Book 13: Violated

Brie

I’ve decided I don’t enjoy being on the yacht by myself. Normally, everyone is here. Maeve and I would spend mornings lounging in the sun while Mom and Dad sat nearby, talking about the books they were reading. Aris would be off doing something dangerous and naughty, of course, like threatening to jump from the roof of the cockpit into the hottub. 

We’d play board games, and my parents would tell us the family lore and secrets we weren’t privy to as children. Taking the yacht to Maatua for Solstice has become a beloved family tradition that I look forward to every year… but being aboard is different this time. 

I stretch my legs on the lounge chair, letting the sun fan over my skin. I tan easily. A few days of this kind of weather and my skin will be a perfect, golden bronze. I even squeezed lemon juice in my hair and brushed it out like Maeve does in the summer to give myself some natural highlights. 

It’s too quiet now.