Escape from Mr. Whitman (Emma and Theodore) novel Chapter 470

The liquor was potent and went straight to her head. As a wave of warmth washed over her, Emma also felt a pleasant dizziness.

The upside was that the fuzziness chased away her fear.

After the meal, the crew packed up and went about their duties, leaving Emma and Theodore alone on the deck again.

Theodore had never seen Emma drink anything so strong. Her face was flushed bright red. "Are you okay? Are you drunk? Does your stomach hurt?"

She was already seasick; wouldn't drinking just make it worse?

Emma shook her head. She was a bit fuzzy, and of course she felt sick—she'd have felt sick with or without the alcohol. Maybe sleeping would help.

"Stay awake. Don't fall asleep." Theodore reached out as if to pat her cheek, but stopped himself. "Emma, open your eyes. Don't sleep."

"Can you just be quiet?" Emma mumbled, her eyelids heavy.

"Emma, if you fall asleep, I'm going to throw water on you!"

"Emma, wake up! If you're going to sleep, I'm leaving. You want me to leave you here all alone? Aren't you afraid of sea monsters?"

"I'm really leaving now."

She fluttered her eyes open, saw he was still there, and closed them again.

"I'm serious. Look behind you. Isn't that dark water creeping up onto the deck?"

"You're the coward!" Was her fear of the sea funny to him? Some people were afraid of heights, some of the dark, some were claustrophobic. She was afraid of the deep sea. When she watched *Titanic*, a movie that moved most people to tears, it had given her nightmares for weeks. She'd dreamt she was alone on a tiny, broken boat in the middle of the vast, dark ocean at night, with no land in sight—only darkness and monstrous waves threatening to swallow her whole.

"What's wrong?" Theodore sensed her reaction was a little extreme.

Emma knew she wasn't being entirely rational, but maybe the alcohol was amplifying her anger, magnifying all the resentments buried deep inside her. Words she had never spoken before began to tumble out uncontrollably. "Yes, I'm a coward. I'm timid, and I'm scared. Are you happy? A lot of people find the ocean beautiful, and I don't deny that it is, but I'm terrified of it. That's why I never, ever planned a trip to an island. But you? All you ever wanted to do was go on some island vacation, right?"

Theodore froze, staring at the dark sea behind her for a long moment. "You're afraid of the sea? Why did you never tell me?"

"Yeah, I was stupid. I didn't say anything. I even tried to convince myself that maybe one day I could go with you, that as long as you were by my side, I wouldn't have to be afraid of anything." Emma glared at him. "Who knew you'd turn out to be the most dangerous thing of all! It's a good thing I never went with you. You probably would have thrown me overboard at some point!"

A storm of emotions crossed Theodore's face.