Normal People || Baxter Radic

4| Bax

When I reach the clubhouse, Poppy and Manu with trash bags in hand, are scooping scraps of wood into them. The roof of the deck has been damaged in the storm. Marlon and Ari are gathering new planks to help fix the the giant hole in the roof. I lean against the clubhouse door, a yawn escaping my lips.

"Storm keep you up?" asks Manu.

I shake my head. My clothes are crusted with sand, damp from the storm. I haven't been home. I stayed at the beach waiting for her to resurface. She didn't and as much as I hope she managed to get off the beach without me seeing, the sick brewing in my stomach says otherwise.

Marlon claps my shoulder, "are you alright, man? You kinda stink."

"Yeah, you don't look good," Ari adds.

I shudder. "She's gone."

"Who? Wren?"

"Your friend. The ginger girl. She was in the water and I tried to get her to come back to shore but she wouldn't listen. There was a big wave and-"

Poppy's other older brother, Prawnie, cuts me off. "You mean Mabel? She's okay, mate. I was driving home late and saw her wandering around two in the morning and took her home."

"She's okay?"

"She's fine. Probably has a nasty cold since she was just in a bathing suit but she's fine."

I drop to the ground and clutch my chest. I really thought she was gone. Yes, I don't know her but the thought of seeing someone's final moments is harrowing. It's enough to change a man.

Ari sits beside me, he puts his arm around me and ruffles my hair. What am I, a dog? "The thing with Mabel is she will swim not matter the conditions and won't take no for an answer. Chances are she got swept onto the shore by the wave and the storm meant you didn't see her."

"I really thought-"

"Been there, done that, got the t-shirt," Manu laughs. "Mabel is a force of nature."

"She's a kook." I mutter.

Pushing myself up I ignore whatever someone says and trudge back to the house, Mabel's damp clothes and shoes still in my hand.

I don't get it. How are they so calm about her being in the ocean during a fucking storm? Am I losing my mind? I lean against a picket fence, the pounding ache on my head rippling through me. A door opens in a matter of seconds a woman is by my side, leading me into her house.

"Let's get you sat down here," she says, pushing me onto the couch, "I'll get something to clean your head up."

It's all happening so quickly. My head is spinning and I clutch the arm of the couch to stabilise myself before I pass out. The lady comes back, a first aid kit in hand and starts to clean up the back of my head which I can only assume is covered in dried blood from last night. She's talking to me but I can't hear a word she's saying. I don't feel anything at all, not even her hands wiping away the dirt and blood off of me.

She sits opposite me on her coffee table, her hands on my knees. I know she's trying to talk to me but it's like my head is under water.

Disappearing she comes back and puts a glass of water in my hand, dropping some medication into my other. I stare up at her and she says, "painkillers, for your head."

I swallow the pills and chug the water.

"Hey, hey, hey," she grabs the glass from me, "slow down."

The water helps. My head is clearing and I can finally see the woman who's helping me. She reminds me of my mum, tall and dark haired, much like our older sister, Elo. Me and Wren take after our dad for our looks, probably why I look like a rats arse.

Glancing around the room, my leg shakes.

"Are you okay, kiddo?" She asks me. I nod, clutching Mabel's clothes and shoes close to me. "Do you need a lift home I can—"

She's cut off by footsteps clambering down the stairs and the living room door opening. Mabel stops in the doorway staring at me.

"What's going on?" She asks.

Her mum stands up, "he was out front and needed help. Stay with him whilst I get him some of your brother's clothes to change into." She smiles at me but I'm watching over her shoulder as Mabel plays with the bracelet on her wrist.

"Is that my stuff?"

"I thought you were dead."

She doesn't say anything and I'm not even sure I would want her to if I'm honest. I should leave. Her hands are in my knees and she's knelt in front of me. I'm gripping her stuff tightly but she pries it out of my hands and puts them on the table behind her.

"The sea can't kill me."

Is she stupid?

"I appreciate you trying to help me but seriously, when I'm in the sea I'm fine."

Her hand is on my cheek and it feels lukewarm it's burning into my skin. "You're a kook."

The door swings open and she jumps away from me, wiping her hands on her jeans, sand dropping onto the carpet.

"Abe's about your size so they should fit." Her mum hands me a pile of clothes. "There's a bathroom just across the hall."

"Really there's no need. I should get going—"

"You're going nowhere in those clothes, you'll get sick."

I glance at Mabel who shrugs.

"Thank you."