𝗠𝘆 𝗘𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 ⇉ 𝗝𝗝 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸

Daddy's Little Girl

Ariella parked the HMS, her heart pounding in her chest as she crept over to the boat, careful not to make a sound. She glanced over at her family, their faces lit up with smiles as if this was just another normal day.

The sight made her stomach churn. Of course, she and Rafe were the only ones missing. She rolled her eyes, trying to push down the resentment, and quietly opened the boat, searching for the scuba gear.

She knew exactly where to look. Opening the closet, she smiled in relief as she saw everything she needed was there. Ari slipped the keys into her back pocket, then quickly stuffed the gear into a duffel bag and made her way out of the boat.

"Oh! Hey." Sarah's voice broke the silence, catching Ari off guard. "I didn't see you come in last night."

"I decided to sleep over at John's again." Ari replied, her tone casual but her words heavy with unspoken tension. "Since I was coming here anyway, I thought I'd drop off the tanks. Plus, I didn't want to face you and end up beating up Topper again." She walked down the boat, placing the tanks where they belonged and loading three onto the boat, unsure of how full they were.

"You know...I miss my twin." Sarah said, her voice soft and sincere.

"I miss you too, Sarah." Ari admitted, her voice wavering. "But you know perfectly well why we aren't as close anymore."

She jumped back onto her boat, the distance between them feeling more like a chasm.

"Dad just wants the best for you," Sarah sighed, trying to bridge the gap.

"When are you going to understand that Dad doesn't give a shit about me?" Ari snapped, her voice breaking with emotion. "You've always been the better twin, Sarah. Dad has slowly been destroying my life, making sure I'm not seen. You can't help but follow through. The only one in the family who really made me feel wanted is Rafe. I'm done playing daddy's little girl, Sarah, and you should be too."

With that, Ari started the engine and sped away, leaving the painful conversation and her sister behind.

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧.𖡼

"Okay, this one's a quarter full. It's enough for one of us." Kie said, her voice tinged with frustration as she inspected the tank.

"Love it when a plan comes together." Pope muttered, his sarcasm barely masking his own anxiety.

"Does anybody know how to dive?" All eyes shifted between Ari and John B, the unspoken question hanging heavy in the air.

Ari and John B exchanged a tense glance before breaking into a quick game of rock, paper, scissors. Ari threw down scissors, John B threw down paper. Ari's heart pounded with relief as she won.

"Thank god." Ari sighed, the weight of the situation momentarily lifting off her shoulders.

"I guess I'm doing it." John B said, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

"Let me do some calculations real quick." Pope said, standing up and pulling out a notepad.

"You serious?" Kie looked incredulously at John B and Ari, who just shrugged in unison.

"That boat's about 30 feet down. So it'll take 25 minutes at that depth. Which means you need to make your safety stop at about... ten feet. All right? For two minutes." Pope explained, his voice steady despite the tension.

"Yeah, yeah. Ten feet. Two minutes. Got it." John B nodded, his resolve firming up.

"JB, I'll do it if you want me to. It's okay." Ariella offered, her voice soft but earnest.