Amanda nodded into his neck. ‘It felt like a magnet,’ she said.
‘You’re safe now but we need to take you to a doctor and get you checked.’
‘Why?’ she asked, pulling away.
‘Because of secondary drowning,’ he said. ‘You’ve swallowed a lot of water. Come on, we can walk in to shore and go back to the house to get the car. I’ll get our things later. There’s nothing of any value there so I’m not concerned.’
They walked through the water, Amanda holding on to Simon’s arm, her chest hurting. She coughed as she made it to the sand on the shore.
‘I’m going to walk you to the house and you can get dressed and then we are going to see Carole.’
She held on to Simon every step back to the house and he waited outside the room while she changed into a dress. She was so tired and so she sat on the bed for a moment and then lay down.
Simon’s knock on the door was insistent.
‘Just a moment,’ she said.
Simon opened the door and saw her on the bed. ‘You can’t go to sleep,’ he said, his voice thin and tight.
‘I just need to rest.’
‘You need to get checked by a doctor,’ he said and came to the bed and sat down.
Amanda put her hand out for him to take and he held it. His hand felt warm and cold at the same time. A perfect temperature.
She shivered in the bed and Simon stood up and put a quilt over her.
‘Come on, I’m taking you to Janet’s,’ he said. His voice sounded firm now.
She looked at him and saw he was still in his wet shorts and no top or shoes.
‘Go and get changed,’ she said.
‘No, it doesn’t matter,’ he said brusquely.
‘You can’t go and see Carole and Janet with no top on – it will be the talk of Foxfield.’ She smiled at him and he laughed.
‘I don’t care.’
And with that he picked her up, quilt and all, and carried her down the stairs and out to the car.
She leaned against him, knowing she had no energy to do anything more, and he managed to open the car door and propped it wide with his foot and helped her into the car.
‘God, I’m so tired,’ she said.
Simon bent down and put her seatbelt on. ‘Sit there quietly and breathe slowly. Don’t stress your lungs out.’
Amanda grabbed his arm. ‘Simon?’
His face was inches from hers. ‘Yes, Amanda?’ he asked.
‘Thank you,’ she said, feeling her eyes hurting from tears this time, not just the salt water.
He seemed as though he was about to speak but instead, he nodded. ‘You’re safe now. I promise.’
And as he closed the door and moved to the driver’s side of the car, she remembered his words in the sea.
‘We’re okay, we’re safe now. We’re safe together.’
