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 Future's Path By Aimless Ramblings   Copyright 2007 by Aimless Ramblings

   Chapter 7   Jumping in the water, Gavin almost lands on top of Elena. 
She's fallen next to the railing of the stairs to the shallow end, and is
lying motionless, curled into a fetal position on the pool's bottom. 
Although he can't be certain, Gavin doesn't think she hit her head while
falling.    Christine and Elena's sisters begin screaming.  Gavin bends
quickly, slides one arm beneath Elena's shoulders, the other under her
legs, and straightens with her cradled close to his chest.  Her long hair
fans across his arm, trailing in the water.  Lifting her higher, he turns
towards the stairs, but Kate and Anna are both rushing forward, and he
cannot move.    With a splash, Laura surfaces to his right.  "You got her?"
Throwing her hair back over her shoulder, she steps purposely forward, arms
extended, almost as though she intends to take Elena from him.    "Yes,"
Gavin takes a step backward.  "She was only underwater for a few seconds,
but I need to get her out of here."   Laura's eyes meet his, and she nods. 
"I saw what happened," she says quietly.    The younger
sister--Kate?--reaches forward and touches Elena's face.  "She feels cold!"
  "She'll be fine," Laura says, with much more certainty than Gavin feels. 
"Let us help her."  She moves to his side, and they walk between the girls,
headed for the steps.    Laura takes Elena's wrist, and appears to be
searching for a pulse.  "Is she breathing?"  Again, her voice is quiet, for
his ears only.    "I, uh," he stammers, embarrassed that he isn't sure. 
But wait, her chest is moving, and he can feel her breath against his
neck.  "Yes, yes she is."   "What happened?"  A panicked Christine is
standing at the top of the stairs to the pool, blocking their way out.   
"It's okay," Laura says, letting go of Elena's wrist, and stepping forward
to gently guide Christine out of the way.  "I think she just slipped. 
Maybe swallowed some water."   Gavin carries Elena past the pavement
surrounding the pool, and lowers her to the grass at its edge.  She is
breathing, although slowly, but Kate is right, her skin is very cold under
his fingers.  Her fair skin is also much paler than normal, and he is
astonished that a short dunk in relatively shallow water can have had such
drastic effects.    Kneeling beside him, Laura says, "She needs to be lying
on her stomach, just in case she did swallow some water."  She helps him
roll Elena over, and carefully turns her head to one side.  "My mother's a
nurse," she says by way of explanation.  Looking up at Christine, who's
hovering above them, she asks, "Can you get us some blankets?  She's
probably going to be cold when she wakes up."   "Shouldn't we call 911?"  
Gavin is wondering the same thing.  Elena hadn't been in the water very
long, but she's also not moved or shown any sign of waking since her
collapse.    "I think she'll be okay if ..."   Elena moans, and Gavin
quickly leans over her, resting a hand on the exposed skin of her back. 
Her entire body begins to shake, as though she's been submerged in a tub of
ice water.  He wants to lift her back into his arms, to hold her as tight
as he possibly can, but isn't sure whether it's safe.  Her blue eyes fly
open, and she looks up at him with fear, and then relief.    "Elena!"  Her
mother's voice is shrill, on the edge of hysteria.    Elena coughs, spits
up some water, and then struggles to sit up.  Gavin slides an arm around
her shoulders, and she leans back against his chest with a grateful sigh. 
Looking up, she surveys the worried faces hovering above them both.    "I'm
sorry," she says, "I must've slipped."   "How do you feel?" Laura asks.   
"I'm ..."  She shivers.  "I'm kinda cold."   Christine studies her daughter
for a second, and then says reluctantly, "Are you sure you're all right?  I
was about to call an ambulance."   Elena shivers again, and Gavin's arms
tighten around her.  "An ambulance?"  She tries to laugh, but makes a poor
job of it.  "No Mom, please.  I already feel stupid enough."   'Elena
doesn't trust her.'   "I wanna get out of this bathing suit, and maybe
drink some hot chocolate though."   "I can make you hot chocolate," Anna
says, and runs towards the house when Elena smiles and nods at her.   
Turning in Gavin's arms, she asks, "Can you help me stand up?"  Then, so
quietly that he almost doesn't hear her, "Don't leave me!"   Laura helps
hold Elena on one side, and together she and Gavin lift her upright.  Her
skin is already warmer than it had been moments before, and she's gotten
some of her color back as well.  Elena holds on to both of them for a
second, and then lets go, taking an experimental step forward.  Smiling
reassuringly at her mother, she offers a hand to Kate, who still looks
frightened.    "Wanna help me find something dry to wear?" she asks.   
Kate nods, takes her hand, and they walk slowly towards the patio, Gavin
and the rest of them trailing behind.    --   "You're sure you're okay?"
Elena's mother asks for what must be the fifth time.    "Mom!" Elena sets
down her mug of hot chocolate in exasperation.  "If I was going to drop
dead, it would've happened already."  Sighing, she softens her tone. 
"Look, it was just a stupid accident," she says.  "I'm fine, and there's no
harm done."   Laura grins across the table at her friend.  "Mrs.  B., if
you don't think she's suffered enough, I can have my mother come over to
poke and prod her once she gets off work."   Elena glares at her.  "I'll
get you for that."   Christine nods at Laura.  "That's actually not a bad
idea.  And," with a pointed look at Elena, "while she's here, she can meet
the new boyfriend to see if he's travel-worthy."   Gavin, sitting beside
her, blushes a deep red at the word boyfriend.  Spotting his blush, Anna
giggles, but Kate looks very serious.    "He saved her life, Mommy," she
tells her mother.  "He has to come with us."   "Yeah," Elena agrees,
leaning against Gavin, and resting her head on his shoulder, "he saved my
life, Mommy."  Her words are playful, but just having him this close is a
comfort to her.    Gavin, still blushing, says, "I don't even know where
we're supposed to be going.  Some kind of rock?"   "Oh, not just any rock,"
Laura says, her voice heavy with sarcasm, "Enchanted Rock."  Seeing Gavin's
puzzled look, she explains, "It's Mom and Dad's annual boot camp to make
sure that their kids are in shape.  Although," smirking at Elena, "if she
starts scamming free passes for our boyfriends, it might actually be okay."
  "No scam," Elena says, lifting her head, and returning Laura's smile with
just a bit of ice, "Gavin's never been there before.  The trip will be very
educational.  Enchanted Rock is one of the highest rock formations in the
United States.  As for your boyfriends, since none of them can read, it'd
be wasted effort."   "Educational," Laura scoffs.  "Do they make padlocks
for sleeping bags?"   "Girls," Christine says warningly.  "I haven't spoken
to Gavin's father or," glancing at Laura, "your mother yet, so it's a
little early to start making travel plans."   "Plus," Elena adds, standing
up, "you haven't seen what the place looks like."  Turning to her mother,
"Can I show him some pictures I downloaded for my school report?  He may
not even want to go once he sees it."   "And, if you believe that,"
Christine mutters.  "Okay, but like I said, everyone's parents have to
agree before this is a done deal."   "I'll chaperone them upstairs," Laura
offers, winking at Gavin as she stands up.    "Good idea."   Elena feels
her mother's eyes on her, and steps away from Gavin without touching him.  
"Laura, can you call your mother and ask her to stop by after work?  I
really do want her to look at Elena, just to make sure she's okay."  
"Sure," Laura says.  "She gets off work in about an hour, so I'll call her
then."   As they're climbing the stairs, Elena hears Laura whisper
something to Gavin, but doesn't catch the words.  When they reach the top,
she takes Gavin's hand, and sees that he's blushing again.  "What?" she
asks, glaring at Laura.    Her friend smiles wickedly.  "I just asked him
if any of this looks familiar.  It's not a very common floor plan, but ..."
  "Shut up," Elena growls as they walk down the hallway to her bedroom. 
"If you can't behave, I'll tell your Mom where you were on Friday night
three weeks ago."   "Speaking of boys who can't read," Laura giggles.   
Elena shrugs, "You're the one saying it, girl."   Laura stops just past the
arched entrance leading to the upstairs bedrooms, and leans against the
bathroom door.  When Elena and Gavin look back at her, she grins, and licks
her lips.  "I didn't go out with him because he could quote Shakespeare,"
she tells them.    Elena laughs.  "Ho!"   "Ha, shows what you know," Laura
accuses.  "All we did was kiss.  You guys though," she winks at Gavin
again.  "I'll be back in a second."  She steps into the bathroom, and
closes the door behind her.    Elena is still holding Gavin's hand.  She
pulls him into her bedroom, slides her arms around his waist, and stretches
up to kiss him on the mouth.  His skin is warm, the touch of his lips both
soft and electric at the same time.    "Thank you," she whispers.   
Gavin's arms encircle her, and his fingers begin a slow circular massage
from her shoulders all the way down to her lower back.  He returns her
kiss, his tongue gently stroking her lips.  She sucks him into her mouth,
wanting to capture as much of him as she possibly can inside herself. 
They're both panting when they finally break apart for air.    "You're, uh,
welcome," he answers.  He raises a hand, and touches her face gently.  "You
scared the shit out of me, to be honest.  What happened?  I mean, I know
you were having a vision or whatever, but does it always happen that
quickly?  Hey, what's wrong?"   Elena's whole body is shaking, and she
can't seem to stop it.  "I'm sorry!"  She buries her face against his
chest, still shuddering.  "Can you...  Just hold me for a second, okay?"  
He lifts her, just as he had the day before, and carrying her in his arms,
sits on the edge of her bed.  His silent acceptance and serene willingness
to give her exactly what she needs brings tears to her eyes.  The terror of
what she had experienced in the dreamscape had seized her again without
warning, but Gavin's warm and unquestioning embrace drives the fear back,
allowing her to get her emotions under control.    "I didn't see anything,"
she finally tells him.    Gavin remains silent, letting her tell the story
in her own time.    "I was ..."  She turns her tear-streaked face upward,
her eyes searching for and finding his.  "You're going to think I'm crazy. 
Shit, who am I kidding, you probably already think I'm nuts.  I throw all
of this at you, and just expect you to take my word for it."   "Elena," his
voice is soft, neither demanding nor accusing, "what happened?"   She
desperately searches his eyes, looking for any sign of disbelief or
condemnation, but only finds concern.  "Something, I don't know what,
something in the dreamscape--the place I go; where I see things--something
there tried to kill me.    Gavin's arms tighten around her, and at last
there's something else in his eyes.  "Do you know why?" he asks.    'He's
afraid.  He already knows what I'm going to say.'   "It's him, isn't it?"
Laura asks, stepping into the bedroom, and closing the door behind her. 
"Whatever tried to kill you doesn't want you two together."