I held Beth tighter against me, the salt in the air stinging the cut on my face. “It’s okay, Little Bit. Everything’s going to be okay.”

It was a total and complete lie. But I had nothing to give my sister other than hopeful untruths. I’d heard somewhere that you could live at least a week without water. I was holding on to that fact. But something else was wrong with Beth. She’d been wheezing from the moment I pulled her into the life raft. I’d thought it was hysteria. The knowledge that we hadn’t been able to find our parents in the wreckage of the boat. But now I knew it was more.

“So tired.”

“No! You can’t sleep. Not yet.” I was scared that if Beth’s eyes closed, they’d never open again.

“Hurts when I breathe.”

Fuck. It had to be something with her lungs. Maybe one was collapsed? A friend on my soccer team had that happen. He’d had to have it reinflated at the hospital, and it was pretty damn serious.

The beat of my heart seemed to rattle against my ribs in a desperate plea for help. But I had no radio. No idea where we were. Not even a damn compass to point me in the right direction. All I had were my silent prayers.

“Love you, Griff.”

Emotion burned the back of my throat. “Don’t talk like that. I bet we’re not that far from Hawaii. The coast guard is probably looking for us. Mom got off a mayday call before the boat started taking on water.”

But between then and now, a storm had blown us God knew where. The sailboat had flipped, and Mom and Dad were gone. The ocean was miraculously quiet now. Too quiet. The silence ate away at my sanity. I held Beth’s hand a little tighter. “Just hold on. Help’s coming.”

Her cracked lips curved the slightest bit. “Such a good big brother. Even played dolls with me when I begged.”

“Hey. You promised never to bring that up. It’s our secret.”

Beth blinked against the sun. “I don’t think the fish are going to tell.”

I chuckled in spite of everything. “If word gets back to my team, I know who I’m going to blame.” My team. School. College visits. Junior prom. It all seemed like a ridiculous world away. I’d been so caught up in all of it. And now, all I cared about was getting Beth and myself to safety.

Beth’s wheezing intensified, and I leaned over her prone body. “Little Bit, just breathe. Slow and steady. Follow me.”