- Chapter Six –

"Bryan,"

He could hear it was Bethany's voice calling his name, the sound of it following him as he scrambled around the edge of the shed and down the path. He could feel the grass transform into sand under his feet, pushing through each of his toes as he throw himself down the path he and Peter use to take when they were so much younger, and sneaking off to swim in the sea. The sand squelched the faster he ran, as Bryon put as much space as he could between himself and the questions that were asked on that old sunken couch.

But unfortunately the questioner followed him. And with her, the fear burning within him - of how damaged he was, how afraid he was, how weak he was - pounded at his very heart.

Each time she called his name, two sides of himself felt as those they were ripping further and further apart. On the one side, he wanted to help her however he can, and whenever she asked. But on the other side, he wasn't ready to tell her. He didn't know the words to explain how he was feeling, or what was going on. Bryon didn't know how to he could possibly answer anything that she would undoubtedly ask him.

So as the sand banks opened up, and he reached the very edge of the beach, he kept on running. Straight down the sand dunes, slipping a little when his feet lost traction in the loose layers of sand.

And Bethany was so very close behind him.

"I'M SORRY," she screams out at him, the words almost lost amongst the sounds of waves crashing before him. Bryon stumbled to a stop, and turned to look at her. Still halfway up the beach, she was sliding down the sand, trying to desperately reach him. He watched her stumble, normally as equally graceful on sand as she is in water, but today she was far to distracted.
"No I'm sorry," Bryon called up at her. "I just-"
She looked so panicked, confused about what was going on, and why he was running away from her and her questions.
"NO, No. I am sorry!" She yelled back, as she kept charging at him. He feared that she was going to collide with him. And he was right, for as soon as she reached his side, she slammed her body into him, wrapping her arm around his waist and not letting him leave.

Unlike Bryon, who runs for hours nearly every day, Bethany did not. Her breath was raspy and she took several gulps of the salty air before she could speak again.
"I'm sorry. I just… don't understand, and I really want to. I want to be able to help you. I didn't mean to intrude, or ask something I shouldn't have."
"I know you didn't mean to but-"
"But I did. I know. And I promise I won't ask anymore questions you're not ready to answer yet, okay? Just. Please don't run away."

Bethany whispered those last few words into his chest, just near his pumping heart. He had no response for her. No words to offer an explanation or even to apologies for his behaviour. But she seemed to not need any. She just held onto him tightly with one arm. One of his own arms were pinned under her grasp, but the other was free. He reached up, his hand shaking a little, before gently patting the back of her head.

3 days prior, they didn't even speak. He couldn't even fathom seeing her in person, terrified of the memories that constantly flooded his mind. And now? They were wrapped around each other. Well, almost. Bryon was very aware that he was patting her head almost like a dog. Such thoughts as this didn't exactly help his heart, which was struggling to remember those days when it wasn't beating out of control. With a slight tug, that invited her arm to drop away from him, Bryon stepped out of Bethany's grasp. He tried to smile the best he could, and sunk down quietly into the sand. She followed him and sat down herself, then shuffled through the sand a little bit to be both sitting next to him, and to be able to watch the sea crash before them. Together, they sat in silence, watching the tied as it nearly reached its lowest point.

In the silence, with nature at its rawest stretched all around them and Bethany sitting happily beside him, Bryon started to feel at piece again. The gap, that was ever present between himself and everyone else, in his mind was disappearing. If he could be accepted for who he was, and not questioned or ignored, by Bethany Hamilton, then maybe the same could occur with everyone else.

Maybe one day he won't have to tell himself that everything will be okay, because it actually will be.

Bryon looked over at Bethany, who was watching each and every wave curl up only to crash back down. Her eyes were so wide, absorbing everything as though it was the first time she has seen the ocean. Her lips fought to stop a smile from taking over all her features.
"Let's go," she whispered to him.
"Where?"
Bethany jumped up, offering her hand to pull him out of the sand as well. When they were both standing once more, she smiled and answered his question.
"For a swim!"

And off she went, pulling off her shirt to reveal her swim suit underneath, still on from her surf earlier today. After all, swim suits are commonly accepted as suitable attire to go to a wedding in, where they both lived.

He watched her as she wandered towards the water, with so many less worries than usual. Those feelings that everything would be okay, transformed into a very unusual sense of security. And so his shirt joined hers on the sand, and he followed her to the waters, a little self-consciously for his back hadn't seen direct daylight in quite a long time.

She was waiting for him on the edge, her toes just dipping into the very edges of the occasional larger wave as it rushed up the shore. He stood next to her, looking at her smile rather than the ocean they stood before. Bethany laughed, the sound full of blissful joy, and stepped into the water. The tied was so low, and in this particular stretch along the sand, dropped quiet suddenly. Further out, Bryon remembered there to be some incredible sand dunes, causing some great waves on a good day. He took one step towards her, the water instantly lapping at his ankles. She was only a few steps in front of him, yet was already well past her knees.

The coolness of the water pushed against his feet, and he looked at her, the water completely surrounding her in every direction. And Bryon froze.

The smile on Bethany's lips looked eerie. The warmth in her cheeks looked as though it was a fake tan from a bottle. To Bryon, everything felt wrong. With a shattering breath, he looked at her arm and was horrified to see that it was completely missing. In the water splashing up at her, he could see the bloody spreading, steaming out from where her arm use to be. Even though Bethany was smiling, he could hear the sounds of her crying out in agonizing pain, filling the wind running off the sea

Bryon heart rose into his throat, as he desperately tried to work out how to help. His joints were locked into place, refusing to let him escape, to let him save Bethany. But he needed to.

And suddenly he was free, and leapt forward, plunging through the crashing waves to be by her side. He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up and out of the water, away from the blood, the danger, the pain. Stumbling his way out of the sea, he couldn't hear her exclamations of surprise through her cries of agony.

Only when he had her halfway up the beach, did he slow down and place her as gently as he could on the sand, without causing her any more suffering. Twisting around her, he tried to see how much blood she has lost, how bad the damage to her arm was.

But there was nothing. No blood. No ripped clothing. No raw wound. Bryon blinked, and all that he saw was a very confused Bethany, staring straight back up at him with wide eyes and a mouth slightly ajar. And she had one arm missing as it had been for months.
"Bryon?"
She was just staring at him, as he stood there before her, trying to tell himself that she was okay, and that her screams, although fading slightly by now, were just in his head.
"I… Um. Didn't feel like swimming."

Bryon saw her mouth open a little more, and knew she was preparing herself to point out exactly how much she knew he was lying.

And in that second, he remember how it was only moments ago that he thought everything was going to be okay. How it is so often that he tells himself it will all be all right, and then so soon after, everything is ruined once more. And he is even worst than he was at the very beginning.

As he stood before her, dripping and trying not to give into an oncoming heart attack, he saw Bethany's mind click over. And she realized that the very reason that had pushed him out of his friends place, and had him lifting her out of the ocean, was possibly the same thing.

And that was the very thing she had promised not to question him about it.

Bethany Hamilton, fully of constant wonder and curiously, looked as though not asking him was destroying her. It was definitely fighting against her natural instinct, that's for sure.

And poor Bryon Blanchard. He stood there, ears still ringing with the whispers of her screams, with no valid excuse for his actions at all.

Like woah. Woooah. How long has it been since I last uploaded? (I am literally looking that up right now….) Almost half a year ago! I have re-written this chapter so many times. Each less happy with than the last. Until my computer wiped all my work, and I had to start from scratch once more. And you know what, I liked what I created. I hope you liked the update too!

A super special thanks to every single person who has read, or liked, or commented (or any combination of this.) When I see that others are curious on where Bethany and Bryon are going, I get so inspired to continue. And would never have had the patience to continue without your encouraging words. So thank you!