I couldn’t sleep that night, the weather sounded horrific outside but I knew the camp could sustain. Claire had actually curled into me unconsciously through the night, and I of course allowed it. It felt nice, her warmth, to feel a sense of security and protection  if she was next to me. 

I couldn’t stop thinking about the talk we had, maybe our relationship was getting somewhere, but then again, we were stranded on a secluded island alone. 

What if we hadn’t been?

Would she even be talking to me right now if we were in Rio? Most likely not, because she wouldn’t be confined to one person. 

I couldn’t help but feel my heart ache at the thought of her only talking to me because we were stranded here. Then again, I hadn’t even thought about talking to her on my senior trip because I had figured we wouldn’t even see each other. 

Boy, how I was wrong. 

The weather had finally began to subside as I started to drift off to sleep, wondering what was going to come of me and Claire after tonight. Would she open back up to me or would I have to continue to wait and let her get more comfortable?

I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew I shouldn’t let myself expect much anyway.

Because I couldn’t expect anything when it involved Claire.

~ ~ ~ ~

I woke up with bright sun shining into the opening of the camp, squinting at the morning heat as I held my hand up to block the sun’s blinding rays. Claire wasn’t next to me, but I figured she was just outside assessing the damage the storm had done. 

I climbed out of the camp, immediately searching for Claire but soon came up short. I began to panic at first, but then I had to remember, she knew what was best for her, not me. 

But it didn’t make the worry go away. 

I hadn’t really had time to study the relationship between me and Claire but I figured there really wasn’t one yet. Sure, we had history, but that didn’t mean if we were rescued we would stay close and best buds forever. I mean this was traumatizing already, just imaging being here for a long time scared the shit out of me.

On the bright side, I wasn’t alone. 

I felt the need to change my clothes, the sweat had made them damp and they were clinging to me, so I retrieved the clothes I had washed last night. I started slipping into them, felling weird since I was changing in the open, but obviously no one was around to see. 

I heard a coughing sound behind me as I slipped my fresh shorts on and turned quickly, seeing Claire with broken wood in her arms. She threw them into the sand, exposing them to the hot sunlight blaring down onto us, “Figured we could dry some of this out before night fall.”

I wanted to ask her if she had seen my ass but then again, I didn’t because I didn’t want to make it awkward. I nodded, “Good idea.”

She seemed distant, like she was thinking of something important, and it was worrying me. Was she mad at me? Had she woken up and she was in my arms? I wanted to slap myself in the face for actually thinking that was a good idea.

She pulled out something from the brush of the jungle, “A suitcase washed up today.”

She opened it, exposing wet clothes and more things we could use later on. I smiled, “Good… we needed more clothes.”

She started laying them out on a line she had made with braided thread, connecting to two trees. I had to admit, she was smart, I would’ve never thought of braiding thread to make string. 

Actually, it gave me a couple ideas.

I walked over to the string, it was secure and tight, “This is a really good idea.”

She smiled slightly, hanging more clothes onto the line, “I know.”

She was sharp, and I couldn’t help myself from wondering what was wrong. I wanted to ask, but I was afraid of being rejected, so I held out. I dug through the suitcase, finding more soap and other things, but mostly clothes. This suitcase had belonged to a girl about me and Claire’s age, the size and the type of clothes made that obvious. 

Then I pulled out a shirt, our senior class shirt, and held it up in the light. I felt the pain in my chest, making it tighten as I folded the tag up, and I regretted it. 

This was Mallory’s suitcase. 

I dropped the shirt, gripping my hair with my hands as I felt the pain flood into my chest. Claire ran over to me but I couldn’t stop the tears from falling down my face, seeing this really brought me back to reality. Mallory was dead, my best friend for years, who I had made so many loveable memories with…

Was dead. 

Claire spoke, “Alex… hey, it’s ok.”

I shook my head, “No… Mallory…”

She held my head in her arms, attempting to shield me from the invisible pain that was already penetrating my heart. I stood, I couldn’t stay right here, I needed to go for a walk. She looked up at me, I spoke, “I’m going walk.”

“Want me to come?”

I shook my head, turning and walking down the beach, wondering what  I had done to deserve something like this. What had I done to deserve this pain in my heart? I rolled my shorts up, feeling the sunlight kiss my legs with it’s heat, and I folded my shirt up ands tucked it through the collar. I couldn’t stop the pain in my chest, I couldn’t stop crying, but I knew that it would do nothing for me. 

But I couldn’t stop. 

Why had I survived? Why had Claire survived? Why no one else? Why did the plane have to crash? Why in the middle of the God damn ocean?

The heat started getting to me, so I took a seat at the edge of the water, feeling the sand rest against my dry legs. I just wanted to die, this pain made me want to die, I didn’t want to fight on anymore. 

I stared at the blue horizon, not knowing how long we would be here. How long would we have to survive, praying they wouldn’t forget about us and keep searching until we were found? What if months passed? Years?

The thought of years terrified me, and I knew we might not even last that long. Could we?

Then as I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, I thought I saw something in the distance. It was white, and it was barely noticeable, but could it be…

A boat.

I stood, suddenly not even being able to feel my legs as I ran down the beach towards Claire. I waved my hands, hoping that any sudden movement might catch the driver’s attention. I screamed, “Hey!” although there was no possible way they can hear me. 

I stumbled through the sand, and Claire saw me running towards her, I pointed, “It’s a boat!” and my finger pointed towards the sea. She looked, and it took her awhile to see it, but when she did she nearly fainted. 

“We need to get their attention.”

I stumbled to the tent, immediately finding the glasses to start a fire. If I could start one and produce black smoke they would be able to see it. 

I gather twigs and leaves, holding the glasses up as I tried to get a glare. I couldn’t contain my excitement as my hand shook, trying to hold them steady so I could start a fire. I whispered, “C’mon,” as I felt the anxiety well up in my chest. 

“Hurry Alex!”

I blew on the sparks but they twigs wouldn’t catch, I mumbled harshly, “C’mon dammit!”

“Alex, hurry they’re disappearing!”

Then the leaves caught, and I threw more on, producing a fire. I threw some green leaves onto it, hoping the black smoke would arise but as it did, I stood. 

I looked into the horizon, not being able to find the little white boat I had seen. 

I bent down, putting more green onto the fire, praying, “Please…”

I stood, and Claire’s look of sadness gave me the answer I was dreading to hear. 

The boat was gone.