Willa is still standing beside the slot machine as Taylor walks away. She moves toward the exit quickly, trying hard not to break into a run, trying not to draw attention to herself. Taylor doesn’t stop until she is out in the warmth of the summer evening, down the boardwalk. She goes into a souvenir shop to buy a bottle of water. Despite the icy chill of the casino, her underarms are sweaty and her heart rate has not returned to normal.

Along the boardwalk, the lights are starting to come up as the day fades into night. The amusement park rides are outlined in light and Taylor thinks about how pretty the grand carousel will look in the dark. Alone, she walks down to the Steel Pier and buys a ticket.

Taylor climbs the stairs to the carousel’s upper deck and chooses a brown horse with a black flowing mane and a saddle painted with flowers. The carousel begins to turn, and with each revolution, the foolishness of the casino recedes, until Taylor feels more like herself again.

The ride slows to a halt and Taylor leaves the Steel Pier, backtracking for her bike. She wonders if she will always be the boring friend, if she’s immature for preferring carousels to illegal gambling. Except today wasn’t boring. They were having fun until they went to the casino and Willa turned into someone Taylor didn’t recognize.

She arrives at the marina to find Willa’s bike lashed to the bow of the sailboat. The engine is running, the mainsail cover has been removed, and the winch handles are tucked in their pockets in the cockpit—all things they do when they’re preparing to leave.

“Were you going to leave without me?” Taylor demands as Willa comes up from the cabin.

“Of course not.”

Taylor maneuvers her bike aboard. “What happened at the casino?”

“Nothing,” Willa says. “When you’re done stowing your bike, would you untie the spring line, please.”

“The police aren’t after you, are they?”

“Don’t be dense.”

Taylor has so many questions, but Willa is coiled so tightly she looks like she might explode. Taylor secures her bike to the lifelines, then goes back to untie the rope that connects the middle of the boat to the dock. “Where are we going?”

“Away from here.”

“What happened to the boys?”

“Could you get the bow line now?”

“Are you mad at me for leaving the casino?”

“God, Taylor, is it not obvious that I don’t want to talk about this right now?” Willa shouts. “I just want to get the hell out of this place!”

Taylor scurries up on deck and removes the bow line. Willa backs the boat slowly out of the dock. With a cloud of weirdness hanging over the boat, they motor silently down the Absecon Inlet. Past the breakwall. Out into the dark ocean.

Willa