Who hated me so much that they would do something so horrendous.
That’s how I know it wasn’t Gloria. Gloria didn’t hate anyone. Gloria was the one who led our moment of silence before and after each game, and she’s the one who always had a smile for everyone.
And Taylor? She was also very nice. I didn’t know her well—I had only recently joined the team, so I didn’t know anyone very well—but Gloria spoke highly of her. She never said a mean word to me that I can recall.
There were a couple of players who were bad seeds. But neither of them were sitting anywhere near me on the plane.
I would’ve remembered that.
Besides, I know who sat next to me. Dad has the information that he gave to Buck. But again… We changed seats a lot. But no, I know I would remember if one of the bad seeds—Laura or Celeste—had been next to me.
Laura and Celeste were egomaniacs. They were talented, for sure. Everyone on the team was. But Laura and Celeste were vicious as well as talented. Not vicious in a high school kind of way. They didn’t pull the usual hazing pranks, but it might have been better if they had. They were worse. They were the kind of people who would smile to your face and then stab you in the back.
They excelled at it.
I stayed out of their way. For the most part they stayed out of mine. As far as I know, they didn’t have anything against me other than the fact that they hated all of us.
They were very good players though. I don’t think Coach would’ve put up with them otherwise.
Laura had been accused of domestic violence by her live-in boyfriend. The charges ended up being dropped, though I don’t know the details.
But honestly? She probably did it. She was a big girl like me, muscular and tall.
Boy, I haven’t given the two of them a thought in I don’t know how long.
It’s funny. When you get trapped on an island and faced with real evil, mean girls like Laura and Celeste become nothing. Inconsequential.
“You ready for breakfast?” Buck asks.
“Yeah. And then if you don’t mind, I’m going to have lunch with Katelyn.”
“Why would I mind? It will be nice to see her.”
I clear my throat. “You don’t understand. I want to have lunch with her alone. I kind of told her she couldn’t bring her fiancé.”
Buck’s eyes widen. “God, don’t tell me she got engaged to him.”
“Who?”
“Lucifer Ashton. You probably know him as Luke.”
“The hottie waiter from The Glass House?”
“The hottie waiter from The Glass House is not what he seems to be. But he does seem to care about Katelyn.”
“That’s all that matters, isn’t it?”
Buck doesn’t answer my question. Instead, “Let’s go to breakfast.”
“Sure.” I grab my purse and follow him to the elevator.
It’s a buffet again, and I load my plate was scrambled eggs and bacon, while Buck waits in the omelet line. This man loves omelets.
When he gets back to the table, he takes a bite, chews, swallows. “So many days in the field, we had these MRE omelets that made me want to retch.”
“MRE?”
“It stands for ‘meal, ready to eat.’ Vacuum sealed mush is what they really were.”
“How can you eat omelets now, then?”
“Because I love omelets. That shit they served us wasn’t an omelet. It tasted like speckled brains or something.”
I can’t help a laugh.
“You’re laughing at speckled brains?”
“First of all, brains aren’t speckled, at least not that I know of. And second of all, even if they were, how would you know what they taste like?”
He smiles. “I don’t know. It’s what came into my mind when I had to eat that shit.”
“Why did you eat it?”
“In the Navy, you don’t ask why. You eat what they fucking give you. If you don’t, you go hungry.”
“Oh.” Of course. The daughter of a Navy SEAL should know that. I mean, how many times did my father stand over me when I refused to finish the last broccoli floret?
You eat what your mother puts in front of you, or you go hungry.
A couple times I went hungry.
My mom was a good cook, but to this day, I still can’t stomach broccoli. I’ll never eat it again, now that I’m an adult.
“How come you didn’t tell me your dad was a Navy SEAL?” Buck asks me. “I can’t believe you didn’t recognize the SEAL trident on my forearm and the big one on my back.”
“I do recognize it. Now. It seemed familiar… It’s just… My memory is so screwed up.”
“Did you forget your dad was a SEAL?”
“No. I just didn’t mention it.”
It’s not a good answer, and he stares at me as he chews on a slice of bacon. The trident did look familiar… My brain is just a mess. I don’t put things together like I used to, but it’s getting better.