Waiting for Us (4 page)

"Okay honey," my mom says as she looks me over. "I need to take you to the hospital. You need some stitches and you may have a concussion. Let's go get you checked out. Jake, can you find my purse for me please and grab me a couple of towels from the bathroom closet? Cory, can you please carry Hailey out to my car?"

"Sure," he says as he scoops me up like I weigh nothing. I wrap my arms around his neck and lay my head against his chest. My body hurts so much I can't even enjoy being in his arms. He effortlessly carries me to my mom's minivan. Jake places a towel on the seat, under me before Cory puts me down. My mom folds up the other towel and places it against my shoulder where I'm still bleeding.

"Lean back against the seat. It will hold the towel in place and keep pressure on your wound. Your head isn't bleeding anymore so I'm not going to mess with that."

Jake comes over as my mom steps away from me.

"Good luck Munchkin. Everything will be fine."

He leans over and kisses me on my cheek before taking a step back, making room for Cory to say goodbye to me. He leans down and kisses me on the top of my head.

"Hang in there. You will feel better soon."

I don't reply to any of the things people are saying to me. I think I may have gone into a bit of shock as a way for my body to cope with the all-encompassing pain.

Cory shuts my door and walks over to stand with Jake at the edge of the driveway. My mom starts the car and quickly gets us on our way to the hospital. I don't really remember much of the ride there. What I do remember and will never be able to forget is the excruciating pain of the emergency room docs cleaning out all my scrapes and cuts. I thought they would never finish flushing all the sand and debris out of them. I was horrified when I first saw that I'm covered from thigh to ankle on my right side with what looks similar to road rash, that was caused from being drug against the rocks. Thankfully, I was wearing my rash guard top or I'm sure it would have been much worse. As it is, I will be scarred for life.

The doctor in the emergency room decides to admit me for observation and watch me for twenty-four hours because of my concussion. I also ended up needing eight stitches behind my right ear and twenty stitches on the back of my shoulder. All of my cuts and scrapes have been cleaned and bandaged and I am now in my own room. The pain medication they gave me worked wonders, but I feel so loopy and out of it.

"I'm going to run home honey, but I will be back later. Do you want me to bring you anything?"

"Dinner, please. I don't want to eat hospital food." I say groggily.

My mom leans over and kisses my cheek before leaving.

I'm sitting up in my bed eating the pizza and fries my mom picked up for me. Thankfully she went home and grabbed me some clean clothes and my cell phone. Marcus came to the hospital with her to keep me company for the night so she won’t have to stay. She doesn't want to leave Jake and Cory unsupervised. My brother has been known on more than one occasion, to throw a spur of the moment party, at our beach house. My dad is still at our regular home in Lexham. I spoke to him earlier on the phone. He wanted to make sure I was fine without him being here. He had to work this week at his law firm in Boston and since there’s really no reason for him to rush back here, I told him to stay put.

I wake to the feeling of someone softly stroking my head. It feels so soothing and relaxing I don't want to open my eyes. I just want to lay here and savor it. I catch the scent of Marcus' soap and it relaxes me, knowing he is here, with me. Before I know it, I drift off to sleep once again.

I’m gasping for air and my heart is beating out of my chest. My breathing is shallow and fast, making me feel so panicked that I can't seem to find a way to slow it down. It feels like no matter how hard I try; I can’t seem to take in enough air. My chest is getting tighter and tighter.

"Hails, you're okay. I'm right here," Marcus wakes me from the nightmare I’m in the middle of. He quietly reassures me I’m safe, before pulling me into his arms. I start sobbing uncontrollably and hang on to him with what little strength I have. He sits beside me on the bed and pulls me into his lap, one arm wrapped around me and the other gently cradling my head.

"I was so scared Marcus. I thought I was gonna die. I can't stop thinking about what happened. It's stuck on a loop in my mind and I can't seem to stop it. In my dream, it was like it was happening all over again." I pull away from him to wipe my tears, but he beats me to it; swiping under my eyes with his thumbs. He's holding my face in his hands, his concerned gaze intently locked on mine.

"I wish I could make it all go away, Hails."

He pulls me back in his arms, shifting his weight so he is lying on his right side and I'm on my left. I nuzzle my face in the fabric of his shirt and breathe in his familiar, clean scent. It instantly calms me and I feel my anxiety fading away. He kisses me on the crown of my head and begins stroking my hair.

"Relax baby, I've got you. I'm not going anywhere."

I snuggle up against his chest and before I drift to sleep, once again, I think about the fact that he just called me baby.
I'm going to have to think about that some more when I'm not feeling like shit.
I fall asleep feeling safe and secure in his arms.

The Doctor on duty discharges me late the next morning with a list of instructions. I have a concussion so I'm not supposed to do any sports or physical activities for two weeks and I'm not allowed to surf for four to six weeks.
I'm going to go batshit crazy! I may have to sneak some waves in when my parents aren't around.
Also on my list of instructions is to avoid getting my stitches wet. My mom said she would wrap my bandages with saran wrap and tape it all up good. I can't wait to take a shower. My hair is still full of sand and my skin feels unnaturally stiff and dry from the salt water.

Marcus slept in my bed with me for most of the night. He got the boot from one of the nurses when she came in to take my temperature and blood pressure. From that point on he slept in the recliner at my bedside and held my hand. He has been amazingly sweet and I couldn't ask for more from him. I have the greatest best friend ever.

When we arrive at my house Marcus helps me get out of the car and walks me upstairs, to my bathroom so I can finally get clean. Between the beach funk and hospital germs, I feel dirtier than I've ever been.

"Are you okay by yourself, until your mom comes up?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, no dizziness or nausea."

"I have to go home for now. I need to get my run in and do some weight training, but I promise I will be back later."

I stand on my tiptoes and reach my arms up to hug him. We stand there holding onto one another for a minute or so.

"Thank you for all that you've done Marcus. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Hails, no need to thank me. I will always be here for you. There's nowhere else I would rather be."

I slept most of the afternoon away on the cushioned wicker couch on our three season porch.
Who knew almost drowning was so exhausting?
It's not the most comfortable piece of furniture, but you can't beat the sea breeze that comes in through the multiple windows that wrap around the front of the room. At some point, Cory came in and sat in my favorite chair to read. I'm not sure how long he was there prior to me waking up, but I'd been meaning to talk to him. I gingerly sit up, slowly taking stock of how my injuries are feeling. My pain level isn't too bad right now. I'm sure it had something to do with the pain meds the doctor prescribed for me. I took one and shortly after I was out like a light.

"Hey, Cory." I interrupt him. "Sorry to bother you while you're reading, but I just wanted to thank you for all that you did for me yesterday. If you hadn't been there, I’m sure I would have drowned."

“Hailey, you don't need to thank me. I'm just grateful I was there."

"Me too Cory, if you weren't, I probably wouldn't be here now." I start to tear up as the gravity of the situation hits me. He must see me struggling to hold back the tears because he stands up, pulling me off the couch and into his arms. I start to cry in earnest and he rubs my back making soothing sounds.

"You're okay. There's nothing for you to worry about now."

I push myself away from him, embarrassed that I'm crying in front of him and wipe my eyes with the back of my hands.

"It's all still a little too fresh in my mind. I know it will be easier with time. Anyway thanks again." I say before I walk away from him and out of the room.

Marcus comes over to watch a movie with me that night. He lets me choose this time and I pick Never Been Kissed.
Bold choice, right?
I chose it because I love it and really for no other reason.
This could spark some interesting conversation between us, though.

We are on my bed, side by side on our stomachs, with a bowl of popcorn between us when Marcus says, "come on back here with me. My neck is getting sore from lying like this."

He moves up to the top of my bed, propping up some pillows behind him.

"Get up here Hails," he says, patting his muscular chest.

I groan as I lift myself up. My limbs are stiff from lying in one position for too long and I feel like an old grandma as I tentatively crawl towards him. I groan out loud in relief as I settle in his arms and snuggle into his chest.

"Ya know, you make a wonderful pillow," I announce making Marcus chuckle.

"I like being your pillow."

"If we keep this up your chest may ruin all other pillows for me. I will be looking at a life of insomnia and permanent bags under my eyes."

Marcus laughs and rubs my arm. We settle in to watch the rest of the movie.

"God, I hope I won't be that old when I finally get kissed. As it is, I'm the only one of all of my friends that hasn't already."

"You haven't been kissed Hails?"

"I thought you knew that. Can I ask you something and you have to promise you will be honest with me?"

"Of course."

"Am I unkissable?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I guess I would like to know if I'm unattractive to boys. Sometimes I feel like no guy is ever going to like me as anything but a friend. All my girlfriends have been dating people and it just feels like I'm always the single friend tagging along." I turn so I'm lying with my chin propped on my hands on top of his chest.

"Hailey, I hate that you are thinking all these things that aren't true. You are beautiful, Hails. So freaking beautiful that you make my heart hurt just by looking at you each day. If it makes you feel any better, I haven't kissed anyone yet either."

"You haven't? How is that even possible? I mean you're on the football team and you’re cute." I can feel my face blushing at what I just shared.

"There hasn't been anyone else I've wanted to kiss. I think a person's first kiss should be special so I was kind of hoping that maybe we could have our first kisses with each other? What do you think?" To say I'm shocked would be a huge understatement. I can't seem to form a coherent thought or get any words to come out of my mouth so I just nod my head in agreement. Marcus rolls me over to my back and hovers over my upper body. He gently runs his index finger back and forth on my bottom lip before circling my whole mouth.

"I've wanted to kiss these lips for a long time."  I can’t believe this is happening, right now.

He slides one hand into the side of my hair, softly caressing my scalp and holding my head in place. His face moves slowly down towards mine and I can't take my eyes off of his mouth as it descends lower and lower. I nervously lick my lips and hope that I don't screw this up. The initial contact is so light I barely feel it. It’s a soft meeting of our lips... like a quiet whisper or a gentle sigh. The next time, our lips press together more forcefully and I feel the contact all the way to my toes. Marcus leans my head to the side and angles his in the other direction bringing our mouths together in the best of ways. His tongue enters my mouth and sensually caresses mine making me grip the back of his shoulders in surprise. My arms pull him closer to me as I enjoy rubbing my tongue against his.
We seem to have this kissing thing down.
Both of us are breathing heavy when we finally part.

"Wow, why did we wait so long to do that?” He says looking pleased with himself.

"I have no idea, but we have a lot of wasted time to make up for," I say, pulling him down towards me.

Chapter Four

February 2008

I didn't see Cory again until the following February at my sixteenth birthday party. My mom and dad decided to make an occasion out of it since "it’s a big milestone in a girl’s life" as my mom has pointed out to me on numerous occasions. They rented out a banquet room at a restaurant in Boston harbor and invited about fifty guests total. Twenty or so of that number are my closest friends and the rest are family members and friends of my parents. This restaurant is one of the more popular ones and is located near where the cruise ships dock.

Marcus is coming.
Squee!
I'm so freaking excited to see him and introduce him to my friends, especially Shelby; my best friend from school. She has heard so much about him and vice versa. He and I haven't seen each other since the end of the summer break, although we talk or text every day. We are still best friends even though we kissed last summer. We made out a lot on the night we shared our first kiss, but other than that we managed to keep things strictly platonic for the remainder of our time at the beach. Neither one of us wanted to risk ruining our friendship.

My mom took me to the salon this afternoon to get my hair, makeup and nails done. I chose a charcoal shimmery polish for my fingernails and fuchsia for my toes. My hair is done in large, loose curls with the front twisted and clipped above my right ear with a crystal encased barrette. My turquoise dress is strapless with a tight, fitted top. The skirt is fuller and ends a couple of inches above my knees. The color of my dress really makes my eyes pop or maybe it's the copper shades of eyeshadow and loads of black mascara that are making them stand out so much.

Looking in the mirror for a last minute check I'm taken aback at how much older I look. It feels as though I'm seeing someone else's reflection staring pensively back at me. I can't get over how coltishly long my black peep toe heels make my legs look. No wonder why grown women prefer to wear heels all the time. I re-apply my bubble gum pink lip gloss and take one final glance before making my way to the party room where my parents are waiting for guests to begin arriving.

Marcus and his mom walk into the room and I let out a shriek before I go barreling towards him. He lets out a big belly laugh as he catches me in his arms. He spins us around before setting me back on my now unsteady legs. My fingers clench his biceps till the room stops spinning.

"Woah, spinning and heels, not a good combination," I say with a giggle. "Not to mention my natural clumsiness."

"I got you, Hails," he says as he pulls me in for another hug. I wrap my arms around his waist and we stay there until Marcus' mom interrupts us.

"I need to hug the birthday girl. Get over here and let me look at you. You get more beautiful every time I see you."

She pulls me in tight, practically squeezing the life out of me. I hug her back and Marcus steps in to save me.

"Mom, geez, let the girl breathe."

We all laugh and my parents come over to see Marcus. My mom gives him a hug and says how handsome he looks in his suit. My dad and he shake hands and pull each other in for the back slap.

Shelby arrives a few minutes later with Dani and Tina, two of my other close, school friends. They engulf me with hugs and clouds of fruity body spray and also, lots of squealing over our dresses. We are a noisy bunch when we get together. I look over at Marcus and crook my finger. He walks over and takes my hand.

"Guys this is Marcus."

They all stand there staring at him, jaws gaping, before getting it together and saying hi.

"Marcus this is Shelby, Dani, and Tina. I know you've heard plenty about them over the years, but I'm so glad you're all finally meeting. They like to tease me that I made you up and you don't actually exist." I say looking up at him. He winks at me before replying.

"Hi, girls. As you can see, I'm here in the flesh. I couldn't miss my Hails sweet sixteen."

A chorus of "awws" ensues. I knew they'd love him.

The room fills up with more and more people and I begin to wonder if my parents invited more guests than they realize. Some more kids from my school are here. One of the guys, Erik Smith, comes up behind me, unexpectedly hugging me.

"Hey you. Happy Birthday." He whispers in my ear.

I turn in his arms with a smile and give him a quick hug. I gesture to Marcus as I introduce the two of them. Marcus has a guarded expression on his face as the two of them shake hands.

"Erik is the quarterback for our football team," I explain.

"Marcus is a running back for Newbury. Do we ever play his school?" I ask looking up at Erik.

"No, we don't. They're in a different division than we are." He says with a sweet smile directed at me.

"Why am I not surprised you don't already know this Hails?" Marcus asks, pulling my attention back to him. "You still have no idea about anything football related." He shakes his head and pokes me in the side.

"Eek!" I squeak out. "Don't do that Marcus. You know how ticklish I am."

"Actually," Erik interrupts, putting his arm around my waist, before continuing. "Hailey came to all our home games to cheer us on. I think she's got a pretty good grasp of football and she was my good luck charm. We didn't lose a single home game this season." He looks down at me and winks.

"I think that had more to do with your throwing arm E than my watching," I say giggling.

"Maybe I was showing off for you." He whispers flirtatiously in my ear and it causes me to shiver. He smiles at me knowingly. Before I can reply, Marcus takes hold of my hand.

"I need to steal Hailey away for a bit," He says tugging me along as he agilely weaves in and out of party guests. He is a first-string running back on his football team...of course he's light on his feet. I feel a little like Bambi sliding on the frozen pond, as I’m being awkwardly dragged behind him in my high heels.

"Marcus, slow down. I can't run in these things." He slows to a more sedate pace as he pulls me into the main hallway.

"Where are we going?" I ask, but he gives no evidence that he heard my question. He just keeps walking and pulling me along until we come to a series of three doors. He opens the first one and immediately closes it. He opens the next one and pulls me inside, closing and locking the door behind us. We are in a small powder room. I think it must be for the restaurant's employees. I don't really get a chance to take it all in before Marcus suddenly pushes my back against the door. He's holding both of my upper arms and leaning towards me. I open my mouth to ask what's going on, but his lips are on mine before I get the chance to speak.  As he's pressing hard biting kisses on my lips, he's molding his whole body to mine. He feels like a solid wall of muscle. My hands are tightly clenching and tugging on his soft hair. It's longer than it was in the summer and I love the way it feels sliding through my fingers. He slips his tongue into my mouth and groans as I meet it with mine.

"I've been dying to kiss you all night Hails." His lips are on mine again, our tongues rubbing and our bodies wrapped around each other. I moan out loud when he gently bites on my bottom lip. He pulls away, cupping my face in his palms.

"Are you dating Erik?" He asks, staring into my eyes.

"No," I shake my head.

"Good, because God knows I can't stand the thought of you kissing anyone else besides me."

"Marcus, what's going on? I thought we agreed on just being friends?"

"I know we did, but I got so jealous when Erik was acting as though you guys were involved. You're mine Hails, not his."

"But Marcus, I'm not, though. I'm not yours or anyone else's. Don't get me wrong, I love kissing you, but I still think we should try to remain friends only; at least until the summer. We won't see each other again till June and what if you want to date someone between now and then? What if I do?" I rub his arm soothingly, hoping he's not going to be mad at me.

"I know you're right but damned if I don't want to just say fuck it and be in a long distance relationship with you. I miss you all the time and I've really missed these lips," he says brushing his mouth gently against mine.

I look up at him and get lost in the depths of his blue eyes. He is so beautiful, both, inside and out.

"I miss you too. Believe me, I have moments where I think about how great it would be to be your girlfriend, but I still think we should wait and see what next summer brings. Okay?"

"Yeah, but how about one more kiss to tide us over?" He says with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

We return to the party with the guests none the wiser about where we had disappeared to. I notice my brother and Cory are here now, so I make my way over to them and collect my birthday hugs. Cory gives me a little squeeze at the end of his hug. It makes our stomachs press together and, as a result, my knees go weak. It's the same feeling Marcus' kisses give me.
I wonder if every guy will make me feel this way? Hmm, I may need to check into that.

I'm having a blast dancing with my friends. I even danced to a slow song with Erik or E, as I like to call him, without Marcus kicking his ass. It was nice being held by him but I think more investigation may be necessary to see if he can make me feel like Marcus and Cory do. I know he likes me and from what I’ve heard, he wants to ask me out.  He's a nice guy and I like him a lot, but I'm not sure if I want to open that can of worms since I will be spending my summer with Marcus. It's something I'll have to think good and hard on.
No pun intended! Haha, I crack myself up.

My party is winding down as I run to the ladies room with Shelby. We both pause in front of the mirror to put on more lip gloss and fix our hair.

"So what do you think of Marcus?"

"He is H.O.T. - HOT." I giggle at her answer. "He seems really nice too. I can tell he's got a thing for you."

"What are you talking about Shelb?"

"I was watching him when you were dancing with Erik and smoke was practically coming out his ears. He looked sooo pissed."

"Funny you should say that because he yanked me into some bathroom and laid an epic kiss on me because he was jealous."

"What?"

"Yep. Nothing will change, though. We are going to wait till the summer and see how we feel then. I don't want to lose his friendship, though, so I really need to give this some serious thought." I can’t ever lose him as a friend. He means way too much to me.

"So what's going on with you and Erik? You guys looked pretty cozy when you were dancing." She nudges my arm with her elbow.

"Yeah, I'm not sure what's up with him. He has been paying a lot of attention to me at school lately and he texts me every night. He seems like a good guy. I haven't heard any crazy stories about him anyway, so that's a plus. I guess I'll just wait and see what happens. Come on, let's get back out there."

I open the bathroom door and hold it for Shelby. We are walking past the men's room at the same time Cory is exiting it. We barely miss bumping into each other and share a laugh over our close call.

"Hey, can I grab you for a sec?" He asks me.

"Sure, Shelby I'll meet you on the dance floor in a few." Shelby nods and smirks as she walks away. She knows about my "Cory crush" and how hot I think he is.

"So what's up Cory?" I ask, wondering what he could want to talk to me about.

"Come here," he says wrapping his warm hand around mine. He walks us back toward where we just came from, before continuing down the hall and around a sharp corner. He fluidly turns me to face him and tucks me back into the alcove on the right side of the hallway. The small space is deep enough to offer some privacy as he maneuvers his body close to my mine. My breath stutters from the contact and I suddenly feel nervous. I'm not sure what to do with my hands so I place my palms on the cool wall behind me, bracing myself against it. He runs the top of his index finger slowly down my cheek and back up again.

"It seems like such a cliché for you to be turning sweet sixteen and you’ve never been kissed. I thought I could help you out with that." He says with a sly smile on his handsome face. Before I can reply that I have already been kissed, he is softly pressing his mouth to mine. His lips are warm and sure. It feels different than kissing Marcus. Maybe it's the fact that he's eight years older than me and he has a lot of experience, whatever the reason, I feel as though I'm kissing a man. The kiss is over almost before it's begun, yet I can't help but feel as though my destiny has been irrevocably changed as a result. One small kiss from Cory Marshall and my life would never be the same.

If only I knew how prophetic those thoughts would be....