Fatal Vows

Chapter 1

Like many other travels of mine, I desperately want to go home.

I've never enjoyed the thought of weddings. On occasion, I get misty for the couple, but standing awkwardly in a corner for hours isn't exactly my favorite pastime. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for my uncle, despite how little I see him, but still, it's a wedding.

My sandy hair blows in my face as the salty sea air coils around me. Besides the wedding, a two-week stay in Hawaii doesn't seem half bad. Plus, a three-day cruise to get there. Even if I end up sulking around the ballroom, I always have Ryder. We've been friends since we learned to talk, though we've never gone to the same school. Still, thinking of another wedding to attend puts an uncomfortable pit in my stomach. I continue to look out at the vast ocean and its calming waves, fiddling with my broken locket, the only thing left of my dead father.

I hear footsteps from the deck behind me. I turn to see Ryder and another boy I don't recognize.

"Hey, Elena," Ryder says as he walks up to me, the sun reflecting off his dark hair. "Have you seriously been sitting out here the whole time?" he asks with a crooked smile.

"Can't let all this vitamin D go to waste, can we?" I respond gesturing at the sky.

He chuckles at that, scrunching up his freckled nose. "Guess not. Oh, this is Daylon," he waves a hand at the tall boy next to him, "we were best friends in middle school and he's the..." he thinks for a moment.

"Second cousin," Daylon responds with a smile and a British accent.

"Yeah, the second cousin of the bride," Ryder lets out a laugh. "Anyway, we've just been catching up, he's been living in England for a while now. He moved at the end of eighth grade, though I can't seem to remember very much."

Daylon extends a hand toward me. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Elena," he says with a wink. I can't help but blush a little as I shake his hand. His eyes linger on my necklace.

"You, too, Sir Daylon," I say with a smirk. He smiles as he takes his hand back.

He points at me. "I like this one," he says to Ryder.

Ryder shrugs, "Hard not to." I give him a doubtful look. Daylon chuckles, his eyes crinkling as he smiles. I grin with him.

Ryder digs his phone out of his back pocket and lets out a long sigh, "Well, my mom wants some help with who knows what now," he shakes his head in sarcastic disappointment, "so, duty calls, I guess. See you 'round, Elena," He turns and starts to jog inside.

Daylon watches him as he leaves, then turns to me. "He's told me a lot about you."

"Oh really," I say with a sly grin.

He chuckles, his dark eyes flicking to his feet. "Feel free to hang out with us sometime, you seem pretty chill," he shrugs, "I might as well make sure he doesn't mess around with the staff or something, bye for now." He gives a small wave as he follows his old friend into the main part of the ship.

I shift on the lounge chair to face the blue expanse again. Damn, he's a charmer, my mind whispers, and I roll my eyes at myself. There's a reason why you've been single your whole life, I think. Despite the thoughts pouring through my brain, I smile a little. Maybe this wedding will be different.

***

"Here we are, ladies and gentlemen! Honolulu Harbor, Hawaii! The current time is three sixteen in the afternoon..."