Page 85 of The Favorite Girl

“You don’t want to do a toast first?” I feigned disappointment.

“I know this isn’t easy for you, making love after my brother… probably hurt you last night. Let’s have that drink. It’ll help loosen you up for me.” He didn’t even sound like the same man I had grown to love.

Moving over, I looked at the cups from a different angle and realized I didn’t make note of which was which.

Fuck…

My heart raced as my mouth went dry.

“Dem, grab it, please.” He nudged me.

It was ironic in a way. Maybe this was the only way to know if I was even worthy of living in such a destroyed world.

Grabbing the cups, I handed one to Bradley and looked into his eyes.

“Here’s to the favorite girl.” He let out a dry laugh before tapping my cup and tossing back the entire cup of champagne.

Looking down into my cup, I shook it around. “Drink it,” Bradley ordered, sounding annoyed.

“Here’s to the last Ivory.” I smiled at him and drank every last drop.

Bradley’s forehead creased as his eyes grew smaller.

“What do you mean…” He clutched his abdomen with one hand and his forehead with the other. “Demi…” He coughed.

I was shaking with nervousness, but I didn’t feel any different. Was he feeling something?

Leaning in toward me, he yanked my necklace and opened it. “You… bitch,” he wheezed.

I ran out of the bed and jogged up the stairs as quickly as I could. Looking around, my heart was pounding as I hugged myself. My eyes caught on the bright orange vest. Grabbing it, I put it on my shaking body and prayed. I didn’t know who I was praying to or what I was praying for, but I prayed that if anyone, anything was out there, that they’d help me. That they’d protect me for the first time in my life.

Footsteps echoed behind me and suddenly, there was Bradley. His eyes were tinged red with sweat building across of his forehead.

“We’re going to die together.” Lifting a knife, he wobbled toward me. I walked backward to the rail and slid away. Bradley’s eyes began to shut and before I knew it, he was close enough to the rail that I jumped on him, and with all my might, I shoved him over the rail, but he didn’t go down alone.

He took me with him, wildly waving the knife in the air as we fell. He eventually met my flesh as we both slammed into the dark, thrashing waves.

Screaming, I saw my arm was bleeding profusely. I was still hooked to the boat by the chain attached to the life vest. Bradley grabbed at the chain, trying to unhook me, and I wiggled to stay out of his grasp. I didn’t know how to swim, so I knew I’d drown instantly. I’d panic and forget how to even float.

Slapping his hands away, he stabbed the blade into my arm again so hard, I pulled back. The blade was semi-lodged into my flesh, and he let go.

He was growing weaker as I grabbed the knife from my arm with screams I didn’t recognize leaving my body. I looked at Bradley as he began to float.

Blinking slowly, he whispered, “You were always my favorite girl…”

Just before a tall wave slammed into us both, I whispered back, “And you were always my favorite Ivory. There’s just no room for Jack. And there never was.” Tears fell from my eyes as I watched the wave take him under and into the depths of the ocean.

Grabbing onto the boat with all the strength I had left, I pulled myself up until my nails dug into the side, and I could see the small steel ladder. Clawing at it, I tugged it down and climbed up.

Falling onto the deck, I clutched myself and cried. The warmth of the sun beat down on my drenched, bleeding body. I wondered if the sun had the strength to soak up all my shed tears one day?

Will I ever stop crying? Will I ever stop feeling pain?

Eventually, I did stop crying.

Eventually, I did have the strength to stand up, find a flare gun, and shoot it into the sky for help.

Eventually, I wrapped my wounds, ate, hydrated, and waited. Rocking back and forth as I hugged my knees to my chest. I chanted to myself while thinking about everything in my life. My mind was shattered just like me. Maybe one day, these chapters of my life would become a memory. Or maybe, these chapters were setting the stage for who I’d always be.

Eventually, another boat came. And when they came, I tugged on the big, white hat and my reflective sunglasses, and then climbed into a true safe haven and grinned. I was standing there in my white lace dress full of hope.

“Where are you headed, honey?” A kind man asked with concern.

“The Bahamas.” I brushed my hands against my pants before sitting down.

“Would you like to eat anything, sweetie?” the older lady on the boat asked me as she cleaned my wounds.

I smiled back at her. “Do you have any plain white rice and yogurt?”

Because, after all, I was the favorite girl.