A North Carolina Autumn

Sudden Uncertainty

3.15.2022
Welcome back:)

*This is Book 3 in the That North Carolina Summer series*

Jeremy, Derek and Austin take action immediately. They sprint into the water, diving below the surface to swim towards Rylie's board, floating upside down in the water. They swim fast, but it doesn't seem fast enough.

I watch helplessly from the shore, unable to move my feet that seem to be cemented to the dry sand. My eyes scan the water frantically, searching for any sign of Rylie. She still hasn't surfaced. Waves continue to crash, unaware of my internal screaming, begging them to stop so that Rylie can come back up for air.

She's okay. She has to be okay.

Jeremy reaches the board first and stops only briefly to take a breath before diving beneath the surface again. Derek and Austin soon follow. They each surface once more before going back under.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was incredibly grateful for their energy. Swimming that far out, that quickly, while fighting the large waves wasn't easy. I guess it was different when trying to save someone's life. Especially when that someone was Rylie.

After what feels like an eternity but could only be a few minutes, Derek breaks the surface with Rylie in his arms. I can see from shore that her body is limp and unmoving, and he carefully leans her head against his shoulder before swimming backwards towards shore.

"Austin! Grab the board!" He shouts. "Jer, help me with Ry!" Had he been closer, I would've heard the terror in his voice. Austin grabs her board and Jeremy hurries to help with Rylie, kicking his legs hard to propel them faster towards land. They reach the shore quickly and drag Rylie from the water onto the sand before kneeling beside her unmoving body.

It's immediately evident that she's not breathing. Her chest stays still, and I watch, frozen in horror as blood seeps slowly through her tangled, wet hair and into the sand.

"No..." I gasp, finally able to speak. Someone comes up beside me and takes my hand tightly in theirs, but I can't turn to see who. I cling tightly to them anyway.

Jeremy's eyes suddenly jump to mine before he begins CPR. They're wide and scared, and I can tell he's desperate to comfort me, but also desperate to save Rylie. "Austin, grab a towel and apply pressure to her head." He doesn't have to ask twice before Austin bolts off, quickly returning with a couple of towels. He slips onto his stomach and gently lifts Rylie's head to try and find the source of the bleeding before carefully setting her head back down on the towel.

Derek sprints back towards his things, returning with his cell phone pressed to his ear. "Yes, on the beach. Please hurry." He ends the call before dropping to his knees beside Jeremy. "I'll take over compressions. You take mouth to mouth."

Jeremy nods before moving up towards Rylie's head. They work as a team while Austin keeps the pressure on her wound, but I can see the blood quickly soaking that towel. His wide, terrified eyes meet mine for a moment before he carefully swaps the towels.

My eyes more to Rylie's face, and I feel the tears begin rushing down my own. Grains of sand cling to the pale skin of her face, arms and legs. Her eyes are shut with little bits of sand dotting the lashes, while her lips are slightly parted and slowly taking on a grey blue shade. Tiny drops of water periodically drop from her face to the sand beside her, only to be replaced by more drops from the strands of Jeremy's wet hair as he tries to give her the oxygen she can't breathe on her own.

One of his hands grasps her chin, holding her mouth open while the other plugs her nose. I can hear each time her blows air into her mouth. Each time he comes up, the hand on her nose moves to the top of her head, and he gently rubs his thumb on her forehead. "Come on, Ry. You're stronger than this." He says softly, but I catch every word.