3. Evie

three

Evie

Holding back my unease, I forced a queasy smile as I passed through the door and clung to the wall for balance. Now wearing a comfortable athleisure pants and jacket set, I was breathing more deeply, but it wasn't helping my overall feeling of wellbeing. I was born with sea legs, but these waters were so turbulent it made the bottom of my stomach quiver. "Boy," I pushed a calm tone while I maintained a hand on the wall for balance. "Are you sure it's safe to be out?"

"Yes, it's safe." He waved his hand in a dismissive way. "The waves are being funneled right into the bay and don't have room to spread out, but once we get out of here, we can head west, and everything will smooth out."

I looked past him, pretending to scan the sea, hoping he wouldn't see the heartbreak on my face. With no idea how it got this bad, my life had clearly turned into one big disaster. Despite working my life away from the time I was a young child, going to every audition my parents dragged me to, and putting on all the smiles they asked of me, it wasn't enough.

It was never enough.

They always had a critique for me, and pushed me even harder. I went along with it, because all I wanted was to feel loved by them, and I had convinced myself that eventually, I'd make them proud. Never in a million years would I have wanted to steal my sister's thunder on her wedding day. No matter how I tried to explain it to them, they would take her side. She's the one who insisted I be in her bridal party, wearing that ugly dress. She'd had to have known the paparazzi would sneak in, and it's not like I could have hidden when I was in the front of the church. If I had done what I had wanted to do, I would have worn black and stood in the shadows in the back, allowing her the entire spotlight.

After all the years of performing for my parents, I had finally given up. There was no point. I would never make them proud. Now I was left with the haunting thoughts of having wasted my life trying to please people who couldn't be pleased. It was time I did something for me. I was starting over by leaving the city forever.

The night sky was blanketed in thick storm clouds, and I couldn't see much other than the waves crashing into the front of the boat, and a few distant lights behind us. An odd thought popped into my head. In my moment of anguish, I had overlooked some details. "So," I cleared my throat and continued, "I never mentioned where I wanted to go. I'm a bit curious where you're headed."

He motioned to the radar. "I plotted out a course that got us out of the storm's way, and once we get there, I can adjust it to wherever you'd like."

His smile was convincing, but there was something odd about him. I had thought it was strange to find a spare captain roaming around. The more I studied him, the more I realized my suspicions might be correct. "Um, you know," I started with my voice small, "I think maybe I overreacted. This storm isn't anything to mess around in, and maybe—" My voice trailed off because I could tell he wasn't listening. His jaw dramatically dropped like the hinge had broken all the way off, and he seemed frozen. "Casper. Is everything okay?"

"Ah, it's Jasper." He seemed to pant, eyes locked on the sea. "Actually, there's a slight irregularity with the course I set." he was a bit befuddled in his words, before the panicked inflections poured in and he screamed, "If you could kindly prepare to be shipwrecked!"

My eyes flew to the windshield, doubtful I'd even see anything.

Pancakes with guacamole!

A biblical sized tidal wave—giant as the tallest skyscraper—was heading our way! Grasping for the radio, I turbo dialed, trying to find the frequency for the coast guard, calling out, "Mayday, Mayday!" It was no use! We were out of time; the wave was rolling in like a collapsing house of cards, and we were clearly going to be on the bottom. Tears flooded my eyes, burning the sockets as fear surged through me.

Why did I trust this stranger to pilot my boat? I could have so easily waited until morning. Nobody even knows I left shore, and they won't have any idea how I was washed away. This was the worst idea ever. I thought my night had been bad before, but it could never get worse than this.

This isn't how I was supposed to die!

I hoisted myself onto a wood-paneled door, clinging to the edges with a death grip as it buoyed on the rippling waves. Gratitude flooded my heart. Not only did I live, but I found something to float on. Having no recollection of how I had come to find this door, I fought back tears as I frantically searched for something familiar in the dark night. Apparently, I was in the sea all alone.

"Evie!" a deep voice rasped from somewhere near me. Turning to follow it, I made out the shadow of a man swimming closer. "I'm so glad you're okay." Jasper's voice was breaking in-between pants for air. "I was looking all over for you." Now within arm's reach, he held out his hand. "Here, take my hand."

Sliding my hand into his, I squeezed it with everything I had while stuttering out, "I-I won't let go."

He offered a bemused smile while his eyes stayed locked with mine. "This isn't the movie The Titanic. We aren't drowning. Look—" He rotated my floating door one hundred eighty degrees to face the opposite direction. Now I stared at a beach.

Not a regular beach with brown sand, or even smooth white sand. This sand was so white, it almost seemed transparent, and sparkled under the light of the stars, which shouldn't be possible because it was dark out. The trees that rose from the sand resembled palms, but they also glistened blue and green under the starlit sky. I was about to ask where we were, but his voice provided the answer to my question. "We crashed right by an island, and it's shallow here. You can walk to shore."

"Island? There's no island in the bay," I muttered, but I was clearly staring at an island that was so vibrant with bright colors that seemed to seep into one another, as if painted by a divine hand, while a lone mountain waterfall glistened in the moonlight as if it was pouring out crystals.

I must have hit my head harder than I thought.

I rubbed the goose-egged sized bump on the back of my head, while hoping to stop my mounting dizziness as I slid off the door. My feet met a sandy bottom. I started to ask if I was dreaming, but the pain in my head was too strong to be fake. "Where am I?"

I continued to squeeze Jasper's hand as he guided me to shore. "Do you remember what happened?" Tracing my memories, it didn't take me long to find one that stung. My sister's mean words clung heavily around my heart like a winter cloak I couldn't take off.

I hate you!

Swallowing the sting in my throat, I pushed that way out of my mind and focused on something else. While I was running to the dock, I overheard some guys talking about the thief who got away with their treasure map. I had no idea who they were, but they gave me the creeps with the way they spoke. They ran in one direction, and they frightened me so, I took off the opposite way.

When I ran into Jasper on the docks he was acting suspiciously. I had wondered if maybe he was the guy with the treasure map. Being the creative type, my imagination was always running wild, and I daydreamed about running away and treasure hunting with this handsome stranger. Before I could talk myself out of it, I let him convince me to go out in this storm, but I hadn't for a moment believed he was going to help me. He was up to something, and I had a pretty good idea what that was. I had momentarily romanticized how it would feel to find some treasure, and perhaps stop a thief—all to prove my family was wrong about me.

Getting real, it was a bad idea, but it was too late to turn back now. I needed a plan. He might be dangerous. I wasn't going to let him see I was onto him, so I purposely acted na?ve to see if I could get more information, "Uh, the last thing I remember is running away from my sister."

"You don't remember anything that happened after that?" His face tilted toward me, but it wasn't unfriendly. We were on dry land now, and I instinctively dug my numb toes into the sand, soaking up the stored heat. Slowly, my feet dried off and a mild warmth flowed up through my body, aiding my temperature's recovery. I was hyper focused on my extremities, making sure I could feel each one, when Jasper's voice cut off my thoughts.

"Do you remember meeting me on the docks?" he pressed, his voice holding more urgency.

I studied his face. He was handsome, in a ruggedly mysterious way, with dark hair and complementary dark eyes. The way he looked back at me, with his eyes burning into mine, made me further suspect he was still hiding something.

Maybe he really is dangerous?

I wasn't sure what to say, because I wanted to get more information out of him before I confessed to what I did know. I surely didn't want him to suspect I knew who he was. I weighed my options on how to proceed, until I remembered a low budget film I had done in high school where the main character had amnesia. It seemed like a silly trope, but it ended up being the perfect tool for the main character to play dumb. Since I was going for clueless, I leaned on that role, "Oh, eggs and bacon!" I screamed out as my hand fled over my mouth. "I don't remember you, but I totally played this role in a movie once and I know who you are!"

"Err . . . the guy you—"

"Married!" I cut him off because I wanted to make my act as believable as I could. I rushed to explain everything to set him up. "I totally must have amnesia, and I forgot you are my husband!" In my effort to convince him, I grabbed his hand and gave it a hearty squeeze. "It's going to be okay because I was in a movie once with this very same plot, and I know exactly what to do to get my memory back."

"Err, what?" He glared at me like I had lost my marbles.

"It's okay." I squeezed his hand again, feeling him stiffen at my touch. This whole act would only work if I did everything I could to make him think I was a ditz who wholeheartedly believed this. "I'm going to get my memories back, and trust me, this all ends so amazingly well." To reassure him, I squeezed my face into a sweet smile, but inside I was dying more than a little.

He lowered his brow, and now it looked more like a creepy caterpillar sitting on his face. I learned in my acting classes that meant he needed some convincing, so I didn't hold back. "You must remind me of all of the amazing things we used to do together, like how we fell in love. It's going to be tough, but just when we think it's no use, I'm going to get a tiny glimpse of something that sparks a memory, and then they all come rushing back from there."

He took a step back, releasing the hold I had on him, and yelled, "Evie, are you nuts?"

"No!" I snapped back. I assumed it was going to be difficult to convince him I had amnesia, but I hadn't planned on it being this hard. I was not giving up and I shouted back, "I'm not nuts, but I have no memory. Remember? I have Am-ne-sia!" I stretched the word amnesia as if I was talking to a ninety-year-old-deaf person. "Plus—"

"You don't have amnesia!" He cut me off, sounding a bit disgusted. If I had to be honest, I found this assertive thing he had going on to be very attractive. He grabbed both of my hands. "Listen, Evie," he squared his face with mine . "We met on the docks, and you hired me to pilot your yacht—"

"Of course, we did!" I carried on my impromptu act. "I've always loved a good falling-for-the-boss plot. I can't believe I get to be part of one in real life." I flashed my eyes heavenward like I was full of the swoons and couldn't wait to remember the rest of our love story.

He let out a noise that sounded a tad animal-like. I'll admit it was a bit off-putting, but I totally understood how hard this must be for him—or maybe that was just his hangry sound? I reached out, brushing the back of my hand against his cheek, hoping my touch would be reassuring to him. "It's okay, babe. We don't need to hash out all the details now. This is the part of the plot where we settle into life as we now know it."

I'll admit the scowl he gave me wasn't what I had hoped for, but I didn't take it personally. "Come on." I motioned with my head toward further up the beach. "Let's go find someplace to rest for the night, and we can chat about it in the morning." I smiled sweetly at him, hoping he was convinced I had lost my memory.

"Rest?" He went stone faced. "We don't even know if this island is safe. I don't think we should fall asleep without securing a campsite."

"It's okay." I waved his concern away as I headed up the beach. "There's always a little cave we can claim back here next to the rocks and trees. To find it, we must walk true north."

"Are you insane!" His jaw dropped so low his mouth looked like a giant cave with toothy stalagmites.

Easing into the brush, I tiptoed over the now pebbled terrain, careful of my surroundings as I walked toward the glade of trees. There had to be something up with this island because just like in my recent movie, I found the cave exactly where I knew it would be. Even though, I had pretended it was going to be there, the fact I found a cave sent a trickle of goosebumps along my spine. That was too co-inky dinky for me to feel calm about, but I couldn't let him see my hesitation, or it would blow my cover. I pushed forward. "See!" I called back as I pulled aside a concealing branch. "Here's the cave and if we are lucky, it should already have a place for a campfire."

The screech he emitted was a little much. In Hollywood we called that overacting.

"It's fine, honey." I headed into the cave while still finessing him to trust me. I called back, "Everything is going to work out just fine." Only now, I wasn't so convinced, as a chill ran through my body, warning me to stay alert.