Her Protector (On Hold)

Chapter 4: A Turn of Events

BOOM!

The gun shot echoed throughout the beach side, signaling the beginning of the last leg of the competition.

Hollers.

Screams.

Chants.

Yells.

It all faded quicker than the echo of the bullet could. In an instant, I was running through cool, knee-high sea water before throwing myself on top of my surfboard. I scooped hard into the waves, thrusting me forward at an alarming speed. Nothing got my adrenaline going like rushing out towards the border-less ocean. There were never any limits or boundaries as to what the sea could do and it was absolutely fascinating.

The more I thought about the stretches that the ocean water went to, the more excited I got causing me to quicken my pace even more. I suddenly rolled over a large wave which instantly snapped my attention back to reality. Glancing back towards shore, I realized that I had paddled out so far in such little time that not only were Tom and Amber still way far behind me, but the entire shoreline was harder to see.

I raised my eyebrows in delightful surprise,"Dang, I've gotten a lot faster than I thought I had."

Content with my growing progress as a competitive surfer, I turned back towards the untamed ocean eager for the next wave to come my way. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long. My eyes zeroed in on a monster wave heading my way. My ability to spot out waves before they could even come close to shore was always something Rose never understood, nor myself for that matter. The coast guards always said during ocean safety classes that the waves aren't very easily spotted when in the water. Up above or on land when the waves are brushing against the sand, it's much easier to flag out. But unless a storm or choppy seas cause the massive body of water to rock, waves were practically invisible until they were staring you right in the face. I guess I've just learned to spot them out through my many years of surfing, but it's the best theory I've got unless I've just got some impeccable eyesight!

"Yes," I muttered excitedly under my breath as I felt myself begin to sink into motion with the tug of the coming wave.

I immediately flipped myself on my board so that I was full on facing the shore. The current began to suck me in faster now as the wave grew large enough to ride. Throwing myself onto my feet, my senses exploded to life as a mix of cool, salty water and a light breeze hit my body the instant I stood up. I found my footing with ease and I let myself begin to slip down the walls of the massive ocean wave.

Closing my eyes, I began to turn and shred into the wall of water, letting myself relax and let go. It was too easy, really. It's not an everyday occurrence that you could make a career out of something you absolutely loved to do and could still continue to love even while doing it all the time.

As the wave began to tumble over more and more, the classic surfer tunnel began to form up quickly around me. Stretching out my hands while opening my eyes back up, I smiled widely as the exhilarating feeling of raking my hands through the tunnel walls ignited my deep love and respect for ocean life. In that moment, everything seemed to go in slow motion. The green and blue water seemed to glisten underneath the bright sunlight; the water sprinkled my tanned skin lightly as I raked through it; everything around me seemed to be calm and at peace... The ocean was so mysterious and misunderstood and it absolutely fascinated me especially when I had special moments like this one to truly appreciate the ocean for what it is.

As I exited the collapsing tunnel, I could hear loud shouts and cheers calling out my name as I sat myself back down on my board and began to paddle back out to conquer another wave. Glancing back at the shore, my smiled widened as I spotted Rosalie, Jack, and Mr. Anderson standing over by the shack jumping and hollering as they waved to me. I could see Rose's excitement and pride from a mile away, causing my heart to squeeze out of the immense joy I had of having her as such a close friend. Jack's expression mirrored hers, reminding me of the words I had spoken to him earlier...My father figure, the one who had always been there to raise and support me when my mom felt incapable of doing so. My hero...