Best Friends Forever?

Chapter 8 - Safe?

Chapter 8 - Safe?

“Samantha…Sam…”

I try, and fail, to stretch open my heavy eyes; the sunlight weighing down on them like cement forcing them to remain closed no matter how much I tried to force them open. My head felt like Arnold Schwarzenegger was squeezing it like a pea with his mighty biceps, at least that would account for the unimaginable pain which was currently throbbing through my head. 

Wait hold up, did I just get called Sam or was I imagining it?

“Sam, wake up”

No, there it is again, I definitely wasn’t imagining things this time, I’m sure of it. But still, there was only one person who had ever called me that…

That was impossible I guess I hit my head harder than I remembered.

“Sam, please wake up, I’m begging you” I hear the same voice apparently pleading with me now to open my unwilling eyes as my titanium eyelids refused to butch an inch. Maybe I should keep them closed just a little longer anyway; a girl could get used to all this attention.

Eventually though, I knew I had to open up my eyes and what a mistake that was. I opened my eyes faintly for a spilt second before the sun forced its way inside before I had time to slam them shut again. The pounding in my head had only intensified and was getting worse by the second. I knew felt sick and as though I could hurl at any second but somehow I managed to stop myself from seeing my breakfast all over again; that would be charming.

“Sam, you can open your eyes again, I got you covered” The caring voice tells me as I feel a hand stretch across my forehead in some half attempt to shield off the sun. Just because I could, didn’t mean I necessarily wanted to open my eyes, I mean last thing I remember I was going down some death trap of a slide, what if I was topless? I’m sticking to the principle of if I can’t see them, then they can’t see me.

I open my eyes to see that I am surrounded by a group of people all peering down at me, examining me with looks of worry and unease; yep just as I thought, must be topless. I quickly gaze down at what little chest I have and discover, to my surprise, that I was in fact still wearing my teal bikini; there is a god after all!

Once they see that I have regained consciousness, the people who had been staring at me like some kind of zoo attraction went on about their business as though it was a regular occurrence for a young girl to potentially nearly drown on a waterslide, pigs.

I notice that rather than standing of my own accord, two large muscular arms are engulfing me, hoisting me into the air, usually one to hate heights this was actually pretty comfortable. Maybe if I close my eyes for just a second…

“hey, don’t you dare close your eyes Sam, you just banged your head, you need to stay awake” The same voice from before echoes, snapping me back to reality.

I attempt to open my eyes as instructed and I am shocked by what I see.

The two most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen are staring back at me, full of genuine concern and worry but yet laced with comfort. They remind me of someone I once knew but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but I couldn’t right away, instead I close my eyes again. Just let me sleep this time!

“Sam, really, you need to stay awake, you might have a concussion”

Suddenly my eyes snap open and  am as awake as I ever remember being, not because of the mention of concussion but the mention of my name. Sam. There was only one person who had ever called me that…

Ben Fletcher.

Opening my eyes wide, I no longer cared about the burning rays of sunlight or the pounding pain in the back of my head, all I was worried about was why Ben was here and why he was cradling me like a baby in his muscular arms.

“Why are you…” I begin, my throat dry as I stumble over my words attempting to arrange them into something that sounded at least half human. I was suddenly fully aware yet again that my bikini wasn’t quite full enough, that my hair was a mess and that I knew probably looked like more of a mess that ever in my entire life, great.

“Be quite, you don’t need to talk, I know what you are thinking” He began, his words lingering in my ear as his hot breathe rained down upon me. “You banged your head at the bottom of the slide, you were knocked out by the time you entered the water.”

“But, why are you…”

“I was standing at the side, I seen you were in trouble and jumped in to help you, it was a true Baywatch moment if I do say so myself” Ben joked, just like he used to.

“Thank you…” I whisper, unable to speak due to either shock, pain or embarrassment, maybe even a combination of all three. Ben had saved my life, I owe him that. Oh great, I am indebted to the last guy on the face of the planet that I  wanted to be in debt to.

“I’m sorry by the way, for making you go down that stupid slide, it was foolish. I should never have forced you to go down it if you didn’t want to, especially since I knew you couldn’t swim…I’m such a dick” Ben confessed, apologising for the first time, well ever.

I almost wanted to burst out laughing at him and tell him where to stick his apology before I seen it in his eyes. He was being genuine. The guy mask he had been wearing for weeks now had vanished, instead he was the Ben I remembered him being before he went away, he was my best friend. He seemed to really care in that movement that I was okay, but then again that might just be the head injury talking, who knows really. Either way, this was the most we had communicated and definitely the closed, both physically and emotionally, we had gotten since his return. I think I like it.

“Don’t worry I’m fine, it isn’t your fault” I lie to him. Truthfully, I would never have even gone up to the top of the slide if it weren’t for Ben let alone go down it. I was happy sticking to the ‘baby rides’.

Setting me down on a hard wooden bench by the changing rooms, Ben stares down at me, causing butterflies to come in my stomach for some reason, I mean, I do not have a crush on Ben. This was the nicest thing he had done for me in years, there is no way I had a crush on him.

It was then that I felt it, warm on my upper lip as it trickled from my nose down my face; blood.

“Your nose…” Ben informs me, like I hadn’t noticed.

“Yeah” I say, reaching up my hand in an attempt to make it stop, “I should go and get that checked out…” I say groggily as I sway upon getting to my feet.

“I will come with you” Ben tells me sweetly.

“No” I snap, “I don’t want to keep you back from your silly slides any longer, go and have fun, at least now you won’t have to go on the ‘baby slides’ anymore” I scold. Really I have no idea why I have such an attitude towards him, he has been nothing but nice since I hit my head but still I couldn’t help it. Maybe it was just that, the fact that it had took me nearly meeting my end for us to actually talk or maybe it was the fact we hadn’t spoken until now, either way I knew I should be nice to him; he did save me after all.

“it’s fine, I…” I cut him off before he can finish his sentence, afraid that to hear the end of it will make my will cave in and I will allow myself to ruin his day even more than I already had.

“I’m sorry” I say before turning around and staggering towards the nurses office beside the changing room, leaving Ben standing with a look of puzzlement on his face.

***

Authors note: Hope you guys like this chapter! Wish it could have been longer but I fell ill this week and so I havent been in the mood to write, sorry. Anyways, as always thanks for reading and I hope you all had a great week! :D Be sure to comment, rate and follow and let me know what you guys thought and what you think is next for Ben and Samantha! :)

Thanks for reading, as always, I am Jdot (twitter = @thejdot95 )