The Crashing Waves | COMPLETED

Chapter 12: News & Homecoming

After a couple days, most everyone had left town. Brooke was packing up to head out herself, and I didn't know if I was relieved or terrified to be alone. I was so sick of everyone coddling me and telling me how sorry they were. I was sick of crying. Sick of feeling. Sick of the cloud of misery that just kept hanging around me. I settled myself into a pretty good routine; Wake up, go for a run on the beach, have breakfast, shower, head to the cove, lunch at the boardwalk cafe, back to the cove, dinner with Brooke, back to the cove, and then back to the house to "sleep". There wasn't much sleep actually happening still, and I didn't see that changing anytime soon.

"Cami! For hell's sake woman, can you leave the cove for more than an hour?!" Brooke yelled at me from down the beach as she stomped furiously towards me in the cove. I knew what she wanted. It was time for her to leave. I think I was hiding in hopes that she wouldn't have to. That and I felt the closest to Brody when I was in that cove. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do if I didn't have someone to remind me when to eat or shower. "I have to go and even though I don't want to leave you so soon, I just used my entire vacation time for the whole year, and if I don't get back I will surely be without a job...." She was a little dramatic in my book.

"I know Brooke... I really am fine. I'll be ok." I attempted a pathetic smile. She obviously saw right through it and frowned back at me.

"I am not stupid.... I have known you for 20 years, and you are NOT fine." She grabbed my shoulders and gave me a shake. "I will come back as soon as I can, ok?" I nodded to her. "And you can come see me if you get super lonely." She smiled and pulled me in to a tight hug.

I could feel my body failing me as I realized that the person who got me through the last 2 weeks, kept me alive, and handled all the arrangements that I could not even comprehend, was leaving. I was not fine, and I did not know how I was going to survive without her. We both started crying and walked back to the house together.

***

"Ok, this is it Cam." She turned around with her suitcase setting beside her and her huge purse hanging off her shoulder. "You can do this." She looked at me with a serious face. I looked straight to the floor. We hadn't talked much this whole trip. I twas mostly her trying to cheer me up or reassuring me that I was going to be ok. I wanted so badly to believe her, but I wasn't sure. "Cami...." She grabbed my face and looked at me fiercly. "YOU WILL SURVIVE! I promise you that. It is going to hurt for a while, and you are going to always love him, but you are going to move on. You have to. You have to let yourself."

"How....? How do I move on? Without him? I feel like if I did that, that I would be giving up on what we had." I looked at her with tears filling my eyes. "I don't know that I will ever be ok..."

She couldn't say a word. She knew. She knew that this was going to kill me. "I'm so sorry. I promise things will get better, even if it takes a long time. Brody would not want you to be unhappy. Just remember that. Trust me ok?" She nodded her head over enthusiastically at me trying to get me to follow suit. I cracked a small smile and did what she wanted; even if I didn't really believe it.

"I love you Brookey... Thanks for everything." We hugged one more time and she dragged her suitcase out to the taxi taking her to the airport.

***

The next days and weeks flew by. Before I knew it it was truly summer again. The beach was busy and the cove wasn't as quiet as it once was. I started to spend mornings there and then would watch the sun set every night.

I was abruptly woken up by my phone ringing at 6am on the morning of June 10th. Geez what kind of human could call someone so early? "Hello?" It was a groggy, raspy response.