Bondi Mile

Chapter 24 - Alive

---BARNET'S POV---

You know, it's the most devastating and horrifying thing when you find a body in the water. You pull them out and try to do all you can to help them but it's no use, and then there's telling the family and friends. But it's worse when it's someone you know

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I set up for work that morning, I put the flags out and was sitting down at backpackers with Alfie. The silence was awkward. We weren't speaking, I wouldn't want to speak to him anyway. I'd hit him, he had broken my nose. And he tried to take Melody away from me and that's not okay that's not what friends do.

Alfie wasn't my friend. I paced up and down backpackers, and when I saw a helpless swimmer before Alfie could even get his shirt off I was in the water. Anything to get away from him for 5 seconds.

"You okay mate? Hop on I'll get you back to shore, you'll be okay don't worry" I reassured the young girl as she panted climbing onto my board steadying herself. I caught the next wave in, she climbed of, thanked me and walked away as I went to put the board back in place.

"I had that why didn't you let me go" Alfie turned to say.

"If I got there before you you obviously didn't"

"What is it? Huh? Is it about your girl Melody? She's a great dancer by the way"

I wouldn't let his words get to me. We'd all had a chat in the hut about what happened between Alfie and I. We were put together to resolve things, keep it professional on the beach. All Alfie wanted to do was start fights and cause arguments, he was a trouble maker and I wished I'd have seen that sooner.

"Keep your eyes on the water" I turned away from Alfie, I didn't want to hear it.

"Fight like a man you pussy" he snapped.

"And lose my job? I don't think so, you're not worth it, just shut up and work" I stood looking out to sea.

"You're worried you'll lose to me aren't you?"

"Alfie, I really, really don't care" At this point I'd given up, he was persistent and I really didn't care. Suddenly I noticed out to see a surfer had drifted into my view and was waving me down, he had someone on his board, unconscious.

"Oh shit" I grabbed a rescue board and ran, paddling as fast as I could to the surfer I pulled the unconscious woman onto my board and racing back to shore.

"ALFIE" I yelled as he ran to help me get her limp and helpless body off the board. We laid her down and started on the chest compressions.

"ALFIE RADIO THE TOWER GET THE DEFIB, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30"

The crowd was gathering around us as I tried to revive the unconscious woman, the boys started to arrive crowding around myself and the body. My head and my heart were in overdrive, so much so I didn't realise the person I was resuscitating was one of my friends. 

Vanessa

I knew we didn't get along but that was no reason to let her die.

"Barnet I'll take over"

"No, no I need to do this I need to save her" I did two breathes and started with compressions again.

"Vanessa please, please wake up, WAKE UP" I shouted.

"Barnet stand back we're going to get the defibrillator on her".

I was shaking violently as I stood up, never had I ever had to do this to someone I knew it was so heartbreaking. I ran to the water and threw up over the sheer adrenaline, I washed my face in the water and ran back to Vanessa. Whilst I'd been gone, she had started breathing.

"Vanessa! Can you hear me? Oh thank god" I sighed with relief as I held the breathing tube to her mouth to help her breath.

"Are you going to be sick?" I asked as I tilted her towards me, she emptied her stomach rather violently onto the sand. Oh my god, relief spread across me and I suddenly felt calm. The ambulance siren's sounded in the background as they took Vanessa away, I ruffled my hand through my hair and took a minute sitting down on the sand.

"You knew her?" I heard Harri say from behind me as he came and sat beside me.

"Yeah, ex girlfriend, we hate each other, but I couldn't let her die"

"Yeah man I understand, go home and get a nights rest" Harri patted me on the back and got up walking away.

"Barnet"

"What, Alfie?"

"I'm sorry" I looked up to see Alfie stood 3 feet away from me.

"You should be, but this doesn't mean we're friends"

"I apologised what more do you want?" Alfie spat

"Nothing, you've done everything I wanted, but we still can't be friends" I pulled myself up and sighed, turning my back to him and walking up the beach. I could sleep peacefully knowing that Alfie was off my back and sorry about it all, but I wouldn't be able to sleep with the thought of Vanessa nearly dying.

I'll visit her later.

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"Melody, I'm going out I'll see you later" I shouted from her apartment door. I came back to Mels after the accident, showered and took a power nap on her sofa to wake up with her cuddled against me.

"Where are you going?" Her head appeared out the the bathroom door.

"Out"

"Where?"

"No where"

"Barnet" her figure in just her underwear appeared fully in the door. "Barnet where are you going?".

"Vanessa nearly died today, I'm visiting her in hospital, is that okay?".

"Oh, I, yeah definitely, go, let me know how she is" she looked at her feet before sliding back into the bathroom without another word.

EDITED 28/3/20