All I Am (Wattys2015) (ON HOLD)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The rest of Saturday had gone by slowly. Blue had spent the afternoon in her bed, trying to block out all thoughts. She and her dad had put together and salad and added smoked salmon for dinner, and her mom had gotten back just in time to eat. Afterwards Blue went back downstairs and did some Pilates, then showered and crawled back under her duvet.

Sunday morning she woke up early after having a restless sleep. She opened her eyes and saw there was no light shining under her curtains. She picked her phone up off the nightstand and turned it on. It was 6:42 am.

Blue felt better than she had the day before. More energized. Almost like she had woken up with an adrenaline rush. She pulled back the duvet and got out of bed, padding over to her windows and pulling the curtains back.

The sun was just rising. The last time Blue was up during sunrise on a beautiful morning like this had been ages ago. She couldn't remember.

The adrenaline rush was still pulsing through Blue's veins. Maddy flittered into her mind, and her heart beat even faster. She couldn't already be thinking of him this early in the morning, could she?

Blue took advantage of her improved mood and decided to go for a run. She changed into black ankle-length running leggings and a black t-shirt before sliding on her running shoes and lacing them up.

She slid out of her room and looked to the right. Her mom and dad's bedroom door was shut and the light was off. The front door was around the corner to the left. Blue snuck to the front door and opened it quietly. She snuck out and pulled it closed behind her.

Outside, Blue walked down to the main road and then started slowly running. It had been months since she'd gone running. The last time had been with Kaitlyn, back in the summer, before everything else had happened.

The tugging at her thighs felt good. Familiar. Her heart rate increased with excitement, just like it used to at the beginning of a run. Blue quickened her pace a little bit.

She was so wrapped up in the familiar sense of satisfaction from running that she almost didn't realize she was approaching Maddy's house. But almost wasn't good enough and as she glanced up she became nervous once again.

Just as Blue was only meters from the house she saw Maddy come running out of the front yard in a wetsuit. It was already zipped up and she could see how thin – not skinny by any means – and muscular he was. He had a shortboard under one arm. His blonde hair glinted in the early morning sunlight. Blue slowed down, trying to quiet her footfalls.

He glanced in the opposite direction from Blue for a second before running across the street and down the pathway that led to the sand. Blue automatically almost stopped running. She desperately wanted to follow, to see what he was made of.

Before Blue's actions could register and common sense could stop her, she was quietly walking after Maddy. He continued running down the sand and towards the water. It was low tide.

Maddy threw his board down once in knee deep water. He continued wading in the water until it was at his hip height, then lay down on his board. He paddled quickly, making it look easy.

Blue watched, mesmerized, as he paddled out to where the wave sets began and waited. He waited patiently, letting one pass. And another. And another. Finally, Maddy started paddling again until the wave was picking up the back of his board.

He rested his hands under his chest and pushed his upper body up. Blue blinked involuntarily, and by the time she had refocused Maddy was up on his feet and riding. He was goofy-footed, with his right foot forward.

He started pumping the board to gain speed and completed a bottom turn. He then rode up the face of the wave until he was at the top, where he executed a tight vertical. He threw spray a meter or so above the top of the wave. The waves were large today, but he was obviously comfortable with their size and weight. Blue noticed that Maddy was the only surfer out on North Piha. Very odd – usually there was a large lineup on weekend mornings.

Maddy pulled into another bottom turn and then a roundhouse cutback, then another bottom turn. Blue was captivated by how easily and fluidly he moved with his board. His arms in the air when he turned, helping him equalize his weight.

Finally, as the wave was beginning to peter out, Maddy rode up the wave face one more time. At the top, he reached down and grabbed the rail of the board, crouching, before launching into an aerial. His board continued its parallel movement to the wave face in the air for a half-meter or so before he came back down. He then wiped out.

Blue was absolutely awe-stricken as she watched Maddy surface. He looked up and their eyes met as she stood there and he treaded water.

Picking up his board, Maddy clambered out of the water slowly. Blue panicked. He had obviously recognized her. Now she was going to look like a stalker.

"Morning, Blue," he called, his board under his left arm. He kept approaching her.

"H-hi, Maddy," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What are you doing up so early?" he asked.

"I was going for a run, but then I saw you heading out, and I wanted to see you surf for a minute. Sorry."

Maddy laughed. "Don't apologize; it doesn't bother me. I want to get you out sometime, though, if you say you've never surfed before."

It sounded tempting. But something told Blue to keep her guard up. "Thanks, but I don't have a wetsuit," she finally said.

"Do you have a friend who surfs?" he asked, running his hand through his hair.

"Yeah, actually, I do," Blue said, sizing up Kaitlyn mentally. They were about the same size, Kaitlyn perhaps a little taller.

"I thought you would," Maddy said, smirking. "Perhaps we can go out next weekend or something." He seemed pretty determined to get Blue in the water.

"Yeah, that – that would work. Thanks," Blue said.

"My pleasure," Maddy smiled. "I have to head back out and keep practicing, but it was great to see you again. Come by my house sometime if you feel like it, okay?"

Wow. Blue certainly wasn't expecting that. "Alright, thanks Maddy. Have fun while it's quiet out there."

"I will. See ya!" he said, turning and taking off back to the water.

Blue watched him go. Then she turned around and walked back down the pathway towards the main road. How could she have been so stupid as to follow him down to the water and stare at him?

Blue slowly started running again once she got to the main road. Her breath was shaky and her legs weak. What was happening to her? She focused on trying to maintain a steady heartrate and make her way into town without collapsing.

Forty-five minutes later Blue opened the front door quietly. It still wasn't even 8:00, so she knew her mom would still be asleep. Her dad might be upstairs at his computer already.

Blue went to her bathroom and turned the shower on. She took her clothes off and stepped under the hot water. All her thoughts kept turning to Maddy. And going surfing with him.

Blue realized she didn't have a reason why she'd never surfed. He'd was right; she lived in one of the best places in the world to surf. She probably knew more about the ocean and tides here than any of the surfers because of all the hours she had spent reading and studying the West Coast waters.