What Happened In Paradise?

First Visit: Nights at The Inn

Maxwell tosses and turns in the bed, the memory of Stephanie on his mind. All the things he wished he had said to her. If he had told her the truth, years ago, it wouldn’t have been her and Brian on the beach. It would have been him and her. He could have saved her...Or he would be the one missing alongside her. That thought provides him temporary relief. At least he would have known what had happened to her. There is comfort in knowledge.

His eyelids are finally heavy. Just as he is about to drift off to sleep, there is a crash in the bathroom adjacent to his room. The mirror has fallen off the wall over the sink. The glass has completely shattered, all that remains are thin shards of glass and the golden frame the glass was in. He sweeps up and disposes of the puddle of glass at his feet, surprised that the shards weren’t flung across the floor. He takes a small washcloth and tries to collect the pieces in the sink. A shard of glass finds its way into the heel of his palm. Blood flows; a large red dot develops then spreads out across the white rag. He runs his bloody hand under the tap. Bloody water swirls down the sink, taking pieces of glass with it. He reaches for another washcloth, presses it into his hand. The water from the pipe is now as red as his blood.

Maxwell backs away from the sink; he bumps into the door. At the moment his head collides with the wooden door, he hears a scream. The sound is coming from the direction of Jess and Adam’s room, but the voice sounds like Stephanie's. He races from his room to the room where his friends are sleeping. He kicks the door in. He gasps for air, chokes on air that smells like hydrogen sulfide. The smell of rotten eggs exudes from the walls.

The bed is empty. Not again.

“What are you doing?” Adam is behind him. Maxwell drops the bloody cloth and throws his arms around Adam. Jess lingers in the hall behind Adam.

“What’s wrong with you?” Adam pushes him off. “What did you do to the room?”

“I heard a scream.”

“So you kicked the door in?” Adam examines the bloody spot on his sleeve. “You’re bleeding.”

“Broken glass,” Maxwell reveals his open palm. Blood still pulses from it. He tightens his fist. “You weren’t there...in the room. I was worried.”

“You kicked the door in.” Jess studies the broken knob.

“I heard a scream. What happened to you? Where are you guys coming from?”

Adam folds his arms. “Who’s paying for the door?”

Maxwell has the urge to remind him that he almost killed a woman. Without Brian around to absorb all Maxwell’s annoyance and irritation, Maxwell’s learning how insufferable Adam can be.

“I heard a scream. Why weren’t you in the room?”

“They moved us,” Jess says. “The smell is too much.”

“Why were you screaming?” Adam asks.

“I wasn’t screaming,” Maxwell says, irritation mounting. “I ran out because I heard a noise.”

Maxwell sighs, rests his back on the loose door jamb. “It sounded like her scream.”

“You’re losing it,” Adam says. “Nobody screamed. We’re going to find Stephanie. The soldiers say they’ll help us search tomorrow.”

Maxwell straightens, stares into Adam’s eyes. “There is something off with this place. There’s something off about them. Police running a bed and breakfast...Does that make sense?”

“What doesn’t make sense…” Adam steps forward. “....is you bringing us to this damn island in the first place. At least we’re safer here...with them.”

“Now you trust the police?” Maxwell scoffs. “This is rich.”

“No. I don’t. But I wasn’t going to sit around and wait for that woman to butcher me. And if we’re here, we can put pressure on them to search for Brian and Steph.”

“Max...well,” Jess interjects. “You’re bleeding.” She points to the white carpet where drops of his blood have collected. It resembles a blood spot in snow. White. Such an impractical colour for a high traffic area.

“I guess that will be added to our bill as well,” Adam says.

“Stop!” Jess demands. “Let’s go, Maxwell. I’ll help you clean up.” Jess leads Maxwell to the room she shares with Adam; she retrieves the medicine kit from her luggage, then leads Maxwell back to his room.

***

Jess leads Maxwell to the bathroom. No longer red, the water now has a tinge of brown.

“A little dirty,” Jess says, “but it doesn’t look like blood.”

Maxwell turns the tap off. “It was darker before.” He shrugs, trying to make light of the situation. He doesn’t want Jess to think he’s losing it.

“It’s a pretty old place. They need to change the plumbing. And get rid of whatever is rotting in that room.” Jess points out the door. She turns the tap back on. “Let’s clean that wound.” The water runs clear; Maxwell turns the tap off again. “I’ll take my chances with the germs I know.”

Jess uses a washcloth to wipe away the excess blood, then bandages the hand with items from her medicine kit. The washcloth - red with blood - she drops in the bin.

“That will be added on to our bill as well,” Maxwell says. They both laugh.

“It’s hard for him. It’s hard on all of us. I don't know what I’m going to tell Steph’s mom. I’m almost glad my cell phone isn’t working.”

“You think they’re…”

Jess nods. “We can stay as long as you want, so you can have answers, so we can all have some closure. But-”

“You think they’re gone?”

Jess nods again. She reaches for his hand. “I know why this is so hard on you. I wish you’d told her. This may not be the right time, but she felt the same.”

“She told you that? If she knew, why didn’t she say something?”

“She figured if your feelings were strong enough, you would have told her.”

Maxwell shakes his head.

“They had to be strong enough to be worth destroying friendships.”

“I knew her first.”

“Maxwell, you can’t call dibs on a person.”

“No…” Maxwell shakes his head. “That’s not what I mean. Brian knew I had feelings for her.”

“But you didn’t tell her”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Jess sighs. “Brian was an asshole but I loved him too. I know you guys think I hover, meddle, and try to mother all of you. I couldn’t meddle in this.”

Maxwell buries his face in his hands.

“You guys were right for each other in the ways she and Brian weren’t. But you had to see that and want that for yourselves. You had to take the risks. Why do you think I was so hard on you sometimes? I couldn’t meddle but I tried to nudge.” Jess chuckles; there is no joy in the laugh.

Maxwell begins to sob. Jess throws her hand across his shoulder, pulls him to her. “I hope I’m wrong. I hope they’re just lost and we’ll find them. And this will be a funny story we tell each other on other holiday trips.”

Jess’ body shakes; something warm and wet slides across Maxwell’s neck.