Jamie Ch. 20

"Stay calm," the lifeguard said from thirty yards away; I could just barely hear his voice over the crashing waves and the beating of my heart. "Swim calmly towards me, now."

Any stiffness I'd had in my crotch was gone now as fear took over. I tried to breathe calmly, but it wasn't exactly working. I glanced over my shoulder and another thirty yards out I saw a dorsal fin disappear under the water. Even though I was in shallow enough water to touch the sand, I began to swim with strong, fast strokes towards the lifeguard. He was backing slowly out of the water, coaxing me out with a calm voice, but I couldn't hear his words over the slashing of my arms.

Suddenly something sharp grabbed my ankle. I kicked with my other foot, connecting with something powerful. Whatever had gripped my ankle let go, so I began to swim faster. I knew I was bleeding, and knew that wouldn't help the situation at all. The shore grew closer and closer as the water grew more shallow. Then the beast grabbed me again, but this time it was just my foot. I screamed in pain as the razor sharp teeth sunk into my flesh and bone began to crack. Everything started to fade to black as I drifted out of consciousness...

I woke up hours later in a hospital bed. The sterile stench of the emergency room invaded my nostrils, but that wasn't my main concern. There was severe pain in my left foot. I looked down my body and saw my elevated leg in a sling above the bed and stared in horror as I saw that half of my foot was gone.

"Jason? Calm down," I heard Camille's voice say to my right. She looked like she'd just opened her eyes. Where was Jamie? Why was only Camille back here? Just then Jamie walked in with two cups of coffee and a startled expression on her face. She quickly set the coffees down on the stand next to my bed, which is when I realized I wasn't in the emergency room, but in a more private room; only one other bed occupied the room and it was empty.

"When did he wake up?" Jamie asked Camille.

"Just now, before you walked in," she answered, stroking my hair as she stood on my right; Jamie was on my left, taking my hand in hers.

"Are you okay?" she asked but seemed to feel stupid in asking.

"I'm in a lot of pain," I said. "What happened?" I asked.

Jamie grabbed a button attached to a cord next to where my left hand had been and pressed down on it. A few seconds later, I began to relax and a warm sensation came over me. Pain killers were magical, was my first thought.

"When we thought we were in trouble for...what we were doing in the water, the lifeguard said he couldn't have cared less about that. He was, in fact, warning us about a shark swimming nearby. It was a young one, which is why it only got a chunk of your foot," Camille explained, still stroking my hair lovingly.

"That was nice of him," I said in a daze. That's when my mom, and Jamie's parents burst into the room.

"Oh my god!" my mom immediately started freaking out. She demanded to know the whole story. In my drugged state I could barely speak coherently and decided to sleep instead. There must have been a sedative in that pain killer...

I woke an hour later as the pain killer/sedative began to wear off again. The sky was dark outside and only my mom and Camille remained.

"Where's Jamie?" I asked.

"Hey, sweetie, her parents took her to get something to eat. They were going to stay with you so we could go next," my mom told me as she stepped up to the bed. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'm starving," I said.

"Okay, I'll have the nurse get you something," she said and then kissed me on the head and walked out of the room to find a nurse.

"Hey you," Camille said groggily. She'd fallen asleep in the stiff chair next to my bed.

"Hey, beautiful," I replied, trying to hide my pain. I looked at my elevated foot and shook my head. Why did bad shit always happen to me?

"How are you feeling?" she asked me, sitting up and turning her chair towards me.

"A little better knowing you're here," I told her and she blushed with a bashful grin. "Did they say how long I'd be here?"

Camille shook her head. "I think until the pain is gone and you start your physical therapy. Your mom is having them put a prosthetic piece on the end of your foot, so you'll have to relearn how to walk, sorta."

I sighed, looking at my foot again. "Can't I just be on crutches the rest of my life? What about the wedding in a few weeks?"

Camille stroked my hair again and I tried to calm myself.

"Jamie's dad canceled the reservation at the beach, and after he told them what happened, they gave him back his deposit, no questions asked. It was their way of apologizing for what happened," she explained.

I let out a heavy sigh. "How does Jamie feel about that?" I asked.

"She only cares about you," Camille assured me, continuing to stroke my hair lovingly; it felt amazing. "She just wants you to get better so you can stand up at your wedding. She loves you so much, Jason, you are the luckiest man on the planet."

I smiled at my cousin gratefully. "Thanks, Camille, that means a lot."

"Well, it's all true, or else I wouldn't say it."

"I know," I said, reaching up and cupping her cheek. I'd have pulled her in for a kiss, but I heard my mom return.

"They said they'd bring some food in as soon as the kitchen brings it up," she announced as she walked up towards my bed. "Is there anything else you need?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I'm fine for now," I told her. "I just need to eat and rest."

Mom smiled at me and then kissed my forehead again. "Well, your brother is stuck with the dogs, and you know how those two can get. I should probably go help him out."

"Yeah, that's fine, Mom. Go ahead. It's not like I'm dying; I'm recovering," I told her. "You don't have to stay here all night. Heck, if anyone might do that it'd be either Jamie or Camille."

Mom looked at my cousin with a grateful smile that looked almost exactly like the one I'd given her a minute ago.

"Okay, now, Camille, don't forget about your flight tomorrow. I can take you to the airport."

She nodded. "That'd be great, thanks. I wish I didn't have to go, though."

I reached up and touched her cheek again. "You and Michael need to talk. You guys are more important than my stupid foot," I said.

She leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. "You're too sweet."

"Get a room, you two," Mom joked with a roll of her eyes and then took her seat by the window again to playing some kind of game or something on her iPad.

"I already have one, but my mom's hanging out," I joked right back and Mom just shook her head at me.

I looked at Camille with a mischievous grin and she giggled. We stole a quick, quiet kiss while my mom wasn't paying attention. Camille looked over her shoulder after and saw Mom lost in her own world, so she kissed me again, a little longer this time. It felt great having her there with me; I was just beginning to miss Jamie, the love of my life.

"She'll be back soon," Camille whispered and I nodded. I couldn't help but feel guilty for our plans getting postponed until I finished my recovery and physical therapy. I knew she wouldn't be upset with me at all, but Jamie deserved to be happy and right now I couldn't give her the one thing I knew would make her truly happy and that was the perfect wedding.