Carry You ~Eddie Diaz

8

Sam's POV:

September 20th, 2019

The door shut quietly and I looked to see who it was, Eddie and Christopher walked in. I smiled brightly at them both and motioned for them to come over. Eddie kissed me on the forehead and Chris hugged me. "How's he doing?"

"Not great, he just spends his days lying on the couch and watching cooking shows. When I ask him to leave he just uses the excuse 'Everyone delivers so why should I leave?' I love him, but I'm getting so fed up with him."

Eddie sighed, "That's why I brought him," He said motioning to Christopher. Eddie walked up the stairs and yanked the covers off of Buck. "Get up,"

Buck groaned loudly, "Why man?"

"Because it's morning, you have things to do."

"No, I really don't."

"Get out of the house and take a walk around the block. Go get some fresh air."

I heard the bed creak which told me that Buck sat up, "Why? What's the point?"

I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and looked over, "Well, the point is your life isn't over just because you're not a firefighter."

"Says the firefighter." Buck retorted.

"That blood clot almost killed you. But it didn't. You have your whole life ahead of you. So why don't you take it as a win? Stop feeling sorry for yourself."

Buck rolled his eyes at Eddie and went to walk back upstairs when I lightly nudged Christopher. He smiled at me and I motioned towards my brother.

"Hey, Buck," Christopher said with his heart-winning smile.

"Hey, buddy, uh- what're you doing here?"

Eddie walked over to his son and hugged him. "He's hanging out with his Buck today!" Eddie pulled away from Chris and grabbed my hand, "Because I have to go to work today."

"Where's Carla?" Buck questioned.

"She went to Morongo," Chris replied making me smile.

"Uh-huh, so take him out, have some fun. Maybe you'll learn something. He never feels sorry for himself." Eddie whispered to Buck and we then walked to the door.

"Where are you going, Sammy?"

"I'm going sightseeing since I haven't had time to yet."

"Love you, buddy!" Eddie said towards Chris.

"Love you. Love you, Dad!"

The door shut as Eddie and I walked hand in hand towards the parking garage. "How do you think today is going to go?"

Eddie shrugged. "I'm hoping for a slow day, I'm tired, besides, the slower the day, the sooner I can leave, and the more time I can spend with you."

I smiled, "You're so sweet."

Tonight was my and Eddie's 1 month, we wanted to take things slow especially with Shannon passing. We didn't want to force this onto Christopher either, but he was more excited about the relationship than we were.

Eddie and I walked over to his car and he pulled me into a hug. I smiled into the hug and then kissed Eddie, he squeezed my hands and kissed me on the cheek before getting in his car. "See you tonight, stay safe."

"You too,"

He winked at me before driving away. I took off on my sightseeing, I walked around the town and gazed at all the giant buildings and chaos. I just kept walking, I cleared my mind and found my way to the beach. I gazed at the beautiful water, the sky was clear, and the waves were soothing. There were a few people here but not as many as I expected, I looked up at the pier and smiled, it's so peaceful out here today. I turned to face the chaotic city again and shook my head, there was no way that I was going out there again, I was going to stay at the beach for a while.

I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard a handful of gasps. I turned to look in that direction but was more interested in the receding water. My jaw dropped and my breathing hitched. I grabbed my phone and called Eddie, however, there was no answer. I started backing away from the ocean. I called Buck and he didn't answer either. I took off running as fast as I could. Sitting in the sand, was a little girl that lost track of her parents. She was screaming and crying. I looked around but couldn't see any signs of her family. I knelt and lifted her into my arms. "Hey, I'm going to get you to safety. Just hold on. What's your name?"

"Sierra,"

"That's such a pretty name. I'm Sam. Hold on, okay?"

"Okay," I felt her grip tighten and I looked towards the ocean one last time to see a giant wave on the horizon. I took off running again, once I managed to get out of the sand, I was able to start sprinting. I was so full of adrenaline that I couldn't feel anything. I started to hear screams, and the rushing sound of water started to fill my ears pushing me to run faster. Sierra started screaming and I turned to look when we were engulfed by water. I struggled to keep the air in my lungs, I tried to keep my arms around Sierra but I failed. I managed to find the surface after a few moments.

"Sierra!" I screamed while coughing the water out of my lungs. "Sierra!"

"Sam!" I heard in the distance. I looked in that direction and began swimming, "Sam!"

"I'm coming, hold on Sierra!" I saw her go under and managed to find her arm, I pulled her back above water. She gasped for air and wrapped her arms around me. She was crying and I felt so terrible. "I'm so sorry, I've got you. It's okay." I was keeping the pair of us afloat and I swam to a car that was above water. I gently pushed her up towards the car, "Climb up there." I pushed her onto the roof, of the car and then pulled myself up, we both had minor bleeding on random spots of our bodies. I lay on top of the car and let out a deep breath, Sierra was a fighter, she couldn't be older than 6 or 7. I grabbed at my pocket and grabbed my phone. It showed a water signal so I let it lay in the sun.

~~~

About 2 hours had passed, and I had shielded Sierra from several dead bodies floating by along with receding water and surges. I was about to check my phone when I heard a cry for help. I looked around and saw a young boy, I looked at Sierra and grabbed her shoulders. I handed her my phone and smiled. "Stay here, I'll be right back. Don't move."

"Okay,"

I dove into the water after the boy. The water was receding so I had to be quick, I pushed myself and saw the little boy, he did his best to swim over to me. I had to fight to resist the pull towards the ocean, I grabbed a hold of the little boy's arm and pulled him into my arms. My eyes went wide, "Christopher?!"

"Sam!"

I had so many questions but had to get back to the car, I swam back as best as I could and pushed Christopher up to the top of the car. "Sierra! Grab ahold of Chris,"

I pulled half of my body out of the water and grabbed my phone, How does this damn thing still work? I called 9-1-1 immediately. "9-1-1, what's your emergency?"

I recognized that voice, "Maddie!"

"Sammy?"

"Maddie! Oh, thank god!"

"What's wrong?"

"I was at the beach when the wave hit." Tears hit my eyes and I started losing my adrenaline rush. "I have 2 kids with me, we are on top of a car on Trayton Ave. Maddie, I couldn't get a hold of Eddie or Buck. I'm really worried."

"Help is on the way. Just hold on. I'm so glad to hear from you."

"Me too, please hurry."

"They will, I love you."

"I love you-" I was yanked from the car and back into the water. I gasped for air, a billboard had caught my lower body. I dropped my phone into the water and heard Sierra and Chris scream for me. "Stay there! Help is on the way! Take care of each other!" I was pulled underwater again, I fought hard but it almost seemed pointless.