The Vacation: An utterly gripping thriller packed with suspense by M.M. Chouinard

Author:M.M. Chouinard [Chouinard, M.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781800193635
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2021-05-26T16:00:00+00:00

29

ONE DAY BEFORE

ROSE

Rose woke Thursday morning with a pounding headache, more agitated than she’d been since Brandon first mentioned the trip to Jamaica. Partly because of how badly Mateo was handling the news about Lily, but mostly because of what the day held in store.

She’d known all along she’d have to face this at some point. But now that it was here, she wanted to grab her children and run far, far away.

You’re being ridiculous, she chanted to herself. Dunn’s River Falls was one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world. She was lucky to get a chance to see it. Even just the pictures were stunning—the series of smooth stones and graduated pools transported her to a magical fairyland, the sort of place you’d expect the elves from Lord of the Rings to congregate. And when she was a little girl, waterfalls had always been so soothing to her—the way they danced and splashed, and she could spend hours staring into them. But ever since her sister’s death…

The falls are safe, she kept repeating to herself. The pools are shallow and there are so many guides around you couldn’t drown if you tried. And since Jackson and Lily were too young to climb up the falls anyway, she could always just suggest she stay with them in the kids’ water park while everyone else climbed up.

But even the kids’ water park made her feel like someone was standing on her chest.

And, to top it off, Anabelle and Mateo wanted to stop at the Luminous Lagoon on the way back. That meant not only a second body of water in the same day, but water after dark—the lagoon was filled with bioluminescent microorganisms that lit up when anything moved the water, like an underwater light show, only visible at night.

She’d tried to object. “It’s too much for the kids to do all in one day. We should pick one or the other.”

“It’s a two-hour drive to the falls and two hours back.” Leo’s mood had still been dark after Brandon’s flat-out refusal to invest. “The lagoon is on the way back, so it doesn’t make sense to do the drive twice when we could be using that time for other things.”

“I’m sure the kids will fall asleep in the car,” Anabelle said with a bright smile. “They’ll be fine.”

She’d tried to enlist Brandon’s help. “They had so much trouble falling asleep after Croydon Plantation, and they’ll be even more overstimulated after the water park at the falls. They always end up getting sick when they get overtired, especially several days in a row like we’ve been going. And if they’re sick, they’ll be moody and ruin everyone’s time.”

Brandon had patted her shoulder. “It’s okay, hon. Lily’s getting older now, and Jackson can always sleep in his stroller. I’ll help you with them.”

“And we have a relaxing day at the beach tomorrow,” Leo said. “They can recuperate then.” He turned and walked away, putting the kibosh on the conversation.

More water. Rose covered her fear by mouthing ‘relaxing?’ at Brandon with a wide-eyed expression.

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