Becalmed

The cliffs rose up around the cove like crooked teeth. Cassandra floated on her back, enjoying the afternoon sun. She lifted up a hand, watching the droplets of seawater glitter on her skin. Lila and Theo's laughter rang in the background, gliding across the waves. They were pawing at each other like the newlyweds they were. She could hear her husband Oliver struggling to light the barbecue.

“Hey, Cassandra, can you help me with this?” Oliver shouted. Cassandra laughed and flipped over. She was always the one who always ended up starting the grill. She swam towards him and felt a hot line of fire across her hip. She had made it to the point where she could touch the floor, but her leg cramped up and she fell. Salt water poured into her mouth while Oliver laughed. Still laughing, he picked her up.

“You okay?”

She coughed up water. “I got stung by something. Think it was a jellyfish.”

Agony scorched across her hip. She couldn't tell if touching it would help or hurt, but she reached for the red streak. Her fingers had grown clumsy and she couldn't force her hand into the right position. Lila and Theo approached, their voices loud and their tone concerned.

“What happened?” Lila asked, running her fingers across the sting mark.

“She got stung by a jellyfish,” Oliver said. He was now supporting all her weight. The wedding band on his hand dug into her collarbone. “Call for an ambulance.”

Lila was the one who ran back to their bags to retrieve the cell phone. Cassandra heard her dialing and speaking to the operator. It was a good choice. Her voice held even as she listed off Cassandra's symptoms and provided instructions to the cove.

It was a long drive from the city. That was why they'd chosen this beach. The quiet, the solitude. It was quiet now. Theo helped Oliver lower her to the ground. She couldn't force her legs to support her body.

She stared up into the sun. She wanted to shield her eyes, but her fingers wouldn't move. Her lungs seized up, and she couldn't scream, no matter how much it hurt. Oliver moved over her, his face blurry. He pinched her nose and breathed into her mouth. He tasted familiar, his lips soft. Someone else had begun pressing down on her chest. Theo, from the feel, his hands large and rough.

She'd felt his hands on her before. They'd met at college. Cassandra had meant to go back and finish her degree. Cassandra counted Oliver's breaths. Though they were also hers, she supposed. Eleven breaths before they started slowing down. She could hear Theo panting, struggling to push down hard enough and far enough to keep her heart beating.

There was a lull. Her heart fell silent in her chest. Lila took over the compressions. She'd never told Lila about her relationship with Theo. Certainly never told her that it had never really stopped. She'd cheated with Lila's husband and Lila was saving her life, fingernails digging into Cassandra's skin.

Oliver picked up the phone and reiterated instructions to the cove, his voice wobbling and panicked. It didn't matter. They weren't going to make it in time. Couldn't make it in time.

Cassandra couldn't breathe, her lungs wrung empty. Theo began breathing into her mouth. He tasted like salt.

Cassandra had thought she was pregnant last month. She wasn't sure if it would be Theo's baby or Oliver's, but she'd been excited. She thought she'd be a good mother. The test came back negative.

The sun burned her eyes, her eyelids no longer able to close. Her entire body was on fire, screaming itself raw. Lila's pushes were slowing down. Theo was panting harder, sucking in breath. Oliver pushed Lila aside to continue the compressions, but his hands slipped trying to find purchase on her skin. Theo pushed his hands on top of Oliver's. Lila started breathing into her mouth. She also tasted like salt.

They couldn't last forever. Cassandra listened to the breaths coming slower and shallower, feel the pushes coming slower and weaker until they stopped altogether. She could do nothing but listen as she burned.