“The film with the tiny emotions running around inside a kid’s brain like they own the place?”
“Yup.”
“What about it?”
“Do you know the green one? Envy? I think I’m turning into her.” Her gaze roamed to the other surfers on the beach stretching and preparing for the following heat. “I don’t feel like myself not being able to feel the adrenaline from prepping for aheat. I feel…useless, aimless. And the comment Mick just said…without me Amira can win…I don’t know…”
His expression softened. “You are not useless or aimless. You’re being incredibly brave just by being here. I told you, I couldn’t even watch the Olympics for years after I got injured.”
“I don’t even knowwhyI’m here when I can’t be there,” she whispered, her eyes fixed on the ocean. “I miss the adrenaline. The nerves. Knowing that I’d catch that wave, ride it all the way in, feel the wrap of the ocean around me when I’m done.” Her voice cracked. She took a shaky breath, trying to hold it together.
“We can leave.”
She looked up. His blue eyes held no pity.
“We can leave,” he repeated. “You show me around Ericeira. Or we drive down to Lisbon. Or we head back to the stand and you help me out. Whatever you want, Alejandra, whatever you need, we’ll do it. I’ll be your driver and your emotional support Welsh guy.”
Her jaw clenched. Her heart cracked open. God, the idea was so tempting. They could drive to Lisbon. Escape it all. Spend the day together. Maybe slowly fuck him out of her system without injuring her shoulder in the process.
“I hate feeling like this,” she muttered, tilting her head up, blinking fast to stop the tears from falling.
He reached out and gently squeezed her right hand, grounding her. “Whatever you want.”
“Don’t you have to work for Lamina?” Her voice was low, like they were sharing a dark secret. Because in reality, it was her darkest secret: not wanting to be anywhere near the water if she couldn’t be in it, if she couldn’t be the Alejandra before Pipeline, before the injury.
“The two kids are great. Asma trained them with, like, a hundred PDFs on Lamina. They’ve got it handled.”
“Wouldn’t it look like I’m running away?” Her voice barely above a whisper.
His hand brushed against her cheek, and she leaned into it, needing the comfort more than she wanted to admit.
“It’s your choice, Alejandra, it doesn’t matter what people think of you.”
She took a deep breath. And he was right. She’d never cared what people thought before. So why the hell start now.
28
CALLUM
Younger You - Miley Cyrus
They had takenoff shortly after their chat. Alejandra had been on edge since he’d first seen her, and he completely understood why. Her desire to be present—but at the same time, the crushing realization of what she had lost—was all over her face. Plus, that weird guy comment had unsettled her even more. Callum had seen the shift in her smile, from good-natured to fake. It had been subtle, a shift in the corner of her mouth, but to him, it had been the biggest signal that she wasn’t happy about the interaction.
Even though she’d admitted a trip to Lisbon sounded good, she didn’t feel right leaving everyone behind. So instead, she’d agreed to help him at the stand.
“So, explain it to me. What do you really do at Lamina?”
Alejandra propped herself up on a stool, her green eyes fixed on him, looking slightly more relaxed now.
“We check if big corporations are stealing money, greenwashing, misusing funds... and then send them to court. Or prison.”
“Wait, weren’t you an accountant?” she asked, adorably confused.
“I am. But like... for legal stuff.”
“So it’s like, cooler?” she frowned.
“I truly don’t know what’s cool about accounting.” He smirked. “But yeah. Sending assholes to jail is way cooler than punching them, since doing that would get me jailed.”
