The boat belonged to Nick’s father. He let Nick use it whenever he wanted to go fishing with his friends. It was a frequent hangout for many of the teenagers on the island, and was one of the main reason Nick was so popular. They would anchor the boat not far off shore, but too far for anyone to see them, and drink beer in the sun all day. Very little fishing, if any at all, got done. Nick’s father never questioned why he rarely arrived home with any fish.
Once they found a good spot, Nick threw out the anchor, while Zach dug through the cooler. He handed beers to Nick, Sawyer, and Frankie.
“Beer for you, Izzy?” Zach asked her, jokingly.
“Um, okay.” Isabella looked over at Sawyer, who was watching her reaction. “I’ve never had beer before,” she told him as she shrugged her shoulders and reached for the beer that Zach was holding in front of him.
“Whoa, young lady. What do you think you are doing?” Sawyer grabbed the can from Zach’s hand before Isabella got a hold of it.
Then Sawyer looked at his friend. “What are you doing, man? You can’t give my 10 year old sister beer.”
Zach burst out laughing. “I was not going to actually give her a beer. I just wanted to see what she would say if I offered her one.”
Everyone looked over at Isabella and her face turned bright red. She hadn’t realized that Zach was joking with her. She had had a little crush on him for a few months and couldn’t believe that he had embarrassed her like that. Isabella scowled at him and turned her head. She did her best to hold in the tears that were threatening to spill over.
Though the rest of them didn’t notice it, Sawyer could see the look in Isabella’s eyes and suddenly felt sorry for her. “Hey,” he said as he punched Zach in the arm, “that’s not cool. You need to apologize to my sister.” Sawyer gave Zach a look that told him that he was serious. “Now.”
“Okay, okay,” Zach replied. “Izzy,” he said as he reached into the cooler, then walked over and sat down next to her. Isabella wouldn’t turn to look at him. “I’m really sorry if I embarrassed you. I was just joking about the beer. I can be a jerk sometimes. Forgive me?”
“Please? Please forgive me, Izzy,” he said as he put his left arm around her and pulled her toward him in a big brotherly type of way.
Isabella couldn’t help but smile at his attempt to lighten the situation.
“Now that’s better. You have a beautiful smile,” Zach told her. “Here, how about a cola?” he offered.
She accepted it with a smile.
“Well, aren’t you just the charmer,” Frankie teased Zach. “You can get out of just about everything with that adorable way about you, can’t you?
Zach just smiled back at Frankie. He knew she was right. He had been getting out of trouble his entire life, using his naturally charming personality.
Isabella thought that remark by Frankie was rude. But she didn’t say anything. Isabella didn’t want to bring anymore attention to herself than she already had. It was hard enough being the only little kid among a group of teenagers that probably didn’t even want her there.
Once it seemed that everything had calmed down, Frankie pulled off her pink tank top and black shorts to reveal a skimpy red bikini underneath. It accented her red hair and curvy figure nicely. She plopped down on Sawyer’s lap as she popped open the can of beer in her hand and began to drink. Isabella suddenly felt self-conscious and would not disrobe to show her one piece swimsuit. With her skinny body and non-existent chest, she wasn’t about to try to compete with Frankie. It never occurred to her that she was exactly what a girl her age was supposed to look like. No one expected to compare her to Frankie.
“Izzy, come on. Let’s go swimming,” Frankie said as she jumped up and took Isabella’s hand.
“No, I don’t want to.” Isabella pulled her hand back and furrowed her brow.
“What? Why not? You know how to swim, don’t you?” Frankie asked her.
“Yes,” Isabella made a snotty face at her. “I know how to swim. Just leave me alone.” Isabella’s sarcasm was not lost on Frankie.
Just as Frankie was about to ask her what her problem was, Zach jumped up.
“Look, there’s a couple of sharks out there,” he said, pointing to a spot about 100 feet or so from the boat.
Everyone jumped up to take a look. Even Isabella. She completely forgot that she was supposed to be upset and joined in the fun and awe of the group ogling the sharks. They all watched them for a couple of minutes. Even though they lived on an island, they didn’t really see sharks very often and it was a nice treat for them.
“Well I guess we aren’t going swimming now,” Frankie announced with a frown on her face.
“Hey, my dad was out on the boat yesterday. I’ll bet he has some chum in one of these buckets,” Nick said as he walked over and opened one of them.
Zach followed him to help. “Yeah, let’s see if we can get more of them over here. We can get some great video.”
“What’s chum?” Isabella asked as she curiously watched the boys walk toward the buckets.
“Oh, it’s bloody fish parts that they throw in the water to attract more sharks. They love it,” Frankie told her.
“Eww, gross.” Isabella wrinkled her nose. “Why do you want to attract sharks?” She sat down on the bench next to the boat railing and watched the boys.
“Because if we can get a bunch of them over here, we can take some video of it and put it online,” Zach told her. “It would be a great video to post.”
“They can’t get in the boat, can they?” Isabella asked as she moved away to the other side of the boat. There was a bit of a tremor in her voice. “I saw that old shark movie where that huge shark was eating all the people. It was disgusting.”
“No, definitely not. Don’t worry about that,” Frankie explained. “And aren’t you a bit young to watch movies like that?”
“Me and Sawyer watched it one night when my parents were out.” Isabella looked over at her brother and started swinging her legs nervously. She remembered that she had promised not to tell anyone that he let her watch it.
“Oops, sorry,” she said quietly to Sawyer as he gave her a little smile. He wasn’t worried about his friends knowing. It was the parents he was worried about.
Frankie let out a cackle at the exchange between Sawyer and Isabella. They were so cute together.
Isabella looked over at Frankie and frowned. She didn’t like that Frankie laughed at her and was embarrassed. She got up and walked back over to the other side of the boat to watch the sharks.
The boys found the bucket of chum, carried it over to the edge, and started dumping it off the side of the boat. The two sharks they had been watching didn’t take long to show up only a few feet away. One could almost reach out and touch them.
“There’s another bucket over there. Let’s get some more. Maybe we can get a bunch more sharks over here,” Nick said as he and Zach walked back over to retrieve another bucket.
“I’m getting another beer,” Sawyer said. “Anyone else?”
While all three boys were preoccupied in their tasks, they turned quickly when they heard a shriek and a loud splash.
“What was that?” Sawyer asked as he turned around and noticed that Frankie was no longer standing by the edge of the boat.
“Where’s…” He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence, when the screaming started.
“Oh my god! Frankie!”
Sawyer dropped his beer and ran to the side of the boat and leaned over to help her. He only had a couple of seconds, but he prayed he was in time. With all that chum in the water, she wouldn’t last long. He shoved Isabella aside as he leaned over to reach for Frankie. Isabella fell and landed on her knees, skinning both of them and she began bleeding. And wailing. No one paid any attention to her cries. Everyone on the boat had only one person on their minds at that moment.
The sharks had not yet attacked Frankie, but were closing in fast. There were at least four sharks by then, th
at the boys could see. With the blood and fish in the water, and her thrashing about, the sharks were very interested in her. None of this made it very easy for the boys to get ahold of her. They were leaning over the edge, trying to grasp her arms, but she was still thrashing around and screaming. She was clearly hysterical and they couldn’t get her out while she was moving around so much.
“Frankie, stop! We can’t get ahold of you!” Sawyer screamed.
Somehow, she heard him over her screams and managed to stop moving for a moment as she reached her arms up for them to take ahold of. Sawyer and Nick each managed to grab an arm and pulled Frankie up and into the boat, just as a really large shark, they weren’t sure what kind it was, was closing in on Frankie. In another two seconds, it would have been too late.
The three of them landed in the bottom of the boat in a heap and Frankie was crying hysterically. Sawyer pulled her into his arms as she sobbed.
“Are you hurt?” Zach asked her. “Were you bitten?”
“No..I..don’t think..so,” Frankie wailed out between sobs.
Zach walked over and wrapped a beach towel around Frankie and she pulled it tight around her. She continued shivering uncontrollably as Sawyer checked her legs and arms for wounds. He didn’t find any.
It took another five minutes before Frankie calmed down enough to speak, though she was still breathing heavily and hanging onto Sawyer for dear life. She was terrified of letting him go. He just held her and tried to calm her by gently stroking her hair and whispering to her that everything would be all right.
Finally, when she had collected herself, she turned to look at Isabella, with an intense, fevered stare. All three boys saw it and turned toward the girl.
“It was her,” Frankie said. “Isabella pushed me in.”
“What?” Sawyer asked. “You can’t be serious.”
Isabella’s eyes grew wide as they all looked at her.
“Yes, I’m serious. I was leaning over, watching the sharks, and I felt someone shove me in. Nick and Zach were over there by the buckets and you were getting a beer. She was the only one that could have done it.” Frankie’s eyes never left Isabella’s face as she was speaking.
“Me?” Isabella said innocently. “I didn’t push you in. I wouldn’t do that, Frankie.” Isabella’s eyes filled with tears. She remained in her seated position at the far end of the boat and lowered her head.
“Frankie, there has to be some other explanation,” Sawyer said to her.
“Like what? She was the only one there.” Frankie looked at her boyfriend with desperation in her eyes. How was it possible that he didn’t believe her?
“Are you sure you didn’t just slip? I mean, the boat was kind of rocking, especially when we were all walking around.”
“No! Oh my god. I can’t believe this. You don’t believe me? Why would I make something like that up?” Frankie was starting to get agitated. She pulled herself out of Sawyer’s arms and stood up. She walked over and sat down on one of the boat seats with her arms crossed.
“Isabella,” Sawyer turned to his sister, “are you sure you didn’t push her in? Could it have been an accident?”
With all eyes on her, Isabella sat there for a moment, without answering. “Well, I don’t know. Maybe. I mean, the boat was rocking, like you said. Maybe I accidentally bumped into her.” Isabella used her sweetest voice and shrugged her shoulders like she just wasn’t sure exactly what had happened.
“You are such a liar!” Frankie screamed. “It wasn’t an accidental bump. It was a shove. I’m not an idiot. I know the difference.”
Frankie glared at Isabella, who started crying when Frankie yelled at her.
“Frankie, stop it,” Sawyer demanded as he walked over and hugged his little sister. “Maybe it was just an accident.”
“Take me home. Right now,” Frankie demanded.
Chapter 22
That same night after the shark incident, Sawyer slept restlessly. It seemed like the shock of that day’s events brought something out, some long hidden memories. As he was trying to sleep, pictures flashed in his mind. He wasn’t dreaming. He was wide awake and staring at the ceiling.
He saw his parents in these flashes. They seemed taller somehow. It took him a few minutes to realize that they weren’t taller, he was smaller, and much younger.
He saw his father first. Sawyer was sitting in the front seat of a car and his father was driving. Then he saw his father get out of the car and saw his mother run out of a large building, carrying something. It was pouring rain and his mother was drenched. His parents got back into the car as his father told him to get in the back seat.
Then he saw himself with a baby on his lap. The flashes were jumping from one movie in his mind to another. He didn’t see every detail that played out, just the important stuff. Somehow he knew it wasn’t all random. They were memories. They were things that actually happened. He remembered his parents arguing. He didn’t remember what they were saying though.
He next saw his father getting in the car and throwing a bag full of baby items into the backseat. Then they were at home. Even in his 7 year old mind, he knew they were not expecting a baby. It all seemed so last minute and rushed.
He wondered why he didn’t remember anything until now. Was it due to the trauma of the day out on the boat? His girlfriend had almost been killed. Did his sister actually have something to do with that? Frankie was convinced she did. There were certainly enough accusations about Isabella flying all over the island.
Were the rumors he was hearing around town about his sister true? Was that possible? What was going on with all the things flashing in his mind? Were they actually memories or was his mind playing tricks on him?
He decided that he needed answers. He spent the remainder of his restless night tossing and turning and getting very little, if any, sleep, as he tried to sort it all out. The first thing in the morning, he called his father to come over to the house. He needed to speak with both of his parents. He told his mother that it was very serious and to keep Isabella in her room while they talked. She didn’t need to hear any of it.
“Okay, here we are. What did you want to talk to us about?” Jacob asked his son, as the three of them sat down on the living room couches, less than an hour after Sawyer called the meeting.
Sawyer hesitated for a moment as he tried to gather the courage to have this particular conversation with his parents. It was a conversation that would almost definitely change their lives. And not necessarily for the better.
“Sawyer, what is it?” his mother asked him, tapping her foot against the front of the couch.
“It’s about Izzy,” Sawyer told his parents.
“What about her?” Jacob asked.
Sawyer spent the next few minutes telling them all about the incident on the boat the day before. He hadn’t said anything when they first arrived home because he still wasn’t sure what had happened. He didn’t want to get his sister in trouble, possibly deep trouble, for something she didn’t do. But after his restless night and the flood of memories, not to mention Frankie’s description of events, he felt certain that Isabella pushed Frankie into the shark infested water on purpose.
“Oh, Sawyer, I think Frankie is mistaken,” Jeanette told him when he was done relating his story. “I’m sure it was just an accident. Thank goodness she’s okay.”
“It wasn’t an accident, Mom. Frankie wouldn’t lie about that. She is adamant that it happened like she told me it did. And I believe her.” Sawyer watched his parents’ faces for their reactions to his declaration that his sister tried to kill Frankie, right in front of him and his friends.
“Well, neither of us was there, so we can’t punish her for something that we can’t verify,” his father added, as he looked at Jeanette. She was nodding in agreement. “Now, if you had seen it happen, we would believe you. But we can’t be sure about Frankie. I think your mom’s right. She was just mistaken. Maybe something on the boat bumped into her and she assume
d it was Isabella. You said yourself that Frankie didn’t see her do it. Right?”
Jacob was trying to justify what he knew in his heart probably happened exactly as Sawyer described. It hurt him deeply to think his daughter could be capable of such a horrific act. But after what happened to his girlfriend, Beth, Jacob had serious doubts about his daughter.
Sawyer knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere with his parents. They had blinders on when it came to his sister. He decided to get to the point of why he called the meeting. It wasn’t so much about the shark incident. He needed answers to some questions.
“I need to ask you something about Isabella. Please tell me the truth.”
“Sure, okay,” his mother responded. “What do you want to know?” She could see the seriousness in her son’s eyes, but had no idea why Sawyer had so urgently called them together to talk.
“Is she really your kid? I mean, is she your biological daughter?”
Jeanette did not expect that question at all. She and Jacob had never discussed telling Sawyer or Isabella the truth about her parentage. They just wanted their family to be a normal one. No one needed to know anything. Besides, if it ever got out, they could go to prison for kidnapping. As far as they knew, Catherine was the only other person that knew the truth. Until now.
“Why do you ask that? Why would you even think she wasn’t our biological daughter?” Jeanette was fishing for details to find out what he already knew, before she answered his question. She was hoping to find a way to avoid answering truthfully. She had no idea how they were going to tell him without making him an accessory after the fact.
“Well, I have memories. I think they are memories anyway. They just came to me last night when I was trying to sleep. I remember driving up to a building and you giving me and Dad a baby. We then went to the store and got some baby things, food and stuff. It seemed like we weren’t expecting her. And, I don’t remember you ever being pregnant.” Sawyer looked directly at his mother. “She’s adopted, right?” Sawyer began rubbing his hands on his pants leg, in a sort of nervous gesture.
Desperation on Wildflower Island Page 15
