On the Beach

I was still totally rattled because of the incident with Davis when the cheerleading team met on the beach in the early afternoon. Everyone had actually come and instead of the cheerleading outfit, everyone wore bathing suits. I had picked a place not far from a beach volleyball court, where my brother and Justin were playing volleyball with some other guys now. At the moment, I didn't really care if they were distracted, because at first 'real' training was on the program, and I called the girls together.

"It's great that you all came," I greeted them. "As you know, this is a special training today. We're trying our figures on dry land before we go into the water." There was a general murmur, which I took as agreement. "Who is afraid of the water, of course, may stay outside. But don't worry, we won't go inside very deep anyway."

"I told my dad we would train in the water and he said the undercurrents here are terribly dangerous."

I rolled my eyes on the inside. Jennifer always had something to complain about, no matter what happened. "I already said that we stay near the shore. Nothing will happen. We're totally safe. And besides, the guys..." I pointed to Jamie and Justin,"... over there are here to look after us." I looked around. "Well, all clear? Can we start?" When they nodded in agreement, I organized the girls into groups and we started our training. We made good progress and when I finally suggested to try the more complicated figures in the water, almost everyone went along with my idea. We had a lot of fun for an hour, accompanied by a lot of laughter as the girls plunged down into the water. I glanced over to the beach volleyball court, where the boys were still engrossed in their game. It was about time that they focused on us again. "Okay, enough," I called to everyone. "We are done for today. You have been really great. If you want, you can splash around in the waves or just go home." I was just about to call Sawyer up and tell her that our plan could begin when I felt warm hands on my shoulders. Startled, I turned around and looked into Davis's dark brown eyes. "What are you doing here?" I blurted.

"I wanted to ask you the same."

My pulse quickened as I registered that he was wearing almost nothing but a pair of swimming trunks and sunglasses, which he had casually pushed up to his forehead. Instinctively, I stepped back, my gaze still fixed on him. No wonder the girls were crazy about him, I thought. He had the perfect body; tall, athletic, and a smile that made your knees weak. Fine drops of water trickled from his upper body and I had to force myself not to reach out my hand to brush a strand of damp hair from his forehead. "We... we just had cheerleading training," I stammered hoarsely. As he bent down to me, I reflexively held my breath.

"Don't lie to me, Lydia," he said in a velvety voice." I overheard you and Sawyer at school. You're planning something. What is it? Something illegal?"

I stared at him in shock. He had overheard us? "What... what did you hear?" I stuttered.

"Not much, unfortunately," he said grimacing. "Only that you're planning something and want to meet on the beach."

"That's why you're here," I mumbled. It wasn't a question, but rather a statement. Our conversation was interrupted abruptly when Jennifer suddenly ran up to us. I could tell that something was wrong from the way she behaved.

"Sawyer went into the water to swim," she called to me. "And now it seems that the waves are carrying her farther and farther out. We have to do something!"

I glanced quickly at Justin, who was still playing with the boys. It was time for him to pay attention and quickly, because when I looked out to the sea, Sawyer was already so far away that I felt queasy myself.

"Don't worry, I'll get her out of there!"

Helplessly, I could only watch as Davis threw his sunglasses in the sand and then ran into the waves. As a member of the swim team, it wasn't a problem for him to 'rescue' Sawyer from drowning and bring her safely back to the shore. But that also meant that our plan had failed. Justin hadn't noticed any of this and Sawyer was visibly embarrassed to be comforted by Davis, who asked her if she was okay and if he should take her home. "She's fine," I said sharper than intended, reaching out to help my friend get back on her feet. "Thank you for your help, but you can go now." But Davis didn't even bother to do what I said. He stared at me questioningly as I felt myself getting more and more nervous.

"That was a stupid idea to go so deep into the water!" Jennifer said reprovingly. "What were you thinking, Sawyer?"

"I... I was just swimming and didn't notice how far I was away from the shore," she replied sheepishly, then reached for her neck. "Oh no!" She gasped out and went pale. "My necklace..."

I looked at her confused. "What necklace?"

"I lost my necklace," she said desperately. "It belonged to my mom and she got it from her mom before she died."

I looked out to the raging sea. No chance to find the necklace ever again.

"I'll get it," Davis promised and ran back towards the water.

I watched him in horror. He didn't intend to dive in these waves! I thought of what Jennifer had said about the undercurrent and panicked. As fast as I could, I ran to the water. "Davis, don't!" I yelled after him, but he didn't hear my warning anymore because he had already dived under. Alarmed by my call, Justin and Jamie came running.

"What happened?" Justin asked worriedly.

"I lost my necklace in the water," Sawyer explained. "And Davis went inside to search for it."

"Is he nuts?" Justin exclaimed furiously. "Doesn't he know how dangerous it is to dive in this swell, not to mention the undercurrents?"

I looked at him anxiously, then stared out at the sea again. Nothing could be seen from Davis since he had dived under. How long could a person stay under water? I panicked. "Do something!" I pleaded and looked at my brother and Justin. When they both ran into the water, I leaned on Sawyer trembling. "If anything happens to him, it's my fault," I stammered, suddenly feeling tears running down my cheeks.

"No, it's my fault," Sawyer said softly. "If I hadn't lost my necklace, he wouldn't have gone back into the water."

I nodded and then flopped weakly into the soft sand, letting the tears run as I stared out into the sea. It felt like an eternity when Jamie and Justin emerged out of the water and then headed for the shore. In their arms they carried Davis's limp body.

"Anyone with a cell phone's got to call 911!" Justin shouted into the crowd as he dropped Davis on the sand and then started reanimation.

It was Sawyer who finally called and told what had happened. Sobbing, I knelt in the sand, next to Davis, who was still unconscious. My whole body was trembling. "Please... don't die," I whispered in a broken voice. When the ambulance finally arrived, Davis had regained consciousness again, thanks to Justin's CPR. I would have liked to ride in the ambulance with him, but I knew that as a non-relative they wouldn't allow it. Justin went with him instead and I was left alone on the beach with Sawyer and Jamie. The other girls were already gone.

"We should go now, too," Jamie said, reaching out his hand.

I was glad that he didn't blame me for what had happened, though I knew I would have deserved it. But he apparently realized how bad I felt at the moment. Reluctantly, I took his hand and then rose from the sand. "Can you take me to the hospital?" I asked quietly.

He nodded. "So it's true what the rumors say," he mused.

I looked at him in astonishment. "What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You and Davis," he replied. "You fell in love with him."

It was pointless to deny it now, when everyone had seen me crying over him. I nodded reluctantly. "But he has no idea."

Jamie frowned. "A good opportunity to tell him. Come along! We're going home now, you can change your clothes and then I'm driving you to the hospital." He looked at Sawyer. "Can I give you a ride, too?"

She shook her head. "I'm here by bike. But thanks for asking. We'll talk on the phone, Lydia, okay?"

I couldn't wait to get home to change. "Please don't tell Mom and Dad," I begged Jamie before we entered the house. "I don't want them to get worried."

"Justified worries, I would say." He rolled his eyes meaningfully. "I don't want to start lecturing you now. But if you're really serious about Davis, then expect resistance. Especially Mom won't be happy that the two of you see each other. And you should also tell Jude the truth."

I nodded. Of course, I knew that I had to be honest with everyone. But not now. Now I just wanted to see Davis in the hospital to make sure that he was okay. I quickly ran up to my room to change.