Echoes Between Us - McGarry, Katie Page 0,147
of the tumor and my port was removed. No one is ready to say remission yet, but when the doctors smile at me now, it’s with light in their eyes. As if they really weren’t sure that what they had hoped for before could really happen, but now it seems possible.
Water laps at my feet and the bubbles tickle my toes. The air tastes of salt and sand. I breathe in deeply and do my best to take it all in.
My immune system is slowly repairing itself, but to appease Dad and my doctors, we’re avoiding large crowds on this trip. During the day, we hang out at the condo Sylvia’s parents own then venture to the beach at night. The condo is fancy, is on one of the highest floors of the building and has a balcony overlooking the sea.
Sylvia and Miguel allowed Sawyer and me to have the corner bedroom with the view of the ocean. We spend a lot of time with the door to the balcony open, lying tangled up with each other, kissing then watching the deep blue water. He’ll whisper to me that he loves me, I whisper that I love him back. Both of us are more than ready to move on from doctor appointments, treatments and test results.
Sawyer talks about his plans to swim in college and how he’s not sure yet if he’ll live on campus or live with his dad who will soon be moving into a house with more bedrooms. I stay quiet as I’m a bit baffled by the idea of a future. I never allowed myself the possibility of one, and standing on the edge of the ocean, I feel very small.
My future is now as huge and wide as this sea—who will I be in the midst of it?
In the water, Miguel, Sawyer and Sylvia laugh, and thanks to the moonlight, I watch them. Shadows in the moving water. They’re all accomplished swimmers and didn’t blink twice at entering the ocean without the light of day.
A tall shadow moves from the water, and Sawyer has a contagious and fantastic grin. He’s dripping from head to toe and half naked, water cascading over his pronounced muscles, and I can feel the heat of the blush on my cheeks. He’s beautiful and he belongs to me.
“Swim with me.”
If I had eyebrows, they both would have raised. They haven’t grown in yet, but I’m hoping they will soon. “I didn’t just go through countless rounds of chemo to drown in the ocean. I sink like a rock, remember?”
Sawyer places a hand on the curve of my waist and draws me into him. I’m in a bikini, he’s wearing a Speedo. My entire body grows very warm with so much skin-to-skin contact.
“I remember you floating just fine.” Sawyer rubs a hand up and down my back, and I curl further into him. “Besides, I promised then and I promise now that I’ll get you back to dry land.”
I purse my lips, still unsure.
He reaches up and smooths out my mouth, causing my heart to beat faster.
“Once you get through the breakers, the water is smooth, like glass, and it’s warm. Just a few feet out there’s a sandbar where the water will only reach your knees.” Sawyer leans down and brushes his lips along my neck. Pleasing goose bumps form on my arms. “Trust me to take you out. I’ll even carry you if you want.”
Carry me. He’s carried me for months. To and from the bathroom, up and down the stairs. To and from the car for appointments. I’m tired of being carried. I’m ready to live.
A rush of energy courses through me and when Sawyer takes in my expression, his wicked smile matches mine.
“I remember that smile,” he says with a spark in his eyes like he’s reliving a good memory. “It either meant I was about to get schooled by you or that I might need bail money. What trouble am I about to get into?”
I laugh and I love how his body vibrates against mine as he chuckles with me.
“Teach me to swim,” I say.
Sawyer tilts his head like he thinks that’s a terrible idea. “Now?”
“Why not? You teach kids who can barely walk to swim four out of seven days a week.” Sawyer teaches at his swim club and local Y in Louisville. “Surely you can teach me.”
“Yeah, but in the ocean? In the dark?” He squeezes me closer, but being smaller and because he’s