“I had decided we were going straight back to the airport and then home. I had every intention of telling my parents some of what had happened, and having them kick Dagan and his buddies off the property.”
“Did your parents believe you?”
“I never got the chance to find out. Kevin saw the red mark on my face and the bruising around my throat and took off after Dagan. He’d already started paddling out, and Kevin grabbed his board and gave chase. Kalino heard me yelling at him to stop, and he too headed out after Kevin.”
Becca grew silent for a moment, closing her eyes as the events of the next few moments replayed themselves in her mind. “Dagan went out to where the big waves came in, and Kevin followed him. He’d never been in such big water before, but he didn’t even pause. This giant wave formed, and Dagan went for it. Kevin tried, but he’d barely gotten to his feet on his board when the wave broke. Right on top of him.”
She was crying now, tears streaming down her face. Kalino was too far away to stop him, but also too close to escape the wave’s massive power. Dagan wasn’t even a match for the wave. He rode it for several seconds before it crashed over him as well. He and Kevin were killed, and Kalino spent three weeks in the hospital in a coma.”
“Oh, sweetie! How horrible! Did your parents come…”
“No. Kalino’s dad showed up, having heard the call for a medivac over his radio. He found me sitting in the sand, almost catatonic and freezing. He flew me to the hospital where they took Kalino, and my parents were called from there. They drove up to get me, and that’s where they learned about Kevin’s death.
“My dad was more upset than I’d ever seen him. My mother took one look at me, and immediately assumed the wrong thing. I know she thinks I was off playing games while Kevin was killing himself. The press was horrible. Dagan had been the country’s best chance for winning the world title, and now he was dead.
“They had this massive, televised funeral for him. Reporters from around the world showed up. How was I supposed to tell anyone what had happened? Everyone idolized him, and was mourning the loss of one of the best surfers the world had ever known. If I had even breathed a hint of what he’d tried to do, no one would have believed me.”
“Your parents…”
“No. They were grieving the loss of their son. My father made sure to let me know that Kevin was his only real child, and that because of me, he no longer had any children.”
“But he was your father…”
“Not really. He raised me, but my mom and he never got around to changing my last name. It was and still is Edwards. The way he looked at me was horrible. And my mother, she’d been warning me away from Dagan and his friends. She had firsthand knowledge of the damage the surfer mentality could do to my future. My biological father was a surfer who abandoned her when he found out she was pregnant. In her opinion, I’d ignored her advice, and my brother had paid for my mistake with his life.”
A noise from her bedroom door had Becca glancing up to see her mother standing in the partially opened doorway.
Chapter 10
She had a stricken look on her face, and a hand clutching her chest. “Mom?”
Becca dropped the phone when her mother’s color drained away, and she collapsed to the floor. “Mom!”
She rushed to her mom, and quickly checked for a pulse. She could hear Gracie yelling at her through the phone, and she quickly crawled back to it before returning to her mom. “Gracie! She collapsed.”
“Who?”
“My mom. She was standing in the doorway listening to us talk. She clutched her chest and collapsed. Oh, what do I do?”
“Check for a pulse. Where’s Kai?”
Becca glanced down the hallway, and yelled out for him. He stuck his head out of the door a moment later, and rushed to her side. “I can’t find a pulse! Oh God, I can’t lose her too. Gracie, help me!”
“Whoa! Calm down and check again.”
Kaillar took the phone from her hands, and put it on speakerphone, “Hey Gracie! What do I need to do?”
“See if she has a pulse, and get some medical help on the way.”
Becca was crying, “Mom! You can’t do this. Not now.”
“She has a pulse.”
“Good. Is it strong and steady?”
“It seems to be. Wait! She’s coming around.”
“Mom! Can you hear me?” Becca asked, clasping her mom’s hand as her eyelids fluttered opened. “Don’t move. You passed out. Where do you hurt? Is it your heart?”
Stacie opened her eyes, and then looked at Kaillar before returning her gaze to her daughter. She lifted a hand to Becca’s check, “Becca, what you told your friend on the phone…it’s just not true. Your father…he never meant for you to take his comments the way you did. It nearly broke him when you left. And I never assumed you were at fault for Kevin’s rash actions.”
“Dad said…”
“I know what you heard, but he only meant that Kevin was his only biological child. He always loved you as if you were his own flesh and blood. We never had your last name changed because of the difficulty it would have posed with the courts. I would have had to name your biological father, and I wasn’t willing to do that. I’m sorry if that choice made you feel less loved.”
“I always felt loved. Until Kevin died. It was my fault. If I hadn’t gone off with Dagan, he wouldn’t have attacked me, and Kevin wouldn’t have gone after him.”
“Kevin went out there trying to defend your honor?” her mother asked, her eyes clouding with the memory of his loss. “Somehow, that makes his death better. Knowing that he wasn’t just being a cocky teenager, taking on too much and trying to grow up too fast.”
“No! Kevin would have never attempted those big waves, but he was intent on making Dagan pay for hurting me. I didn’t realize that he’d be able to tell anything had happened. It wasn’t until I got the hospital and saw my reflection in the bathroom mirror that I saw the bruising he must have seen.”
Kaillar picked up Becca’s phone and moved back a few feet, taking it off speakerphone. “Gracie, I’ll have her call you back later. I think her mother just fainted.” Kaillar listened for a moment and then he said, “I’ll tell her.”
“What?” Becca asked, helping her mom to a sitting position.
“Gracie tells you to remember to only own what’s truly yours.”
“Good advice. I look forward to meeting this friend of yours one day,” her mother commented, using Becca’s arm as she got back to her feet.
Stacie looked at her daughter, and then at Kaillar, “We’ll talk more about this, but I’m glad to finally know the truth. Now, I think we all need a break from these emotions and memories. Why don’t you take one of the Scouts up to the volcano, and show this mainlander the lava flows?”
Becca was amazed that her mother could so easily turn off her emotions. She envied her the ability, but was also grateful to be given a chance to collect herself. She turned to Kai and asked, “Does that sound good?”
Kai nodded, “Yes. Who knows when I’ll get another chance to see lava flows.”
Stacie gave him a small smile, “Stick around Hawaii too long and you’ll see more than lava flows. In the last few weeks, the volcano has been acting up. That usually means an eruption is imminent.”
“Why don’t you sound more concerned?” he asked, wondering how safe they truly were.
“Kilauea erupts constantly. She can’t blow her top, because she already did that. Unless she would really get going, we’re in no immediate danger here. Take him up, and show him what I’m talking about.”
“Is the crater safe to drive around?” Becca wondered.
“Check at the ranger station. Last report I heard, the crater was still down thirty meters or more.”
“We’ll do that. Come on. Let’s go expand your education about volcanoes and Hawaii.” Becca didn’t wait to see if he was following her. She darted into the clo
sest bathroom, and grabbed a handful of tissues. She’d already cried off whatever makeup she’d still been wearing when they landed in Honolulu, so she dried her eyes as she headed for the parking area.
A trip up the mountain was just what she needed to remind her that life went on. No matter how bad the circumstances became. It was impossible to view the damage a volcano could cause and not realize that truth.
Chapter 11
Three hours later at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Visitor Center…
“This place is amazing,” Kaillar told her as they drove along the crater rim. Tendrils of steam and gases rose from the crater in the distance, the landscape looking as if they had been transported to another planet.
The black swirls and folds of cooled lava obliterated the landscape beneath. As far as he could see, the ground was blackened. The remains of trees that had been caught in the fiery flow stood as ghostly reminders that at one point in time, green grass and tall trees had occupied this same location.
“It’s a weird feeling, isn’t it?” Becca asked, doing her best to put the events of earlier behind her.
“Weird doesn’t even come close,” Kaillar told her with a look.
“There are some benches up there where we could get out and sit. It might smell a bit if the wind is blowing just right, but if you listen closely, you can hear the sounds from the crater echo across the landscape.”
“I’m game.” By mutual consent, Kaillar was driving, and he located a vacant parking spot and pulled the vehicle over. As they headed for the benches, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to reach over and take her hand in his own.
He felt her start, but when she didn’t try to reclaim her hand, he silently patted himself on the back. He was making progress, or rather, she was making progress. Maybe she’s beginning to trust me a little.
They sat in silent contemplation for many minutes. Kaillar was astonished at the young woman sitting next to him. At the age of twenty-three, she’d dealt with more tragedy in her life, and yet she was still trying to move ahead with the act of living. After hearing her story, meeting her mother, and having spoken to Kalino, he realized that while not ideal, her leaving when she did might have been the best thing in some respects.
“So, I know you were feeling very apprehensive about coming home. How are you feeling now?”
Becca gave him a look, and then shook her head, “You sound like Gracie.”
“Thank you?” he questioned, trying to keep the mood light.
“It’s different than I imagined. I knew that my parents had the wrong idea about what had happened, but things were so tense back then. They were grieving my brother’s passing, and it just didn’t seem to be getting any better three weeks later.
“When Kalino woke up from his coma, and the doctors said that he would make a full recovery, I realized that I needed to do something different if I ever wanted to be able to say that about my own life. I think my leaving hurt my parents.”
“I think that’s probably a fair statement. But as you discovered earlier, your mother didn’t understand that you had suffered an additional trauma no one knew about. I don’t think anyone could have expected you to stay here without some way of dealing with those feelings.”
Becca gave him a rueful smile, “But I didn’t deal with them. I just locked them away. I thought I was doing a pretty good job of it too, until that attack a few months back. It brought everything back and I realized I’d not gotten rid of any of the guilt.”
“Guilt that isn’t even yours,” he reminded her.
“It’s much easier to say that than to believe it’s true,” she replied with a face.
“I get that. Why don’t you let someone else carry the burden for a while?” he suggested, hoping he wasn’t stepping over the line with her.
“What? Why would anyone else want to carry around my burden? One you seem convinced isn’t even mine to own.”
“Because God loves you, and He’s the only one that can take the guilt you’re feeling and turn it around.”
“God again, huh? Gracie went there as well. You really believe in prayer and all that stuff?”
“I do. I’ve seen it work in my life and in others. Look at it this way; you don’t have anything to lose. You did say you believed in God.”
“I do, but I don’t know that I believe He’s the kind of God that takes a personal interest in the lives of his subjects.”
“Not subjects. Children.” Kaillar thought for a moment, and then explained, “God called us His children. Think of him like a Father. One that only wants good things for His children.”
Becca looked at him, and then spoke so softly he could barely hear her, “I’ve never thought of Him that way. I always envisioned God as this powerful being that watched us like we might watch the nightly news.”
Kai smiled at her, “You couldn’t be more far from the truth. He wants to be part of your daily life.”
“Is He part of yours?” she asked.
“Not in the same way He is with Pastor Jeremy, but – Yes. God is a part of my daily life.”
Becca was quiet for a few moments, and then she nodded, “I’ll think about it. For now, the wind is shifting, and the smell of rotten eggs doesn’t do anything for me.”
“I noticed that the odor seems to have gotten stronger. Shall we head back?”
“Yeah. I know my mom said there wasn’t anything she needed help with, but I don’t believe her. I don’t even know what time the service is tomorrow.”
“Let’s go,” Kaillar led her back to the vehicle, and then drove them back down the mountain. He actually felt a sense of relief when green foliage and trees reappeared along the roadway. The devastation done by the volcano was tremendous and yet, as they got closer to the unaffected ground, small plants had begun to push their way up through the charred, hardened lava. The contrast between the black ground and the bright green plants was a great reminder that even though the volcano had destroyed everything in its path, the destruction was only for a time. Life went on, and could flourish even in the midst of such devastation.
He wasn’t aware that Becca’s thoughts were travelling along that same path. Or that she was doing some serious thinking about this God that both he and Gracie seemed to put so much faith in.
Chapter 12
Sunday, early afternoon…
Kalino and Kaillar stood a short distance away from the closed casket containing the remains of Makoa Kahoalani. The funeral service had been brief, and now all that was left was for Becca and her mother to say their final farewells.
“She’s handling this pretty well,” Kalino commented to Kai.
“Yesterday was pretty hard on both of them.”
“I know. Her mom called me after you both left, and wanted to know why I’d never said anything about Dagan attacking Becca that day. I guess I always assumed that they’d figured it out. By the time I woke up, everything had started to settle down with the media, and Becca was gone. I not only lost my best friend, but Becca had been like an older sister to me. Her leaving felt a lot like I’d been abandoned.”
“Didn’t you ever think to contact her?” Kai asked, remembering how she’d explained that she’d left her phone number the same and no one had ever called her.
“Her dad told me to leave things alone. That she needed time to deal with everything that had happened, and I assumed he knew her best. I never dreamed that she would stay away for so long.”
“Well, I know from talking with her two roommates these last four years that she never even mentioned having a brother. I think she thought if she stayed away, she would never have to deal with the pain.”
“That’s not how life works. I remember the first time I surfed Pe’ahi after the accident. I stayed away for almost three years. And then one day about a year ago, I realized that if I wanted a shot at winning the Island championship, I’d have to eventually learn how to handle the big waves
.”
“Isn’t that where her brother was killed?” Kai asked.
“Yeah. I watched the forecast, and chose a day where the chances of the waves increasing was minimal. I flew over by myself. I didn’t want anyone to see me fail if I chickened out.”
“What happened?” Kaillar asked.
“I swam out, and then sat on my board for almost an hour before I got the nerve to make a run for the next wave. I watched surfer after surfer get overtaken in that time. Guys I’d gone to school with, and had competed against for years. Not a one of them was successful in riding the entire wave out.”
“Let me guess, that made you more determined than ever to prove that you could do what they couldn’t?” Kai asked with a grin.
“Don’t you know it,” Kalino grinned back at him.
“I’m the same way with downhill racing. Nothing fuels my determination more than watching the skier right before the wipe out.”
“There is definitely something wrong with us,” Kalino suggested with a broad smile.
“No. We’re just competitive. My brother tells me all the time it’s going to be my downfall, but I’m also cautious. I assume you are as well?”
“I’m probably the safest surfer I know who still takes on the big ones. If the waves looks too iffy, I’ll gladly pass and let someone else take it. The object is to score points. Some of these guys would rather ride for six or seven seconds on a high scoring wave. Not me. I want to go for the thirty second or more ride, on a slightly lower scoring wave. In the end, I score more points, and my parents can sleep at night.”
“What are you two up to?” Stacie asked as she and Becca joined them.
“Not much,” Kai told her, sobering and watching Becca carefully for signs that she wasn’t doing well. Her father had been an island figure, and his funeral had drawn the attention of several reporters from the mainland and Oahu. One of them had recognized Becca, and had been brazen enough to ask her where she’d been hiding. They’d gone on to mention her absence at Dagan’s funeral, wondering if she would mind sitting down with them and talking about that tragic time in her life.
Kaillar (Three Brothers Lodge #3) Page 6
