First There Was You

Chapter 41 Part 2: Greyson

August 2

Lake Muskoka, Muskoka

The only sounds I can hear over the roar of the engine are Ry's shouting, and my heartbeat pounding in my ears.

I swim hard, through the tangle of waves caused by our wake, keeping my head above the water, my eyes on Elle and Hud.

Elle reaches him first, she's shouting his name. He's face down in the water, not moving, but his body starts to sink. I watch Elle dive after him to unclip the tether as the pole drags at him while it sinks. She surfaces again, then gently grips his shoulders, using her forearms to brace his neck to turn him over carefully in the water. Her cheek is pressed close to his as she treads water with her legs, hard, to keep them both afloat.

I can hear her talking to him, listening for his breathing, pressing her face as close as she can manage given the awkward position of her arms.

I reach them and carefully slide the lifejacket under Hud's lower back, bringing his hips up slowly to float him in the water. Elle's crying and her face is covered in the blood pouring out of Hud's cheek, which seems to be flayed open. "We need to get to a hospital, Greyson, he's unconscious, breathing but I can't tell how bad the head injury is, there's too much blood."

Fuck. We're in the middle of the lake, surrounded by islands.

Theo and Ry pull up. Elle shouts over the engine, "Ryan, are your parents at home?"

He shakes his head, "I don't think so, let me call Sar." He confirms his parents are at least an hour away, but Sarah's coming to help, however she can.

Theo's low, panicked curse brings Elle's attention to him next. "Theo, call all the parents. Find out who's closest, now. My phone's in the glove compartment. Speed dial one through four for moms and six through ten for dads. Get Sarah to take over when she gets here, I need your help to get him out of the water."

Elle blinks her eyes hard, clearing the water and tears from her eyelashes, visibly struggling to stay calm.

"How can we get him out of the water, Greyson?"

I look around frantically for options. "What about the wakesurf board?"

Elle nods, "Get it, we can use it as a backboard to lift him out." Elle's voice is shaky, but confident, reassuring to everyone, but I can see the panic, the worry in her eyes.

Sarah speeds up in her small boat, slowing down to circle around. She ties her boat to Hud's and scrambles in, Theo grabs her, handing her the phone, repeating Elle's instructions.

I climb out of the boat and grab the big board, snapping the fins off and tossing it in the water before I dive back in. I force it underwater, harder than it looks, then slide it carefully underneath him, pulling the lifejacket out of the way so his back stays flat.

I put the lifejacket under the board to help keep it floating under Hud's dead weight and pull myself up onto the back platform. Elle slowly maneuvers the makeshift, floating backboard, turning it sideways, gripping Hud's shoulders, keeping her forearms pressed tightly to each side of his head. I feel a little sick at the thought that the pole could have hit him so hard his neck might be compromised.

We don't know anything though, she's just being careful, like we were all taught to be.

Shit, how are we going to manage to lift him out, without Elle's grip sliding. We all learned to keep the neck stabilized pretty much above all else in an accident, but how the fuck are we going to manage this?

It takes Theo, Ryan, and me to manage. By the time we've figured it out, I can see Elle tiring, kicking her legs desperately to keep her grip on Hud.