Shark Strike Survivor

Chapter 4

Walking through the front door of the house, I let out a loud sigh as I slip off my Vans against the wall by the front door. Ugh, today has been a long work shift because it was constantly busy, and the bus ride and walk home made today even longer.

"Hey Lar, how was your day?" Lake asks as he enters the kitchen where I am getting a glass of tap water from the sink.

"Long, and I am glad I have nothing to do tomorrow except sleep in as late as I want," I grumble around a loud yawn.

Lake smiles sympathetically as he leans back against the counter next to me; "Do you wanna go with me, Loch, and Lyric to the mall tomorrow afternoon?"

"Sure. Are you going for anything in particular?" I reply as I refill my cup.

Lake shakes his head as he gets his own glass of tap water; "No[e. I just want to spend some time with my brothers."

Smiling gently at him about us spending time with our brothers; "Cool. When are we leaving?"

"Um, Lyric is meeting us here at eleven, and we are grabbing lunch at the mall, too," he answers, and I nod in agreement.

"Okay. I love you, but I am gonna shower, and take a short nap before making dinner since tonight is my night to cook," I mumble, rubbing my left eye.

"I can make dinner instead if you are too tired," Lake offers, and I give him a warm smile in thanks.

"Thanks, I will let you know when I am up from my nap," I reply around another yawn that I cover with my left hand as I walk toward the basement stairs to my room, and the shower that is down there.

After my fifteen minute scalding shower, I am dried off, dressed in a pair of black joggers, bare feet, and a loose, long sleeve white shirt. Plugging my phone into the charger on my nightstand, and cover myself. An hour later, my alarm blares, and I slap off the offending noise with a groan. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I sit on the edge of the bed to slip on the sock, cover, and prosthetic before walking the bathroom. Once I have relieved my bladder, flushed, and washed my hands, I head upstairs to start cooking dinner for everyone.

"Hey, what can I do to help?" Lake questions as I pull out the ingredients to make garlic bread, spaghetti with meatballs, and a salad.

"Um, can you make the garlic bread while I start on the spaghetti and meatballs?" I reply with a thankful smile at my younger brother.

Lake nods with his own smile as we set to our work on our tasks, and thirty minutes later, dad is home from work, showered, and Lochlan is home and showered from basketball practice, and we are sitting down to eat at the table. We talk throughout dinner, and laugh at jokes dad tells us that he has heard from co-workers. I thoroughly enjoy this quality time with my family, and I wish Lyric still lives with us. Well, it is great we will be seeing him tomorrow. After dinner and the kitchen is cleaned, the four of us decide to watch a movie together, 'Eternals.' We enjoy 'DC' and 'Marvel' movies, Alyssa and Axel included. By the end of the movie, I am ready to sleep again, and to have my prosthetic off for about eight hours.

"Night, I love you all," I mumble as I stand to head to my bedroom.

"Night, love you, too," dad my two brothers reply as I give them a tiny, tired wave before descending the steps.

Climbing back into bed after removing my prosthetic, cover and sock, covering myself after making sure my alarms are set for the morning, and the volume is up on my phone. My sleep was plagued by my nightmare of shark strike, and the horror I went through during the attack, and after during the recovery. By 6 a.m., I remain awake after another nightmare, and I just decide to shower since I woke up in a cold sweat.

Dressing in a pair of black leggings, fuzzy white socks, and another white, loose, long sleeve shirt. Stumbling upstairs to make a pot of strong coffee while waiting for the coffee to brew, I lean back against the counter by the maker, and zone out, staring at the wall across from me. I am startled from my thoughts when a cup of steaming coffee is held in front of me by dad's right hand. Snapping my eyes up to his concerned blue eyes and face.

"Do you want to talk about your nightmare, son?" he gently asks as he rests his backside against the counter next to me as he carefully crosses his arms across his massive chest with his cup resting on the crook of his elbow.

"I am sorry for waking you," I mumble on a loud sigh as I rub my eyes with my fingers of my right hand. "I know you say you do not mind when it happens, but it still bothers me that all of it still happens. I hate that physically, I have fully recovered from that day, but mentally, I still have not recovered. I am tired of being like this, and I am tired of not being able to function in everyday life without thinking about what happened in Florida."

Dad remains silent for several seconds before he replies; "I cannot understand what you went through, but isn't your therapist helping? You can switch to someone new."

Thinking over his words for a moment as we drink our coffee in silence before speaking softly; "Perhaps I will try a new therapist. You, Lake, Lyric, and Lochlan all went through your own version of trauma that day, too. Is your therapist helping you cope decently?"

"He does indeed," dad murmurs with a slight nod. "I do not think any of us will ever fully recover from that day, but we can make the best of what life gives us from that day on."

Silently nodding as I decide to call the therapist office later this morning to see if I can switch to a different therapist.