Chapter 10
Chris came out of his tent and stretched out in the warm morning sun. He liked the feeling of being away from screaming fans for so long. He’d miss it when they were found. Looking over in the west, he could see the same clouds Justin had seen earlier in the morning. They looked menacing from the color and size. They were a lump of thick black clouds hovering over the trees, ready to block out the sun.
“Damn,” Chris said under his breath. Just then, Sam peered out from Lance’s tent. Her hair was a jumbled mess and her shirt was buttoned the wrong way.
“What time is it?” she asked, rubbing her eyes to adjust to the sun.
“I don’t know. My watch ran out during the last storm,” Chris replied.
“Well, what time do you think it is?”
“Probably around 10. I’m never good at telling from the sun.”
“Okay, thanks anyway.” Sam re-entered Lance’s tent and didn’t come back out.
Chris walked to Vicky’s tent hoping to find her there so he could ask about her wrist. As he drew back the fold, he discovered her blanket in a disheveled mess on the sand. Immediately he went to Justin’s tent sensing that she’d probably be there. As he predicted, she was, but he wasn’t expecting to find them far away from each other with Vicky deathly pale under a blanket.
“Justin, what happened to her?” Chris immediately inquired.
“She got very sick last night so I brought her to my tent,” Justin lied as he returned to Vicky’s side. “There’s no more medicine left. I’m afraid she’ll die if we don’t get rescued soon.” He tried not to think about the pain he was feeling and held back the tears of sorrow.
“Let me take a look at her wrist. I think I know why Vicky’s sick,” Chris replied as he knelt down and peeled away the blanket to reveal her arm. He gently unwrapped the bandage and looked at the cut. It was turning strange colors and swelling beyond belief. “Shit, this is bad,” he said, grabbing the bottle of peroxide from the first aid kit. He poured it onto the cut. Vicky shot up in pain. She screamed until Justin put his hands around her waist to comfort her.
“It’s okay, baby. Everything’s going to be alright,” he whispered, rocking her back and forth.
“Justin,” Vicky panted, her free hand searching for his in the air.
He took it and gave a little encouraging squeeze. “I’m right here, my love. I’m not leaving your side.” Justin bent down to kiss her forehead as Chris kept cleaning the cut on her right arm.
“It hurts,” she groaned.
“It’s gonna hurt for a little while, then hopefully you’ll feel better. Just please stay calm. I don’t want you loosing your strength,” Justin comforted as his free hand caressed her cheek.
Vicky took in a deep breath. She felt a little better after what Justin said, but there was still that horrible pain in her arm that never seemed to go away.
“Okay, I think I’m done,” said Chris as he wrapped a clean bandage around Vicky’s cut. “Justin, if you could come outside, I have to talk to you.”
“I’ll be right back,” Justin whispered into her ear. He stood up and walked outside with Chris.
“Justin, I heard what you told her in there,” Chris began.
“What? When I told her that everything was going to be okay?” Justin replied, confused.
Chris gave him a cold stare. “No, after that. You told her you loved her,” he answered.
“So, I love Vicky. What are you gonna do about it?”
“Justin, this is for your own good. Once we get back to the main land, I have a feeling that she’s gonna dump you. Don’t fall in love with her. I’m telling you, she’s only gonna end up breaking your heart,” Chris warned as he walked away.
“I know you’re trying to scare me, but it’s not working. I don’t care about what you say. I love her and she loves me. That’s all that matters!” Justin yelled back before returning to the tent. As he opened the folds, he could see Vicky peacefully sleeping under the blanket. He was ready to nestle up beside her if it wasn’t for Sam peering through the opening.
“Justin, could I talk to you for a second?” she quietly asked.
“What?” he retorted.
Sam, sensing she was unwelcome, replied, “It can wait.” This was the first time she had been too timid to answer back.
“No, come on in. I’m sorry about that. I’m just really tired,” Justin apologized. He sat up and waited for Sam to speak again.
“I just wanted to ask you if that thing Chris said was true. Are you in love with Vicky?” Sam questioned. She sat down at the edge of the opening.
“Yeah, I love her. Why is everyone on my case about it?” he nearly yelled.
“I’m not on your case about it,” she protested.
“Okay, then you’re the only one who’s not.”
“I also wanted to know if she’s okay. I heard her screaming from my tent and knew something was wrong. That’s another reason I came over here.”
“Sam, I don’t know what to tell you. Chris just finished cleaning up her cut, and before that I thought she was gonna die because she looked so pale. We have no medicine left to treat her fever. All I can do is dab cold water on her head and hope for a miracle,” Justin explained as he gazed back at Vicky’s sleeping body.
Sam was on the verge of tears. “No!” she cried. “I’m so sorry about what I’ve done. I’d give anything to tell her that. She’s my best friend. She’s the one who’s been helping me adjust to Orlando for the past two years, and when I first moved here. She’s the only person that’s been really nice to me ever since I moved to Florida. I just wanna tell her I’m sorry, and that I’m still her friend.”
Justin wrapped his arms around Sam to comfort her. He, too, had a need to cry out. Without warning, the tears began to stream down his face. He cried on Sam’s shoulder as she cried on his. They found comfort in each other’s.
“Thank you, Justin,” Sam said as she wiped the tears away from her face.
“No, Sam, thank you,” Justin replied as he did the same.
Sam stood up and ran out of the tent back to Lance where she was most comfortable. Justin snuggled up beside Vicky and fell asleep quickly. The feeling was too great to deny, and it took its restful toll on him that afternoon.