CHAPTER TWO:
SEA CITY. BROTHERS. SISTERS. JORDAN.
(MALLORY)


There is no place in the world quite like Sea City.

Believe it or not, my family and I have been coming here every summer for fourteen years now. Ever since I was a toddler.

Did you ever have a growth chart when you were younger? We did. It hung on the back of our pantry door for as long as I can remember. Every six months or so, my dad would measure all of us and make a little note with our name and age, so that we could see how much we'd grown. My younger brothers and sisters always loved checking to see if they were taller than me when I was their age. (They usually were, so it doesn't really surprise me that the triplets are at least a head taller than me these days.)

In a way, Sea City has kind of been like a growth chart for us, too. We can look back on each year and see how much we've grown (and changed). The funny thing is, Sea City almost never changes. I think that's one of the reasons we like it so much. No matter how much everything else has changed in our lives...good old Sea City is always right here waiting for us, exactly the way we remember it from the year before.

We even rent the same house every year: a rambling, three-story, Victorian-style that overlooks the ocean. That's where I am right now, curled up on the porch swing, listening to the waves break...and writing.

I suppose, to some people, that doesn't sound like much of a way to spend a vacation. But to me, it's heaven.

"Margo, that's my bathing suit!" shrieked ten-year-old Claire. "Besides, it's too tight on you. You look like a..."

"Claire!" I protested, cutting her off. And not a moment too soon. She's been going through kind of a vulgar stage lately, and we're never quite sure what's going to come out of her mouth next. Last night, she told our waiter at Burger Garden (who happened to be this six-foot-tall guy wearing a mouse costume) that there better not be any "damn pickles" on her Crazy Burger this time. I could have died.

So much for heaven. With seven brothers and sisters, a moment of solitude is nothing short of a miracle.


What happened after that is still a blur.

The screen door crashed open, and out flew my mother, followed by fifteen-year-old Adam and thirteen-year-old Nicholas.

"Everybody, get in the car," she demanded, her voice wavering slightly. "We're taking your brother to the hospital."

I leaped out of the porch swing, my notebook all but forgotten for the time being. Claire and Margo stood, frozen, a few feet away. As the words started to sink in, I glanced around. Adam and Nick both looked fine, which left...Byron and Jordan. And Byron was getting ice cream with Vanessa...

"Mallory!" My mother's voice pulled me back out of my thoughts. "Vanessa and Byron should be back any minute, but we can't afford to wait around."

I nodded, feeling numb. "I'll stay he---"

"We'll call you as soon as we get there," she continued, and for a second I wondered if she'd even heard me. "The three of you can come up in your car, if you have to."

If you have to.

Jordan.

What happened to Jordan?