From the sounds coming from downstairs, they were in the hallway. Charity pulled her pack onto her back, considering. Devin would be waiting for her at the dock soon so they could rent a little motorboat to get out to ‘his’ island. He’d pulled her there while she was on her surfboard the previous day. And while she had loved every minute of it, they’d had to take turns using her board to surf. Today, they were going to go together with their own boards so they could be out in the water together.

She paused at her door at the sound of her own name. Honor was complaining about her attitude or something like that. They had gotten into quite the fight the previous night. Of course, the whole family blamed Charity for being unreasonable when she was the one who was bringing up actual facts and figures . . . Well, one day she wouldn’t have to look at them, right? She went to the window and threw it open. It used to be easy to sneak out this way. Things couldn’t have gotten harder, could it?

As soon as she slung a leg out the window, though, the door opened. Charity froze. But it wasn’t her worst fear entering the room. It was her twin sister.

Hope arched her brows as she took in Charity, perched on the edge of fleeing. She put her hands on her hips and shook her head. “Running away out the window? What are you, twelve?”

Charity retreated back into the room. “I just didn’t want to have to justify going somewhere I want to be. Mom was all over me for going to the beach yesterday instead of helping in the garden. I came for the ocean, not parsnips. I hate parsnips.”

“And here I thought you’d have come home for your family.”

“Don’t start, Hope. I’m not going to take that passive-aggressive crap from you.”

Hope had the decency to look ashamed. Charity couldn’t help but feel a bit bad for snapping at her. Out of everybody in the family, Hope was the one person who she was actually close to. If her life had gone differently, if she hadn’t had the opportunities to leave the island, she could have ended up exactly like her, after all.

The years hadn’t been kind to her. Stress lined her face, making her look several years older than Charity. There was a bone-deep exhaustion in her eyes that was impossible to miss. Something about the way she held herself spoke of wanting to scream into the void but being afraid that someone might actually hear her.

When Charity first started to talk about university, her parents had been dismissive, saying that they couldn’t afford it and that she’d never get anywhere with it anyway. At the time, her math teacher had been very encouraging. It was the only class that she and Hope hadn’t shared. That teacher had helped her to apply to colleges, had even paid the application fees out of her own pocket. She had helped Charity with her student loans and to get a job in town.

Hope only had their parents telling her that she wasn’t good enough. Then she married a man she hardly knew who treated her like crap at the ripe old age of seventeen just to get away from them. Now, who did she have to rely on except for their family?

With all the stress and negativity, it was no wonder why her weight had ballooned while Charity had slimmed down. She was a beautiful woman, but because she would never see herself that way. It was so infuriating that Charity wanted to kidnap her away and get her involved in something that she would love doing.

“I’m sorry,” Hope mumbled, looking down at her hands. “I just wanted to spend time with you today. I thought that we could go shopping.”

Charity sighed as she sank onto the bed and pattered the mattress beside her. “Hope . . . It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with you. I just can’t stand to be with them,” she gestured to the door. “Honor especially. I can’t hold my tongue when her ‘opinions’ actively hurt other people. I’ve been here for a couple days and I’m already exhausted by it. You can come to the beach with me, though.”

A red flush rose into Hope’s cheeks and she turned away. “Last time I was on the beach, people kept taking pictures of me.”

“Because you’re beautiful.”

“Because I’m a whale.”

Charity repressed a sigh. “What if we went to a private beach?”

“If I got into the water, a shark or whale is going to mistake me for a seal.”

Charity struggled as she cast about for what to say. If she admitted that she was going to meet somebody, she’d get a thousand and one questions and everybody was going to know by the end of the day. She chewed her lip for a moment before her eyes lit up. Yes – a perfect idea!

“Why don’t we go to the mainland this week? Tomorrow or the next day. We can get on the ferry and go hit all our old hangouts. Maybe even go for a leisurely stroll through the park? Remember that time when we were sixteen and we took off without telling anybody? We can do that again. And since it’ll only be the two of us, we can talk about anything we want.”

Hope’s eyes lit up. “You mean the boy you’re interested in?”

Charity nodded. “Boys. Multiple. I’ll tell you all about them.”

“Then it’s agreed.” Hope stuck out her hand. “Ferry. Tomorrow. Nine o’clock sharp. Be there or we’ll have to wait until ten-thirty.”

Charity shook her sister’s hand seriously and grinned. “Now, think you can help me escape? Just get them out of the hallway.”

Hope mocked a salute. “I can do that. Give me fifteen minutes.”

***

With Hope’s help, Charity managed to escape her parents’ house without being seen. She had made it to the docks just in time for her meeting with Devin, and she paid for the motorboat before they headed out to sea. The spray of salt and the beaming sun was enough to drive all her negative thoughts away. They spent the whole day surfing. The next few days were spent mostly with Hope, but a week after the original meeting, Charity found herself on Devin’s little island again.

She slathered sunscreen onto her exposed skin as she sprawled on the beach. Here, the water was a deeper blue than at the white beach on the island. This beach was covered in rocky pebbles. Not comfortable like sand, but it wasn’t bad, either. The swells of ocean waves rose in sapphire rolls, white foam capping the water when the waves came crashing back down.

Devin was out in the surf, balancing on the board with her knees bent. If he was attractive as a lifeguard, he was even better as a surfer. Long hair fell back over his shoulders, secured by an elastic. His skin gleamed with water and sunlight. He didn’t wear a wetsuit like her – only his shorts. His body was so impressive that Charity had to work at not drooling.

She must have sat and watched for a long time because when he came in, the first thing he did was ask if something was wrong.

Charity shook her head. “No, nothing’s wrong. I was just admiring your form. You’re so graceful out there! I’ve seen a lot of surfers, and I’m telling you – you could win a competition.”

Devin laid down beside her with a smile but shook his head. “Nah, I can’t. I’ve tried to enter a couple, but I wasn’t qualified. Apparently, being able to turn into a tiger shark gives me an unfair advantage.”

Charity’s smile faded. “What does that have to do with the ability to surf?”

“I think they were more afraid that I’d shift in the middle of the competition and eat the other contestants.” Though his tone was light and joking, Charity felt like doing anything but laughing.

She picked up a stone and turned it over in her hands, thinking about it. All shifters were thought to have their personalities decided by the time of animals they could turn into. It was all over the news: whenever a shifter committed a crime, they were certain to include what sort of animal they turned into. Even if they were the only shifter in a group of humans to have done something, they were singled out.

How much worse would it be for a shark shifter? The actual animals in the sea were demonized, called mindless killing machines. She couldn’t recall one documentary when they weren’t described as having ‘cold, dead eyes.’ And then add that to shark shifters? Even though they lived in a group and were clearly social and affectionate with one another . . . 

She threw the rock away. “I’m sorry. That’s so grossly unfair I don’t know what to say.”

Devin shrugged. “You don’t have to say anything. Just knowing that you recognize it is unfair helps at the moment. I was going to use the money I would win in the competition to send myself to university, you know.”

He flipped over onto his stomach and Charity flinched. Laying on this pebbly beach could not be comfortable. “What were you going to do?”

“Marine biologist. Maybe it’s ironic.” Devin flashed her a grin that had her heart stuttering. “I’ve always been fascinated by the watery underworld, so to say. I wanted to be able to learn more about the various species, the corals, everything. And I thought I’d be able to do research that most people can’t do. What with being a shifter, I could spend hours in the sea without expensive scuba gear.”

“I watched a documentary with a crew who had a shifter on the team. I think they turned into a dolphin, though.”

Devin hummed. “People like dolphins.”

The sun was starting to sink beyond the horizon and Charity sighed. She didn’t want to go home. Not today. Not after a day like this, when things had been so beautiful. She glanced at Devin and chewed her lip. Both of them had their dry clothes still . . . and the beach was sandy a little way down the shore, with just enough room for two people.

“Want to build a fire and spend the night?”

A smile broke across his face. “I was just about to suggest that. We can use our towels as blankets.”

And each other as pillows. How would he react if she said that?

They quickly built a little fire. Charity swapped out her wetsuit for the jeans and tank that she’d worn out here. The sun was gone quickly, leaving only the moon in the sky. It reflected on the water. Sitting side-by-side with Devin, she felt like she was in something out of a movie. She held her hands to the flames and smiled at him.

“This has been amazing. Thank you. I didn’t think that it’d be so hard to be back here. I mean, I always knew that my family was . . . let’s say, different.” Even though she knew what it was, it was still difficult to say out loud that her parents had emotionally manipulated and abused her growing up. “I should have remembered how much of a relief it had been to escape them. But I love this island. I just wish I didn’t have to deal with them.”

Devin laughed. “I think that’s how the rest of us feel.”

Charity giggled at that but quickly sobered. “Except Hope. My twin sister. She’s not like the others. She loved life and people and . . . ” She shrugged. “I wish I knew how to save her.”

“I know how that feels,” Devin whispered. He slipped his hand into hers. “I know exactly how that feels.”

What would he do if she kissed him? Her lips tingled and desire floated through her bloodstream, but she didn’t move forward. Not until she knew if he’d like it or if she’d ruin their blossoming friendship.