Lydia’s P.O.V:
“I guess I own you an apology?” Derek told me as he flipped a hamburger on the large charcoal grill. “And definitely a thank you.”
“I’m hearing neither.” I handed him the couple slices of American cheese that I had just unwrapped. “Let the past stay in the past and never be brought up again.”
“Wow.” He raised his eyebrows at me with a smirk on his face. “You’re in a good mood today.”
I turned towards the basketball court where George was standing with a Lyric, Harvey and Cody along with a couple of Derek’s ex-SEAL friends, who were trying to teach him to play basketball while Avery, another woman I didn’t know and the Dawson twins were taking a dip in the swimming pool.
I had been offered to join the girls in the pool, but I had opted out because I had wanted to stay and help Derek with the barbeque, even though he had insisted he could handle it on his own. I figured I owned him an apology too, because of the harsh words I had use on him the other day. I was so glad when Lyric had told me he was getting therapy. He was finally getting the help he needed. Which was probably why he had taken the news of Lyric’s quitting the fight club so well. He’d actually been supportive.
“So…your parents are gone again?” I asked him, making an effort at a conversation. Somehow, I found Derek way more intimidating than all of Lyric’s fight club friends and also the humongous ex-SEAL men. It wasn’t that he was built like a tank or anything, but it was just his personality.
“Yes.” Derek nodded as he flipped another patty on the grill. “They’re hardly home because of their work. Anyways, I have something to discuss with you.”
“Sure.” I knew this was coming anyway.
“Why are you so against Lyric going to SEAL?” Derek asked. “Has Lyric told you something about it?”
“Whenever I ask him, he always tells me that it’s your dream, that it’s what my brother wants.” I told him clearly. “He’s always taking your name. I just want to make sure it’s what he wants.”
“You know…being a soldier isn’t a curse. He can help people, he can save lives…he can serve his country.” Derek frowned. “Is it because you’re worried about his life or because you’re worried he might end up like me?”
“Or me.” I corrected.
“Not everyone in the field ends up dead or injured.”
“Well, until I was shot in the head, I believed high school was for studying and prom and hooking up and having a first real relationship or a hell lot of things.” I shook my head. “I know I’m being selfish but I don’t want to risk losing him. I’ve probably been even more selfish than you because I know he deserves better and yet I can’t even imagine letting him go…because I love him.”
“I understand what you mean.” Derek told me as he arranged the food on the table beside him. “But what if he chooses to join SEAL? What if, after he had done thinking things through…he still chooses to be a soldier?”
Derek was right. If Lyric chose to become a soldier…what would I do? What could I do?
But one thing was for sure, I couldn’t trample on his dream because of my selfishness. He had lived the last five years trying to fulfill his brother’s dream and it had almost turned him into a bitter, angry person. I couldn’t do the same to him. I had asked Lyric once, why did he choose me of all people.
“It’s because when I’m with you, I can forget everything.” He’d told me. “I can forget my brother’s dream. I can forget all the expectations that my parents have from me. I can simply be Lyric, a normal guy who…for the moment, doesn’t have a care in the world. And I want to keep feeling like this forever.”
“I’ll let him fulfill his dream,” I told Derek now. “But I’ll let him know that I’ll be right here waiting for him, no matter how long it takes.”
“Then I guess I don’t have to worry about him anymore.” Derek smiled and in that moment, I understood that I had passed some kind of test.
“Lydia!”
I looked up to find Avery waving at me. The girls had left the pool and were now lounging on the sun benches and Avery was calling me over to join them.
“Go on.” Derek told me. “I’m almost done anyways. And tell everyone that lunch will be done in five.”
“Alright.” I got up from the seat I had been on and started walking towards the girls.
It was humid and sunny outside so I was wearing a tank top and shorts instead of a bikini, but I did have spare clothing in my bag in case I wanted to take a dip in the pool.
To get over to the sun benches, I had to walk past the edge of the pool and the girls had splashed water everywhere. And even though I was being careful…I couldn’t have been careful enough.
My flip flops slipped on a puddle of water and I fell backwards, with nothing and no one near me to help break my fall. The impact wasn’t that big, but it was the position that made it worse. I hit my heads as soon as I fell and the noise reverberated inside my head.
I don’t know what happened next, because as soon as my head hit the concrete, a searing pain scorched my whole body, starting from my head and ending in my toes. It felt like someone had poured gasoline on me and set me on fire.
My vision blanked, becoming completely black, followed by this pressure on my lings that didn’t allow me to breathe. I couldn’t tell what was happening but it felt like I was underwater.
The pain subsided a few moments later, but then I felt another similar pain rising, this time at the back of my throat. It was difficult for me to reach my throat. My body felt like it was floating and there was a lot of friction. Something felt cold all around me but my throat was burning.
Everything hurt like hell. My throat, my tongue, the back of my skull…like someone had shoved a burning hot iron rod down my throat. The contents of my stomach threatened to spill out, but I was in so much pain that I couldn’t even gag.
Was this the end? Was this how I’d die?
Was this where my journey ends…even before it began…