《 WATTY'S SHORTLIST 2021 》━ ❝WELCOME TO HART'S BAY.❞ where opposites attract. featuring » » » an ex-varsity swimmer and a hockey player. a once-wealthy server and a surfer on exchange. a daytime cashier and her nighttime counterpart. | presenting...
But the people of Hart's are beginning to realize that it's no way to live—hiding from the sea and the sky.
Both are at the heart of this town. This mighty black speck by the sea they call "home."
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After Kyle crumples to the ground, it only takes a second for Tess to spring into action. She checks his airway, his breathing, his pulse. Rolls him into recovery position after everything looks okay. Stays kneeled by his side, eyes crinkled in a concerned stare and watching the steady rise and fall of his chest.
Too much to drink, she guesses, by the looks of it.
But none of Tess's first-aid training has ever covered what to do after someone wakes up.
She watches his eyes open, then immediately close at the brightness of the lights hanging overhead. When he eventually comes to his senses and takes notice of her, he starts to jolt upwards, fingertips grasping at the floorboards to sit upright. Like he's been struck by lightning.
She stops him, one arm stretched across his chest and the other across his shoulder blades.
"Take it slow," she instructs.
Both of them are taken aback by her tone: firm, commanding, unfamiliar. He obeys. She stays quiet.
Kyle straightens slowly, looking around with bleary eyes and a dazed expression. The last thing he remembers is sinking the last pool ball, not him sinking to the ground. His stomach sinks too as he realizes: it's happened again.
Still, he asks, twisting away from Tess, "What happened?" Tentatively, because he's not sure he wants to know the answer.
"You passed out," she murmurs, "I think."
His hand reaches for the back of his head. "Fuck. Was it bad?"
"Could've been worse," she says softly. "Caught you an inch from the ground."
He breathes again: a loud exhale. "Thank you."
"No worries."
Tess starts to stand up and dust herself off, but Kyle's hand shoots out and catches her wrist.
"Really, Tess." He looks her in the eye, wearing a solemn expression that's usually reserved for the start of a hockey game, and repeats, "Thank you. I owe you one, I really do."
She flushes pink as she meets his gaze.
It scares Tess a little bit if she's being honest; she's unsure of how to respond. He's making it seem like she saved his life when all she did was work herself up into a frenzy trying to figure out what to do, unable to stop herself from wondering: had a similar chain of events taken place in the spring? How long had she lain on the floor?
