Can't Get Enough [Wattpad Featured Story]

Chapter Eighteen

"O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me." – Psalm 30:2

Waves crashed all around her. The sky was a dark, ominous gray. Threatening storm clouds billowed over the churning sea. Wave after wave rose up, only to slam back down in a spray of foam. Alana felt herself sinking lower and lower until she was completely swallowed by the ocean. Now the waves were no longer crashing, but spinning her underwater.

She swam furiously, not knowing which way was up and which way was down. The hazy underwater world was plunged into near-darkness. Only when her hand reached the surface did she come up spluttering, thankful to be alive. As the waves slowly receded and the storm clouds rolled back, she pulled herself onto her surfboard and rested.

In just mere minutes, calm waters replaced the churning ocean. The sun lit up the sky in a rainbow of colors, chasing away the dark storm clouds. Alana reached out and trailed her hand across the glassy water, her fingertips just barely skimming the surface. She leaned forward in amazement, causing her white-blonde locks to come tumbling over her shoulders.

She heard a splash of water and glanced up. The sun was so blinding that she could barely make out a silhouette moving towards her. Then the nose of a surfboard suddenly bumped against her leg, and she heard a low voice say her name.

"Alana."

Alana shot up in bed, causing a bolt of pain to run through her leg. It throbbed in sync with her heartbeat. When she reached out to touch the bandage tightly wound around her thigh, she realized there was no more blood.

Her breathing slowed as she took in her surroundings. She noticed she was on a small cot inside an air-conditioned, gray-walled room. First aid posters and medical supplies were the only decorations. Despite the appearance of a hospital ward, something told Alana that she was in a similar, yet slightly different, place.

A drop of water landed on her shoulder. Her hair, she noticed, was stringy and slightly damp. She held a strand in front of her nose and realized it still smelled like salt.

Slowly, the memory of the accident came back to her. She remembered trying to paddle out of the surfer's way, ditching her board and swimming as deep as she could, and feeling searing pain shoot down her left hamstring.

"Alana!" a voice gasped. "You're awake! Are you okay?"

Alana smiled as Maya, who had been sitting on a chair at the opposite end of the room, dashed over to her.

"Of course I am," Alana laughed. Maya wrapped her in a tight hug, being carefully not to lean against Alana's leg. "How long was I out?"

"About twenty minutes," she replied.

"Oh." It seemed like much longer. Alana's mind was in a fog, and she wondered if this was what jetlag felt like. She rubbed her eyes and sat up straighter, being careful not to move her leg too much. Though she could bend her knee with no problem, her left hamstring was still quite sore.

Suddenly, a tall lifeguard wearing a white T-shirt and red boardshorts entered the room. Maya stepped aside and let him take her place.

"Hello, I'm Jeremy," he said, giving her a warm smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Groggy."

"That might be because we gave you some medicine," he explained. "You were unconscious when one of your friends pulled you out of the water."