Fate's Surrender (Eternal Sorrows Book 3) Sarra Cannon (best english books to read txt) 📖

his hands on Parrish's shoulders. “Maybe it's not such a bad idea,” he said. “It is a beautiful day, and we can’t really make any big decisions about the plan until we hear from David and Zoe.”

Parrish’s shoulders relaxed, and she smiled.

“Too bad I forgot my bikini,” she said, rolling her eyes. “But okay. I guess we can spare an hour or so for the beach this morning.”

A huge smile spread across Karmen's face. She grabbed the large beach bag she’d hidden by the couch and lifted it into the air.

“Don’t worry, I found bathing suits for all of us,” she said. “Let’s get changed.”

“Race you to the water!”

Karmen laughed as Noah and Crash ran toward the waves. The sun was bright overhead, glittering off the water for miles. She could almost close her eyes and pretend all was right with the world.

Maybe they were just friends, here on a fun, late-summer vacation at the beach. No virus. No Dark One or witches. Just fun in the sun with her best friend and a couple of hot guys.

Next to her, though, Parrish sighed and shook her head.

“Stop worrying,” Karmen said. “Just for one hour, try not to act like the weight of the entire world is on your shoulders. You've got to loosen up.”

“Not everyone is like you, Karmen.” Parrish dug her toes into the warm sand. “And I mean that in the best way. I wish I could just relax and have some fun for a change, but I can’t get New York out of my mind.”

“You know I wasn’t joking about the mental health thing,” she said. “If you spend all this time worried about what could go wrong in New York, you’re more likely to make a mistake or miss something important. But if you relax and just let loose for a while, you’ll think more clearly when it’s time to go. I promise.”

Parrish studied her.

“How do you know all that?” she asked.

Karmen laughed. “Years of therapy, I guess,” she said. “Maybe it wasn’t all money down the drain, after all.”

Her therapist had actually been really nice and very smart. The woman had known there was more going on at home than Karmen was willing to say, but her father had warned her that if she said a word about their special relationship, he’d tell everyone she was a habitual liar and have her put in some kind of institution.

Looking back on it now, she realized those were just empty threats.

He’d abused her for so long, he’d brainwashed her to believe that even if she spoke up, no one would believe her. That she would end up all alone and ridiculed if she said anything.

So, she kept her mouth shut, even in therapy.

But she’d learned that spending all your time worried or focused on the bad parts of your life only made things worse. Instead, it was better to make the most of the good things when they came.

And today, this morning by the beach, this was a good thing. And she wanted Parrish to enjoy it, too.

“Come on, let’s have some fun,” she said.

She grabbed Parrish’s arm and together they ran down to where the guys were splashing around in the waves. The water was colder than she expected, and she shrieked as it splashed against her legs. Crash laughed and grabbed her around the waist, lifting her high into the air

As the next wave came, he dove into it, carrying Karmen with him. They came up together, laughing and wiping salt water out of their faces.

“Come on, let's swim out past the breaking waves where the water is calmer. Maybe we can dig with our toes and find sand-dollars,” Karmen said, grabbing Parrish and pulling her along in the surf.

All these years, the two of them had been fighting and exchanging harsh words and ugly looks, but now, after all they’d been through together, Karmen was glad Parrish was the one she’d gotten to be with here at the end of the world.

Together, the four of them swam out past the point where the waves broke. Karmen could barely touch the bottom with the tips of her toes, but Crash held onto her, as if she belonged to him. Their bodies kept touching under water, and she had to admit, she didn’t hate it.

For half an hour, they jumped and swam out in the ocean, laughing and playing together like old friends without a care in the world. Karmen found a few shells she wanted to keep, and Crash slipped them into the pockets of his swim trunks.

Every once in a while, his arm would casually circle around her waist, sending shivers of excitement up her spine.

She wanted to stay just like this forever, and for a little while, she pretended that they would.

“Holy crap,” Crash said, pointing into the distance as his grip around her waist tightened. “Is that a ship?”

Karmen smoothed her wet hair away from her face and squinted into the distance. On the horizon, she could just barely make out the silhouette of a ship. At this range, it was hard to tell exactly how big it was, but she thought maybe it was a cruise ship or some kind of freighter.

“I have binoculars in my bag up on the beach,” Noah said, then started swimming back to shore.

By the time they all got back to the beach, the ship had already gotten closer, and from the looks of it, there was another one not too far behind it. Noah dug through his backpack and pulled out his binoculars.

“We thought we saw lights on the water last night from our balcony,” Parrish said. “Maybe it was these ships.”

“Do you see anyone on board?” Crash asked.

“It’s definitely a cruise ship,” Noah said. “A big one.”

“Maybe it’s a group of survivors,” Parrish said, but Karmen had a bad feeling about this.

Her stomach twisted, all good vibes of a day on the beach shifting to discomfort and fear.

“Come on. What are