Page 27 of Black Wave

“Oh, I don’t know. It looks like you have ants in your pants.”

“Ha! I hope not. What do you think about escorting me to the bathrooms? I need to pee, but I also don’t like that it’s so secluded over there and…” I gulp for effect. “Dark.”

“I’d be happy to escort you.” He reaches for my hand and swings it back and forth in a playful manner. “Come on. Let’s go.”

We walk hand-in-hand to the stalls, and I thank him before going in.

“Do you want me to wait here?” he asks. “I’ll give you some privacy.”

“Nope, no privacy needed,” I reply before stepping in. “Can you wait here?”

“Of course.” He smiles, and I close the door. After the longest pee of my life, I am thankful for the hand gel and somewhat cleanliness of the portable bathroom as the door loudly shutsbehind me. Jameson grabs my hand again, and we return to the crowd of partygoers.

Before we cut through the sand dune, Jameson stops and faces me. He looks at me intently, and I feel this longing that I thought was dormant for so long. My breath hitches as he places his hands on my cheeks. I look up at him as he moves closer to me. He stares down at me with desire. I swallow in anticipation of what he is going to do next.

He picks me up, and my legs go to wrap around him. I feel his thick, long erection on my stomach, and I gasp when I feel his cock twitch at the contact. He looks at me, with one arm around my ass, holding me up, and the other arm crossing my back. I lick my lips, and he smirks, moving in. Our lips touch, and he kisses me passionately. I open my mouth for him and… Nothing. I feel absolutely nothing.

Jameson must sense me withdrawing from the contact because he stops and looks at me. I remove my legs from around his hips and place them firmly on the ground. He touches his lips and then gives me a questioning look.

Not wanting to make him feel bad about the awkwardness of that kiss because maybe he felt more than I did, I clear my throat. “Umm, we should get back to the group. They will wonder where I am soon.” I look away from him and glance back toward the crowd that doesn’t seem to be wondering where I ran off to at all.

“Sure. I’ll walk you back.” He retakes my hand, and I let him. When we are back in a place where we are visible, I release his hand and pretend to be fixing my hair into another messy bun that probably looks just like it does now. I hope no one saw us leave and then return like this.

I notice Liv talking with Dax, looking our way. I don’t get to school my features because a scream penetrates the air and makes me look around. That’s when I hear, “Help! Someonehelp!” I see Liv and Dax jump up and take off, and Jameson and I run toward the source of the screaming.

I see Dax crouched over Brodie, lying limp and unconscious on the sand. Liv is hysterical, and Jameson and I are just trying to help somehow. Dax seems to take charge and asks if anyone called an ambulance.

“I called an ambulance as soon as it happened,” Ainsley reports.

“What’s the ETA of the ambulance?” I hear Dax bark out.

We hear the faint sound of sirens approaching and know that help isn’t far away. Soon, the paramedics are here and taking Brodie away on a backboard. He still hasn’t woken up, and I think Liv is in shock. The girls go to get her jeep and pack everything up quickly. Dax announces he is taking her to the hospital, yet Liv still doesn’t move. I see Dax stroking her face and telling her this isn’t her fault.

I look over at Jameson; he is already preparing the truck. I hand him Liv’s purse, and he takes it from me. He wants to say more to me, but now isn’t the time. Everyone quickly loads up to follow the ambulance that left about five minutes ago. I jump in the jeep along with Ainsley, Val, and Piper.

The drive to the hospital is quick and silent. No one wants to comment about what transpired or our thoughts about Brodie’s prognosis. We head into an emergency department similar to what we left not too long ago. Shortly after the CT scan revealed spinal cord compression, he underwent surgery. We all move to the surgical waiting room and await the results of Brodie’s surgery.

When the surgeon asks for Liv and tells her that Brodie is asking for her, she goes through the operating room doors without looking back. Dax, Jameson, and his other two friends stand up. Dax looks utterly defeated as he wipes his hand over his face. Jameson says something to him and pats his shoulder.They make their way toward the staircase, and Dax looks at the doors as if he expects Liv to come back through any second. Jameson grabs his arm and leads him out. He takes a moment to look around, and his gaze lingers on me. He smiles sadly and then turns to walk out the door with his friends in tow.

CHAPTER 15

Emma

It’s been eight weeks since the accident. The night at the beach where Brodie attempted to do a backflip, landed wrong, and the injury left him paralyzed. Liv has been there for Brodie through it all. From the night of the surgery to Brodie’s rehab and moving to Houston. He will live with his father and have full-time nursing care. Liv didn’t go to her graduation and has been a shell of herself since the night of the accident. She blames herself, and I understand, without a doubt, what that feels like. I try to get her to talk to me, to open up about her feelings. I feel like a fraud. Here I am, trying to get her to open up when I won’t do the same thing I am preaching about.

I should be taking my own advice, but I can’t tell her about my problems and how I feel the same way. Living with the crippling guilt daily is hard, just like putting on a mask of happiness. Where everyone thinks they have no care in the world. I’m just living in the moment and, currently, not feeling much of anything. I wish I could confide in Liv, but that would be selfish. To tell her what happened with Julian would put her in danger. No, I have no one to talk to and no one to blame but myself for the loss of everyone I loved. I won’t let him hurt anyone else just to ease my own conscience.

I finally get home after seeing Liv. She refused to let any of us stay with her, stating that she needed to be alone to process everything. After driving Liv’s jeep back to her apartment and then Ubering home, I feel exhausted as the day’s events weigh heavy on my mind.

I head to the shower to get the beach grit off my body. We tried to go to the beach, and it wasn’t the same. The girl loved the beach, as did I, but it was too hard. We even went to a different mile marker to not have to be in the same area where the accident occurred. I hope that she can go back there one day. There were so many happy memories there, until there weren’t. That one day changed it all for our small group of friends. I honestly just want to go to bed, but there is no way that I am getting sand all over the place.

I throw all my clothes in the hamper and jump into a cool shower. The tepid water feels good on my sensitive, sun-kissed skin. I don’t bother with blow-drying my hair and decide on some mousse to hold in the light wave. I can almost see the sun setting on the horizon.

I close all the apartment’s blinds, and the light-blocking window treatments are set to prevent the punishing rays from filling my bedroom until the sun sets around nine. I sigh in contentment as I pull the covers up to my head. I hear an incoming text message received on my phone as my mind shuts off. All my thoughts vanish, and I drift off into a deep sleep.

“Oh goodness,” I mumble as I stretch out my limbs. I slept solidly last night. “What time is it?” I rub my hand over my face and twist my body to glance at my Alice in Wonderland clock on the bedside dresser. My uncle had it commissioned for meas a present when I graduated from nursing school. It was and continues to be one of my favorite books. I notice I slept the morning away, which is now reading noon on the rabbit’s white-gloved hands. I lay in bed for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling and contemplating calling Liv to see how she is holding up, but then I think better of it.

I pick up my phone and see a text message from an unknown number. It is a video with a message underneath it.

---