Page 81 of The Surfer

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RIPLEY

I see the surfboard.

But no Cove.

I carry on rushing, sprinting over the sand, rushing across the beach towards the water.

Where’s Cove? Where is he?

My head’s scrambled as I frantically search with my eyes over the surf. No sign of him.

Where is he?

I reach the water’s edge. No sign of him anywhere.

His surfboard’s stuck on the wet sand, dragged into the shore by the crashing waves.

No, no, no.

That means only one thing.

Cove is still in the water.

Fuck.

There is only one thing I can do. I sprint into the water, still wearing my jeans and shirt. I awkwardly throw off my trainers as I ran, there is no time to slow down.

I think Sandy’s behind me. I don’t know. I hope she is, but I won’t slow down to check behind.

Adrenaline flows through my veins. I don’t have much time to find Cove.

I know what he’d done as soon as he messaged me in the car.

You’re my dolphin, Ripley.

I knew then what he’d done, that he’d tried surfing again. Deep down he really was my Cove and he’d wanted to prove it. I knew he’d try to surf alone at our secret beach.

But he is in no fit state to surf. His body - his legs - can’t take it.

I have to help him.

And now, here I am, in the shallows of our secret beach searching the water desperately for him.

For his body.

But I can’t see it anywhere.

I don’t want to think about his lifeless body, but there’s every chance I will find it.

I don’t want to think the worst.

“Cove!” I call out his name repeatedly until my throat becomes hoarse, but there’s no response from the waves, no cry out in the ocean from his rough accent that I love, no sign of his cheeky smile. He is nowhere to be found in the water.

I keep looking.

There!