Serene
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We've begun our descent into San Diego International Airport. Please make sure your seatbelts are securely fastened."
My voice carried evenly through the intercom, calm and professional, even as the city lights rose to meet us below. San Diego spread out beneath the plane like a quiet promise, warm, familiar, waiting. The engines eased into a lower hum as we descended, the aircraft responding smoothly beneath my hands.
"Nice job, Cap," Justine said from the co-pilot seat, her tone easy, approving.
I smiled without looking at her. After all these years, her praise still landed. Justine had flown beside me through turbulence, red-eyes, and emergencies. She knew my rhythms better than most people in my life.
"Thanks," I said. "Let's see if I can stick the landing."
She laughed softly. The sound filled the cockpit in that way that always made things feel lighter.
Once the plane was safely docked and the engines powered down, Justine glanced over at me with that familiar look, the one that meant she was about to pry.
"So," she said, dragging the word out. "Are you seeing Anthony tonight?"
I unbuckled my seatbelt and stretched, pretending not to hear the teasing edge in her voice. "Obviously."
Her grin widened. "Still hopelessly in love?"
I shook my head, smiling despite myself. "Unfortunately."
"Tell your surfer fiancé I say hi."
"I will. Assuming he's not too busy pretending he owns the ocean."
Justine leaned back in her seat, satisfied. "I'm happy for you, you know. Really."
I nodded, feeling that settle somewhere warm in my chest. Justine joked a lot, but when it mattered, she was sincere. She always had been.
As we gathered our things, my gaze drifted to my left hand. The ring caught the cabin light, throwing it back at me in a soft shimmer. I turned my hand slightly, watching it move.
Anthony's face flashed through my mind, his crooked smile, the way he'd gone quiet before proposing like he was afraid the moment might slip away if he spoke too fast.
"Don't do that," Justine said suddenly.
"Do what?"
"Stare at your ring like that. Makes the rest of us feel emotionally single."
I laughed. "You're dramatic."
"And alone," she added. "Very alone."
I bumped her shoulder. "You're stuck with me forever. Marriage doesn't dissolve friendships."
She smiled, softer this time. "Good."
We stepped off the plane and into the terminal, the warmth of San Diego wrapping around me instantly. It smelled like salt and jet fuel and something familiar I couldn't name. I pulled my phone out, already reaching for Anthony's contact.
I was smiling when the screen lit up.
An unknown number.
I hesitated.
Something in my chest tightened, sharp and sudden, but I brushed it off. Probably nothing. A spam call. A wrong number.
I answered anyway.
"Clarke speaking."
"Good evening, Miss Clarke. This is Officer Ramirez with the San Diego Police Department."
The world tilted.
"Yes," I said, though my voice sounded far away. "Why... why are you calling?"
"This is regarding Mr. Anthony Collins."
I stopped walking.
Justine took a few more steps before noticing. She turned back, frowning, and I lifted a hand, silently asking her to keep going.
"His yacht was found severely damaged earlier today," the officer continued. "Two individuals were rescued with serious injuries. Mr. Collins and another individual are currently missing."
Missing.
The word echoed in my head, hollow and loud.
"I don't understand," I said. "What do you mean missing?"
"There was a storm yesterday evening. According to witness statements, Mr. Collins entered the water attempting to assist someone who had been swept overboard. Neither resurfaced."
My legs felt weak. I leaned against the glass wall of the terminal, my hand slipping down until I was gripping my phone like it was the only thing keeping me upright.
"So... you're still looking for him?" I asked, clinging to that one word.
There was a pause.
"Yes, ma'am. But we believe he may have drowned."
I couldn't hear anything after that. The airport blurred into noise and movement, people passing me with luggage and laughter, with lives that hadn't just cracked open.
"Ms. Clarke?" the officer said. "We'll need you to come in to give a statement."
I nodded even though he couldn't see me. "Okay."
The call ended.
Justine was in front of me in seconds.
"Serene?" Her face changed when she saw me. "Hey, what happened?"
I tried to speak.
Nothing came out.
My knees buckled, and she caught me before I hit the floor, her arms wrapping around me as if she could physically hold the truth back.
"Anthony. They... They said he drowned," I finally whispered. "They think he's gone."
Her breath hitched. "No. No, they don't know that."
"They're still searching," I said, even as my chest burned. "But they think..."
She pulled me closer. "Okay. Okay. We're going to the station."
The police station felt too quiet, too still for something this loud. Officer Ramirez walked me through what they knew, storms, wreckage, statements. Words that sounded clinical and final.
"There's still a search underway," he said gently. "But I need you to understand the reality of the situation."
"No," I said. "You need to keep looking."
"We are."
"You can't stop," I pleaded. "You don't know him. He's strong. He wouldn't just... "
Ramirez met my gaze, steady and kind and devastatingly honest. "We'll continue for as long as protocol allows."
Protocol.
I left the station feeling hollowed out.
Outside, the night air felt colder than it should have. Justine guided me toward the car, her arm firm around my shoulders.
"You're not alone," she said quietly.
I nodded, though it didn't feel true.
As we drove, I stared out the window, half-expecting to see Anthony standing somewhere impossible, on a corner, by the ocean, waving like this had all been a mistake.
I pressed my hand over my ring.
I wasn't ready.
Not to believe it.
Not to accept it.
Not to say goodbye.
Not yet.