Where Sea Meets Sky: A Novel by Karina Halle

Author:Karina Halle [Halle, Karina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781476796406
Amazon: 1476796408
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 2015-03-29T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

JOSH

“Maybe Nick isn’t the problem.”

Amber had said that to me on the shores of Lake Wanaka, and at the time I had completely brushed it off because, hello, obviously the roid-monkey douchebag boyfriend is the problem here. With him out of the picture, everything would be smooth sailing for me and Gemma.

But that’s not the case. Something happened, something I can only seem to pinpoint to the boat ride on Milford Sound, when Gemma switched off. She grew cold and withdrawn. At first I thought it was toward Amber as well, and that made a bit of sense. She’d just had her boyfriend, fuck-buddy, whoever that ass was, accuse her of something she didn’t do, call her disgusting names, and then tell her she’d never get a job again. Anyone would be ruined by that.

Gemma seemed resilient though, if not a bit quiet, and by the time we were cruising around the bay on a boat full of Japanese tourists, she seemed to open up. Lighten up. It was like watching the sun come through the clouds.

Then I went and saw some dolphins jumping about and when I came back, it was like she had turned to ice. And as we get on the bus that will take us back to Mr. Orange, the ice only seems to thaw in Amber’s direction, not mine.

I can’t figure it out. I sit behind them on the bus, beside some young dude who keeps elbowing me and playing his headphones too loud. The drive back from Milford is actually just as stunning as the Sound. The mountains loom high overhead, there’s a fuck-ton of waterfalls we keep stopping at, and we pass through Homer Tunnel, which cuts through the ranges. We even see kea parrots hopping around at one of the waterfall car parks and trying to make off with a picnicker’s food.

It’s here, as most of the bus group goes to look at waterfall number one billion, that I pull Gemma aside. I can’t help it.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

She tugs out of my grasp, and from that alone I know she’s not. “I’ve been better, Josh.”

I bite my lip, wanting to ask her if it’s all because of what happened or if it’s something I did. But I let it go. She’s been through enough today and I don’t want to add to her problems.

“Well, if you need someone to talk to,” I say, but I know she won’t be turning to me. There’s this strange emptiness in her eyes that chills me. I remember everything she said last night. Her fears.

She walks back to the bus, uninterested in the waterfall and all the curious green parrots roaming the area, looking for handouts.

She’s uninterested in me.

I refuse to let that deter me, though. I’ve come this far. I’ve just got to take my time.

But I’m leaving in three weeks.

I don’t really have time.

We all get back on the coach and finish the rest of the route. It takes about four hours for us to finally reach Glenorchy where we left Mr.

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