Better vs. Worse

by Mary E Thompson

  She dropped to her knees in front of me, her delicate hands touching my forehead. I hissed with the pain. Water ran then a cool cloth pressed to my skin, swiping and applying pressure in alternating movements. The whole time, she mumbled to herself.

  “Why am I in here? He’s an adult. I shouldn’t be doing this. Fever? Does he have a fever? He can’t be sick.” She groaned. “This is the last thing I want to be doing right now…”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, grabbing her wrist. “I should have gone somewhere else. I shouldn’t have come here.”

  She shook me off and kept wiping my forehead. I leaned against the wall and tried to stay still. She pinched my forehead, making me wince, then ran something over the cut. It stung, but I wasn’t about to complain, especially when she leaned in and blew on my forehead.

  My hands moved on their own and found her only a few inches from me. She flinched when I touched her. I didn’t let go, and she went back to blowing on my forehead.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Superglue,” she whispered huskily. “I’m trying to get it to dry.”

  She blew on it a few more seconds then stopped. She didn’t move away from me when she took her hands off my forehead. Not until I opened my eyes and caught her staring at me.

  She stood in a hurry and rinsed the washcloth she used on my forehead. “Are you going to be sick again?”

  I shrugged. “Not sure. Still dizzy. Think I’m going to sleep here.”

  “You can’t sleep here. It’s really uncomfortable.”

  I shook my head and laid down. “The floor is cool. Feels good.”

  I waited for her to leave, holding my breath. I wanted to ask her to stay with me, because I always felt better when she was with me. I’d already asked too much of her, though. I wouldn’t ask more.

  “Are you sick?”

  I shrugged. “Don’t know. Feels like it.”

  “The waiters had the flu. Do you think that’s what you have?”

  I propped my head on my arm and nodded. “Maybe. Achy and cold and hot and sick.”

  “Sounds like the flu. Do you want me to stay here?”

  “Yes,” I blurted before I could think. “I mean, no. You should go back to bed.”

  “It’s okay. David hogs the covers anyway. I can stay in here if you want me to. When I’m sick, I don’t like being alone.”

  I looked up at her, meeting her eyes in the darkened room. Finally, I nodded.

  She nodded back, then left. She was back a minute later with a pillow and a blanket. “I don’t think two pillows will fit in here.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t need one. You rest.”

  She stretched out next to me in the tiny bathroom. Between my six-six body and her curvy one, there wasn’t a spare inch in the room.

  I’d never wished for a smaller space in my life.

  “I’m not a cuddler, so you don’t have to worry about me being in your space. I’ll stay over here,” she said.

  “Mmm hmm,” I murmured, already almost asleep. I reached for her and wrapped my arm around her belly, pulling her body against mine. She tensed but relaxed a few seconds later. I was out before I knew it.

  Something cold pressed against the side of my face. My knee rested against something hard. My eyes felt like I face-planted onto the beach. Why did I hear the ocean in my head? Damn, it was loud.

  I tried to move and groaned. Everything hurt. What the hell did I do?

  I pried my eyes open and blinked away the sand. It didn’t go anywhere. I rubbed at my eyes, finally clearing them enough that I could see.

  “What the hell?”

  I was in my sister’s bathroom. On the floor. Alone.

  Slowly, it came back to me. The tsunami. The dizziness. The sink. I touched my forehead. The blood.

  And Ada.

  “Shit,” I murmured, my stomach flopping. I pushed to my knees just in time to vomit in the toilet.

  The good thing was I felt better after that. I washed my face, being careful not to get the glue wet, and cleaned the toilet. I grabbed the pillow and blanket off the ground and went toward the kitchen. Someone was cooking breakfast. It smelled surprisingly good.

  “How are you feeling?” Kiki asked when she saw me. “I heard you were sick.”

  I nodded. “I’m better now. Thanks. How bad was the storm?”

  Kiki nodded toward the TV playing footage from overnight.

  “Storm surge hit a maximum of seven feet in some areas. Further south, the surge was less than three feet. Only minor injuries have been reported so far. Stay safe, Hawaii.”

  “That’s good news.”

  Kiki nodded. “It is. Sawyer, Jack, and I are going to run to Ke’aloha to check on Opposites Attract. I’m guessing you’re going to head home before long.”

  I nodded. “I am. Who’s cooking breakfast?”

  “Jack.”

  “Did Ada already leave?”

  “She’s in the shower in my room. She and David are staying for breakfast then leaving. Why?”

  “I just wanted to thank her for last night.”

  Kiki’s eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”

  I pointed to my forehead. “She patched me up. Didn’t Sawyer tell you?”

  Kiki shook her head. “Um, no. He didn’t. Why did Ada do it?”

  “Because your brother cried for her,” Sawyer said, walking up behind my sister and wrapping his arms around her middle. “He wouldn’t let me in the bathroom, just demanded I get Ada.”

  “Why?” Kiki asked.

  I couldn’t admit it to her. She would push us together if she knew how I felt about Ada. I shrugged and passed it off as no big deal. “I didn’t want to bother you. I knew she would fix me up. She’s like another sister.”

  “Good to know I’m like another sister,” Ada said from behind me. She pushed past me into the kitchen. “How can I help, Jack?”

  I sighed, knowing I screwed up again.

  “Smooth,” Sawyer mouthed.

  I glared at him until he left. Being alone with my sister wasn’t much better.

  “You know how she feels about you,” Kiki hissed. “Why do you do that?”

  I shook my head. “She doesn’t really want a guy like me, Kiki. She has David. He’s a suit. That’ll never be me.”

  “Maybe she doesn’t really want a guy like that.”

  I chuckled. “Yeah, that’s why she always dates guys like that.”

  She huffed a sigh. “You know what I mean.”

  I shook my head. “No, Kiki. Don’t go there. She doesn’t want me. Not really. Let it go.”

  “Fine,” she pouted. “But be nice to her. If you’re going to make her get up to fix your face, you could at least say thank you. She looks exhausted. She said David stole the covers all night and she barely slept.”

  I didn’t want to tell Kiki that I asked Ada to stay with me because it didn’t matter. She went back to David. She spent the night with him, not me.

  Like it should have been.

  “I’ll tell her,” I promised my sister.

  Kiki walked away smiling. I didn’t want to talk to Ada. I wanted to run out the door and forget the night ever happened, but I owed Ada more than that.

  “Can I talk to you for a minute?” I asked, going into the kitchen.

  “Sure,” she said with a grin I knew was fake.

  “Um, maybe alone.”

  “Why? I’m just like a sister. You can’t have anything to say that’s private.”

  I sighed and glanced at Jack, who was clearly listening to our entire conversation. “Fine. I just wanted to say thank you for last night. I shouldn’t have asked Sawyer to wake you up, but I appreciate your help.”

  Jack dropped the pretense of not listening and turned to face us. “What are you talking about?”

  I pointed to my forehead. “Ada helped me. She fixed my head and stayed with me when I got sick last night.”

  Jack eyed Ada and grinned. “Did she now?”

 
“It was nothing,” Ada said. “I glued his head shut and stayed until he was asleep, then I left.”

  “You did?”

  Ada met my eyes and nodded. “Yes. I was only there long enough for you to fall asleep. There was no reason for me to stay after you were passed out. Besides, I don’t need to get the flu, if that’s what you had. You look like you’re already feeling better.”

  I couldn’t explain why it bothered me so much that she left as soon as possible. I dreamed of her all night, but she wasn’t even there. Couldn’t stay with me for more than a few minutes. It hurt.

  “Yeah, sure,” I said, backing away. “Anyway, thanks for the help.”

  She nodded, that damn smile back on her perfect lips. I wanted to kiss them until she admitted that… Hell, there was nothing for her to admit. That night was all me. I asked for her. I wanted her to stay. I was the only one affected by any of it.

  She was done with me. She wasn’t drunk, so of course she was done.

  I turned when I got out of the kitchen and found Sawyer staring at me. “That’s not what really happened, is it?”

  I shrugged. “No idea. I was passed out. I don’t know what time she left, but I have no reason to not believe her. She doesn’t want to be around me these days. At all.”

  “Things are a little complicated between you two right now.”

  I snorted. “You think?”

  “Give her some space and some time.”

  “For what? She’s with David. She doesn’t want me and I don’t want her. We’re both happier not being together. It’s the only thing that makes sense. I’m just gonna go. Tell Kiki I said bye.”

  Sawyer nodded and stayed out of my way as I grabbed my stuff, shoved it in my bag, and left.

  I could get breakfast somewhere else. Somewhere that didn’t have a beautiful woman who was just out of my reach.

  Chapter Seven

  I grabbed a quick to-go breakfast on my way home. I was anxious to see how bad my house was. The streets were still damp in places, but the water had already receded. I was just happy I could get food.

  I ate as I drove. Everything was drier as I got closer to my place. I hoped that was good, but there was no telling when water was involved.

  I turned onto my street and breathed a sigh of relief. It was dry. There was sand on the road, though. A few leaves. Even a bit of rock. I pulled into my driveway, sighing when I saw that the house was standing and didn’t look that bad.

  Inside was a slightly different story. The tile floors were damp, but not soaked. A telltale line ran around the room a few inches above the baseboards, showing me how high the water sat inside my house.

  “Dammit,” I breathed.

  I opened shutters and windows to let in some fresh air. The power was on, but with the water, I didn’t want to take any chances. I could survive without electricity for a few days.

  I grabbed my drill from the guest room, checking that my board was okay, and headed around to the back to take the plywood off the back door. I stalled when I saw the beach.

  I walked out, staring at the water, trying to remember what my beach looked like the day before. It seemed so foreign that it was only a day since the tsunami hit. Less than.

  The beach was littered with wood and branches and siding and countless other things. A pink stuffed bear was pinned beneath a sheet of shattered plywood. A chair laid on its side, holding a sheet of plastic in place despite the wind’s best effort to tear it away.

  It was a disaster.

  But it was fixable.

  I walked through the debris and surveyed the rest of the beach. Litter filled the sand as far as I could see in both directions. A few people were out in it, digging through. Some had trash bags to collect items that could be tossed, and some were obviously looking for things they’d lost.

  I glanced back at my house and knew I’d been lucky. A large piece of wood was on my lanai. If I hadn’t boarded the glass, it would have gone through and my home would have been flooded worse.

  I started walking back to my lanai to get to work when my phone rang. Kiki.

  “Hey.”

  “How’s your house?”

  “Not as bad as it could have been. How was Opposites Attract?”

  Her sigh said it all. “Not good. The beach is full of all kinds of stuff. One of the windows is shattered. All our plants are ripped up or flooded. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  “Call your insurance company first. I’m on my way.”

  “Someone should be here soon. They were close by when I called.”

  “Good. I’ll meet you there. We’ll get it straight, Kiki.”

  I hung up and went back inside to drop off the drill then headed to Opposites Attract. It was even worse than my place, but being farther north, it took more of a hit from the tsunami. It still surprised me to see as much damage as she had.

  Kiki and Sawyer were behind the office building when I found them, talking to a guy I didn’t know.

  “Kapena,” Kiki breathed. “Thanks for being here.”

  “Of course,” I said, extending my hand to the guy I assumed was from the insurance company. “Kapena Palu, her brother. Thanks for getting out here so quickly.”

  “Everyone is looking for estimates today. We’re doing our best to get to them all as quickly as possible.”

  I nodded in understanding then hung back as they finished their tour of the property. We walked to the parking lot together with Roger spewing stuff none of them needed to hear about long term damage and risks of water sitting someplace. I was ready to tear the place apart to double check for mold before the guy was even out of the parking lot.

  “Now what?” Sawyer asked.

  “I guess we wait,” Kiki said.

  “Why?” I asked. “We can clean up at least. There’s nothing that says we have to leave everything as it is. He took pictures and will be in touch tomorrow with more information.”

  “I don’t know,” Kiki said. She was anxious. For good reason.

  “Why don’t you guys go inside and get a cup of coffee. I’ll start cleaning up out here.”

  “I’m not sure—” Kiki started.

  “Come on,” Sawyer said, wrapping his arm around her. “Let’s go inside. We can tackle this in a little while.”

  Kiki looked up at him and finally nodded. I watched as he led her inside. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. I knew the feeling.

  I got started with the yard, picking up loose branches and runaway leaves. I scanned the horizon for anything that could have come off the buildings, finding nothing. Most of the damage was water damage, as expected. All the flower beds would need to be replanted, the back door replaced if the peeling paint was any indication of the water damage underneath. It also made me worry there might be water damage on the floors inside, maybe the walls, too. Definitely in the room where the window shattered.

  When Sawyer and Kiki came back outside, they both looked better. Kiki was armed with a list, her endlessly organized side taking over like I knew it would eventually.

  “Thanks,” she breathed when she approached me. “It already looks better without all the branches everywhere.”

  I nodded. “Small steps. What’s next on the list?”

  She smiled at me and started reading. “I can check off remove branches and leaves. Next is dry out inside. Replace back door, if needed, and the window. Clean up flower beds and replace plants. Repair gazebo. Oh, crap. I forgot all about the trailer. It’s not on the list.”

  “Did you talk to the adjuster about it?”

  “Different insurance,” Sawyer said. “Covered under vehicle insurance.”

  “It’s not the same company?”

  Kiki shook her head. “I got it before I got the business insurance for the building and never switched it over.”

  “Call them now. Sawyer and I will go check on it.”

  We walked away as she placed the call. I doubted there was a problem, but it was always better to have someone ch
eck.

  “Kiana said Ada’s condo was okay. She’s high enough that it looked like she lost power for a few hours, but other than that, nothing was damaged.”

  I nodded. “That’s good. Then she doesn’t have to worry about anything.”

  Sawyer unlocked the trailer and stepped back. “You know, you could go check on her.”

  “Leave it, Sawyer.”

  He threw his hands up and shook his head. “I was just offering a suggestion.”

  I shook my head and set to inspecting the trailer. The last thing I needed was to think about Ada, or worry about her.

  When we were finished with everything we could do for the day, I pretended my dizziness was coming back and begged off dinner. I grilled fish and vegetables and headed to bed before I did something stupid. Like go check on Ada.

  I spent the next few days cleaning out my house and helping my neighbors clear the beach. I found everything from siding to car keys to a photo album. It was tough to look through everything and know some of the items would never find their homes again.

  Pictures were all we had left of my parents when they died, so I tucked the photo album under my arm and carried it home. I figured I’d see if Sawyer could salvage any of the shots, then I’d work on getting it back to whoever it belonged to.

  Kiki needed my help with another wedding that weekend. Some of her employees were digging out and asked to have the weekend off. Most of the wait staff worked other places during the week so she tried to be flexible with their time off if they gave her enough notice. I just wished she gave me more notice.

  I was getting everything set up when I felt her walk toward me. She didn’t say anything, but I knew she was there. It was like I dragged my feet across the carpet then touched metal. There was a shock, small, but enough to tell me to get ready.

  “It’s nice to see you again, Kapena.”

  I turned to face her and swallowed a groan. David was next to her, smiling like he was thrilled to be at a wedding. Maybe he was.

  “Ada. David,” I said, trying not to growl at the guy.

  “David wanted to see what we do here, so I told him to tag along. Maybe you can…talk while I go find Kiki.”