I dozed off in the creaky, plastic hospital chair. When I woke, Maya stood before me, holding a coffee and handing it to me. Her gentle smile was accompanied by deep bags under here eyes. I felt guilt for keeping them here with me, waiting. Alani had shut me up twice already when I suggested they could go home.
The nurse only came once to give us an update. They mentioned that a portion of the skull had been successfully removed, allowing the swollen brain tissue to expand without excessive pressure. Then they said something that Tarek recalls with impatience and frustration:
"They told us they would be done in 2 hours..." he grumbled. I stood up from the uncomfortable plastic chair, feeling my bones crack a s I stretched my back. "And how long ago was that?"
"Four hours ago," Tarek replied nervously.
"Four hours?!" I exclaimed, feeling a surge of restlessness as I paced the waiting room. Glancing at the clock, I was shocked to see that it was already 2:00 AM.
"Yeah... They began at 12:00 PM, so it's been over 15 hours now," Alani replied, her voice sounding defeated and anxious.
"And they said he was fine," I muttered, my tone tinged with frustration.
"Let's try to stay calm," Sera tries with an anxious tone all the same. "Getting stressed won't change anything now. I'm sure the nurse will be here soon."
Just as Sera spoke, a smiling nurse emerged from the hallway, briskly approaching us with papers on a clipboard pressed against her chest. Her eyes scanned our group before settling on me.
"The procedure was successful," she announced. "It was challenging, but he's stable now. He may have lost a few recent memories, but we expect them to return very quickly."
Her calm demeanor made it seem like it was the most ordinary news. I stammered, struggling to get my words out, "So, wait... does this mean he doesn't remember what happened?"
She paused, shaking her head slightly... taking a deep breath as she considered her words, shifting her gaze between me and the others. "Well, it really depends on the patient," she began. "In his case, it's inconsistent. He doesn't remember up until a certain point, he thinks we're back in the late spring, when a fundraiser happened...?" she explained with a slight frown directed at us.
"Thank you so much, nurse," I responded gratefully.
I wonder if he still remembers our argument. I think he does, based on what he said before the surgery. But hearing that he's inconsistent... Back when the fundraiser happened?! I'm eager to find out for myself. I want to talk to him.
As we all stood up from our chairs and headed towards his room, the nurse hesitated and spoke up, "Wait, please. We can't have this many visitors right now. He needs to rest without too much stimulation. We actually preferred no visitors... He insisted on seeing someone named Koa, though."
I stood there for a moment, my mouth slightly falling open. "That's me," I managed to say.
The nurse pressed her lips together and motioned for me to follow her down the hallway towards his room. I didn't even glance at Maya or anyone else. My mind was racing—what the hell was I going to say to him? If his mind is back before or when the fundraiser happened... that means he thinks he just pulled me out of the water...
As I entered the room, it was quiet. Mr. and Mrs. Thurston sat beside the bed; they had returned to the hospital about an hour ago, looking refreshed and better now. Mr. Thurston stood up with a bright smile as he laid eyes on me.
"Koa," he began warmly, extending his hand to shake mine. "Thank you. Your father called me and mentioned he has everything... paid for. He was insistent about it, actually." Mr. Thurston expressed his gratitude in a hushed tone.
I smiled back at Mr. Thurston, raising my eyebrows in surprise but trying to hide it. It seemed best to stay quiet for now, as I hadn't actually been in contact with my father yet. I had no idea how he got this information or knew that Nick was in the hospital. My father had a talent to do this since I was born, and he was still able to impress me with how fucking fast it always happened.
As I let go of Mr. Thurston's hand, our eyes meet... I find myself gazing past his shoulder into the piercing bright blue eyes of Nick. His head is shaved, accentuating his sharp jawline and visible cheekbones. He regards me with a judgmental expression on his face.
"Last night's storm was insane, Koa. I can't believe you went out on the water," Nick scolds, glaring at me just like he did that day in the car, driving towards the pier. I freeze in place, my mouth falling open as his father steps forward.
"Nick, what storm are you talking about? There was no storm last night. You were at a boat party, remember?" He explains.
"A boat party?" he scoffs, followed by hearty laughter that seems to hurt his head. I step closer, placing my hands on the bed's side rails. Before I can say anything, the nurse steps in front of us, breaking our eye contact and gently assisting Nick to lie back down.
"That's enough," she says softly. "He needs to calm down for his recovery. He shouldn't be thinking about too much right now."
"Wait... what are you talking about? I was at the beach with Tarek and—" Nick begins, but the nurse quickly shushes him.
"Do you want to fully recover and regain your memory, Nick?" she interjects, her tone polite yet firm. Nick falls silent.
"This headache..." he grunts, "can you please do something about it?" The nurse turns toward one of her assistants and signals for a sleeping pill to be brought.
She glances at me before stepping away again. "Just... keep it simple for now," she advises.
I nod and quickly move to Nick's side. He looks at me with angry, confused eyes. "A lot has happened, Nick, but that's not important right now. You just focus on recovering and I'll tell you everything once you're out of here." He looks at me all the same, so I try, "You can scold me all you want for pulling me out from the water—"
But Nick interrupts me. "No, Koa. I actually wanted to talk to you about that. That's why I asked you to come in here."
Nick's parents now both fixed their gaze on me, their expressions a mix of judgment and anger, mirroring Nick's earlier look. They never knew about the storm or the incident where I hit my head on the rocks. Panic surged through me. Fuck, fuck, fuck. What was Nick going to say?
"I was wrong, you know..." he whispered.
"I shouldn't have called you a bomb," he said slowly, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. I try to steady him but before I can he slowly turns on his side... towards me. As he breathed deeply, he tried to regain control. The throbbing headache was clearly worsening.
"I shouldn't have lectured you. I should have told you... I make you out to be the bad guy, but we both know, I... I don't know where I would be without you in middle school, man."
I can barely contain my amusement as he utters this with complete seriousness. He fixes his eyes on me with an earnest stare and insists, "What? It's true. I used to be a loser, a broke boy from the mainland with no friends or knowledge, never read a book in my life... Without you, I'd have been bullied and never would have gotten laid," he chuckles at himself.
"You weren't a loser," I reply, shaking my head in seriousness.
However, Nick ignores me, his voice barely audible as the nurse prepares the pill in a water glass. "I'm a jerk for always hiding behind you. I know you know. Everyone knows, everyone talks about it. I've been some kind of sidekick or scapegoat to a lot of people's eyes, but truthfully, I was so comfortable in that role... I didn't really care, as long as I wasn't—" he cuts himself off and then finishes off with, "I'm embarrassed by it, sorry."
As the nurse guides him to drink the now cloudy water, he swallows it down in one go, his expression turning sour afterward. I'm at a loss for words. It's surreal how he just confessed like that. I can't help but remember how casually he told me to fuck off last time we discussed this. There must be memories lurking in there, waiting to surface. Perhaps that's why he's reacting so differently now. Or maybe it's the drugs he's on.
Either way, I have a feeling everything will be alright.
I steal a glance at his parents, still wearing puzzled expressions. Ignoring them momentarily, I turn back to Nick. He smiles at me, his eyelids growing heavier.
"Nick, don't worry about it. I promise... you don't even know half of it," I tease, winking at him.
"Oh, lord," his voice cracks as he closes his eyes entirely now, chuckling quietly before drifting back to sleep.
****
3 weeks later...
Nick is still recovering from the operation, his head now buzzed short, the darker blonde hair fits him but I can't say I don't miss his long fluffy hair. His blue and white short-sleeved shirt flutters in the breeze as he walks along the beach... Glancing over at Koa, seated beside me on the tree trunk, I see him gazing ahead at Nick and Alani with a warm smile. Seeing him happy makes me happy too.
Recently, Alani has been talking a lot with Nick. He still doesn't remember much about the past few weeks, and we've been advised to stay quiet about it. I wonder what that's like for Alani... I know she's worried about him. The hope is that his memories will return naturally over time, which they say is better for his recovery.
It's been incredibly tough to stay silent about everything. Nick has been asking so many questions because our group dynamics have noticeably shifted. Tarek and Sera are talking more, Alani has become completely uninterested in Tarek, Koa and I are dating, and suddenly it's become a regular thing for all of us to hang out together.
I gaze across the beach, perched on the sturdy tree trunk with my feet buried in the sand, facing a blazing bonfire. Koa playfully pokes the fire with a large stick while Cassie enthusiastically shares her college aspirations. More of Koa's friends gather around us, chatting, laughing and smoking as usual.
I'm finding myself getting along better and better with Cassie; she has such interesting artistic perspectives on the world. Koa's friends are making an effort to get to know me, but Koa's intense death stares are something... well, I'll need to address this problem soon.
Sera sits opposite me, just next to the fire so I can see her, and from time to time, we exchange glances, I discreetly eavesdrop on her conversations. It's clear that many guys are drooling over her, which honestly makes me want to vomit. The relentless questions seem to wear her out.
That's when Nick and Alani come back to the circle. Alani positions herself in front of me, leaning against my leg. Nick stands next to Finn, who is like a more intense version of Koa—really hyper, overbearing, and just loud in general.
Finn says, "Nick, my handsome dude, how's the head?"
"Pretty good, considering the missing pieces of skull," Nick replies optimistically.
"Awsome, man. Does that mean you're still competing in the nationals?" Finn puts a hand on Nick's shoulder, instantly drawing everyone's attention toward him with his loud presence.
Nick gazes down into the fire. "Well, I don't think so, man..."
"What?! You're kidding, right? I was gonna bet on you to win this year! You're surfing like no one else on this island..." Nick scoffs at Finn's comment. "Tell that to the hardhead over there." He glances at Koa, who's already smirking in anticipation of a comeback.
"Finn, aren't you competing yourself?" Koa frowns at him.
I glance away briefly and catch Sera staring at me. Her eyes widen slightly, and then she nervously looks away again, causing a pang in my heart. Will these moments of tension always linger between us now?
"Well, I was going to until your dazzling performance at Koa's boat party. Everyone's been in an uproar about the competitors list and who's still qualified to surf... blah, blah, blah... The competition has been delayed by 2 weeks! Can you believe that?" Finn keeps going on and complaining about the surf competition, while the rest of us—Koa, Sera, Tarek, Alani and I—are frozen, waiting for Nick's reaction.
Koa starts to get up, but before he can say anything, Nick interjects, "What dazzling performance are you talking about?"
"It's nothing, Nick... just—" Koa begins, but Finn interrupts again.
"Dude! You hit your head a little too hard, huh? That big fight you had with Tarek! Dealt out some great punches, I must say. I won't ever try to pick a fight with you..." Finn laughs heartily, oblivious to our growing anger as each of us looks at him.
"Finn! What the fuck, man!" I exclaim, standing up from the tree trunk.
"What? He's gonna have to figure it out at some point," Finn shrugs nonchalantly.
But when I look back at Nick, I can see he's feeling dizzy, touching his forehead with his hand, trying to stay steady. "What are you all talking about? Why were we fighting?" Nick looks directly at Tarek, his face etched with a deep frown. Tarek's mouth falls open, and before he can say anything...
"Yeah, why were you two fighting?" Finn grins mischievously at Tarek.
That's when Tarek answers, "You made out with Alani after promising me you wouldn't come between us."
The entire crowd around the bonfire—Cassie, Finn, Lucas and everyone else—bursts out in either laughter or surprise. Nick's breathing becomes heavier and irregular; he seems to be panicking. I want to do something, but he just scoffs, "Me and Alani? What are you—" Then he shifts his gaze to Alani, who's looking at him with wide, panicked bambi eyes, mouth half-open, just as flustered as him. She quickly looks back at Tarek with disgust, gets up from the ground, and starts walking away furiously, disappearing into the darkness of the beach. I follow after her.
"Alani!" I whisper, feeling the warm summer air against my skin. It's late at night, and if the moonlight wasn't so bright, you wouldn't be able to see a thing. Alani stands close to the water, gazing ahead.
"It's okay, Nick will understand. Tarek promised not to fight about it anymore," I reassure her.
"Yes, I know that!" Alani bursts out angrily. "But he announced it right there purely to hurt me."
I take a deep breath, inhaling the ocean air. "I think Tarek is tired of the rumors and endless gossip about your complicated love triangle just as you are."
She put both hands on her forehead, grunting. "Please don't call it that. It makes it sound absolutely ridiculous."
I giggle a little. "It is kind of ridiculous, the fact he still hasn't remembered what happened in the captain's restroom..."
I make eye contact with Alani, seeing concern in her eyes. "I know, right... He should be making more progress by now." She bites her lip, clearly thinking back to that night.
I wrap my arms around her as we stare at the waves together. "Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe he'll finally be able to piece everything together, and you won't have to keep up this act anymore... You can just be with him."
She doesn't utter another word, just smiles and leans against my shoulder. "Thank you, Maya."
After moments of silence, she says something I would never expect, I think her voice is breaking as tears well up. "I can't believe this is our last summer together..."
"I know," I reply, memories of this year flooding my mind as we both reflect on the impending ending.
I think back to the first day at the beach when he was playing volleyball, and I screamed at him, calling him a creep. I remember Nick's party and the moment I saw Alani and Tarek talking through the crowd. Who would have thought it would all lead to this?
I reminisce about the cinema hall, the elevator with Sera... the conversations with Koa about his father, sitting with Nick under the waterfall, the fair fundraiser, me rejecting Koa in the hallway of our school and having a panic attack because of it, his speech on the back of the yacht... everything. Everything comes flooding back to me.
"We'll make it the best one. And don't think you're getting rid of me. We'll plan trips during the breaks, and I'll call you as much as I can!" I try to reassure her.
"I know you will... but soon I'll be studying law in a city I don't know, with Tarek walking around the same campus and no one to talk to."
"You'll make new friends," I say.
"I don't want new friends. Why couldn't we have found these people sooner?" she says, turning around and gazing at the bonfire.
We watch Koa directing Nick and Tarek, ordering them to dance with each other? The music grows louder, and we giggle as we witness them reluctantly holding hands and dancing. It's a humorous sight, and I can tell Koa had to be creative to prevent these guys from getting into another fight. Everyone is cheering them on happily, getting drunker and laughing loudly.
Shots are being passed around, and Nick tries to take one. Koa slaps it out of his hand just in time. "Your brain is recovering! You already have a huge lack of brain cells. Don't make yourself even more stupid now," Koa warns.
Amidst the fading sounds of chatter and music coming together, I respond to Alani, "I think this is how it was meant to be."
She frowned, locking eyes with me. "Okay, poet."
"But seriously, consider this. If we had met them earlier, they'd just be our high school friends. Now, I'm convinced our stories aren't over. It feels like everything has just begun..." I say, gazing at the warming sight of our friends' laughter.
The End...
of version two.