TAN SKIN // A Baxter Radic Story

-005-

I'm under water getting tossed around by a wave and I come up coughing since I swallowed loads of water. Bax starts to paddle over to me, I grab onto my board as I push myself back up onto it. "I'm fine" I speak between coughs, I ate shit. I was doing a tube ride and fell face first into the salty water. The wave fell on me and pushing me forward a little. I sit there for a second trying to catch my breath, I look over at the shore. Manu has his thumbs up asking me if I was okay. I put them up in response. I'm still coughing a little, I hear Bax paddle up behind me. Not expecting anything from him, but I feel his hand come to my back. He rubbed it gently. I hate him, but it is so hard to hate him.

"You always seem to fall bad" I speaks out, I look back at him with a non-enthusiastic look on my face. He has a point, when I fall, I fall hard. I take my hand and hit is hand off my back. "Don't" I cough out. He deserved all of it, he deserves to feel like shit for what he did to me. I know it was the sponsors, but he could have stayed in touch somehow. "I'm paddling in" I lay down on my stomach and start to paddle to shore. I hear him behind me, I see Manu run up to the edge of the water waiting for us.

I continue to cough a little, as I hop off my board into shallow water. "How was it?" Manu asked me from a couple feet away. I lean down, take off my ankle strap, I throw it down on my board, and I walk up to beach leaving my board down there. My throat hurts so bad due to the salt water, and coughing nonstop. I sit down in the sand, and continue to cough a little. I can't stop, it hurts so bad. I see Bax grab my board, and move towards Manu's van. I should've grabbed it myself. I bring my legs up, and put my head between my knees trying to stop myself from this cough attack.

"Kaia" I feel a hand on my back, it's Poppy. Thank goodness she's here. "I brought you water" she speaks out handing me her water bottle, I open it and take a sip. She sits down next to me. You would be surprised how much it helped, I did just swallow like five gallons of sea water, but this water helped the burn. "How was your talk with Baxter?" She whispered to me. I swallow the water in my hand and give her back her water bottle. "Can I stay over tonight? Then I can tell you when we do not have people around" I request, she smiles at me and nods. Perfect. I need to tell someone.

"How was Marlon?" I ask, then cough one more time. She smiles again and says "Good thing you're staying over tonight!" She nudges my arm with her arm. I laugh a little then I stand up, I cover a little cough with my arm. It is finally going away. I reach my hand out to help Poppy up, and she takes it standing up too. We look at the group who is standing at Manu's van already. I'm glad we are done, the good thing about trust building days is that they are short. But we always end up having a team dinner or something. Poppy and I make our way to the van, everyone seems to be talking to each other, but stop when we reach them.

"You good Kaia?" Ari asks me, I nod at him finally being able to take a deep breath. I look over to see Bax putting my board into the van, I do not bother stopping him at that point. Manu takes a deep breath, takes my arm, and walks me away from the group. "Manu what?" I question as he walks us far enough away from the group so they couldn't hear us. "Did he do anything wronf to not trust him, or are you just being stubborn?" he whispers at me. He did, but Manu did not need to know that. I shook my head at him, hoping he cannot read my eyes. I smiled even to reassure him of it. "I am being stubborn." I finally answer his question. "We are going back to my house, you two are going to talk more. Understand? I need you to trust people."

He walks away from me, and all I want to be is scream at him, saying I know Bax and Wren. They ghosted me, and I cannot trust them. I wanted him to understand me, I wanted him to stand there and side with my stubbornness. I watched as the group starts for the road, and Manu hopped into his van. He probably told them to walk, so that means I have to walk. Great. I mean it isn't a long walk, I just do not want to walk with them. Bax looks behind him and makes eye contact with me. I take a deep breath, then start to walk forward. He stops to wait for me at the top of the stairs as I start to climb them, "Keep it moving pinkie, I am not interested in talking." I say putting grabbing my sandals. I pass him as he decides to speak.

"My window, it is open if you know. They get bad." I shake my head, as I turn around. "They are better now; I don't need you. Plus I don't even know where you live." I say, my parents fight more than they ever have, and the thing is he was the one that understood. "Two streets down, green house on the corner. If you change your mind." I scuff and walk away from him, and this time he does not bother stopping me. Although a part of me wish he had.