Unseen Messages(68)

My growl became a snarl. “Estelle...goddammit.”

Let me shield you from this. Let me take the horror so you don’t have nightmares.

I already suffered bad dreams from what I’d done. This was nothing compared to those.

She came closer, placing her hand on my shoulder. It could’ve been condescending but the way her eyes filled with understanding turned it into a caress. “Listen to me. I’m not leaving. You can swear and curse but the fact is, you can’t make me leave.”

My hands curled. “I could with force.”

“You could.” Her fingers massaged my flesh, granting comfort and relief to crash-bruised muscles. “But you won’t. Because as much as you don’t want to admit it, you need me. You can’t do this on your own, and I don’t expect you to.”

She gave me the sweetest smile. “Please...let me help.”

I had two choices.

One, continue to waste night hours and my dwindling energy on forbidding her. Or two, accept that I did need help and trust she had what it took.

She knew my answer before I spoke. Knew in the way my shoulders slumped, my eyes closed, every ounce of anger drained into the dirt.

“Thank you, Galloway.”

My eyes snapped up. “Never thank me for letting you do this. Never, do you hear me? This is a thankless task and shouldn’t be done by anyone, let alone you.”

She touched my hand wrapped around my crutch. “Nothing is thankless. No matter what it is. Someone always appreciates it.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is.” Her voice was a soft melody. “A rubbish collector, for example. A thankless task for him. Dirty, smelly, a stigma attached to his profession. But every bin he collects, every removal he does, a house owner is grateful. They might not consciously thank him, but they are thankful.”

I huffed. “They’re alive to appreciate it. Big difference in this case.”

“How so? Conner and Pippa aren’t aware of what you’re doing, but they’re grateful regardless. You’re saving them heartache and pain. It’s best that they don’t know because their thanks is worth a thousand more because you did the right thing.”

I couldn’t win with her. She was so wise, so calm. The exact opposite of who I was. Was it possible to develop such intense feelings for someone so quickly? Was it our situation—stuck on an island and all alone?

Either way, I never wanted to be apart from her.

I reluctantly gave in to her reasoning. “I accept what you’re saying but you got something wrong.”

“Oh?”

“You said me. What I’m doing.” My heart beat faster. “You mean us. What we’re doing.”

Her smile glowed like the moon. “I’m glad you’ve come around. Now...let’s get started.”

.............................

I swayed on the beach, holding my crutch with all my strength because if I didn’t, I’d splat head-first into the sand. Estelle stood beside me, our skin on fire with proximity but not touching.

We didn’t say a word as the tide slowly crept higher the brighter the sky became.

Sweat had drenched and dried on my skin. Estelle’s had done the same. Her hairline was damp, her cheeks flushed, her movements achy and overused. She’d done so much. I would never be able to repay her.

Her suggestion had saved me work I couldn’t have accomplished on my own, and together, we’d ensured the island was dead free and the children would never see what a child should never see.

Amelia and Duncan Evermore were almost gone. We couldn’t give them the send-off they deserved, but they would always be remembered.

Estelle’s head suddenly landed on my shoulder. Her blonde hair draped over my back, tickling my bicep and forearm. “They’re at peace.”

I didn’t respond.

The three bodies in front of us lay on their backs, their hands tied together in prayer, pebbles placed on their vacant eyes, and rocks inserted into their clothing.

We’d taken anything that might be of use. A pen engraved with Duncan’s initials for Conner, a gold tennis bracelet from Amelia for Pippa. We removed the wedding rings and decided to use them as a memorial. We’d already painstakingly carved their names on a piece of driftwood and attached two plaited pieces of flax to hold the rings.

Akin lay beside the Evermores, together but apart. Would his family be searching for him? Would they know how to find us? Or had any hope of being found died the moment we stepped aboard a helicopter without a working Emergency Locator Transmitter?

Slowly, dawn crept closer as did the tide. The bodies went from being lapped gently to slowly consumed, their legs vanishing beneath the surface, followed by their chests and faces.

It had been Estelle’s idea to use the ocean.

The island soil was rich and fairly simple to dig, but tree roots and obstacles didn’t make it easy. After a few minutes of trying, Estelle had asked me to trust her, and together, we found Amelia and Duncan and respectfully, painfully, so, so slowly dragged them to the opposite side of the island.

Our pace had been a gait between a hobble and a lurch, careful not to damage the dead any more than they were. The causes of death had been easier to see the lighter the sky became. Duncan had perished from a broken neck like Akin, and Amelia had bled out from a piece of metal cutting her carotid artery.