What Happens on Bondi...(Bondi Rescue Fanfic)

Chapter Fifteen: The Cove

The feeling of the water lapping against the skin of my feet always soothed me. When I was only a nipper and dad used to bring me to the beach, I used the ocean as my therapy. When kids used to pick on me for being 'un-girly' and different, the beach became my second home. 

Now, though, it was practically my first home. From working down at Bondi and living only twenty minutes away, I spent most of my time around the water. 

My eyes scanned the early morning horizon; the sun had just begun to rise and shone across the water, casting a beautiful reflection. It was calming to me, on the verge of making the biggest decision of my life. 

Only two hours had passed since I'd hung up that phonecall and I was still no closer to coming to grips with it. How had it even come to this? It stung deep down to know that maybe, just maybe, I could've stopped this. What would've happened if that day at the hospital had gone differently? Would Sunny still be alive?

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that she would end up like this; a police chase? The details were so vague, I felt so out of the loop. How was I supposed to make a logical choice if I didn't know anything? 

"Sav?" My voice called, except it wasn't mine, it was a male version. 

I turned around to see Aiden stood on one of the rocks above me in the cove I was sat in. His hands were stuffed in his hoody pockets as he looked down on me, visibly upset. 

"You heard?" I sniffed, facing away from him but I could still hear him shuffle down the rocks and sit next to me. 

Aid's arm pulled me closer, forcing my face into his chest. I sobbed for a few minutes, feeling his chest heave up and down in sync. I felt terrible for him. The last he'd seen of the mother of his child and she'd cut him off completely, now this. We were all at a loss. 

"I'm so sorry, Sav." He cried, pulling away from me, looking me dead in the eyes. "If I took responsibility, this wouldn't have happened." 

"Aiden don't be fucking dumb. It's not you fault." 

"What are we going to do..." He placed him palm onto my hand which was balled into a fist against the cold rock. "about Vegas?" 

"I have no idea." I admitted honestly. 

The pair of us sat in silence for at least twenty minutes, just watching the ocean in peace. Something felt like she was there, with us. Sunny loved the ocean. She used to drag me down to the beach everyday after school, to this very cove and make me swim with her. I secretly loved it, being a massive fan of the sea. When she turned thirteen, she swam less and came down here even less so. But I knew deep down that when I spoke about my surfing and hanging out on the beach, that she missed it. She missed being at one with the tide like we did when we were kids. 

Finally, Aiden stood up, holding out a hand for me to grab. I did so and let him pull me up as I stood limply. I didn't want to move but I knew that I had to grow up fast and do what was right. My stomach was tied into knots, frayed and split but still tight enough to make me feel nauseous.

"I think we should head down to the social services building and sort this mess out." He suggested and I knew he was right. 

"Trust Sunny to leave behind a mess. Always having others sort her shit out." I sighed; how typical, I thought.

I let my twin drag me to his car which he'd parked by the roadside. It was warm inside and I realised how tired I was. I hadn't even slept since the call, how could I?

We drove in silence through Sydney; there was little traffic at this time in the morning, nobody was up. It was a half an hour journey but it felt like years, sat in the silence. 

I wanted the road ahead of us to swallow me up but I couldn't leave Vegas the way she had. 

Anger bit into me, striking my core. How could people be so reckless? I saw it every day at the beach; people taking careless risks and not thinking. It never ends well. But luckily, we work day in and day out to make sure that their stupid decisions don't become a reality. We help them leave and go home to their families, barely aware that they might not have even made it home if we weren't there. 

What made me even more angry was that I couldn't save her. I couldn't save everyone and that made me want to curl up in a ball and cry. She was so selfish, making me feel so small and worthless because of her stupidity. 

I didn't even notice us pull up to the parking bays outside the office building of social services. 

The building itself looked professional, unwelcoming and cold. If you could avoid coming to a place like this, you would. 

Aiden and I walked up to the door and pressed on the buzzer. The door was locked, considering it wasn't even four in the morning. Someone was still there though, I'd seen a light in one of the windows. 

A moment later, a woman in her late fourties approached the door looking frazzled and tired. Her face was worn, from years of dealing with times like these, with kids like Vegas, with girls like Sunny. 

"Aria Savage?" She called, locking the door behind us as we entered. 

I nodded, looking around and pictures of children on the walls. They looked happy but they were young. None of them understood why this building was built, why they were here in the first place. 

"Vegas is staying with one of our foster families currently until we've sorted out the arrangements." We followed the sound of her heels clicking against the hard  floor into the office, the one with the light on. "Thank you for coming so quickly, it makes it much easier to proceed." 

"Mhmm." Aiden mumbled, guiding me to a hard seat at the opposite side of the desk in which the woman had sat. 

"I'd like to start by expressing my sorrow for your loss." She began. 

"It's not my loss. It's Vegas'." I stated plainly, looking at her harshly. 

"I'm Carol Anderson and I'm the lead social worker for this case. Did you have any queries before we begin to review paperwork?"  Carol asked, skim reading a sheet of paper whilst talking. 

"I don't know enough to ask questions." 

Carol looked up at me and placed the paper down gently. She knotted her fingers fiddling with her wedding bandon her finger. In turn, she glanced at Aiden who'd gaze was fixed on the wall behind her. 

"I want to know everything." He said abruptly. 

"This is a family matter, Mr..." 

"Savage. Aiden Savage, Vegas' father." Aiden stated calmly. Carol widened her eyes and grabbed a file from the desk in front of her, scanning it quickly. 

"So you are." She bit her lip. "Well I suppose I should explain our situation." 

There was silence. 

"Yesterday evening at around nine-thirty, Miss Merrit was thought to have been pulled over by an unmarked police car which had spotted her with marjiuana on her persons." Mrs Anderson paused and let Aiden and I adjust to the news. "She refused to pull over and this resulted in a pursuit and ended in a crash. Miss Merrit was alone in the car and was rushed to hospital where she was prepped from surgery to operate on her interal injuries. Unfortunately at eleven fifteen she died of complications."

"She was alive before?" Aiden asked after we sat in almost disbelief for a few moments. 

Carol nodded. 

Before I felt angry at Sunny but now I felt nothing. I wanted to disappear. 

"Shall we proceed?" Carol laid out the paperwork in front of me. 

I scanned them all, certain words jumping out at my tired eyes; BEREAVEMENT, DEATH, ORPHAN, GUARDIAN, CARER, ADOPTION.

I felt the room begin to close around me, the walls slowly moving towards me. My breathing quickened as my sight went black...