Thank you for your continued support. I appreciate it.
Standard disclaimer.
WARNING: Death by drowning is contained in this chapter. My apologies for any offense caused.
Sam was barely holding on by a thread.
The physical toll, from a combination of stress and sexual frustration, was making it difficult to function, let alone, not blow up at the smallest setback.
He had been back in town for just a few days and already it was a few too many.
Quinn had been waiting at the door, when he'd gotten home and she'd done her best, to remind him, that he had once loved her.
He needed to resolve things with her, before he could move forward with Mercedes. And he needed to do it soon.
Mercedes was doing her part to make things damned difficult on him, also, although he knew it wasn't her fault.
Since he had returned to Myrtle Beach, she looked better than he could remember, and on some unconscious level, she even smelled better.
And on those occasions, when gravity brought them close enough to touch, she felt fucking amazing.
He had been forced to lie to her and tell her, that he had come down with a bug, while he was away, and that, it probably wasn't anything serious, but he didn't want to risk giving her anything.
She had assured him, she was willing to risk it, but he had held firm.
Somehow, it just didn't feel right to him to touch her, without having the situation with Quinn resolved.
He had never been a man to string a woman along and this whole situation felt wrong to him.
But he knew Quinn was fragile and the last thing he wanted, was to send her spiraling backwards.
After two days, though, the excuses were starting to wear thin, and every time he kept Mercedes at arm's length, he almost choked on the hurt in her eyes.
He couldn't even blame her.
At this point, he'd be damned skeptical, too...ex-fiancée living with you, sudden business trip, where you didn't come home, when you could have and now, doing the Texas Two-Step, every time she comes too close.
Yeah, nothing remotely unusual about any of that.
He found it hard to believe, she was still speaking to him, much less, still had the desire for anything more personal.
He knew he had brought this all on himself.
Instead of using the distance between them to his advantage, while he was away, what did he do?
He had called her every night and talked for hours with her, about stuff he had never told anyone.
Mercedes now knew more about him, than his own family. And he couldn't deny, that he had fallen impossibly in love with her, on those nightly phone calls.
They made unspoken promises to each other, as they poured their souls out and then what?
He came back into town and acted like it had never happened.
But he just didn't know any other way to handle it.
So he buried himself in work, making things seem busier, than they actually were.
And then, he had faked illness and here he was, two days later, trying to figure a way out of the shit-storm, called his life.
Sam hadn't realized, that he'd been pacing in front of his desk, until Mercedes burst into his office and wrapped herself around him.
Instinctively, he embraced her, rocking back on his heels, as the force of her momentum moved him.
Suddenly, his frustration, fueled by a healthy amount of lust, caused the short fuse on his temper to ignite. He pushed her away from him, growling,
"Damn it, Mercedes, can I please have one day at work without getting mauled? I can't do this with you right now!"
She jerked back from him, as if he had slapped her. She even touched her face with a shaking hand, looking up at him in bewilderment.
He reached for her, just as she turned and raced out the door. A tendril of hair slipped through his fingers, before she was gone, the outer door slamming behind her.
"Holy fuck!" he swore.
He pushed a trembling hand through his hair, cursing his lack of control.
None of this was her fault and he had done nothing, but heap abuse on her.
He went back to his chair and sank down wearily.
He would give her some time today, because, he knew, he was the last person she wanted to see right now.
But he was tired of living in limbo.
Quinn had thrown him for a serious curve, but it was Mercedes he wanted.
He should have never let things get to this point.
Right then and there, he made up his mind, he would talk to Quinn tonight.
He would offer to find her a hotel, but that was it.
He was ashamed, that he had let something he now recognized, as simple nostalgia, almost ruin his future with Mercedes.
It was now, he understood, that his confusion was more panic, than anything.
He had been falling in love with Mercedes and Quinn had given him the perfect excuse to step back, before he risked his heart again.
The only problem was, it is too late, Mercedes already owned his heart and he hoped that she would still want it, after he told her everything.
By late afternoon, Sam had finished his last conference call of the day.
When he heard a sound outside his closed door, he looked up eagerly, hoping it was Mercedes.
She hadn't returned to the office, after his asshole move that morning and he was worried about her.
He had already left her several messages, but the calls were going straight to voice mail.
Instead of Mercedes, Noah and Stacie stood in his doorway.
Privacy appeared to have taken a flying leap at Denver lately.
He frowned at Noah, wanting to make his disapproval, of any social association with his sister known.
"What's up?" he asked.
Stacie cleared her throat to get his attention.
"We just wanted to see, if you wanted to grab a drink?"
Before he could answer, Jason and Cathy stepped into his now crowded office.
Since office hours were officially over for the day, the head of Denver and his wife, were holding hands.
Sam felt a pang that he was powerless to control. He needed to find Mercedes.
He started to clear his desk, to do just that.
Cathy stepped forward.
"Sam, how is Mercedes doing? I guess it's too soon to know, any type of arrangements yet, but we want to do something for her. All of us would like to be there for her."
Sam dropped the papers he was holding, looking at her in confusion.
"What are you talking about? Arrangements for what?"
Jason stepped forward and put his arm around his wife.
"Didn't Mercedes talk to you, before she left today?"
"Uh...we talked some this morning. She went home, though, hours ago." He didn't feel the need to elaborate as to why. "What's going on?"
"Lana came to my office and said that she had run into Mercedes in the lobby and that she was hysterical. Her sister..."
When Cathy stopped, Jason stepped in for her.
"I believe her sister has passed away. Lana insisted on taking her to the airport and helping her get a flight home. She tried to go with her, but there was only one seat available. We were all concerned and want to make sure that she arrived home safely."
"Oh my God!" Sam surged to his feet. "I didn't know. She came in here this morning and hugged me, but I thought...fuck...no...no...no! She needed me and I practically threw her out. NO!"
His chest was tight, his heart was racing and there wasn't enough air in the room.
He had never felt anything like this before.
The concerned and shocked faces before him, were starting to spin out of focus.
"Sam!" He vaguely heard Stacie's voice, before she was beside him.
And before he knew it, he was sitting in his chair, with his head between his legs.
"Easy, slow breaths. Slow and steady."
For what felt like hours, he focused on getting his breathing back under control.
The heart attack, that he'd thought he was having, was looking more like his first panic attack.
He had to get himself under control.
This wasn't about him...it was about Mercedes. He had already let her down in the worst way imaginable today. It was time to find her.
Everyone gave Sam a wary look, as he got unsteadily to his feet.
"Noah, I need to go to Florida right now..."
Without any questions, Noah pulled out his phone and they heard him instruct his pilot to fuel the jet.
"You're all set. He was already staying near the airport, since I was planning to head out later tonight. He'll change his flight plan and be ready when you arrive. My car is downstairs. Stacie and I will drop you."
Sam assured Jason and Cathy, that he would be in touch, then, followed Noah and Stacie out.
His head was reeling, but his usual sense of organization was kicking in.
If he could just stay focused, on the task of getting to Mercedes and block out the emotion, he could make it.
If he stopped to think back, on what he had done to her, when she had come to him today, it would be all over.
He would fall apart and be useless to her.
'I'm coming, baby. I'm coming.'
Mercedes had no idea, how she had made it through the flight and the taxi ride to her parents' home.
There had been no chance of being stopped by security or dogs this time, as she had nothing but her purse and the clothes on her back.
'Ramona...Oh my God, Ramona. It can't be true,' she thought.
When she walked in the door, her parents, Ramona and Boston, would all be sitting there laughing and so relieved.
It was just a misunderstanding. Some awful trick someone had played on them.
Yet, in the part of her mind, still capable of rational thought, she knew that no one would ever play this type of horrible joke on her family.
But, she needed to believe, that there was some hope, though. It was all that had kept her going since the call.
She had fallen apart when her father told her the news. And had sat at her desk for a few moments, before rushing to Sam.
She had needed him to hold her, to tell her that everything was okay.
But when he had thrust her away from him and yelled at her, she had crawled into her shell and gone into survival mode.
Thank goodness for Lana. Without her, she would've had to drive herself to the airport and she was in no condition to do that.
She vaguely remembered her arguing and pleading with the airline, to let her also have a seat on the plane.
It didn't happen, though, and now, she was on her own...but she made it...home to her family.
Except now, why was she standing at the front door, afraid to go in?
'Because, if you go in, then it's real.'
Instead of opening the door, she dropped to the steps, needing just another moment, before she faced the truth.
When the door opened behind Mercedes, she looked over in surprise, as Boston lowered himself to the step beside her.
She laid her head on his shoulder and murmured,
"It's true, isn't it?"
He let out a breath that sounded more like a sob and said,
"Yeah, she's gone, Merce."
"What happened? Dad said that she drowned. How is that possible? Ramona could swim like a fish."
"She was surfing a new break with some of her friends. From what we've been told, the surf was pretty brutal and she wiped out over some coral. Her leash got tangled, and she had taken a big hit to her head...they think she was too disoriented to free herself."
Mercedes could tell by the shaking of Boston's body against hers, that he was crying.
She turned and put her arms around him, burying her face against his big shoulders.
They stayed that way, until their father found them, sometime later.
"Mercy, Boston, come on in. It's too hot to stay out here," Mr. Jones said.
Mercedes stood, looking at the strongest man she had ever known.
He was ashen, his normally tanned skin having taken on a sallow cast.
He ruffled her hair, as he usually did, but the gesture was more automatic than affectionate.
He was a man operating on fumes, doing what he needed to do to survive.
She hugged him before asking,
"Where is Mom?"
"She's in bed. I had to call Doc Joyce out to give her something. She just completely lost it, when we got the call. Maybe you could go up and check on her. She's calm now, but just staring at the walls. I don't know what to do...where to start. Your uncle is handling the arrangements, but we need to go see your sister. I don't know if your mother is able."
Boston, looking more sober than she had ever seen him, stepped up to lead their dad to the living room, while she walked with a heavy heart, towards her parents' room.
As Mercedes' father had indicated, her mother was under the covers, but instead of sleeping, she appeared to be staring at the wall.
She sat next to her on the bed.
"Mom?"
Her mother gave her a blank look, leading her to wonder, if perhaps, she had been over-medicated.
"Mom, it's Mercedes."
The glassy look seemed to leave as her mother said,
"I believe I know who you are, honey. You know about your sister?"
Mercedes nodded.
"Yeah, I know."
"I tried to talk her out of going," her mother continued. "I just had a bad feeling about the trip. I know all you kids are great swimmers...your father and I made sure of that. I never worried about any of you being in the water. But I was nervous about Ramona surfing somewhere new. She knew the waters here like the back of her hand. She got it in her head, that she wanted to start training somewhere more challenging. Some of her friends were encouraging her to enter the Wave Masters tournament. She felt like she needed more experience before the competition..."
Mercedes pulled back the bed covers and crawled in next to her mother, while she continued to talk.
They wrapped their arms around each other and the tears came in a torrent.
She found herself wondering, if there would ever be a time again, when the house would be filled with laughter.
The sorrow hung heavily over them like a black cloud.
Stay safe!