Page 45 of Blue in the Deep Blue Sea

We made our way back to the lower deck.

She hurried past me and dropped beside Gabriella. Cupping her cheeks, she whispered, “Hey, eyes on me. I’m okay.”

She pulled her into a hug, slowly helping her to her feet and guiding her so she only faced the door. Gabriella’s breathing came in short, uneven bursts. Her face was still wet, and her blue eyes looked even darker than before.

Something inside me pulled me toward her. But my mind told me to stay where I was.

Her mother and my father were the reason my mother died. For a long time, I blamed her for it. I blamed her because my mother had cared about her. She’d taught her how to draw, welcomed her into the small circle that had belonged only to us. Every smile, every afternoon together, every memory I’d thought was real had been built on a lie.

I knew Gabriella hadn’t known.

But seeing her face, looking into those blue eyes every single day, dragged every memory of my mother back to the surface. It ripped open wounds that had never healed.

It fucking hurt.

It was easier to blame her. Easier to make her suffer over the years because I knew she’d keep her distance if I did. But the fucking universe kept throwing her back into my life, over and over again, like some twisted form of karma.

She was my walking karma.

Life kept finding new ways to fuck me over.

And I still couldn’t forgive her. Making her my enemy has always been easier than facing everything else.

I would rather be the asshole in her eyes than some poor little boy who lost his mom. I’d rather drown than lower the wall I built between us. I know she hates me just as much as I hate her, and maybe, with time, we’ll both forgive and forget. But no one can turn back time. No one can bring my mother back. My hatred was aimed at the whole world, not just her or my own blood.

“Oliver.” Isabella snapped her fingers in front of my face. “I know you’re our boss now and all that, but I need your help.” She looked at Gabriella, then back at me. “Weneed your help.”

I clenched my jaw and looked at Gabriella as she dabbed at her face with a small tissue she’d pulled from her pocket.

“What do you need?” I asked.

She stepped closer. “Someone pushed me,” she said. “I didn’t see his face, but I knew it was a man, and he took something from me.”

“And that would be?” I asked, raising a brow as a smirk tugged at my lips.

“Are you going to ask questions, or are you going to help?” Gabriella leaned against the wall, her eyes fixed on me.

“Jesus Christ.” I rolled my eyes. “Do you always has to be like that?”

“Like what?” She asked.

“Fine.” I let out a sigh. “We have to go to the bridge cabin. There’s surveillance footage covering the entireDeep Blue.”

“Okay,” Isabella said. “Can you two do it without me? I just need to dry off.”

“Meet us at the master suite,” I said, walking past them.

As I headed down the hallway, I caught Gabriella whispering to Isabella.

“Do I have to go with him?”

Isabella didn’t answer. She stopped outside her dorm while Gabriella reluctantly followed me.

By the time we reached the stairs leading to the upper deck, I noticed her pace slowing. She dragged her feet up each step, one hand gliding along the rail.

“At this pace, we’ll get there next week.” I chuckled. “I’ve seen glaciers move faster.”

She let out an annoyed breath. “If you’re that eager, then carry me.”