Ethan's Heart (5)

<<Click here for Chapter 1>>

Ethan's Heart is an online story written collaboratively by Kaltopsyd and ACSutliff. Hubs will be published on Thursdays alternating between ACSutliff's hub and Kaltopsyd's hub. To make sure you don't miss the next installment, go follow KAlto today! And as always, thank you so much for reading our online stories. Comments are most welcome!

<<Go back to Chapter 4>>

Elina looked up from her book and saw Owen sprinting toward her. She dropped everything—her book, her sunglasses, her hat, her iPod—and jumped up to meet Owen halfway. “Where’s Ethan?” Her voice had an edge to it, as if she had been yelling all day.

“I dunno!” Owen abruptly stopped running and nearly lost his footing in the sand. “I was diving underwater, and when I came up, he was gone.”

“For Christ’s Sake, Owen.” Elina got into the teenager’s face. “Can’t I trust you for ten minutes?”

Owen’s face went red. “It’s not my fault! Ethan threw the quarters and I went to get them, and he just disappeared.” Owen stood there panting, avoiding Elina’s eyes.

“Did you look for him?”

“Of course I looked for him!” Owen shouted. His outburst turned a few heads.

Elina whirled around and took off across the beach for the lifeguard’s perch. Owen trailed after her, his eyes on the ocean.

Out on the water, a rough wave hit Ethan and dunked him under for a split second. Ethan stopped floating and treaded water. “Owen?” he called out. He looked around, and his face went white as a sheet. “Oh God, not good.” He went into a frantic breast stroke, aiming for the far-away beach.

Back on the beach, Elina and Owen approached the lifeguard on his perch. The man was middle-aged and tanned. His hair was bleached blonde from the sun. “My son is missing out there,” Elina blurted out. She already sounded very frantic.

“How old is he?” The lifeguard kept his eyes on the ocean, but he leaned forward with a sudden sense of purpose.

“Thirteen. He’s wearing yellow trunks and he has heart problems and can’t swim for very long.”

“I see him!” The lifeguard pointed, and Owen and Elina both whirled around in the direction the lifeguard had pointed. “He’s really far out there.” The lifeguard whistled. He picked up his red rescue can, jumped down from his high perch, and took off for the water.

Out on the water, Ethan was no longer swimming furiously. His body was suspended straight up and down in the water, and he was panting loudly. He turned onto his back again and tried to float in the rough water. His breath came in short quick gasps, making it impossible to float correctly. “Help!” he called out desperately, but his small voice was drowned out by the roar of the waves.

A wave washed over Ethan’s head, pushing him under. He swam for the surface and gasped for air, only to have another bigger wave crash down on him. Suspended in the water only a few feet below the surface, Ethan struggled to kick his feet and pump his arms. Gradually, his movements began to grow sluggish and then stop altogether.

Then a hand reached down, seized Ethan’s shoulder, and pulled him up.

“Oh, thank God!” Elina exclaimed as the lifeguard pulled Ethan to the surface. She stood on her tiptoes and shaded her eyes with both hands, desperate for a glimpse of Ethan. They were so far away, it was difficult to make out anything more than a couple figures bobbing in the waves. The lifeguard offered Ethan the red floatation device. Ethan managed to hold on, and Elina let out the breath she had been holding.

“I’m sorry I snapped at you, Owen,” Elina said after a while of watching in silence as the lifeguard steadily brought Ethan back to shore.

Owen shrugged. “Yeah. …Me too.” He roughed up his wet hair and crossed his arms over his bare chest. “Sorry.” He edged his way forward towards the water, and Elina followed until they were both ankle deep in the surf. Elina waited there, but Owen continued into the water as the lifeguard brought Ethan closer. He swam out to meet them and helped bring Ethan back in. The lifeguard and Owen each took one of Ethan’s elbows and together, they walked him out of the water.

Elina rushed forward and pulled Ethan into a hug, getting her clothes all wet. “Oh God, Ethan, don’t you scare me like that,” she whispered as she held him close. Ethan was still short of breath. He gasped for air, unable to say anything. “Come on, let’s go sit down.” Elina led him up the beach a few strides. Owen and the lifeguard helped Ethan sit in the sand. “Owen, can you go get a towel?” Elina asked. Owen nodded and ran off toward their belongings. Then Elina turned toward the lifeguard and smiled brightly. “I can’t thank you enough! You are truly a life saver. I’m so happy, I could almost kiss you.”

The man turned a bit red under his tan. “I’m glad to help.”

“I’m Elina McKenzie, and this is Ethan.” She reached out to shake the lifeguard’s hand.

He took her hand. “Channing Reed.”

“Well, God bless you, Mr. Reed.”

Channing nodded politely and stooped down to Ethan. “Take it easy, Ethan.”

“Thank you… for saving… me,” Ethan said around big breaths of air.

“It’s my duty, you just make sure to play it safer out there next time, okay?” Channing stood up and nodded at Elina again, then turned and walked back to his post.

Elina watched Channing go, then turned back to Ethan, who had a very sheepish look on his face. Owen came running back and held out a towel. Elina dropped to her knees and wrapped Ethan in the towel. “What do you say we head home now?” she said in a soothing, motherly tone.

~ * ~

When Ethan, Owen, and Elina returned to the car, Elina unlocked the car doors but instructed the boys to remain standing as she opened the trunk. Both boys, shivering as the sea water dripped off their bodies, huddled together, each hugging a towel to their bodies. Elina shifted a few items in the trunk and unzipped a large, green duffel bag. She pulled out a pair of dry basketball shorts and T-shirts. She separated the two - one T-shirt to one short, and then turned towards the boys.

“Alright, Eath, give me your towel. I’ll cover you.”

Ethan’s eyelids were droopy and his mouth a straight line. He didn’t seem to hear Elina. He was staring down at the ground. “Eath?” Elina called.

Ethan’s head shot up. “Hmm?” he asked.

Elina sat on the edge of the trunk and waved Ethan over. “Come,” she said. “I’ll hold the towel up behind you while you change. So the entire Space Coast doesn’t see your buttocks!”

Ethan’s cheeks and ears reddened. “Aunt Elina!” he said in a whispered exclamation. He glanced at Owen who looked ready to explode with restricted laughter.

“Come on,” said Elina, the corner’s of her mouth beginning to form a smile. Owen could no longer hold back his laughter and he released it. “Come on,” Elina repeated, now beginning to chuckle as well. “I’m sorry.”

Ethan rolled his eyes and approached Elina. He wrapped the towel around his waist and took his basketball pants from the car trunk. “I’ll do it,” he said, walking around to the side of the car while Owen continued laughing.

Elina also continued laughing, though maintaining her reservation. She picked up the other pair of clothes and held it out to Owen. “Thanks,” said Owen, still laughing. He exhaled dramatically and calmed down a bit.

Ethan was leaning up against one side of the car. He had placed his clothes atop the car and was struggling to get his wet shorts off without pulling his towel down. “Need help to cover your buttocks?” he heard a voice question.

He defensively pulled the towel tighter around him and looked down at the wet shorts around his ankles. “Owen!” he exclaimed.

Laughing wickedly, Owen held up his hands in surrender and walked to the other side of the van.

When both boys finally managed to change out of their wet clothes, they dumped them into a plastic bag in the trunk and got into the car. Elina blasted Christian contemporary music and drove off, back onto the busy road.

After driving for a while, Owen seemed unable to keep quiet any longer. Ethan’s forehead was pressed up against the window and his mouth tightly sealed. Elina seemed to be in deep thought as she kept her eyes on the road. Every once in a while, she hummed the melody of the music.

“Thanks for inviting me!” Owen said out of the blue. “It was fun.”

Ethan remained silent. “It was fun having you,” said Elina. “Thanks for coming.” She looked in the rear view mirror at her nephew. “Ethan?” she called. “Did you have fun?”

Ethan didn’t respond.

“Ethan,” Elina called again.

“Yeah,” Ethan dryly said. “Fun.”

The previous smile was wiped off Elina’s mouth. She just turned down the volume of her car radio a bit and focused on the road. For the rest of the trip, they drove in silence. Both Ethan and Owen fell asleep and Elina remained quiet. After a while, she completely turned off her music and heaved a sigh.

Looking back at Ethan, she opened her mouth but no words came out of her mouth. He was still asleep, his head sideways against the window, his mouth hanging open. Owen was slumped forward with arms across his knees and his head down.

At last, Elina arrived at Owen’s house. As she parked the car, Ethan jolted awake. His eyes bulged as he stared straight ahead. “Ethan?” Elina asked. Slowly, Ethan’s eyes narrowed. He yawned and stretched a bit. Then he turned to look out the window and when he saw Owen’s house, his shoulders slumped, his eyebrows lowered and the corners of his mouth turned downwards.

“Aunt Elina?” he asked in a tiny voice. “Can Owen come over?”

“Come over? Ethan, you have to go see Dr. Miller now.”

“No,” Ethan whined.

“Ethan, don’t start this.”

“I don’t want to go. What’s the point?”

“The point is—”

Ethan interrupted. “The point is, all I’m gonna get is bad news anyway! I don’t want to hear that! Can’t he just tell you over the phone?”

“Ethan.”

Ethan unbuckled his seatbelt as Owen began to stir. Inhaling loudly, the boy slowly began to sit up.

“Aunt Elina. I really don’t wanna go.”

“Well, Ethan,” said Elina. “You have no choice.”

Ethan frowned for a moment and stared at Elina with hard eyes. Then he opened the car door, stepped out and slammed the door. He walked to the pavement. Owen was suddenly wide awake. He looked at Elina with bright eyes and then at Ethan. Then he opened the door. “Where you going, man?” he asked.

“Home!” Ethan began walking away.

Elina rubbed her forehead and unbuckled her seatbelt.

Owen jumped out of the car and jogged after Ethan. “What happened?”

Ethan stopped and slowly shook his head. “I don’t want to go to the doctor, O,” he said. “I know it’s bad news. I just know it.”

“Well….” Owen scratched his chin and looked up at the sky. “You’ll never know unless you go. Think about taking a test and the teacher takes forever to give it back. Then you’re always thinking about it. And it drives you crazy. Do you want to feel like that?”

Ethan stared back at Owen. “It’s better than finding out you completely failed the test, Owen.”

Owen didn’t back down. “You know your aunt is going to go no matter what. You aren’t going to make her go alone, are you?”

Ethan looked down the street. He furrowed his eyebrows and kicked a small pebble around.

“She needs you to go with her, man.”

Ethan sighed and looked past Owen at Elina, who had just emerged from the car. She anchored herself on the door and watched the two boys as they stood motionless, waiting for Ethan to make a decision.

“Okay,” he said finally, and he returned to the car.