Every Vow You Break(47)

She heard another whoosh, followed by the thock of an arrow hitting the target. There were two men holding bows, and two staff members watching them. She was suddenly annoyed by the whole existence of this resort, the idea of adults coming to a place to pretend they were at some kind of summer camp, but a summer camp with gourmet food and constant alcohol.

“Is that your husband?” Eric said. Abigail looked up the hill and could make out Bruce coming down, recognizable by his awkward, long-limbed gait.

“Yep,” Abigail said. They were alongside Eric’s bunk now and he was heading toward the door.

“Again, I’m sorry for all I put you through,” he said. “I hope you get home safe.”



“What do you mean?” Abigail said to Bruce.

“They’re booked, but they can come early tomorrow morning.”

They were back in their bunk together. Bruce was changing his shirt. He’d already let her have it for going out into the woods by herself, and now he was letting her know that the plane couldn’t come that day.

“I don’t understand,” Abigail said. “It’s such a short flight. I mean, there must be some way to get off this island today.”

“I’m sorry. Chip felt terrible, too, but apparently one of their planes is out of commission, and they’re backed up.”

“Jesus,” Abigail said.

“Don’t have a fit, Abigail. They’re coming early tomorrow morning. You’ll just have to rough it here one more night.” He smiled sarcastically at her, and Abigail felt an urge to rush at him, shove him in the chest. It wasn’t that the plane couldn’t come, it was the way he was so nonchalant about it. “Why don’t we go swimming, or, hey, I’ll even go back into the woods with you if you want,” he said.

“Look,” Abigail said. “Listen to me for a moment.”

Bruce, who had been rummaging through his suitcase, turned and looked at Abigail, his lips pressed together and his brow furrowed.

“This place is freaking me out. It’s not just seeing Jill last night —and, yes, I am pretty fucking sure that the woman I saw was Jill —it’s everything else. First of all, there’s no way that this place is a viable business. There’re about twenty guests, all men, all your friends, and every time I turn around there’s some new staff person coming out of the woodwork. I mean, tell me what this place is all about.”

Bruce said, “I already told you. Chip wanted to start a place for people in the tech world—a getaway—a place to unwind. And women come here all the time, just maybe not right now at this moment. And, yes, they’re mostly rich women. That’s the purpose of this place. People in demanding positions who need to shed some of their worries and anxiety.”

“It’s not working. Not for me.”

Bruce reached out a hand. “Hey, honey. Honey, relax.”

“That’s not helping, either.”

“So, tell me what will help, okay? I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“I want to leave here. There can’t be just one plane service. I mean, if there was a medical emergency then you’d get someone here, right?”

“Well, if there was a medical emergency then the Coast Guard or someone would come, but that’s not the case. It’s less than twenty-four hours. That’s nothing.”

“I don’t want to spend another night here.”

“It’s just one night,” Bruce said. “I’ll be here with you. You don’t even have to leave this bunk if you don’t want to. We can have our dinner here, then go to sleep, and in the morning the plane will come and get us. I don’t know what the big deal is.”

“The big deal is that I saw a terrified woman—the only other woman on this island, by the way—who was bleeding and ran away from me, and now you’re telling me that I have to spend another night here. It just doesn’t make sense. All I’ve been told since I’ve gotten here is that anything I want they can get for me.

Now I want to leave, and suddenly it’s a whole day’s wait.”

Bruce didn’t immediately say anything. He was breathing through his nose and bouncing almost imperceptibly on his toes.

“What?” Abigail said.

“I think you’re being a spoiled bitch.” He said it in a low voice, but she heard every word, and immediately tensed. It wasn’t just the words but the hushed tone. He sounded very different.

“Excuse me?” she said.

“You heard me.” He was looking at her, but his eyes were resting just a little bit off to the side, not quite making eye contact.

Words raced through Abigail’s head, but she was still shocked at seeing this side of her new husband. Part of her was scared as well.

“Fine,” she said at last, her voice a little shaky. “You do what you want to do, but I’m going to leave today. There’s got to be another flight service.”

“Be my guest,” he said, now definitely not looking at her.

“What’s going on with you?” she said, taking a step forward, even though she didn’t want to.

“I could ask you the same question. I bring you to this amazing place, and you don’t appreciate it. It’s all about you, all the time, isn’t it?”