by Alex Tully
She felt her stomach do an instant flip-flop. All she could manage was a return smile.
As she casually walked back to the trailer, she was freaking out inside. She could barely contain her giddiness.
As soon as she was inside, she facetimed Meredith, “Okay, holy shit, I just met this guy.”
“What?” Meredith’s wide-eyed face filled the screen, “Who?!”
“His name is Ethan, and he is gorgeous.”
“What?! Wait—back up!”
“Look, I’m on my lunch break and I don’t have much time, but he was out on the dock with Parker,” then she stopped. “But take a guess where he lives?”
“I’m gonna say…not in your trailer park?”
“No, but right next to it.”
“Shit Zoe, Crystal Waters?” Meredith gave her disapproving face, “What’s rule number one?”
“I know, I know.” Rule number one was to never hook up with a tourist. Summer flings were a huge no-no. “I just met him, that’s all.”
“Okay…” then Meredith gave her the skeptical face.
“Look I gotta go, like yesterday.”
“Well, we’re still on for tonight, right?”
Zoe had promised to go out, no matter how tired she was, “Yep. Still on.”
“You better not wuss out on me!” Meredith pointed at the screen.
“I won’t! Bye!”
Zoe made a pb&j sandwich in record time, and as she scarfed it down, she noticed a growing pile of mail on the kitchen table: bills, junk mail…more bills.
And then she saw an envelope addressed:
George and Peggy Hart - Trailer One
And in the upper left-hand corner:
Platt & Barkley & Associates, Attorneys at Law
It must’ve come to Zoe’s mailbox by mistake—who knows how long it had been sitting on their table—Debbie avoided mail at all costs.
Zoe grabbed it on her way out.
The Hart’s trailer was the first one from the water, and she walked right by it on her way back to Crystal Waters. She found Mrs. Hart on the south side of her trailer, watering her tiny garden.
“Hi, Mrs. Hart!”
“Hello, Zoe!” Mrs. Hart’s eyes twinkled, “It’s so good to see you!”
Mrs. Hart and her husband were the owners of Sunny Shores and they were also some of the nicest people Zoe knew. God only knows how many times Debbie was late on the rent. Zoe was convinced the only reason they hadn’t been evicted, was because of the kindness of the Harts.
“I think this was delivered to our trailer by mistake,” Zoe waved the envelope in her hand, “I thought I’d drop it off on my way to work.”
“Oh, thank you, dear,” Mrs. Hart adjusted her glasses as she read the envelope. It didn’t look like good news.
Zoe was gonna be late if she didn’t get going, “I’ll see you later Mrs. Hart.”
“Oh yes dear, you run along.”
As Zoe walked past the dock, she noticed it was empty. Shirley must’ve called Parker in for lunch. As casually as possible she glanced over to the row of yachts, to the yacht. No one in sight.
But was he inside? Was he watching her? Instead of feeling creeped out, she felt strangely excited. Ethan was a weird one, but he definitely wasn’t boring.
CHAPTER 11
ETHAN
There were only a couple of feet of space between them. Ethan had to move fast…
He tried to move his legs, but they were like jelly.
He tried to lift his arms, but they flopped back to his sides.
He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing. Only silence.
No…No…No…
“No!” Ethan screamed. His whole body shot up on the couch, his heart racing. He was soaked in sweat and for a second he didn’t know where he was.
And then he recognized the familiar surroundings of the dimly lit cabin. He was on the yacht, he was safe.
He reached around for his phone on the ground next to him. 11:24 pm. Holy shit. He had been asleep for hours.
He checked his text messages:
Emma: 10:18 pm Where are you?
Emma: 10:34 pm If you don’t respond by 11:30 I’m going to worry
He had four minutes. He quickly sent off a text to his sister.
Ethan: 11:26 pm I’m fine I fell asleep on Sea-quester.
Emma: 11:27 pm Why are you there?
Ethan: 11:28 pm No reason I’ll be back soon. Chill.
His thoughts immediately turned to Zoe. It was only yesterday when they had their brief meeting on the dock, and he couldn’t get her out of his head. Parker really hadn’t provided any additional information about her after she left. So Ethan looked her up on social media and with a name like Zoe and her location, she was easy to find. But most of her stuff was set to private—smart by her, bad for him.
Earlier that day he got a glimpse of her when he was walking by the pool, but he looked away and just kept walking. Too much of a chicken-shit to even wave.
He went down below to shower and then to the galley to made a sandwich. Before he headed back to the house, he would sit in his stalker chair and take one last look over at the dock.
All was quiet and dark except for one lone light that hung from a post onshore. It cast a dim orange light on the gravel drive leading up to the trailer park.
It was unusually warm and humid for June—probably still in the seventies, even at that late hour. The water was calm, like black glass.
He wondered what Zoe was doing. Maybe she was sleeping already. Maybe she was out with her friend from the dock. Maybe she was out with her boyfriend—why wouldn’t someone as pretty as her have a boyfriend?
Ethan suddenly heard the faint thumping of music coming from the trailer park and it quickly grew louder.
Then tires on gravel. Car doors slamming. Guys laughing. Girls squealing.
It sounded like a party.
He watched for any sign of movement but all he got was sound.
What if Zoe was having a party?
A bunch of distressing emotions began swirling around inside of him when he saw something that stopped them cold.
No, Zoe was not having a party. And he knew that because he saw her.
Under the dim glow of the orange light, he saw her running down the gravel drive, and then up onto the dock. And she kept running, straight to the end of it.
And just when he was sure she was going to plunge right into the black water—she abruptly stopped. Then she began pacing with her hands on her hips, her face tilted toward the night sky.
Ethan jumped out of his chair and started his own pacing, going into “what if” mode. What if something really bad happened? What if she did decide to go in the water? What if she dove right in, and hit her head on a rock? What if she wanted to hit her head on a rock?
Fuck it. Ethan didn’t think, he just walked. And then he was running—down the pier toward shore, then onto the beach, and then onto the other dock, “Hey!” he called out.
She was bent over, doing something—he couldn’t tell what—when her head shot up.
Shit!
He suddenly realized the gravity of what he was doing. What was he going to say? Would his mouth even work, would words even come out?
But there was no turning back. It was too late now, “Hey, it’s Zoe right?”
She was untying a boat—a piece of shit boat tied up to the side of the dock. He had noticed it before but thought there was no way in hell it was in working order.
“Yeah,” she wiped her face on her sleeves, “Ethan right?” She was crying.
“Yeah...well…I stay on the boat sometimes,” he nodded over at the yacht, “I thought maybe you were going for a night swim?”
“No,” she laughed, although it wasn’t a happy laugh, “but I was gonna go for a ride. Do you want to come?”
What? His heart did a somersault in his chest, “Um…are you serious?”
“Yes, I’m serious.”
He couldn’t s
ee her face very well, but she sounded serious—dead serious.
This was a chance to go out on a boat with Zoe. It was a dream scenario—it would be just the two of them, completely alone. There was no better opportunity to get to know her.
But, it couldn’t happen. There was no way he’d be able to get on that boat.
“I do it all the time,” she went on, “It’s my friend Frankie’s fishing boat.”
Fishing boat? It was an old rowboat with a lawnmower engine hanging off the back. His mind was racing.
“Seriously,” she said casually, “he doesn’t mind.”
What Zoe didn’t understand was that he wasn’t concerned about getting in trouble with Frankie, whoever the hell that was. He was concerned about dying, because that’s where his messed up brain went.
“Is it safe?” Oh my God! He was the biggest pussy of all time!
“Absolutely, and there are life jackets,” she pointed to a couple of orange jackets on the floor of the boat. “I only go out when the water’s calm, and this is about as calm as it gets.”
But…
What if that piece of shit motor stopped working in the middle of the lake?
And what if a storm rolled in and they were stranded?
And what if they started taking on water, and the boat started to sink?
And what if they couldn’t get cell service because that happens a lot on the lake?
And what if Frankie’s life jackets were so old and crappy that they wouldn’t hold their weight?
And what if Zoe sank down in the black water, just like Emma did?
Okay, Emma didn’t—but what if Zoe did?
“So Ethan, are you coming or not?” Zoe was already standing in the boat, holding on to the side of the dock, ready to push off. She smiled, “Last chance.”
And without thinking another second, he jumped down into the boat.
CHAPTER 12
ZOE
She was starting to think he might be special needs. Maybe that was a little harsh, but he definitely didn’t fit the rich, frat-boy stereotype like all of the other guys she’d seen at Crystal Waters.
“So, can I take you to my favorite spot?” Zoe yelled over the rumble of the outboard motor. She sat in the back steering, while Ethan sat in front.
He looked back briefly and nodded.
She noticed both of his hands gripping the sides of the boat. Geez…Was he afraid of water? Maybe he couldn’t swim? It didn’t make a lot of sense for someone who spent his summers at the lake, but Ethan wasn’t an easy one to figure out. And because he was such a puzzle, it just made him all the more attractive.
She met hot guys all the time, the summers were full of them. They’d come in for a week, or maybe just the weekends, but they were always looking for the same thing—a good time and nothing more. That’s why she and Meredith had rules about them—which she was breaking at the moment—big time.
It was less than a ten-minute boat ride to her favorite spot. They headed east along the coast and rounded the tip of the peninsula. They passed the Marblehead Lighthouse and continued south toward the Sandusky Bay, past the sand bar, until she could see it in the distance.
Cedar Point, an island of sparkling lights in the middle of the water. Roller coaster hills, rising and falling against the black sky, reflecting a mirror image onto the surrounding dark water. The rides had stopped but they were still aglow in a rainbow of colors. She got close enough so they could hear the fading sounds of the park closing down.
It was a beautiful spot. No matter how many times she had been there, it never failed to impress.
But apparently, it didn’t impress Ethan. He still looked petrified and his hands hadn’t moved from the sides of the boat.
“Could you grab that little anchor down there, by your feet, and just throw it over?”
He hesitated, and then quickly reached down and tossed the steel spike over the side.
“You’ve been there before, I’m sure?” she asked, nodding toward the lights.
“Yeah, many times.”
Well that was progress…“What’s your favorite ride?”
He paused, “I guess the Raptor.”
“No way!” They did have something in common, “that’s my favorite too. Not the most popular choice, but definitely the most fun.”
At that, he smiled, a faint smile but it was there, “You said you’ve done this a bunch of times?”
“Yeah,” she said, “sometimes I just need to get away. But I can’t drive yet, so one night I was like, ‘screw it, I know how to drive a boat’ and I just took it.”
“But you said that guy, Frankie, he knows you take it right?”
“Um…” she stopped, “here’s the thing. He doesn’t know exactly. But trust me, Frankie is so wasted every night, he passes out and hears nothing. I promise, he will never know.”
“Okay…” he didn’t sound convinced.
She changed the subject, “So how long have you been at Crystal Waters?”
“This is our third summer.” No eye contact.
“Do you guys usually stay the whole summer?”
“This year we are.”
“And you sound really thrilled about that.”
“I mean honestly,” he shrugged, “I don’t really care one way or the other.”
Hmmm…this might be harder than she thought.
“So, what’d you think of Parker?” she kept at it, “He’s a pain in the ass sometimes, but he’s a great kid. Kind of like a little brother to me.”
“He seems like a good kid.”
Crickets.
Cute or not, this was waaayyyy too much work.
She was just about to go into the whole, ‘Well maybe we better start heading back’… spiel, when he finally looked her in the eye, “I’m gonna be honest with you.”
Okay,…that was more like it!
“I know I’m coming off like an idiot, or even worse, like an arrogant douchebag, but I promise you, I’m not.”
Nice! She gave him a smile of encouragement but didn’t dare say anything.
“In fact, until last year,” he paused, “I…well…I actually had my shit together. But now…it’s complicated. I have these…,” he looked down, and then around—anywhere but at her, “anxiety issues.”
She had to suppress an overwhelming urge to lean over and just give him a hug, “For the record, I never thought you were a douchebag.”
He smiled, “That’s good.”
Oh, that smile!
“And, we all have our issues, you know? Like how I said I need to get away sometimes?” Now Zoe was the one starting to feel nervous, and she found herself looking away from him, “See, my mom—who insists I call her Debbie, because ‘mom’ doesn’t fit into her alternate universe where she’s sixteen again, and never gave birth to her own sixteen-year-old...”
Ethan laughed, a quick laugh but it was there, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh, but the way you said that…”
“It’s okay, the whole situation is laughable. Anyway, let’s just say Debbie likes to party. And usually, it’s after work—late—like after midnight. She works at the Outrigger, do you know where that is?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, “we used to go there a lot before we moved to Crystal Waters.”
“Well, like half of my school works there, and it’s a little embarrassing when your mom’s inviting them all over to party at your house—or I guess I should say trailer.”
“That really sucks,” Ethan said quietly.
“Yeah, pretty much,” she took a deep breath, “So last summer—this one night—I just lost it. I took the boat, I didn’t even know where I was going. I ended up here, and…”
She looked over at the lights of Cedar Point, “I don’t know, when I’m here I just realize there’s so much more out there. There’s just so much more to life.”
“Is it just you and your mom—I mean—Debbie?” Ethan asked.
“Yeah, I’m an only child and my dad ha
s been out of the picture my whole life. In fact, I don’t really know anything about him, other than his name is Joe, which I’m pretty sure is a fake name.”
Ethan seemed interested so she went on, “Anytime I ever asked Debbie about him she was always like, ‘We don’t need him, Zoe, he’s a big loser, he would just drag us down.’ And I always thought, ‘Really? Cause we’re not really killing it in this trailer, living on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.’”
Ethan laughed again and then abruptly stopped, “Sorry.”
“Oh my God, trust me, Ethan, you don’t have to apologize. Like I said, it is funny,” she trailed off, “sad…but funny.”
They were actually having a decent conversation. Granted, she was doing most of the talking, but she could see a ‘normal’ version of Ethan emerging under his shell.
“So what about your parents?” She wanted to know more about him, “Are they pretty cool?”
“Hmmm…” he ran his hands through his hair.
Oh my, …just that simple gesture made her stomach do a flip-flop, “C’mon, you gotta give me something.”
“Well,” he sighed, “we’re in totally different situations, but let’s just say it’s pretty messed up.”
“It can’t be worse than Debbie,” she smiled.
He took a deep breath, “Okay, basically my parents don’t really like each other, and they haven’t for a long time. They said we were all going to stay at the lake house this summer, but my mom’s already been back at home most of the time. She said she needs to keep their practice running, but I think she stays there for different reasons.”
“Oh…”
“They’re divorce attorneys in Cleveland—Pierce and Pierce. It’s a pretty large firm, they even have their own commercials and stuff. I have basically concluded that they stay together for appearances only. See, they built their corporate image around this idea of a strong married couple,” he tilted his head to the side, “We work with each other, not against each other,” he gave a fake smile.
Zoe let out a laugh, “Oh my God!”
“Emma thinks it probably wouldn’t look good for business if they got divorced.”
