Head Above Water

15. Insight into the Past

The week passed quickly and before I knew it, Friday had rolled around. I was scheduled to race today in a couple events at a school meet about 40 minutes away from home. On the plus side, I got to miss my first four classes of the day. On the downside, those were most of my classes with Rick and Mal. I’d been pretty swamped with practices the whole week, so I hadn’t been able to talk to them much and I still had tons of questions.

The whole vampires existing thing really boggled my mind, but I think I was finally getting used to the idea. Thanks to Malcolm’s blood, the evidence no longer existed on my neck for the world to see, as the bite had healed entirely in only a couple days, leaving perfect, unblemished skin behind. Doctors would be enthralled if they knew what vampire blood could do.

A sharp stabbing pain in my temple jolted me from my thoughts and I winced. I’d woken up with a headache again, same as I had the last couple days. Had headaches not been semi-common for me, I would’ve been worried it was a side effect of the vampire blood or something.

I winced at the feeling, but that made the pain even worse, so I quickly relaxed all my facial muscles. If this was what a hangover felt like, I never wanted to get drunk.

I pulled out my phone to text my mom, hoping she could come get me when my last race finished. I’d won two already and only had one left to go. On a normal day I’d be pumped with energy after two wins, but today I just felt drained.

A large hand landed heavily on my shoulder making me jump. Thankfully my neck was healed, otherwise that would’ve hurt. “Alright, Stewart. One more left. This is your best event. You can do it. Stay focused, keep your head down, and don’t screw up,” Coach Hawthorn barked.

I dragged myself off the bench and trudged into the lineup at the starting blocks. I took a few deep breaths, then several quick forceful ones, hoping to get the oxygen pumping and clear my head. At the first beep I stepped up onto the block and crouched into the starting position, trying to visualize my tiredness turning into a physical vapor. I exhaled forcibly, imagining I was expelling the vapor, and when the starting buzzer chirped, I flew off the block.

I powered through the first half of the race, but all too soon my limbs started feeling heavy and the buzzing pain in my skull intensified. I pushed myself harder, trying to ignore the pain. With two laps left, I pulled ahead of the other swimmers, my muscles screaming. My ears began to ring loudly and my brain throbbed as if it was quickly growing too big for my skull. I winced at the feeling, but gritted my teeth and pressed forward, seeing the finish line almost within reach.

Finally I hit the wall and raised my head, gasping for air. White spots caused by the now searing headache danced in front of my eyes. I dragged myself out of the pool, for once using the ladder, which I never needed. I sat on the edge of the pool for a moment, squeezing the sides of my head as if that could keep my brain from throbbing.

“You okay there?” The medic on duty asked, looming over me anxiously.

“Yeah. Nasty migraine,” I answered.

“Do you have family who could take you home?”

“Yeah, my mom’s—”

“Gemma?” My mom interrupted with perfect timing. “Is she okay?” she asked the medic worriedly.

“Yeah, she just seems to have a bad headache,” he told her.

My mom nodded. “She called me.” She turned her attention to me. “You ready to go then?”

I started to nod, but winced when the small movement resulted in a surge of pain. “Yeah.” She held a hand out to pull me up from the pool deck and surprised me by wrapping a towel tightly around me.