Kimberly
"I'm looking for Kimberly." A voice said somewhere. I felt like my head was swimming, trying to find the surface again. There was a pain somewhere there too and a slight pounding in the back of my skull. "Is Kimberly here?"
"Right here, ma'am." Another voice said. I heard some shuffling as I slowly opened my eyes. It was very bright, causing me to wince and shut them again. Blinking, I felt whatever I was laying on move.
"Kim!" Andrea's voice said. I opened my eyes again and saw that she was sitting next to me. Her face was filled with worry as she looked down at me. "Are you alright? What happened?"
"What do you mean?" I mumbled out, looking at her fuzzy face confused. I blinked a few times and the room came into focus. I saw that I was in what looked like a doctor's office. There were metal cabinets with glass windows, medical supplies inside of them. There were several cots in the room and I saw that I was laying in one of them. Next to me, there was a window with a little curtain over it. There was no sunlight coming from it though. The light was coming from the fluorescent one above us on the ceiling. I realized that I was laying in wet clothes then, my dress sticking to me. "Why am I wet? Where are my shoes?"
"The girls from dinner came to find me to let me know that you'd been brought to the medical cabin. What's going on? They said you fell in the pool." She asked. I noticed she was still wearing what she had been wearing when we had separated.
"The pool?" I put a hand on my forehead and felt a little bump under my fingers followed by a sharp pain. I could suddenly recall being up on the deck and then falling in the pool. "Right. The pool." A man appeared behind Andrea, giving me a warm smile.
"Kimberly, I'm Dr. Andrews, the ship's doctor. You took quite a nasty hit on your head. How are you feeling?"
"Like I planted my face on the floor." I replied, slowly sitting up. The room spun a little bit, causing me to let out a hiss between my teeth. Andrea sat on the cot next to me, holding me steady.
"I'm going to grab one of the members of our security team. They are investigating what happened." He disappeared out a doorway.
"Kim, I leave you alone for five minutes and you end up trying to kill yourself? What is this? Titanic?" Andrea asked, looking at me with worry.
"I do love Leonardo Dicaprio." I joked, giving her a small smile. She rolled her eyes.
"I can't with you. They said some guy saved you from drowning. You're lucky! You could have died up there!" I tried to remember. There was a foggy memory of me being in the water and someone holding me. I couldn't picture a face though. Behind her, the doctor returned with another man, this one dressed in a white security uniform.
"Hello, Miss Hart. I'm Officer Weston. I'm the head of security. We just need to ask you some questions about what happened."
"I'll do my best. Everything is a bit fuzzy." I replied. He nodded, pulling out a pad of paper from his breast pocket. He had salt and pepper hair that was probably black at one time, a mustache matching it. He was tall with broad shoulders, telling me that he was probably a retired police officer from the way he held himself.
"I can imagine. Can you remember going up to the top deck?" I nodded.
"Yes. I was walking and wanted to dip my feet in the pool."
"Were you alone up there?" He questioned. I thought for a moment, trying to remember if I had seen anyone up there.
"I think so. I don't remember seeing anyone else around. There might have been one or two people who walked by me but that's it." He jotted what I said down.
"Do you remember how you got in the water?"
"Andrea?" A male voice asked from the doorway. We all turned to see who had said it. To my surprise, I saw Adam Park standing in the doorway. He looked equally surprised to see me as well.
"Adam? I asked, confused.
"Kimberly?" He stepped into the room. The security officer raised his hand, stopping him from getting any closer. Andrea gave me a confused look.
"You know Adam?" She asked. I returned the look.
"You know Adam?" I repeated, turning the question to her.
"Son, you can't be in here during our questioning. This is an investigation." The security officer said.
"I know. You have my friend locked up like he committed a murder! Tommy wouldn't hurt Kimberly." I felt my vision narrow in on Adam at the sound of Tommy's name.
"Tommy's here?" I asked.
"Tommy? Like, that Tommy?" Andrea asked, looking between Adam and I. Her eyes widened at the realization. She had sat through many nights of me telling stories about my youth, including drunk rambles about a certain ex-boyfriend of mine.
"Mr. Oliver is just being held until we figure out what happened. That's all." Officer Weston said. "If he didn't do anything wrong, he has nothing to worry about."
"Tommy is the one who pulled me out of the pool?" I questioned. Officer Weston nodded.
"That's his story at least."
"I'm going to throw up." I said, feeling a nauseous wave wash over me. Andrea grabbed a garbage can from next to the bed and handed it to me. I stuck my head inside, waiting to see if I was going to hurl.
"Why the hell would the guy call for help if he had done something to her?" Adam asked. "They know each other. Tommy wouldn't do anything to Kimberly." As more voices filled the room, the feeling of throwing up faded.
"Listen, kid. You gotta look at it like this; a guy and a girl up there alone and suddenly she's knocked out in the pool as an employee comes into the area. It's a little suspicious." Officer Weston said. "We just want to make sure nothing occurred besides an accident."
"For the love of God, can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Andrea asked. "How do you two know each other?"
"Alright. Alright!" I said loudly, holding my hands up. Everyone quieted down, looking at me. "Tommy didn't do anything to me." I said. "I stood up to head back to my cabin when my heel caught the edge of the pool. I tried to catch myself but I lost my balance. I remember hitting my head on the railing and then going into the water." I set the garbage can back on the floor. "He didn't do anything wrong. He saved me." Of course he did. Even in the middle of the damn ocean, he finds a way to save my dumb ass.
"Okay. I will have him released then. Try to be more careful while you're enjoying the rest of the cruise. The good doctor here says you don't have a concussion but just make sure you don't over do it too much for the next day or two. You're all free to return to your cabins if you're feeling up to it." Officer Weston closed his notepad and turned to Adam. "If you come with me, I'll take you to see your friend."
"Thanks." Adam said. He turned back to Andrea and me. "I will find you a bit, okay?"
"Okay." She replied. He gave her a small smile before following the officer out of the room. Dr. Andrews walked over and handed me a plastic bag.
"I put your shoes and other belongings in here so they wouldn't get lost. Come see me if you have any headaches or get any dizzy spells, okay?" He said. I nodded, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. Andrea helped me to my feet. "You'll probably have the bump for a couple of days but it's not too bad. You are very fortunate that someone heard you fall in."
"I guess I am." I said. "Thank you." I gave him a small smile and he stepped to the side, allowing Andrea and I to walk past him and out into the hallway. We found ourselves in a long stretch of hallway that looked different than the one our cabins were in. Instead of brightly decorated carpeting under foot, it was white tile and white walls, long pipes running overhead the entire length of the hall.
"Come on. Let's get you to bed." Andrea said, wrapping her arm around my shoulders.
"Hold on. How do you know Adam?" I asked, stopping.
"He was the guy I told you about. The one on the balcony." She replied. "We ran into each other outside the bar bathroom and he's the one who asked me to go for a drink. How do you know him?"
"We went to school together. He's one of my best friends. Well, at least he used to be." I frowned. Up the hallway, we heard voices. Turning, I saw three figures appear up the hall. One was Adam, one was Officer Weston, and the other was a tall, slender man with long hair that was falling down his back. The ends were curly, like he had gotten out of the shower without doing anything to it and he was holding wet clothes over his arm. He wore a pair of grey sweats and a white t-shirt, the logo of the cruise on both. Tommy Oliver looked just like he did the last time I saw him, age being very nice to him.
"I'm glad we could get this all cleared up. I am sorry for all of this, Tommy. We just had to follow protocol, that's all. Given the incidents that have occurred in the past, we just try to protect everyone. I hope you can understand." Officer Weston said, holding his hand out to Tommy. Tommy nodded, taking his hand and shaking it.
"I understand. I'm glad everything worked out. Thank you for doing your job. I know it can't be easy."
"You aren't kidding. I'm just glad the little lady is alright." Officer Weston glanced up and saw Andrea and I standing there. "Speak of the devil, there she is." The group turned to look at us and I felt the breath in my lungs hitch. Tommy and I locked eyes, my heart thundering in my chest. "I'll let you folks go. Keep an eye on her, alright? If she starts feeling funny, bring her right back here to the doctor."
"We will. Thank you." Adam said, seeing that Tommy wasn't speaking. Officer Weston turned and went back into the room they had just walked out of. This left the four of us in the hallway alone. "Kim, how are you feeling?" Adam asked.
"She's tired." Andrea said, gripping me tighter against her. "I'm going to take her back to her room to rest."
"Do you need help?" Adam asked. Andrea shook her head.
"I think we'll be okay." He reached out and put a hand on her arm that wasn't wrapped around me.
"Can I buy you breakfast in the morning?" Adam asked sheepishly, giving her a smile. Andrea returned it, nodding as a slight blush filled in her cheeks.
"Sure. Maybe by then, these two will remember how to use their big people words again. I'll see you in the morning."
"Okay." I saw the tips of Adam's ears flush pink as we walked by them. I casted Tommy one more look over my shoulder before we disappeared around the corner. I let out the breath I had been holding as we neared the elevators.
"I take it that this is the Tommy I've heard so much about." Andrea said in a low voice. I nodded.
"That would be him. What the hell, Andrea? What are the damn chances?" She pressed the button for the elevator.
"No clue but I would avoid the casino if this is your luck. He's pretty cute at least." I shot her a glare as the doors opened. We got on the elevator and she hit the button for our deck. The doors slid shut, her finally letting go of me. I rubbed my neck, rolling it slowly.
"This can't be happening. This isn't what I had planned for this trip!"
"Kim, you're making a big deal out of nothing. Besides, if he hadn't been here, you'd be floating up in the pool doing the Deadman's float." I sighed, leaning against the wall of the elevator.
"Maybe you're right. It's a big ship after all. I'm sure I can avoid him for the rest of the cruise."
"Exactly. Now, tell me more about Adam. He's a cutie too. And he seems very sweet." I smiled, thinking back to the Adam I remembered back in high school. I had to admit he looked good with the shaggy hair he was sporting now. The last I had seen him, it had been longer but didn't suit him as well as it did Tommy. I internally wanted to punch myself for thinking about Tommy.
"Oh, he's the sweetest. And very shy. I'm surprised he asked you for breakfast to be honest. When we were younger, it took him months to work up the courage to ask a girl out. Must be something special about you."
"Like I didn't know that already." She teased, the doors of the elevator opening. We walked out and I looked in the back the doctor had given me, seeing the key for my room in there along with my lanyard.
"Just don't hurt him, okay? He's a great guy and I'd hate to see him get hurt. And you too for that manner."
"Like I told you, this trip is all about having fun." She said as we stopped outside of our rooms. "Do you want me to sleep in your room tonight? You're not gonna die from a concussion because you went to sleep, are you?"
"No, I'll be fine. They said I didn't have one, remember? Honestly, some sleep that isn't head trauma induced sounds good right about now. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"
"Okay. Just yell if you need anything. I'll keep my balcony door open a crack in case. You should too."
"I will." I unlocked my door and went inside my room. When the door shut, I leaned up against it and clutched the bag to my chest. Tommy was on board this fucking cruise ship. There were billions of places for him to be in this world. Hell, there are probably thousands of cruise ships as well! How in the hell did he end up smack dab on this boat that suddenly felt a million times smaller than I originally had thought when I first saw it? Shaking my head, I dropped the bag to the floor and sighed. My head was killing me and I felt a throbbing pain in my neck. I wasn't entirely sure that it was from my swan dive either. Walking over, I opened up the door to the balcony and stepped out. I was met with the sea salt in the air that mixed in with the cool breeze. It felt wonderful on my face as I stepped out onto the wooden balcony, the curtain billowing behind me.
"Hey!" Andrea said as her balcony door slid open. I shifted, looking in her direction. She stuck her head out. "Don't be out here too long. I don't want you falling overboard."
"I just needed the air."
"Well, get some sleep." She grinned at me. "We have a date for breakfast in the morning." With a wink, she disappeared. I didn't need her to elaborate on what she meant. Closing my eyes, I gripped the railing in my hands.
What were the chances of Tommy rescuing me if I toss myself into the ocean?