Matt de la Peña - The Living

Shy couldn’t help smiling at the thought of leaving on the ship. Neither could Carmen. But Addie looked super stressed as she kept scanning the restaurant. She seemed to spot Bill.

“He might know something about your old man,” Shy told her. “You should go ask him.”

Addie shook her head.

Carmen reached across the table, put her hand on top of Addie’s.

A few minutes after all the researchers had left to go prepare the ship, one of the former Paradise passengers suggested people go around saying what they were thankful for.

The crowd caught on pretty quickly.

A woman with long brown hair said she was thankful for her husband, who had shielded her with his own body during the second tsunami. She started tearing up and said: “We’d only been married two years. After we got home from this trip we were going to start thinking about children.” The tears quickly turned into full-on sobbing, and the people sitting around her patted her back and rubbed her shoulders.

Christian stood up next. “I’m thankful to everyone who helped pull me out of the ocean. You had enough to worry about. And there wasn’t any extra room. But you made room. I’ll never forget you for that.”

People clapped as Christian sat back down.

Addie told Shy and Carmen that she was going back to her room to try and rest a little more.

“I’ll walk you out,” Shy said, getting up from the table.

Addie nodded.

Carmen winked at Shy as he led Addie toward the door. Addie avoided eye contact with Bill.

Outside, Shy told her: “Sorry your dad’s not here. But it doesn’t mean he’s not on the island. Shoeshine didn’t show up to the meeting either. I bet a bunch of people didn’t.”

Addie looked Shy right in the eyes, but she didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Then she took his hands in hers and sighed. “You were really nice to me when we were stranded, Shy.”

“Wish I could say the same about you,” Shy said. He expected to get at least a grin out of her, but she kept a straight face.

“I want you to know I meant what I said.” She squeezed his hands. “That last night.”

Shy didn’t know how to respond to that, so he just sort of nodded and smiled and squeezed her hands a little, too. “Go rest,” he said. “We’ll come get you when it’s time to go down to the beach.”

“I just want to make sure you understand that,” Addie said.

“I do,” Shy told her. “And I’m glad you said it. But there’s no need to get all sentimental, right? I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Addie sighed. She leaned forward on her toes and kissed his cheek. She stood there looking at him for a few seconds with a pained expression on her face, like she still hadn’t fully recovered from fainting. Then she turned and started down the hall.

When Shy returned to his table in the restaurant, Carmen was shaking her head. “I know what it’s like losing your old man,” she said.

Shy wanted to tell Carmen about Addie’s dad’s shady business on the island. They had to be in some deep shit for people to have guns and bags of needles, for doctors to end up dead on a boat. There was no way it was just insurance fraud. But it didn’t seem like the right time or place to get into all that now, so he just nodded and turned back to the people saying what they were thankful for.

“I’m thankful to the men who are taking us home,” an older woman said. “It’s because of them that, God willing, I might get to see my grandchildren again.”

More applause. Some people raised bottles of water and gave cheers.

Bill stood up next and pointed a finger at Shy. “You see that young man sitting over there?”

Everyone turned to Shy. He instinctively sank down in his chair a little, afraid of what the guy was going to say. Carmen was staring at him, too.

“His name is Shy,” Bill said. “And he saved my life on the ship.”

People clapped for Shy, but Bill wasn’t done. “My leg was trapped under a chandelier in one of the dining rooms. He and another young man lifted it off, helped me through the burning room and got me onto a lifeboat. If it wasn’t for Shy’s bravery, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

More cheering. This time it went on for several seconds. Carmen pointed at Shy over the table and mouthed, You’re my hero.

Shy shrugged uncomfortably and looked at Bill. He felt uneasy with all the attention. Truth was, he’d trade Bill’s life for Kevin’s in a second. It’s not like Shy could just forget everything else that happened on the ship—how the guy had followed him all over and messed up his and Rodney’s room and threatened him in the Luxury Lounge.

Others stood and announced who and what they were thankful for, but Shy was no longer listening. He was staring into space, thinking about the conversations he and Addie had had on the lifeboat about her old man and his company. Back then it didn’t seem to matter as much. His sole focus was on surviving. But now he was sneaking looks at Bill, wondering what the guy’s deal was. And what about LasoTech? And then a different thought crossed his mind: Bill must’ve had something to do with the dead doctors Shy found. And if that was true, it meant Addie’s dad had had something to do with the murders, too. Even if it was indirect.

Shy and Carmen labored up the stairs, toward the penthouse on the twelfth floor. He’d spent the last two hours at the restaurant with everyone, doing nothing more than eating and resting and thinking, but it hadn’t seemed to give him a whole lot more strength. He was already out of breath and there were still seven flights to go. He made himself a promise: the second he got on the research ship he’d find himself a bed, or a cot, or even just a spot on the floor, and he’d let himself sleep for twelve straight hours.

“So someone’s actually guarding the doors?” he asked Carmen.

She nodded. “A few of the guys take shifts. But don’t get all nervous, they’re only passengers. And a few people who worked at the hotel.”

Shy didn’t see what the big deal was. Especially if he and Addie were supposedly protected by their shot of vitamins. And someone had to make sure the sick people knew the plan, right? They were leaving in two hours. And how were they going to get down to the water? He wasn’t so sure he trusted anyone right now.

Mostly, though, Shy just wanted an excuse to visit Rodney.

As they passed the eighth floor, Carmen said: “So, what are the chances we’ll find our neighborhoods still standing?”

“No idea,” Shy said. “I don’t wanna jinx it.”

“Hearing them talk about it at lunch,” Carmen said, “I don’t know. It made me feel better and everything, but I got the feeling they were holding something back. I mean, you saw the footage in the theater. It was bad. ”

“I was thinking the exact same thing.” Shy started assisting his tired legs by using the handrail. “Wanna hear something else?” he asked. “That guy at lunch who said I saved him, he was the dude who was following me all over the ship.”

“Stop it,” Carmen said. “Really?”

“I promise. Me and Kev were doing our sweep, and I heard someone calling for help. I didn’t even think about it at the time.”

“He seemed really appreciative about you helping him out.”

Shy shrugged. “He still creeps me out. I don’t trust the guy.”

As they passed the tenth floor, Shy switched subjects. “So, what’d you and Addie talk about?”

“I just gave her a little nutritional advice,” Carmen said.

“I’m being serious,” Shy said.

“Me too. That girl’s too skinny. She needs protein.”

Shy shook his head. “So, you were checking her out?”