It was a rough day in the cove, waves rushing over the sand and crashing against the surrounding cliffs. Remington and his brothers had been there all winter since buying a house a few streets from the shore. It wasn't their permanent home, but one they decided to use as a retreat for when they needed an escape from the city.
Now, they were wandering along the cove's wet sand while arguing humorously about nothing in particular, passing the time aimlessly simply because they could.
Remington broke off from his brothers to pick up a discarded beer can near the water edge with the plan to take it to a bin on the path, and when he straightened with it in his hand, he noticed a shape in the water a few metres away.
He watched for a moment, tried to make out what it was, and decided, alarmed, that it was a person, alone, probably drowning.
Without thinking beyond the point of knowing he had to do something, he dropped the can and began into the freezing water, wading into the oncoming waves until he was submerged up to his waist. Then he took a breath, adrenaline making him less aware of how cold he was, and started to swim, not slowing until he reached the person - a man barely keeping his head above the surface, water lapping at his mouth.
Remington grabbed him and, with some difficulty, swam back to the shore, where his brothers were yelling at him, frightened of the prospect of him not making it back safely. Once he could reach the ground with his feet, Remington wrapped both his arms around the man and strode through the water, meeting Sebastian where the waves were crashing onto the sand.
"Jesus Christ," Sebastian said. "You're fucking insane. Is he alive? Lay him down. Fuck. Emerson, call an ambulance! My God, he's gone blue."
Remington was shivering but hadn't been in the water long enough, luckily, for it to have any serious effects. He kept walking until he was well away from the water and sheltered from the wind by the cove walls. He lowered himself and the man to the ground, where Sebastian tucked his and Emerson's jackets over the man's body.
"Hold him tight," Sebastian said. "I'm gonna run for help. I don't know. Get people to give me their coats or something. Emerson, stay with them. If you see anyone, call for help. He's gonna freeze to death."
Watching him turn for the steep path up unto the road, Remington, pulled the jackets tighter, took the man's hands in his own in an attempt to warm them up. "Can you hear me?" He asked, knew he was alive only because he could feel his entire body shaking wildly, with awful fear and with paralyzing cold.
The man, to Remington's relief, nodded.
"What's your name? I'm Remington."
"Andy," he answered, teeth clattering.
"Hi, Andy. We're getting you help, okay? You're gonna be just fine. Emerson, they're on their way?"
Emerson was stood nearby, phone in hand. "Ten minutes tops. They said try and get him indoors if we can. A cafe or something. Anywhere warm. Get him out of the wet clothes. And you, too. You're gonna get cold if you don't dry off."
"Okay," Remington said. "Andy, mate, we're gonna walk just a little bit, is that alright?"
Andy nodded, grateful for the way Remington kept a hold of his hands as they stood, Emerson taking his shoulders to guide him. It was a challenge in itself, getting up the steep cliff path when his limbs were completely numb and his heart was hammering so fast he was struggling to keep up with it, shallow breaths tumbling over one another.
The nearest cafe was a few metres up the road and was busy, the bad weather drawing in passers by. Just outside the entrance, Andy's legs gave in and he collapsed against Emerson. The drummer was quick to catch him and together, he and Remington carried him through the door and into the warmth.
Already, customers and waiters were rushing to help, many offering jackets. They sat Andy by the radiator against the wall, staff encouraging as many people as they could to leave so that he wouldn't feel surrounded and observed.
"Shirts coming off, alright?" Remington said, gripping the bottom of the soaked fabric. After a nod, he wrestled it over the man's head and dropped it on the ground. He wrapped a large, dry jacket around him, putting the hood up and beginning with Andy's jeans, which were sticking to his legs like glue.
"There you are," came Sebastian's voice, the door slamming behind him. "Got a couple blankets and some towels. Hey, man, I'm Sebastian."
Finally, Remington managed to yank the jeans over Andy's ankles, immediately covering him with one of the blankets.
"Oh, fuck," Andy breathed, pressing himself into the hot radiator. "God. That's nice."
With Andy beginning to warm up, Remington went into the bathroom to dry off as best as he could, being greeted on his return with a mug of tea, which he took gratefully. "Alright, mate?" he asked, sitting beside Andy against the radiator.
"Getting there."
"Ambulance should be any minute." He sipped the tea. "What were you doing in the sea?"
"My mate."
"Your mate?"
"Pretended to push me in. You know, as a joke. Went too far. Not a joke anymore. Hold my hand, would you? I'm shitting bricks."
Remington obliged. "Where'd you fall in?"
"Across the bay. Current pulled me out."
"Shit."
Andy gripped his hand tightly. "Probably in there a good half hour. Fucking thought I was gonna drown. Never been so happy to see anyone in my life as I was when you came to get me. Can't thank you enough, you saved my life. I'm so fucking cold." He shuddered and brought his knees into his chest. "Mate probably thinks he killed me. I'm so cold. I'm so cold. Fuck. I'm so cold."
Sebastian arranged the remaining blanket and towels around him.
The ambulance arrived less than a minute later, Emerson running out to wave at them and showing the paramedics to Andy. He was moved onto a stretcher and wrapped in thermal blankets, and when they lifted him from the ground to take him out to the vehicle, he said, "Please. Remington. Hold my hand."
Hours later, Remington was sitting in a hospital gown that was provided so he could rid himself of his wet clothes beside Andy's bed, the man now warm and safe. They would soon become inseparable.
