“I’m not too sure. That bloody tosser she works with had winded her, and she was still trying to catch her breath. Plus, the weather is insane down there, so I couldn’t catch everything she was saying. But she needs help. I’m on my way, but you’re closer. I know things have been weird with– ”
“He didwhat?” I shouted, shoving on my shoes with my phone shoved between my ear and my shoulder. “Thatprick. I’m going to kill him!”
“Not sure what’s going on now, but he was trying to take out a load of pissed-up stag weekend lads. Yaz didn’t think it’s safe and tried to stop him. He shoved her back onto her arse.”
“What the actual fuck?” I was racing out of the door now, Winnie hot on my heels. I didn’t have time to stop her, so simply jumped in my car and let her jump in after me.
“She wanted me to come down there and help her stop them, but halfway through explaining, she started swearing and saying how she was going to have to get on the water herself,” Max’s voice was panicked now. “She put the phone down on me, and I can’t get her back again. I’m on my way but you’re closer.”
“Shit!” I pulled out of my driveway and set off towards the harbour. Making it there in under two minutes, I jumped out of the car and ran down to the sand, closely followed by Winnie. I saw a couple of Yaz’s mates on the shoreline looking out to sea and jogged over to them.
“Hey,” I called, and Dee turned to me – her face was pale and her expression worried. Winnie was going nuts barking at the water.
“You know what’s happening?”
“Some fucking idiots have gone out with Bodhi and totally overpowered kites. Yaz tried to stop them but they launched the kites before she could get us to help.” She looked out to sea briefly and then her face paled further. “Christ!” she shouted. “What is he doing? Listen, I’m going to get on my rig.”
Dee ran into the water to a windsurfer one of the others was holding for her. I followed the direction of her gaze and saw a man flying through the air towards the harbour wall. The gust of wind he was caught in then died, and he crashed back into the water. My heart dropped into my stomach when I saw the unmistakable silhouette of Yaz on her windsurfer in hot pursuit of the out-of-control maniac. That bloody idiot was going to get himself killed, and I didn’t want Yaz anywhere near him when he did it. She swept around him to avoid the kite strings and then did an impressive jibe to double back. There was another gust of wind and the idiot’s kite flew back up into the air, taking him with it. He needed to unhook via the safety release, but either he had no idea how to do that or his ego would not let him abandon the kite. The guy was in mid-air now and hurtling toward the harbour wall again. I swore under my breath, feeling completely helpless as I watched Yaz charge after him. At the last moment, she leapt from her windsurfer and onto the man’s board.
That’s when I started running. I had no plan, I only knew that I needed to get to Yaz. When I drew level with them on the shore, I started wading into the water fully clothed. A couple of Yaz’s other friends flanked me, but we were too far to reach Yaz.
“Oh my God,” one of them said, and I felt my heart almost stop beating. Both the man and Yaz were now on course to crash into the wall. Then suddenly the kite was free and sailing off into the air. Yaz had released the safety harness, and as soon as she had she shoved the man backwards, away from the wall. But the board’s momentum was such that there was no way she could avoid hitting it herself. Her body slammed against the concrete then slid into the water. Luckily Dee’s rig had already reached Yaz by the time she hit the water. Another windsurfer out there took care of the idiot Yaz’d saved, and Dee dived in after Yaz. When Dee pulled her out of the water and I could see Yaz coughing, I felt relief so acute it almost felt like I might black out. Dee stumbled and both she and Yaz fell back into the water, regaining their feet as I made it to them.
“Heath!” Yaz shouted over the wind. I took her from Dee’s arms and held her up against my chest. It was a measure of how hurt she was that as soon as she was in my arms, she started sobbing.
“There’s something wrong with her shoulder,” Dee shouted. “And… oh fuck!” She looked down at her hands and her wetsuit. “Shit, there’s blood. She’s bleeding!”
“You’re going to be fine,” I told Yaz through gritted teeth as I carried her to the shore, Winnie barking at my feet.
“Call an ambulance!” I shouted at the assembled crowd on the sand as I put her down and started frantically searching for the source of the bleeding. I found the head wound quickly and enlisted Dee, who had followed me in, to put pressure on it with a towel. Winnie had lain down next to Yaz and was licking her hand.
“My shoulder,” Yaz whimpered. Her left shoulder was misshapen and very obviously out of its socket.
I took her face in my hands and held her gaze.
“Do you trust me?” I asked her. She stared straight at me for a moment and the world melted away. The sound of the wind, the shouting around us, everything faded other than her breathing and mine. She nodded once and I rested my forehead against hers for a second before I pulled away, letting the world rush back in. Then I took her injured arm at the elbow with one hand, and her left hand with the other and rotated. She screamed once as it clunked back into place. Winnie started whimpering and barking at Yaz’s side and, typical Yaz, through the pain and the stress she still reached out with her good hand to stroke Winnie’s fur and reassure her.
“It’s over now,” I said softly, holding her arm across her chest and signalling for one of her friends to give me another towel which I made into a makeshift sling.
“Oh my God, Yaz!” Max’s boom could be heard above all the noise around us as he forced his way through to his sister. “Is she okay? What are you doing treating my sister on the bloody beach, mate? You’ve owt to see to her with here. She needs your fancy hospital, she does.” Angry, worried Max was even more brusque and northern than normal.
I decided the quickest way to deal with him was to ignore him, so I took a moment to inspect her head wound behind the towel Dee was keeping pressed on it. There was still a slow trickle of blood and it looked like it would need a fair few stitches.
“Keep pressure on there,” I told Dee. “I’m going to lift her.” I lent down and scooped Yaz up off the sand to hold her up against me.
“If you want to make yourself useful, you can drive us to mybig fancy hospitalright now,” I snapped at Max, who was standing in my way.
“What about the ambulance?” he snapped.
“This’ll be quicker. We just need to get her there, Max.”
Yaz’s hand went out to Max’s arm and he focused on her again.
“Listen to Heath, Maxie,” she said. Her voice wavered for a moment, but then she cleared her throat.
Max glanced at her and nodded. “Alright, love. I know, I know. I just want you fixed up proper. When you hit that wall, I thought…” he swallowed, reached to Yaz and squeezed her good hand, then led the way to his car.
Chapter 32
