Chapter 6: Confrontation

Griffin slipped back onto the Northwestern, trying to be as quiet as he could. He glanced around the deck and slowly crept over to the galley door, wincing at every creak and groan the boat made. He sighed with relief when he opened the door…it was dead silent aside from Matt's snoring.

Just as Griffin relaxed, the lights turned on in the galley and Edgar rounded the corner, his arms folded across his chest and not looking very pleased.

Griffin jumped and whirled around in surprise.

"Edgar?" he asked, trying to control his breathing, "Jeez you scared the hell out of me!"

Edgar frowned at Griffin as he leaned against the doorway.

"Where've you been?" he asked, suspicion in his eyes.

Griffin looked startled at that question. He glanced away awkwardly and mumbled.

"I was…just out for a walk."

Edgar sneered and rolled his eyes.

"You're a horrible liar, kid."

Griffin glanced up at him with a nervous look in his eyes.

"Yeah…that's what everyone keeps telling me," he replied quietly.

Edgar studied Griffin for a moment and sighed, shaking his head.

"You gotta stay away from her Griff," he said in an understanding voice, "I know she's pretty and I know she's nice, but you can't be hanging around…"

Edgar caught himself as he remembered getting caught talking with Chris on her boat a couple days ago. Griffin obviously remembered the event too as he shot a glare at Edgar.

"Okay…we both need to stay away from her and her boat, okay?" he said quietly, "We don't need to cause any excess problems. We're dealing with enough as it is."

Griffin sneered, "We're not dealing with anything," he said angrily, "Apparently we just pretend nothing happened and move on with life."

"Griff…"

"No! I don't want to hear it!" he shouted, growing angrier by the minute, "No one on this boat talks about it…its like Jake just disappeared and no one gives a damn!"

"That's not true and you know it!" snarled Edgar quietly as he felt a wave of emotion hit him. He and Jake had been particularly close and it had nearly destroyed him when Jake died.

"Really?" retorted Griffin, "Well if it isn't why doesn't anybody talk about it?"

"I…I don't know," muttered Edgar as he ran a hand through his hair, his eyes reflecting his despair.

Griffin shook his head and sneered.

"Well since no one else wants to talk about it, I talk to Chris about it! She actually listens to me and she actually cares!"

"Griffin we do care," insisted Edgar, "Stop being like this! You know that we all…"

"What the hell is going on out here?" snarled a very irate Sig Hansen as he opened his stateroom door.

Edgar fell silent and shot Griffin a panicked look. Sig saw the look in his brother's eyes and whirled around to face Griffin.

"Where have you been?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at his son.

Griffin swallowed nervously but glared back defiantly.

"Talking to…"

He hesitated when he saw Edgar shaking his head like a mad man and running a hand across his throat, mouthing the word "no" over and over again.

"Talking to who?" asked Sig darkly as he suddenly realized who it must be.

"…to Chris."

Sig's eyes flashed angrily and his body tensed up instantly.

"Oh really?" he said in a low voice.

Edgar put his head in his hands and peered in-between his fingers to see what his oldest brother's reaction was going to be.

"Yeah…I felt like talking about what happened to Jake," he said, fidgeting.

Sig's eyes reflected a myriad of emotions and he hesitated for a moment before he replied.

"I thought I told you to stay away from her?" he hissed.

Griffin threw his hands into the air in exasperation.

"See? See? This is why I went to talk with her!" he exclaimed, "You didn't even acknowledge the fact that I talked about Jake…you skipped that entirely and went right into getting upset about me hanging out with Chris!"

"You two are on a first name basis now?" snarled Sig angrily.

Griffin gave him a disbelieving and exasperated glare.

"You can't be serious!" he shouted, "You know what I think? I think you're being so obnoxious about Chris because it takes your mind off Jake! Well guess what Dad? Jake is gone and we're eventually going to have to come to terms with that!"

Sig's face fell instantly and he looked like he had aged another ten years. He ran a hand through his hair and turned around to go back into his room, not saying another word to his son or his brother. He slammed the door and leaned against it, trying to calm down the emotion that threatened to overwhelm him.

Edgar frowned at Griffin.

"Well that went over well," he said coldly, "Next time, kid…think before you speak. Did it not cross your mind that some of us are having a harder time dealing with this than you realize? Jake…Jake was my best friend…and he and Sig had a close relationship too. So…in the future, keep your mouth shut."

Edgar stormed past him as he too felt a wave of emotion hit him, leaving a stunned and upset Griffin standing in the hallway by himself…

Chris woke up early the next morning and walked down into the galley. She heard the snores of her crew as they slept the morning away in their bunks. She smirked, knowing that the partying last night must have lasted longer than usual. She was glad she never really entered that lifestyle. Despite growing up in a fishing community, she never was really into the party scene. She was more of a loner, too independent to feel comfortable in the rowdy party scene.

She sighed as she made some coffee and made her way up to her wheelhouse. Just as she sat down in her chair and relaxed, the phone rang.

She picked it up, wondering who in the world would possibly be calling at this time of day.

"Hello?"

"Hey Chris!" shouted an excited female voice.

Chris' eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the voice.

"Madison?" she asked, surprised that her older sister would be calling her.

"Yeah, you remember me don't you? Your big sis?" laughed Madison.

"Yeah…yeah of course I do! What's up?" she asked as she rubbed her tired eyes.

"Well…I got the best news!"

Chris smirked, "And what would that amazing news be?"

"I got a job!"

"Oh Madison that's awesome!" exclaimed Chris.

Her sister had been let go from her last job when the company started having serious economic problems. For the past year she had been struggling, taking on small temporary jobs while she searched for one that would pay enough to take care of the bills.

"And you're never going to guess where it is!" she squealed.

Chris laughed at her sister's enthusiasm, "Where?"

"The Elbow Room!"

Chris froze instantly. She gaped in surprise and her eyes grew wide with disbelief.

"Chris? You still there?"

"Huh? Oh…yeah, I'm here," stammered Chris, "The Elbow Room? As in the Dutch Harbor Elbow 

Room?"

"Is there any other?" asked Madison, uncertainty in her voice, "Is everything okay?"

"Um…yeah, yeah that's great Mad! I'm proud of you," said Chris, faking her excitement.

"Aw, thanks Chris! I'll be there by tonight! You should bring the crew in…I want to meet them!"

Chris ran a hand through her hair, not sure exactly how to react.

"Um, yeah…yeah that'd be great!"

"Awesome! Alright, I'll see you later sis!"

After Chris hung up the phone, she put her head in her hands and shook her head.

"This isn't happening," she muttered.

The thought of her sister working in the place where every captain and crew member went to eat and party made her a nervous wreck. They had already made their opinions well-known regarding her and her crew, and now her sister was about to start working in the Elbow Room.

Chris sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"This can't be good…this just can't end well…"

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