Above the waves

3

I sit on the sidewalk waiting for mom to pick me up. Just when I think I see mom's car pulling in, someone trips me and I fall on the road.

I look up to see Roger's face. I scowl.

A car honks and I hear its tires screech as it comes to a stop a few inches from me.

I've curled into a ball with my hands over my head and hear Charles barking.

I get up and Charles has now stopped barking at the car who barely missed me and is now barking for Roger to back off. Roger kicks Charles and Charles takes a step back. But he doesn't stop.

He keeps barking and growling till Roger takes a step back. People look and Roger seems scared of their attention. He scowls and walks off.

"If Charles hadn't stood up for me and defended me from both the car and Roger, who knows what exactly would've happened to me?" I explain.

Skylar takes a deep breath. "That kid sure had issues."

"But what he did to you that day was the worst." Sierra adds, shaking her head and clenching her fists. "I'm glad his parents finally knew what was going on and decided to pay for the bill and move away from here."

"I know they paid for the bill and moved, but may I ask what exactly happened? All I know is that his surfboard hit me. On purpose." I say.

They all share looks.

"It's been nine years. I never really thought about it before, but I want to know the details." I add.

"Well, he was being himself." Skylar starts off with a disgusted face. "He knew, just as everyone else did, that you were the best surfer in the ten below category. I personally think he wanted to make sure that didn't continue. What I'm amazed at is how a nine year old thought that up."

He pauses but then continues. "He tried doing tricks and all and I guess when he saw you sitting stagnant on your board, he thought he had a chance. He must've also thought he could 'fake an accident'," Skylar says with air quotations. "But we all know it wasn't, even when he realized how badly he hurt you. He was going too fast after doing a spin, and he knew he was headed straight for you and that you didn't know he was coming. He repositioned his feet to raise his board a bit and- bam! He hit you. Right in the spinal chord. That sound was loud."

Sierra nods. "We all heard the impact. We honestly thought your spine had broken and that would mean- you know." She exhales a shaky breath. "We didn't see him coming either. We were too busy admiring the shell necklace Nate gave you."

"Stop." I tell her. I know where she's headed. She and Skylar and even Nate blame themselves. They keep saying 'if only they had been more observant wth their surroundings' or 'if only they surrounded me' or 'if only they had driven Roger father off' and so on.

"It's not your fault. Yours, Skylar's or even- Nate's. None of you did this to me. Okay?"

"But we could've prevented it." She says.

I shake my head.

Sierra sighs and nods but I know she still holds a little blame for herself. Everyone does actually.

These four beach houses along this strip on our beach hold dear friends who also hold a little blame to themselves. 'If only we had been there. If only we were looking carefully.' , etc.

I couldn't bear to see them feel so burdened and sad whenever they saw me, so I hid. For a year I stayed at home not even going out for church. I know, real bad attitude. Now, I stay at home all day except for my dawn and dusk 'walks' and bonfire night and church.

"Yeah, we could've done something." Skylar says.

"No. You would've gotten hurt too. One of us is enough. Mom and dad don't need more medical bills." I reply.

They all share looks and look down sadly.

"I'm sorry I brought this up. Let's just play." I say.

An hour later, we've finished the game and the dogs have fallen asleep.

Sierra won, with me and mom following. Skylar and Dad are playfully  upset and demand for us to play another game.

"Monopoly, Sequence, or Boggle." Skylar says with a determined look.

We girls share a look. "Monopoly!"

Skylar prepares the board and explains the rules to dad and mom who actually forgot how to play. It's been a while since one of our family game days included Monopoly.

"Do you think we can play Clue or maybe Wii later?" I ask Sierra.

She smiles. "Sure. It's been a while since we played Wii."

I agree. I haven't exactly been confident enough to play Wii. But now, I think I'm feeling a determination to not be the cause of sadness in the people I love, to not be a burden, and to be the bright ray of sunshine I once was.