T. Leigh - A Tragic Wreck

Cam took a few steps closer, still on the sandy road by her deck. He was rather attractive and had a good body underneath his wetsuit. Olivia had noticed how handsome he was several weeks ago, but up close, he was even more so. His silver eyes beamed as he smiled, staring up at her. The ocean breeze gusted, blowing his wild sandy hair in front of his eyes. But she was off men. And, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get Alexander out of her thoughts.

“So, are you going to tell me your name, or do I have to try to guess it?” He cautiously stepped up the stairs of her deck, making sure he wasn’t intruding.

She uncrossed her arms and took a few steps toward him, holding her hand out. “My name’s Olivia. People call me Libby, though.”

Taking Olivia’s hand in his own, Cam felt her soft skin. There was something so tragic about the woman standing in front of him. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but she just seemed so alone. He had been watching her every day since mid-October when she appeared out of nowhere, renting old man Robinson’s beach cottage. He figured she would only be there for a week, but every day, without fail, she sat outside, drinking her coffee and staring out at the ocean as if it held the answers to all her questions.

The first week, she barely smiled. As she drank her coffee, he noticed tears streaming down her face. Something made her sad. The waves were killer that week because of a big storm brewing off the coast. The second week, the waves died down a bit and, after checking the report, he thought about blowing off surfing in the morning. But something about the sad girl who sat on her deck and drank coffee made him put on his wetsuit and go. And even when the waves were more or less non-existent, every day he drove down to Ocean Avenue in the Fernandina Beach section of Amelia Island and smiled at the girl with the sad brown eyes.

“Libby. It’s wonderful to finally put a name to the face.”

Olivia took in the man she had grown accustomed to seeing. His silver eyes had a depth and a kindness to them that she had never seen before. She felt as if she could spill her entire life out to him and he wouldn’t judge her. His smile was infectious and, before Olivia knew it, she smiled back. She couldn’t remember the last time she smiled. It felt good.

“Do you surf?” Cam asked.

“I’ve tried it a few times. I lived in Hawaii for a bit and I didn’t want to stick out as a haole so I learned to surf.” She looked over the horizon at the dozen or so bodies bobbing up and down, waiting to ride a wave into shore.

“What’s a haole?” he asked.

“It’s a Hawaiian term for mainlanders.” She took a long sip of her coffee, wondering whether she should offer him a mug.

“Ah, I see.” He smiled a genuine smile at the quiet woman. “Want to catch a few waves?” he asked, gesturing toward the water.

“I don’t have a board. Or a wetsuit.”

“Just grab a bathing suit. The waves are pretty calm today so you’ll be fine without one.”

Olivia hesitated, thinking about it.

“Come on. I see you sitting here every morning, drinking your coffee, and you just look so sad. Please. Let me at least show you some fun.”

She looked at him, shocked that he noticed how empty she was in just those few seconds each day. “Okay,” she said after a moment of deep thought. “Give me ten minutes. I need to shower.”

“Great. I’ll go try to catch a wave or two. I’ll see you out there.” He ran toward the water, holding his board.

It was a relatively warm morning for mid-November, but Olivia knew the water would be freezing. She had been there several weeks and still hadn’t put a foot in the ocean. Even if she didn’t get on a surfboard, at least she would finally feel the saltwater against her skin.

She took a quick shower, making sure to shave fairly well. Pulling her long, wavy hair back, she threw on the two-piece swimsuit that she used when training for triathlons. She grabbed a towel, then walked between the sand dunes down to where the water met the shore.

Cam ran up to her when he saw her walking down the beach. “Hey. You made it.”

“You sound surprised,” she mumbled dryly.

“Well, a little. I thought you would blow me off, maybe go for a run and then just sit in your house the rest of the day.”

His statement caught Olivia off-guard. “How do you seem to know so much about me?”

“You caught my eye. I have a thing for beautiful women.” He winked, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the water’s edge.

“Holy crap, that’s freezing!” Olivia squealed when her foot hit the cold ocean, stopping dead in her tracks as Cam pulled away.

“Come on. Stop being a baby!” he shouted back. He was already up to his knees in the water.

She took a deep breath before running into the ocean, knowing that once she was fully submerged, she would feel better.

“Here. Grab onto the other end of the board,” Cam said when she finally caught up to him.

“Thanks.” They swam out to just beyond where the waves crested.

“Hey! Cam-Bam!” a guy on a surfboard yelled.

“Come here. I want you to meet the guys,” Cam said to Olivia.

“Hey! Who’s this?” one of them asked.

“Everyone, this is Olivia. Olivia, this is Chris, Benny, and Jason.” Cam gestured to the three men bobbing on their surfboards.

Olivia waved with little enthusiasm. “Hi.”

“Are you going to try surfing today?” Chris asked, trying to spark up a conversation with her.

“Yeah. Might as well.” She shrugged. “I’ve surfed before so I’m not totally useless.”

“Why don’t you catch the first one? I’ll hang back here on one of the guys’ boards,” Cam said as he swam over to Benny’s board and hung on to it. He grinned while he watched Olivia swim away with the board.

“She’s hot, man,” Jason said, nudging toward Cam in the water. “Is she the one you’ve been talking about?”

“Yeah. That’s her. I’m glad I worked up the nerve to finally talk to her.”

“You’re such a pussy,” Benny laughed. “For a guy pushing thirty-five, you have no balls when it comes to talking to women.”

“Suck it, man!” Cam joked back. “There's just something kind of sad about her. I couldn’t help it.” He returned his eyes to Olivia as she climbed on the board, throwing her legs on either side, getting ready to catch a wave.

After a few minutes, she saw a wave coming in that was ideal for her. She positioned her hands and quickly hoisted her legs onto the board, balancing perfectly as she rode into the shore.

Along the coast, a few people were milling about collecting shells. As the sandy beach got closer, she started to space out and thought she saw Alexander. She saw him everywhere lately. Her heart began to race and she panicked, losing her balance. The board slipped out from underneath her and she toppled off, hitting her head as she sank below the water.

“Shit!” Cam exclaimed when he saw Olivia sink beneath the surface. He swam quickly toward where she went under, desperately searching for her. He was worried that, in the few minutes it took him to get to her, she hadn’t resurfaced. He dove into the water, his eyes stinging from the salt. A few feet away, he saw her, her eyes closed, bubbles coming out of her mouth.

He reached her and grabbed her around the waist, kicking toward the surface. “Come on, Libby. Stay with me.” He pulled her toward the shore and laid her on her back. The rest of the guys finally joined him.

“I think she hit her head pretty hard.” Cam leaned his ear down over her nose and couldn't hear any breathing, but she still had a pulse. He started rescue breathing, frantic for her to cough up the water that appeared to be stuck in her lungs. After a few long moments, Olivia gasped, coughing. Cam helped roll her onto her side, getting the water out of her mouth.