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“Nice. It’s my first cruise.”

“Mine too,” I blurt. It wouldn’t hurt to be a bit more fearless.Advertisement

“Are you here with your family?” Liz asks.

The girl plays with the ends of her blond ponytail. “Yeah. I’m here with my insane mother. She’s already taken practically a bottle of Vicodin and passed out. She’ll probably sleep through the entire four days. She was supposed to be on this cruise with her new boyfriend but he dumped her last week. Not that I blame him.”

Well. That was a lot of info. Liz and I give each other a look, but then turn back to the girl. “At least you got a cruise out of it,” I say.

She snorts. “Lucky me. It’s a crappy time to go on a cruise. Did you guys read the National Eagle this week?”

Liz shakes her head dismissively. “I don’t read tabloids.”

Me neither. Fine, sometimes I do. “Why? What does it say?”

“Do you scare easily?” she asks.

“Yes.”

“Then I probably shouldn’t tell you.”

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The doors slide open. Ow. Majorly bright. Good thing I have my anti-UV, anti-glare, anti-any-light-getting-through-these-suckers glasses. Must protect my best asset. I slide my sunglasses over my eyes and adjust my cute new straw hat.

We survey the scene. There’s a huge rectangular sparkling pool, two kitschy thatched-roof bars, and a pool-side terrace restaurant. The deck is packed with people. “How about over by the deep end?” I ask, pointing to a bunch of empty blue and white striped lounge chairs.

“Come sit with us,” Liz tells the new girl.

“Thanks,” she says, smiling. “If you’re sure you don’t mind. I’m Hailey.”

We introduce ourselves as Liz swipes three pale peach beach towels from a bin and claims the empty chairs.

I dump the bag between us, open the umbrella by my chair, and spread out my towel.

“So are you guys here with your parents?” Hailey asks, hunting through her bag. She pulls out a pair of oversize sunglasses and the National Eagle. I can’t help but wonder what the so-called story is about. Do I want to know?

“Just us,” Liz says, lying back in her chair.

“Wow. Are you guys sisters?” Hailey asks.

“Kind of,” Liz says.

I laugh. “In spirit at least.”

“Was this a graduation present or something?”

“Exactly,” Liz says.

“Lucky you.”

Not yet, but I plan to be. Except what’s the big scary story Hailey isn’t telling? “So tell us what’s in the paper about cruise ships.”

“I’ll tell you, but don’t blame me if you can’t fall asleep tonight. It says, ‘Vampires Attack Cruise Ships.’ Isn’t that insane?”

“Yes,” I say. The boat sways slightly, and my stomach clenches.

“I know, right?”

Liz snorts. “Hello, it’s the Eagle people. It’s worse than the Enquirer. It’s not real.”

“It could be,” Hailey says.

I sit up in my seat. “Wait, what exactly does it say?”

“That people have gone missing from cruise boats in the last six months. They’re blaming vampires.”

“Um, do they know there’s no such thing as vampires?” I ask.

“Apparently not.”

I shake my head. “The Eagle must be having serious circulation issues.”

“You never know,” Liz says. “Maybe vampires are killing people on cruise ships. Who’s to say what’s real and what’s not?”

I lightly kick the back of her leg. “Or maybe some psycho robs a girl who had too many vodka tonics and then shoves her overboard before anyone notices she’s missing,” I say.

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Hailey says, flipping through the newspaper.

“Or Bloody Marys,” Liz jokes.

“I heard that happens way more than they report. It’s because of the international-waters thing. It’s harder to prosecute the criminals,” Hailey explains.

“Or find the bodies,” Liz adds.

“Scary,” I say, shivering. I wrap the end of the towel around my arms.

Hailey’s eyes are wide. “I’m not walking around at night, I can promise you that.”

“We’ll keep the bad guys away,” Liz pledges, and then flips onto her stomach.

I close my eyes. Rest time.

Ahhhh. The ocean breeze in my hair, the water roaring by, the sun glittering around me. Lovely. Perfect. pqdm.com