"What do you want to do now?" Liam asked Cristiana on their way out of the theater.
"Let's go outside and get some fresh air," she responded, grabbing his hand. "This time, we're sticking together."
The elevator took them up to the seventeenth floor, and they walked through a set of automatic doors to get outside.
They were greeted by cold wind and a pitch black sky.
"It must be cloudy up there," Liam said. "I wish we could see the stars."
"Yeah, that would be nice." Cristiana shivered as they went up the stairs. They reached the railing, and she looked over. "Ugh. That's scary," she said, watching the dark waves rolling by the side of the boat, illuminated only by the cruise ship's lights.
She turned around and Liam was staring at her.
"Cris…."
"What is it?" She asked.
He looked down, a tear falling from his left cheek. "Listen, I know when you're lying. When I asked you about your deepest secret…you didn't tell me the truth. What are you hiding from me?"
Cristiana frowned. "Hiding? I'm not hiding anything."
"Another lie. Cris…all you've done since we've been on this ship is lie. I want the truth now. Did you cheat on me?"
Cristiana scoffed. "Where is this coming from? You have no evidence of that. Cheat on you? I would never stoop to that level. I can't even believe you'd think that of me."
Liam shook his head. "I don't believe you. I'm sorry, but I don't. When you're ready to tell me your secret, I'll be all ears. I'll support you no matter what. But you have to tell me the truth. Please."
"There's nothing for me to tell you. Go get a beer or something," Cristiana said, waving him away. "Leave me alone."
And he was gone, without another word, leaving Cristiana to watch the water by herself. As soon as she could no longer hear his footsteps, her body began to shake.
She took a deep breath. Liam was right, she was hiding something from him. But she couldn't bear to tell him about what she had done, so many years ago. She hadn't thought about the incident in so long, but now the memories were racing in her mind. A pang of immense guilt washed over her. She felt sick.
Taking a deep breath, Cristiana began to walk. She wanted to take her mind off it all. She would explore the ship, see some floors that she hadn't been to yet.
Stepping into the elevator, she pressed the button for the top level.
"Level 22," said the voice, and the doors slid open.
She made her way out onto the deck, where the wind seemed to be blowing even faster. The floor was covered with fake grass, and there were metal chairs and tables set up all along the railings. On a warm, sunny day, it would probably be a nice place to relax.
Cristiana walked toward the bow, where a man was leaning over the railing looking out at the blackness of the night. He wore only a pair of shorts and a tank top, as if he'd just rolled out of bed.
As she walked past him, she heard the man crying quietly, whispering words to himself.
"Are you okay?" She asked, stepping toward him.
The man spun around, his eyes wide with shock. "Leave me alone. It's none of your business!"
Cristiana frowned. "Wait…I know you. Your name is Jack, isn't it? You were just on that Deepest Secrets show like twenty minutes ago."
Jack squeezed the handrail. "That's me. I'm Jackie's husband," he said, his voice filled with disgust.
"Nice to meet you," she said, extending her hand. "I'm Cristiana."
He turned away. "Leave me alone. I'm serious."
"Alright, damn," she said, dropping her hand. Turning, she continued to the other side of the ship. Something was off. Glancing back, Cristiana saw that Jack had slowly followed behind her. "Hey! What's wrong with you? I'm leaving you alone. Don't follow me!"
Jack's whole body was shaking, and he stumbled as the wind blew across the deck. "Sorry you have to see this."
He ran, pushing past Cristiana. She spun around, watching as he launched himself over the railing.