Waves (l.r.h)

Part 8

Luke's POV

There's a certain beauty that comes in destruction. The leaves look greener than ever, scattered haphazardly in the damp sand and fallen tree branches. Shattered glass litters the living room, a result of a wind that even the slabs I worked tirelessly to mount couldn't fight off. It still had beauty, though, glimmering against the dark wood floorboards. The wood of the porch looks as though it was just polished, though the gleam only came from the mountains of water showered upon it last night.

I used my crutches as I hobbled out the screen door, which was no longer transparent due to the wooden slab placed over it to protect the interior of the bungalow. Calum, Michael, and Ash stepped out just after me, as we took in the sight before us. It was debatable whether there was more beige or green in the picture, and I wondered just where all these leaves could have come from. Pieces of driftwood, accented with the ends of rusty nails formed crosses every few meters. We walked together to the edge of our deck, some pieces of our banister ripped off angrily by Mother Nature. We stared at the storm's twisted masterpiece, our eyes falling immediately on the centerpiece: one of our 20 meter high palm trees. It rested less than a meter from our porch, which, if it had fallen a few meters closer to the house, would have landed on Calum's room.

The costs to fix the window and the banister and remove the tree were not what we needed right now by any shot, and it was going to be nearly impossible to cover the costs and pay rent. But do you know what we did, when we saw that damn tree lying at our front steps? We laughed. We laughed so hard we had tears forming in our eyes, and it was a genuine laugh, not a "my life sucks so much it's hilarious" laugh. Rather, it was a "we still have each other" laugh because we knew we escaped a real tragedy last night. I think in that moment, we all realized that we may lose this bungalow, and we may lose our sanctity we find in the waves we wake up to every morning, but we at least had each other.

I struggled with my crutches in the sand as I made my way around the debris and towards the shore. I stopped as I reached the line of shells that is always left behind by the storms. It's as if the ocean was giving a small apology, leaving us with all the its treasures, deposited in a slightly curvy line that spanned the shoreline. I searched the line for the best shells, the mist and rain that was still slightly coming down whipping me in the face.

I picked out some good ones before returning back up to the bungalow. I was the last one outside as I crutched up the front steps. My crutch slipped on the slick wood, causing me to fall sprawling backwards off the steps, my head hitting against the fallen palm tree. My leg got banged around, sending pain shooting up the length of it. "What the..." I heard faintly from inside the bungalow, followed by my name being shouted by all the guys.

"Luke!" Ashton shouted running down the front steps and crouching at my side, Michael and Calum on his heels and equally as frantic. "Mate, talk to me. Are you alright?" I groaned in pain, causing Ash to place a hand on my back, supporting me as I sat up. "Cal, help me get him inside. Michael, go clean off the couch."

Both boys sprang into action, following Ashton's commands. Calum position my arm around his neck before snaking his own around my waist, grunting and standing me up. "Can you use your crutches?" Ashton asked with concern as he picked them up from the ground, all my support now coming from Calum. I nodded my head coughing, trying to get back the air that was knocked out of me. Ashton warily handed me the crutches, the two guys standing immediately at my side and back, ready in case I slipped again.

When I didn't, I made my way into the bungalow, where Michael was just reentering the room with a throw blanket. I managed my way to the couch, Calum helping me lie down as Ashton looked at me nervously. "I'm alright, Ash," I uttered. It was the first thing I'd said thus far. "Just got the wind knocked out of me."

He nodded his head, looking as if he was trying to convince himself that what I said was true, before walking over and putting the blanket Michael brought over me. He turned around, walking around the little coffee table and crouching over. I assumed he had been cleaning up the glass from the window when he heard me fall, so now he was finishing the job.

"No more injuries, please," Ashton tiredly pleaded, though his focus was still on the shards of glass beneath him.

His plea was answered by Michael in the form of a snarky, "No promises," followed by laughter from Calum. I looked over the back of the couch into the kitchen, wondering what they could be doing. My eyes widened as I took in the sight before me. Michael was holding a machete, and Calum was leaning over his shoulder looking at a coconut Michael held in his other hand.

My eyes squeezed shut as Michael slammed the knife down into the cutting board, only reopening them when I heard Calum say, "Oh yeah. There we go."

I watched as Michael poured the coconut milk they'd previously drained before I took my spill and poured it back into the now halved coconut. I shook my head at my friends as Calum put a bendy straw and toothpick umbrella in one of the cups before taking a sip. He nodded in satisfaction before continuing to drink.

Michael picked up the other half and walked it over to me. "Nah man, I can't take your coconut," I said in mock seriousness but rejecting the fruit nonetheless.

Michael laughed slightly. "Mate, I've got plenty, just take it."

"He does," Ashton said, causing me to look down towards him. "They filled a trashcan with them," he sighed less than enthusiastically. Michael nodded, shoving the coconut at me again, but this time I took it with a small smile.

"Aye, toss me my pain killers, would ya?" I called as he walked back into the kitchen to join Calum who had already begun draining the next coconut.

"You sure you're alright, mate?" Calum asked walking the pills over to me.

I was in the midst of taking a swig of coconut milk, so a just nodded reassuringly, accepting the pills and downing them with the coconut milk.

I fell asleep sometime after that, the pills working their magic as always. When I woke up, the wind seemed to have died down a bit, but the weather was far from a typical Sydney day. I looked around in search of the guys, but my search proved futile. I got up, stretching out my back, the casual pop sounded as I arched my spine due to the uncomfortable couch cushions I fell asleep on. I grabbed my crutches off the floor and made my way out the screen door, which was no longer boarded, to see the front of our yard somewhat cleaned up. It was by no means back to normal, leaves still formed a layer of green of the wet sand and the lovely palm tree still laid brooding in front of me, but the plywood and sticks had been cleaned up for the most part.

I looked out at the ocean and gasped at the massive break, mentally cursing the black plaster that prevented me from getting out there and surfing. The guys were all out there, which worried me a bit. They were all great surfers, but even I would be nervous about taking the plunge into the unforgiving ocean after the storm that just ravaged our home. I sat myself on the front steps, not having the energy to go all the way down to the shoreline, and watched my friends.

Calum was carving up a bomb, and I couldn't help but let out a cheer as he emerged from the tube and flew off the top of the wave, a few meters into the air. The guys then took notice of me giving me the shaka, their hands raised high over their heads. I gave them the classic hang loose sign back, my hand only reaching eye level. I missed being out there with them. Just five more weeks. Five more weeks until I could reclaim my life.

A/N

Boring chapter, I know. Greyson should be coming in more in the next chapters, but I really just wanted to pay some focus to developing the guys' personalities before I brought her character in. I'd rather the story be over-developed than under-developed. Please vote and comment! It's what motivates me to keep writing!