JULY 23 - 24

DAKOTA

The last time I was on a whale-watching tour was also the last time I'd told Maud that I loved her. That was roughly ten months ago.

I didn't like that this was the first thought that crossed my mind as I walked down the dock towards Pacific King Whale Watching Company, and gritted my teeth. I also didn't like that whispers were emanating around me, accompanied by piercing stares. Even though public opinion was currently in my favor for not being a sociopathic orca killer, the whispering followed me all the same.

Unfortunately, the whispers would continue when the article about Conrad was published in The Seattle Chronicle tomorrow. The only half-decent part about that was I could prepare for the fallout; the truth had blindsided me far too many times this summer. That being said, the truth was like the Hydra from Greek mythology - cutting off one of its nine heads would make two more grow back. The more you tried to cover up the truth, the harder it became to control.

When I reached the oak doors of the Pacific King office, I inhaled one last breath of the dry sea air before going inside. For a reason that I didn't fully comprehend, Gretchen England had insisted that Conrad, Brenna, and I met her here for a whale watching tour. Conrad had told me it was for the cultural experience, but I thought it a waste of time.

The moment I stepped inside, a conversation floated my way.

"Pacific King pledges ten percent of our profits towards conservation efforts," Mr. Nakamura informed Gretchen England, handing her a glossy pamphlet. "Education is a key part of our tours, and we hope to leave you with a newfound appreciation for the natural world."

"Mr. Nakamura is a skilled naturalist and captain, dedicated to making whale watching an experience of a lifetime," Conrad said. "We've been lucky to have his guidance and support throughout the production process."

"Lucky indeed," Gretchen agreed, and finally took note of my presence. Her blue eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. "Nice of you to join us this evening, Dakota."

I conjured my best red carpet smile. "Welcome to Friday Island. I wish it was under better circumstances, but I'm glad that you're here."

"But I shouldn't have to be," Gretchen said coldly, and my smile faltered. Her angular bone structure and sharp gaze only enhanced what the tabloids described as part of her intimidation factor.

"My granddaughter will be captaining the boat this evening," Mr. Nakamura smoothly intervened. "Excuse me while I go inform her of our modified route, and we will be ready to start the tour shortly."

Taking that as a queue to begin migrating outside, I fell in line with Conrad as he resumed speaking to Gretchen.

"Prior to the debacle with Nakamura's former employee, Albert, I instructed Mike and Myles to consult him for additional research," Conrad said, holding the door open for both Gretchen and me. "We have our own team of marine biologists to consult, but Dakota and I wanted to engage with the locals."

Gretchen exhaled a hard breath, squinting into the setting sun. "Well, you've engaged with the locals alright. I wouldn't be surprised if they started to protest outside of the set."

My gaze slid over to Conrad's face just in time to see him tense, a muscle working in his jaw.

"Dakota, you go ahead," he said, sparing me a quick glance. "There's a few additional details regarding Mike's temporary promotion that I need to brief Gretchen on."

"Sure thing," I replied, forcing a smile. At this rate, I suspected that my fake smile count would rival my genuine one before the year was out.

When I climbed aboard the Sea La Vie, I found Brenna and Gretchen England's teenage daughter, Chandler. Chandler's blue eyes snapped up from her phone, but her expression was quick to cloud with disinterest as she acknowledged me with a lazy wave. Growing up on the outskirts of her mother's fame meant that the presence of celebrities didn't amuse her anymore - if it ever had.

When I turned my attention to Brenna, I barely battled off an eye roll. Despite being nominated for an Oscar, Brenna was failing to act like everything was normal. She stood by herself at the bow with pinched brows and a clenched jaw that made her dissatisfaction all too obvious. Grimacing, I decided it was better to intervene before Gretchen called her out on looking downright miserable.

"What's with the scowl?" I asked, only half-serious. It wasn't not like we had a reason to be in a banner mood.

"Chandler England doesn't know," Brenna said in a low voice, yanking up the zipper of her purple Patagonia windbreaker as the breeze picked up.

My gaze skated over to where Chandler sat on a bench, her ankles crossed and scrolling through her phone with a bored expression on her face. I didn't know much about her except that she was a rising junior at a boarding school in Boston and a talented lacrosse player.

"Know what?" I asked.

"Wow, you're really going to make me spell it out for you," Brenna said, lowering her voice significantly. "Chandler has no idea that her mom and Conrad are together."

I frowned, instantly sympathetic. "Shit. That's rough."

This wasn't a conversation we should be having out in the open - especially with Chandler on board - but we were prone to a smidge of recklessness at this stage of the summer.

"The divorce was finalized late last year, but Gretchen and Conrad have been together longer than that." Brenna sighed, her gaze shifting over to where Chandler sat. "She isn't going to take it well."

I scoffed. "Who would?"

"True, but according to Gretchen, Chandler already blames her for the divorce. Mr. England is a history professor at Boston College, and she says that Chandler thinks he walks on water. So, this development will only make matters worse since Gretchen is-"

"A cheater?" I interrupted, my voice a dark whisper.

"Fuck you."

"But I'm not wrong."

Brenna sucked in a tight breath. "That article is dropping tomorrow. I just don't understand why Gretchen hasn't told her yet."

"Maybe it's because she doesn't know about the article," I guessed. It would explain why Gretchen hadn't informed her only daughter of an impending tabloid shit storm, but raised the question of why Conrad hadn't informed Gretchen about the article. The idea of Conrad always being one step ahead of us unsettled me more than I would ever care to admit.

"If that's true, then I hate Conrad," Brenna quietly seethed. "I hate him, and I honestly would be happy if he turned out to be responsible for all of this."

"You and literally everyone else on this island," I mumbled.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Listen, I know it's not my place to give Chandler a heads up, but I want to. I really want to."

Sighing, I pushed a hand through my hair. I was struggling to put myself into Chandler's shoes because I couldn't relate to her situation. My parents were high school sweethearts, born and raised on Friday Island. The only memory I had of them really arguing was over the paint color in the kitchen. If anything, my parents' marriage was the reason why I was a romantic because how could anyone not believe in true love if they saw it every day growing up?

Therefore, I offered Brenna a simple shrug. "It's your call. I'm not going to try and talk you out of it."

"It's so nice to have your support," Brenna said with a dry half-laugh, her eyes flicking up to the sky before returning to me. "I have to admit I'm not looking forward to having Mike fill in for Conrad. I know you like him better than his brother, but I think the power will go straight to his head."

I held back a sigh. "It will only be for a few weeks. Besides, Conrad will still be around to keep an eye on things."

"We'll see about that," Brenna mumbled, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Over Brenna's shoulder, I spotted Maud through the windows of the cabin, Clubmasters on and conversing with Mr. Nakamura. I watched him put a hand on her shoulder, fixing her with a stern expression, before he returned to the deck.

Conrad and Gretchen chose that same moment to finally climb aboard the Sea La Vie, and as Mr. Nakamura crossed the deck to intercept them, I quickly made my way inside the cabin to speak to Maud.

"Hey," I greeted, lingering in the doorway. My heart constricted at the sight of her in front of me, unharmed. "It's been a while."

"Yeah," Maud drawled, adjusting her sunglasses to sit on the crown of her head as she playfully narrowed her eyes at me. "You know I'd ask how you're doing, but I feel like that would be a waste of time."

I managed a laugh, tucking my hands into the front pockets of my faded jeans. "I look that bad, huh?"

Maud nodded as she gave me a dramatic once-over. "You've seen better days. I also think you could use a haircut."

"Really? I think it contributes to my charm."

"It's half an inch away from making you look like a scraggly wilderness man. I've never met a charming one of those in Washington."

"Point taken." My gaze shifted out the windows to where Chandler stood beside Gretchen with a faint scowl occupying her features. Aside from the high cheekbones and cold gaze, Chandler hadn't seemed to take after her mother. "Have you been introduced to Chandler yet?"

"Gretchen England's daughter?" Maud questioned, and I confirmed with a nod. "No, not yet. I honestly have zero interest in being introduced to her, though. I want to get this whole thing over with, and go home."

I heaved out a sigh, but wasn't fazed by the disdain coating her words. "Just try and play nice, okay?"

"I wasn't planning on playing at all," Maud retorted, but lifted a curious brow. "But what makes you say that?"

A ferry horn blared nearby, redirecting my attention out the windows once again, only this time to the harbor. It was the kind of evening that I wanted to remember forever, freezing the setting sun above the snow-covered Mount Baker and the boats out on the water. I supposed that was what the whole damn point of taking a photo was, but it wasn't the same.

"There's an article coming out in The Seattle Chronicle tomorrow with information that will likely be a shock to Chandler," I eventually said, choosing my words carefully. "Her family life is about to get messy."

Maud remained quiet for a long moment. Even though I was providing her with minimal information, she could likely sense what I was hinting at.

"Alright, fine," she replied, interlacing her fingers and cracking her knuckles. "Given the opportunity, I'll play nice."

"Thanks."

Maud tilted her head in the direction of the door. "Now get back out there, champ. I have work to do."

"Aye-aye, captain."

The tour dragged on painfully slow, and I felt a restlessness settle into my bones. Above our heads, puffy pink clouds punctuated the darkening sky, and the temperature dropped into the low sixties.

"What's the point of a whale watching tour if there aren't going to be any whales?" Chandler asked at the one hour mark, leaning over the metal railing with her long brown hair billowing out behind her in the wind.

I exchanged a weary glance with Brenna, both of us aware that if Maud had overheard Chandler's comment, she would've lashed out with some sassy remark about how this wasn't Sea World.

"There's usually a 90% chance of seeing orcas during the summer months," I said just as the Cape Blue lighthouse came into view. Its faded white exterior took on a pearly glow in the fading light.

"I hope that 90% still applies after Apex finishes production," Chandler retorted without looking at me. "Scaring them away wasn't the goal, right?"

"I'm sure your mother can give you even more insight into what the real goals were, specifically Conrad's," I fired back before I could think better of it.

Brenna shot me a not-so-subtle glare, clearly unamused by my snarky comment, but it thankfully soared right over Chandler's undeniably pretty head. Instead, her lips curled up into a subtle smirk, seemingly pleased at her ability to get under my skin so easily.

An hour later, there was still no sight of any orcas, but the porpoises and seals prevented the tour from being a total bust. When Sea La Vie returned to the dock, the sun was a fiery orange orb burning low on the horizon. After exchanging parting words with everyone, it took every ounce of my self-restraint to not take off as fast as humanly possible.

I was halfway down the dock when I heard quick footsteps thundering behind me.

"Hey, wait up!"

Turning around, I saw Maud approaching me with what looked like an article of clothing in her arms. When she slowed to a stop in front of me to hand it over, my brows instantly lifted.

It was a sweater. It was my sweater.

"I should've returned this ages ago," Maud said, her gaze momentarily sinking to her Converse-clad feet. "But better late than never, right?"

I tightened my hold on the soft knit fabric of the fisherman's sweater. "Right. Thank you."

Maud blew out a loud breath, her brows knitting together as she stared at me for a moment. "It's going to work out in the end. Apex, I mean. The show will still air, and it'll be great."

"You think so?"

A part of me hated to admit it, but that was what I wanted to be true. I'd poured so much time and energy into the show, and seeing it fail before it even got a chance to air would be like taking a wrecking ball to my confidence. To everything I thought was important to me.

Maud shrugged. "It would suck to have gone through hell only to have the show canceled, don't you think?"

A laugh escaped me. "You've changed your tune, Mimi."

"Yeah, I guess I have." Maud gave me one last smile before turning to leave.

"How would you want it to end?" I blurted out, my curiosity getting the best of me. When Maud faced me once again, I elaborated, "If you could choose the ending, what would it be?"

Maud's gaze shifted over to where the small fleet of Pacific King's boats sat on the sparkling water and a tiny smile pulled at her lips. "For life to go on," she answered, offering me another shrug. "Regardless of how the summer ends, I know it will, but I want that for all of us. Life will go on, and we can all move on...whatever that means."

Move on.

It was what everyone seemed to hope for when the end of an ugly chapter of time approached. I didn't know what moving on would look like for me, but maybe it would be enough to forgive myself. It had to be.

*

The article dropped on Friday morning, but I didn't bother reading it. There wasn't anything in it that I didn't already know and I knew it would still serve to piss me off. That was how I ended up at the movie theater, purchasing tickets from Syd for showings throughout the rest of the day. Tuning out reality was appealing, even if it was temporary.

When the credits of the third film started to play, and everyone began shuffling towards the glowing exit sign, I was hardly paying attention to what was unfolding around me. That changed when I saw someone walking down my row out of the corner of my eye.

Even in the darkness of the theater, the grace with which Allix McGovern moved made it easy for me to identify her. She settled into the seat to my right and exhaled a tiny yet seemingly satisfied sigh.

All at once, I was overcome by the feeling that we were starring in an early 2000s romantic comedy when it was finally my big moment to speak my mind, but my words fell apart before I could even open my mouth. I turned my attention back to the screen.

"I never stick around long enough to watch the credits," Allix said, her voice not quite a whisper. "I think it's because I'm fairly antsy and impatient, but I understand why you do."

I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat to look at her. "Did Syd tell you I was here?"

It shouldn't have mattered to me how Allix got here, but it did. Or maybe it was the why she was here that mattered.

"Only because I asked." My heartbeat stuttered as she paused for a beat. "I drove to your house first and ended up having a super fun conversation with your mom about how I wasn't in Ireland for five months. After that, I figured asking Syd was better than driving all over the island looking for you. I'm sure I would've made it over here eventually, though."

I allowed myself a moment to bask in her undivided attention before replying, "I'm glad you did."

Allix smiled at me for what felt like the first time in years before looking at the screen. The hushed quiet of the theater occupied the air around us, and for a while, we just watched the credits continue to roll.

Once upon a time, it was my dream to see my name at the top of the credits. Longing for recognition felt so altruistic now, and there was no amount of penance I could do to rationalize why I was so dead set on safeguarding Apex from criticism. I should've listened to all of the warning signs, called it off when I was ahead. There was nothing to be gained from standing on a sinking ship other than preserving my pride.

I turned to face Allix once again. "What am I supposed to do when my dream becomes a nightmare?"

Allix hummed, still looking at the screen. "The only dreams you wake up from are your own. Whenever you wake up, you can decide to dream up a new one."

I lifted an eyebrow, mildy impressed. "That was almost poetic."

She threw me a sideways glance and a weary smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I wasn't trying to say something poetic. Optimistic, maybe, but not poetic."

"Well, whatever you were trying or not trying to say sounded meaningful, at the very least."

"I'm not so sure about that." The light from the screen reflected in Allix's eyes, reeling me in. "But I'm going to do something meaningful now."

She was closing the space between us as soon as the words were out, and I already didn't want the moment to end. Her lips were soft, as though she was testing the waters before diving straight in, and her fingertips raised goosebumps on the side of my neck as she brought her hand up to cup my cheek.

There weren't any sparks or anything excessively cinematic about it, as sometimes a kiss was just that - a kiss - except I'd thought about this moment a thousand different times. I threaded my fingers into her hair when I pulled her closer, the damn armrest digging into my side, but I didn't care. She tasted like espresso, smelled like amber, and felt like the soft warmth of sunlight after a rainstorm.

When Allix pulled away from me, just far enough to look my eyes, the credits were still rolling, but the only thing I saw was a new beginning.

✘ ✘ ✘

Out all the parts I could highlight in this chapter . . . The sweater that Maud returned to Dakota was the same one she was wearing in chapter 2! It's kind of a cute mini full circle moment that I went out of my way to include because I'm a total sucker for those. There are also only 5 chapters left so all of the loose ends are being tied up.

ALSO SIKE! Of course I'm going to highlight one more part because yes I've had the movie theater scene planned since the start, and yes that also means I waited approximately 77,000 words before formally writing it into existence. Per usual, I was playing the long game.