One More Time

“What’s the punchline?” Tommy asked.

“I think the nightmare’s over,” I said.

“Holy shit, did something happen with that Luke guy?” Tommy asked.

“You told him?” Chanel asked.

“I was pissed. Close to tears. He kept prodding me, and I told him some asshole was making your trip miserable. He sort of coaxed it out of me,” Ana said. “Are you mad?”

“No, I’m not. I appreciate how much you’ve been looking out for me. I couldn’t have gotten through all of this without you.”

The girls embraced again and Tommy stepped over to me. “Are you sure you didn’t kill the guy? I’ve seen those mitts you’ve got and if you hit him even a little bit hard—” he trailed off.

“The security guards said they would be taking everything and contacting the authorities to have Luke arrested when they find him. Don’t be pissed, Ana, but they asked if they could go through our room,” Chanel said.

“Why?” Ana asked.

“They wanted to make sure nothing else had happened in our room. I guess they thought maybe Luke had planted cameras or something? I don’t really know. I told them the notes were in the bedside table in the corner of the room, so they’re going to get those as well,” Chanel said.

“Holy shit. So, they’re actually going to arrest the guy?” Ana asked.

“If they can find him, yeah. They said between the notes and the creepy shrine he had of me, it’s enough evidence to put him away for now.”

Just then, the head of security came back and waved us over toward him. I put my arm around Chanel’s shoulders as we walked. Ana and Tommy followed close behind.

“Miss Mathews, we’ve just received a call from the authorities in Curaçao. Your attacker has been found. He told them to call the ship and when I informed them of what was going on, they detained him straight away. They will be holding him until we can go pick him up and hand him over to the American authorities.”

“Wait, so he’s going to be back on this ship?” I asked, feeling Chanel tense beside me.

“Yes sir, but he will be in a holding cell below deck under constant guard. I assure you he will be no threat to you.” We thanked the security officer for the information and walked back over to the lounge chairs to sit down. “What are the chances of him being convicted or whatever?” Ana asked.

“If he is, it’ll be five to ten years in prison with a chance at early parole,” Chanel said. “At least that’s how most of these cases end up.”

We all just looked at her. She shrugged. “I wrote an article about it last year.”

“How are you feeling with all of this?” I asked.

Chanel looked up at me, her eyes filled with worry. I pulled her to my side, feeling her melt into me. I was worried about her and worried about what Luke being back on this ship would do to her. For now, we could enjoy ourselves without the threat of him looming over us, but once he got back on this ship, our guards would have to go up again.

“I’m nervous,” Chanel said. “I’m— I’m freaking out and really nervous.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “You’re safe with me.”

“And me,” Ana said.

“And even me,” Tommy said.

“Yeah. He could cock slap Luke or some shit,” Ana said.

“Are you speaking from experience?” Chanel asked.

“See? I figured she was still in there somewhere,” Ana said.

I placed a kiss on top of Chanel’s head as the four of us left the dining hall. The next port we would hit in the morning was Aruba, and I was hoping to convince the girls to let us accompany them. I really wanted to explore one of the islands with Chanel at my side, and I figured that now we knew Luke was being detained a safe distance away, she would relax enough to allow it.

I kissed her good night until I saw Tommy tug Ana into our room, and I sighed as Chanel giggled.

“Come on,” she said. “We can put on a movie or something.”