follows. I grab Tyler's hand and we make our way to join her at the table. As we walk, I lean over and whisper in Tyler’s ear, “I'm sorry.” He looks down at me, then kisses my forehead.

We all take a seat at the table, and once we are all settled, Sara speaks first.

“You've got this,” says Sara as she reaches for my hand. I feel like I'm going to throw up. What I’m about to tell these people is something I never share and I’d give anything not to right now, but Tyler needs to know. I look up, and all eyes are on me. I wipe the tears from my face and take a deep breath.

I close my eyes and lower my head. I feel a touch on my shoulder and look up to see Tyler. I smile at him, even though I'm terrified he won't want me after I reveal my deepest secret.

“Babe, whatever it is, we will get through it together. I love you,” he says to me.

I stare at him. “Thank you, and I love you too. That's why I need to tell you the truth. This is a secret I’ve had buried for a long time,” I say.

“We are all in this together,” says Mary. My attention is drawn to Julie’s when her head turns toward Mary, giving her a squinted, confused look. I don’t understand what the issue is between them.