CLICKS - The Dolphin Prophecy

CHAPTER 12

The clicks were gone. For the first time in my entire life, the thoughts in my head were mine and mine alone. Mica and I had shared silent communication even before we knew words. For most of our lives, it was ideas, images, and feelings between us. Only in the past few years, had we gotten good at filtering. I’d learned to ignore every single thought and feeling that came through from Mica.

Now, I’d give anything for even the slightest flicker. But there wasn’t a single blip. Not when I cradled him in my arms for the endless minutes it took for the ambulance to arrive at the beach, nor during the ride to hospital; or when they spent unhelpful ages doing the same basic tests that hadn’t helped the others, at all. Since Mica had been surfing, they spent a lot of time examining his head for external bumps and bruises, which infuriated me to no end.

“It’s not from surfing!” I screamed at Billy, so loudly that he ordered me out of Mica’s room. I stomped up and down the hallway, hating the fake cheery blue on the walls and every single person who came by, offering support. The only person I needed right now was laying still and silent on a sick bed. And, there was nothing at all that I could do about it.

Billy finally came from the room, apologetic.

“Cami, I know you’re upset, and I want you to stay, but if you can’t be calm, you have to leave. I can give you something to help, if you want.”

“What, like a sedative?” I snorted, rolling my eyes.

Billy nodded, pity in his eyes. “Look, I gotta get back in to help Mica. Where’s Blake? Can he sit here with you until your mom comes?”

My anger exploded. “I don’t want him anywhere near me. This is all his fault!” I growled.

“What did Blake have to do with this?” Billy asked.

“He cut him off!” I wailed. “Because he wanted to win. He didn’t even notice when Mica went down—he just kept on going! Because winning was so damn important, nothing else mattered.”

Billy’s eyes widened even further and he patted my shoulder awkwardly.

“Cami, Blake didn’t do this,” he said.

“Then why are you looking for bumps on Mica’s head?” I sobbed out.

“It’s a precaution,” Billy said, using an extremely gentle voice. “We wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t. But you and I both know, that this looks just like the others.”

“What if it’s not? What if it’s worse?” I asked.

“I won’t let that happen, Cami,” Billy said, his voice choking on the words. “Not to Mica. I need to get back in there. So, can you stay here and stay calm?”

“I’ve got her,” Celeste said, walking up at exactly the right moment. She put a hand on my shoulder and leaned in to give Billy a kiss. His eyes got teary from her kindness, and I felt awful for yelling at him. Mica belonged to him, almost as much as he belonged to me. So, I didn’t begrudge the extra seconds he stayed in the hug before going back to Mica’s room to save him for me.

With her full concentration and sympathy on me, I collapsed into Celeste’s arms. Within seconds, I’d soaked her shirt with tears. She didn’t care; she just let me cry until I’d drained every tear for the moment.

“Thanks for skipping the ‘it’s all going to be okay’ speech,” I said, sniffling in gratitude. She hadn’t interrupted, even once, with any of the ridiculous chatter I’d said to Alysha when she’d been in this very same position.

Of course, then it had seemed like a random accident, whereas now it seemed like something was very, very wrong.

By the time Blake arrived, my fight had left. Even lifting my eyes to look at him felt like too much work. I needed every bit of strength to ignore the way my heart beat a little faster the second he walked in.