Chapter 9

He had the nerve to smile at her.

Jane wanted to smack his beautiful face. She watched him climb the wooden stairs without saying a word. It was their first meeting since yesterday at the beach, after she'd stormed off. Mrs. Rose had delivered her dinner to her room per her request last evening and this morning, he'd left before she could catch him. There was a giddy feeling in her chest when she noticed he'd seen her, though there was also something else she refused to acknowledge. Why wasn't he with his new girlfriend?

"Woah." His eyes darted up and down her scantily clad form, particularly resting on her chest area. She didn't blame him. How do one give a child a piece of candy and ask him not to suck on it? She was going to throw the stupid thing in the trash the minute she got to her room. "Nice."

She gave him a look, deciding to keep quiet. Why was she pissed about him talking to a girl? She didn't care, she assured herself. He was an ass and she was terribly sorry for the unfortunate woman he'd one day end up with.

"I see you got Tower 1. Me too."

Still not saying a word, her eyes found the blonde he'd been too chatty with. She had legs that seemed to go on forever. Her skin was tan; she was probably in the sun much. The girl probably went from beach to beach looking for hot men to flirt with. Her swimsuit was a dull, almost faded yellow which didn't really do much for her skin tone. She was thin and narrow like a model and her teeth were white. Jane though it was probably the only striking thing about her features.

"Jane? Is something wrong?"

She finally turned her gaze to his. "No."

Sebastian licked his lips. "If this is about yesterday, I'm really sorry. I didn't—"

"There's nothing wrong. Stop apologizing." She interjected, wanting to change the subject. When she'd woken, she'd wanted to talk to him. Now, all of a sudden, she was angry?

There was no time for him to reply because a young man started yelling at them from below, waving his arms frantically. It must have been an emergency because before she could understand what was happening, Sebastian had already disappeared from her side and was standing next to the man, trying to get him to calm down.

Jane hurried down the tower just in time to hear him say the words, "I can't find my little sister."

"Calm down sir. Try to catch your breath." Sebastian was saying. "What do you mean you can't find your sister? Where did you last see her?"

"I don't know." He breathed, a shaky hand grabbing his hair. "She was sitting on the sand the last time I looked in her direction and then she wasn't. Please help me. I would die if anything happened to her."

Sebastian immediately moved, guiding the man along. Jane mindlessly followed trailed behind them, listening to their conversation as her eyes darted around to find a small child fitting the man's descriptions.

The crowd was ridiculous; it was easy to get lost in it. Jane envisioned a little girl in the midst of strangers, crying, too afraid to utter a word. Her heart sank. Her eyes were searching and her ears were listening. There were people everywhere; some were lying on towels under umbrellas, carelessly lounging on the sand while some were playing in the water. Soon enough, they'd covered the area surrounding Tower 2 and were moving to the Tower 3.

"Oh my God," The young man heaved out. His breaths were coming out in small, short pants and the hand in his hair never lowered. "I've gone and done it again."

Again?

"You mean you've lost her before?" Sebastian asked before she could.

"Yeah," He answered, his eyes roaming around. "I mean, she's always running off on her own to do God knows what. I thought she'd stopped that. Oh, God."

Sebastian looked angry in all honesty. Jane didn't even know what to feel. He'd lost a child and it wasn't even the first time. She could be anywhere, for God's sakes. There was every possibility that they wouldn't find her, at least not by just looking. They might have to alert everyone; the lifeguards, the townspeople, the—"

"There she is!"

The man ran towards what Jane recognized as a small beach bar and she watched as he embraced a young girl tightly. The worry in his face gave way to relief, a small smile gracing his features. Really, how many times had this happened?

"This is your sister?" Sebastian asked, eyeing the girl. "She doesn't look like a child."

"She's thirteen and has very well taken ten years off my life." The man directed the last line to his sister who rolled her eyes at him.

"I only wanted a drink and you were in the water. I was gonna come back but I got distracted. I'm sorry I made you worry."

She wasn't a child, alright. At least, not exactly. Jane studied her. She had dark blonde hair and her eyes were the most startling green. She was thin but tall for a girl her age and could easily be mistaken for a fifteen-year-old.

"Next time, keep a better eye on her. It's a beach. Not a really safe space for little girls." Sebastian said, making to leave. Jane thought he was acting weird because he hadn't even shown relief at finding the girl. He just looked exasperated.

"I will, thank you," the man said, stretching a hand out. "I'm Harry, and this is Stephanie. We are just visiting the town for a bit."

Reluctantly, Sebastian shook the outstretched hand. "Sebastian."

When Harry's gaze rested on her, she said, "Jane."

"Take care of her, and I hope you enjoy your stay."

"We will, thanks."