Page 111 of Under the Waves
“Hey, Belle, do you think you could take this up to Daniel for me?” I asked, to which she nodded enthusiastically nearly a hundred times.
“Yes! I can definitely do that!” she beamed up at me. Handing over the box, she thanked me again before disappearing up the steps just as Lia reached me.
“Are you okay?” I asked her as she paused for a moment, catching her breath.
“It’s,” she dry heaved, swallowing down gulps of air like she was starved of it. “It’s Jasper.”
My stomach instantly dropped as a sense of dread overcame me.
“What happened to Jasper? Is he okay?” I tripped over my words, desperate to get them out.
“No one can find him and the guys have a qualifying heat in ten minutes and Jak won’t calm down and I don’t know what to do and…we need your help, Poppy.”
“Yes,” I said almost immediately. “I’ll help, yes.”
We walked over to where the others were searching for Jasper, the beach starting to fill up with spectators and surfers from other states. My mind was too busy overthinking every worst possible scenario to eventhinkabout engaging in small talk, and I think Lia was facing the exact same battle from the pure look in her eyes alone.
Except, she surprised me when she broke the silence between us first.
“Whenever I feel like the world is trying to swallow me whole,” Lia whispered, voice thick and heavy, “I repeat to myself,my name is Lia Davis and I am a fighter,over and over again until the world doesn’t seem so dark anymore.” She paused, doe-like eyes sliding over to me. “He’ll be okay, Poppy. I know he will be.”
“Thank you, Lia,” I whispered, nodding my head. I couldn’t tell if her words were for me or for her, but I was grateful for them regardless. The girl with the big blue eyes smiled at me one last time before wandering off down the beach to where Jakson and the rest of the surf team were looking for Jasper.
Picking up speed, she made a headline to Jakson and jumped on his back. His hands hooked around her legs, not even needing to check it was her he was holding. Lia threw her head back in a laugh, light and carefree, as she ran her fingers through his hair, messing it up a little.
Jakson shook his head, biting back a laugh. “You’re a rascal, Davis.”
“Oh, I know. I’m a real tough kid, Calloway.”
“I know you are.”
Lachlan and Kai made gagging noises, dropping down onto their knees in the sand dramatically, earning a handful of death glares from Jakson. Xander just shook his head at them all, grumbling something under his breath that I didn’t catch.
“Oh, you are so dead, Kidd!” Lia yelled like a battle cry, sliding herself off Jakson’s back and charging right towards Lachlan. She jumped, piling herself on top of him just as Kai joined her, making a mess of limbs and laughter.
Turning away, I started running up the beach, leaving them to mess around whilst my heart pounded out of my chest. When Lia found me, her big blue eyes glossy and swollen, I knew exactly where to find him. My heart justknew.
Most of the people were already gathering on the beach, leaving me and Jasper alone behind the old showers that withheld so many memories.
“Jasper?” I said breathlessly. My sandals squelched as I walked over to him, kneeling down in front of him. Knees grazing the worn tiles, I could smell the dampness before I felt it touch my skin.
Frantically banging his fists against his chest, Jasper gasped in chunks of air. He rocked backwards and forward with his knees pulled tightly to his chest as he continued to beat the air out of his lungs. Those golden-brown eyes, glassy and swollen, stared right through me.
Softly, I grazed my thumb over his cold cheek. “You’re okay,” I whispered over and over again like a mantra. “You’reokay, Jasper.”
At first it was like he couldn’t hear me at all, each of my words passed over his head as if I was talking to a statue. The only sound between us was the heaving of his chest as he tried to beat the air out of him whilst simultaneously dragging it back in again. Each one came and left faster than the one before like clockwork.In and out. In and out. In and out.
“Jasper,” I whispered, again.
Slowly, his gaze focused on mine, capturing it with such intensity I feared he might burn through me. There was fear behind those sullen eyes. Pure, rawfear. Hesitantly, I reached down and slipped my fingers between his, entwining them. My heart ached as I rested our conjoined hands against his pounding chest. The frantic beating slowed to a stop until all that was left was the rapid pounding of his heart breaking through his chest.
“You’re okay,” I promised; he didn’t let go of my gaze. “Copy me.”
I slowed my breathing down into controlled exhales and inhales.
In for four. Hold for two. Out for six. Repeat.
He followed my lead, chest shaking as his fingers trembled against mine.