Chapter 21

Amber blinked her eyes open. She tried sitting up, but moaned when pain seared through her head and lay back down. She touched her forehead and felt the bandage. Looking around, she realized she was in Jack Shepherd's doctoring tent. She tried remembering what had happened and remembered the wave crashing down on her. She had been pushed deep into the water and she remembered not being able to breathe or make it to the surface. She was doing summersaults in the water and hit her head really hard on something. Then it blacked out… until she was choking and then could finally breathe. She remembered someone saying something to her and then blacking out again.

She tried sitting up again, this time more slowly. When she was sitting up, she saw Doctor Shepherd come in. "You're awake," he said cheerfully. Jack was young and good looking. Amber was surprised at first when she found out he was a spinal surgeon.

"What happened?" she asked, her brown eyes showing much confusion. Jack smiled. "Adam saved your life," he told her. She narrowed her eyes in puzzlement. "Adam?" she asked.

Jack nodded. "Apparently you almost drowned. You hit your head on a rock under the water and he swam out and got you. Your heart stopped and he revived you," he said. Amber's jaw dropped and she was silent. She looked down, remembering how mad she had been at him. "He… he saved me," she said.

Doctor Shepherd nodded again. "You've been out for almost two days now. Maddie's been worried about you," he told Amber. Amber nodded, her mind still fixed on Adam. She couldn't help but smile a little to herself. She then turned to Jack. "Am I okay to go?" she asked.

"Let's have a look," he said. He examined her and she was fine. "You're free to go," he said. "Just be careful where you swim and don't be too rough out there," he added. She smiled. "Thanks," she said and went outside, and almost instantly was overcome by Maddie's hugs. "Okay," Amber said.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Maddie said, hugging her again. Amber laughed. "I'm okay, really," she said.

"Amber, you… died. You're lucky to be alive again," she said, hugging her once more and letting her go on and say hi to her friends.

Amber thought about what Maddie had said. "I died," she murmured. She walked over to the edge of the jungle and sat on a low branch. She didn't know what to think…

"You're awake," said a voice. She turned to look over her shoulder and saw Adam standing there.

"Yeah," she said, not knowing what to say. He walked over to the branch and sat next to her. "I'm glad you're okay," he said. She smiled and looked down. "Thanks," she said, "A lot," she added.

Adam smiled too. "No problem," he said. "Is your head feeling better?" he asked. She nodded. "Better," she said. "I don't know how to take the bandage off, though," she said.

"Oh, here," Adam said, gently touching her forehead, but then stopped. "May I?" he asked. Amber nodded. He gently took off the bandage. She winced once, but didn't protest. He finally got it off and touched her forehead softly again.

Adam's face suddenly darkened and he turned and looked forward. "I'm sorry," he said. Amber narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Why?" she asked. "You saved my life. I didn't think that was something to be sorry for," she said, her voice filled with puzzlement.

He shook his head. "For that night… when you and Trevor…" he trailed off. Amber looked forward, realizing what he meant. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Oh," she said.

There was a long pause.

Suddenly, Amber said, "Don't be."

Adam looked at her, but she just looked forward. "I should be apologizing," she murmured. "I didn't know what the hell I was doing," she said. "I'm not the brightest person out there," she said, trying to laugh, but couldn't. She just breathed a sigh.

Adam shook his head. "To be honest, you're one of the brightest people I know," he said. He saw her smile and he smiled too.

She turned to him. "I never thought I'd say this, but… I'm glad you're here on the island. And I don't mean that in a bad way… I mean, with me," she said.

Adam nodded. "Same here… even though you're a pain in the ass," he said. She gasped and swung her fist at him, but before she could hit him, he got up and ran away. She got up too and ran after him. She caught up with him and pulled him down. They both fell and rolled in the sand. Amber flushed red when she found Adam on top of her.

She could tell he felt awkward too and got off of her and sat down beside her. She sat up and smiled. "You're such a dork," she murmured. "Oh, look who's talking," he said. She rolled her eyes.

"Amber?" said a voice. Amber turned around to see Trevor standing there. Adam turned around too and Amber looked at his expressionless face.

"Can I talk to you… alone?" Trevor asked.