Overboard Read Online Free PDF Page B

happening...
with Dylan.”
    “Good,” Chelsea said, smiling sadistically.
    Brenna smiled back although she wasn’t exactly sure
why...
     
    * * * * *
     
    Brenna pounded on the suite door. She wondered if
Marissa was awake since she hadn’t seen her all morning. When
Marissa didn’t answer the door, Brenna concluded she must have had
a bad hangover. She was about to walk away when she heard Chelsea’s
voice in her head, telling her to stand up to Marissa.
    She reached for the knob and turned it. The door
opened with a click and Brenna stepped inside. “Marissa?”
    Brenna stepped further into the suite, realizing the
curtains were pulled tightly closed and blocking out the light.
Walking over to the sliding glass doors, Brenna pulled back the
curtains, bathing the suite in light. “Get up, Marissa,” Brenna
said as she began to whirl around to face the bed. It took her a
few seconds for her brain to register that the bed was empty. As
her eyes wandered the room, she realized nothing had changed since
the night before. Everything was exactly as it was...
    She couldn’t stop this nagging feeling creeping up in
the back of her mind. Although the room was neat and tidy,
something was off. Something was wrong... Marissa was nowhere to be
found.
    Brenna stared out of the glass doors, debating over
what to do. Should she tell the others that something was wrong?
Would they agree? Would they think she was crazy? What about the
loud thump that came from Marissa’s suite the night before?
    Overwhelmed, she began to sob. She had known Marissa
all her life, and she wouldn’t be able to bear it if something had
happened to her...
    Brenna shook herself, feeling foolish. What if she
was just overreacting? What if Marissa was somewhere on the boat
having fun?
    Wiping her eyes, Brenna eyes caught something on the
deck. She opened the glass door to get a better view of the thing
which glinted in the sunlight. She bent over and picked up a
flimsy, silver charm bracelet that was lodged between the wooden
boards.
    Picking it up to inspect it, she gasped, feeling her
heart quicken. Brenna knew the bracelet well... She had given it to
Marissa for her eleventh birthday. She never took it off.
    Brenna held up the charm bracelet in the sunlight,
making out a single blond hair that was entwined in the links.
Inspecting the bracelet, she was able to see that it had been
broken. It seemed to have rusted... Her eyes opened wide when she
realized that silver doesn’t rust, but blood does!
    “Brenna?” Orman called from inside the suite.
    In her surprise, she dropped the bracelet and it slid
across the deck.
    “What are you doing?” he asked, joining her on the
balcony.
    “Something is wrong, Orman,” Brenna told him
frantically, picking up the bracelet before it slid off of the edge
of the balcony. “Marissa didn’t sleep in her room. I haven’t seen
her since yesterday, and now, I just found her bracelet!”
    Putting his hands up in a gesture of mock defense,
Orman appeared bewildered. “Calm down, Brenna. What are you talking
about?”
    Holding it securely in her grasp, she held up the
bracelet to his face. “Look at it!”

    He cupped his hand and Brenna placed the bracelet in
his hand. He inspected carefully, running his thumb over the dried
blood which was caked in between the links.
    “We have to report this,” Brenna said hysterically.
“We have to call the National Guard! Marissa could have hit her
head... She could have fallen overboard! Or someone could have done
something to her...”
    Orman grabbed Brenna’s shoulders and forced her to
look at him in his eyes. “Don’t be stupid. Listen to me,” Orman
said sternly, shaking her slightly back to her senses. “Are you
listening?”
    Brenna nodded, looking up at him fearfully.
    “We have to get rid of this bracelet,” he said
without an ounce of hesitation.
    “No,” Brenna said, shacking her head in confusion.
“There was blood on her bracelet! The bracelet was