Ocean Pulse Chapter 4

 

Chapter 4: Uncharted Waters

The storm eventually passed, leaving the Neptune Star sailing through calmer seas. The crew returned to their regular routines, but for Troy, something had shifted. His body still ached from the seasickness that had wracked him the day before, but more than that, he couldn’t shake the lingering sensation of Jules’s steady presence beside him.

The next morning, Troy was in the engine room again, trying to focus on his tasks. The hum of the machinery filled the air, and the rhythmic thud of the engines reverberated beneath his feet. He was more prepared today, the ship’s motion less nauseating, though every once in a while, he caught himself swaying slightly as memories of the storm washed over him.

As Troy stepped out into the alleyway, a familiar voice called out from behind him.

"Feeling better, Cadet?"

Troy turned to see Jules, his expression relaxed, though there was a glint of concern—or perhaps curiosity—in his eyes. Jules always seemed so confident, so at ease aboard the ship. Troy had admired that, even if he hadn’t fully understood it.

"Yeah," Troy replied, wiping his brow. "Much better, thanks."

Jules gave a small nod, but his gaze lingered on Troy a little longer than usual. "Good. Yesterday was rough, but you made it through. That’s something."

There was warmth in his tone that caught Troy off guard. He wasn’t used to someone paying such close attention to him, especially not someone like Jules, who was always so composed. It made Troy feel... noticed.

"Just part of the job, right?" Troy tried to sound casual, but his heart sped up slightly under Jules’s steady gaze.

"True enough." Jules chuckled, leaning against the bulkhead. "But it doesn’t mean you have to go through it alone. We’re all in this together out here."

That statement hung in the air between them, weighted with an unspoken meaning that Troy couldn’t quite grasp yet. He nodded, unsure of what to say, but something about the way Jules was looking at him felt different. Jules wasn’t just checking in—there was a connection building, something uncharted and unfamiliar.

The day passed slowly, with both men crossing paths several times in the ship’s narrow corridors. Each encounter was brief, but charged with the same quiet tension. By the time their shifts were over, Troy found himself lingering inside his cabin, his thoughts swirling.

He wasn’t used to this kind of attention, wasn’t used to feeling like someone was watching out for him. And it wasn’t just anyone—it was Jules, the AB with the easy smile and steady hands. The one who had helped him through his first real storm. The one who seemed to understand things Troy couldn’t yet put into words.

Later that evening, as the ship sailed under a star-dotted sky, Troy wandered into the mess hall for a late dinner. He wasn’t surprised to see Jules sitting alone at a table, his meal half-finished, his gaze distant as if lost in thought.

“Mind if I sit?” Troy asked, trying to sound casual, though his heart raced in his chest.

Jules looked up, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Not at all.”

They ate in comfortable silence for a while, the ship’s low hum providing a steady background noise. It was a quiet, reflective moment, but there was something about being in each other’s presence that felt right.

“I was thinking,” Troy started after a while, his voice hesitant. “About what you said a few days ago. About not having to go through it alone.”

Jules’s eyes flicked toward him, his expression softening. “Yeah?”

Troy nodded, his hands resting on the table. “This life, it’s all so new to me. Sometimes, it feels like I’m out of my depth.”

Jules leaned forward slightly, his gaze locking onto Troy’s. “That’s normal, you know. We all felt like that once.”

“I know.” Troy smiled, a small, shy smile. “But it helps, knowing there’s someone like you around.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke, but the air between them buzzed with an energy neither could ignore. It was more than just camaraderie—it was something deeper, something neither of them had the words for yet.

Jules broke the silence first, his voice soft but steady. “We look out for each other out here, Troy. Always.”

Troy’s heart swelled at those words. There was something comforting, even intimate, in the way Jules said it. The connection between them, once unspoken, was starting to take shape, though neither of them was quite ready to define it yet.

As they sat there, the ocean stretched endlessly around them, the waves gently lapping against the hull. The storm had passed, but something new was brewing between them, something neither of them could deny for much longer.