On Dry Land (Swimming Upstream #3) (11 page)

Winding up the window, Ava just sat there, stunned. This life she was somehow caught up in was barely recognizable as her own. No one got given expensive cars just because. No one wrote a book about a boy they’d had a crush on forever only for him to find out and show up. Then for that boy to be the one to make your dreams come true and more. That wasn’t real life. It couldn’t be. And it most certainly couldn’t be Ava’s life.

Shaking off the million and one emotions that was overloading her, Ava started the car and backed out of the spot. She had ten minutes to find a car park and get to class. In Sydney morning traffic, that was almost impossible.

Chapter 19

Tyler

Walking away from Ava proved to be harder than he could have imagined, but seeing her face when he’d placed the keys in her outstretched fingers was worth it. She mightn’t think she was worth it, but Tyler had no doubt. She was worth that and a whole lot more. And already he had plans on what that ‘more’ might entail. Right now though, he had to break out of his bubble and get his butt moving. He had appointments lined up for the rest of the day and he wasn’t about to miss one even though a part of him, a huge part, was trying to convince him to ignore it.

For the last couple of weeks something had felt off. Something wasn’t quite right. Tyler couldn’t place his finger on it and so far he’d been lucky no one else had noticed, or if they had, they’d kept their mouths shut. With guilt gnawing at him, Tyler truly believed keeping Ava in the dark was the best thing. For now. Depending on what happened next would determine what he would tell her. There was no point in worrying her, no point in her getting all stressed out if it turned out to be nothing. But if it was something, he wouldn’t hide it from her. He couldn’t. Not in good conscience, anyway.

Hailing the next taxi, Tyler gave them Katie’s address and settled back. The ride took longer than normal due to the heavy traffic and by the time the yellow cab pulled to a halt in her driveway, Tyler was clinging to the edge. He was fidgeting and his hand was trembling. There was no denying the fact he wasn’t looking forward to this.

“About damn time!” Katie scolded, stepping onto the drive, spinning her keys around her fingers.

“Don’t, Katie. Please, just don’t.”

Tyler saw Katie’s mouth fall open and he knew what she was thinking. She didn’t have to say a word. It was written all over her face. She was worried. About him. For him. She was the only person who knew what was going on and the concern was etched deeply in her tight features.

Quickly Tyler paid the cab before stomping up to Katie’s car and sliding in the passenger seat. In that moment Tyler hated his life. When he’d left Ava a short time earlier he’d only been two blocks from where he needed to be. But with the way the media tracked his every move, instead of walking there like a normal person, he’d spent sixty dollars on a cab to Katie’s, only for her to drive him straight back.

“Saw you on TV this morning,” Katie offered casually as she turned down the radio.

“Yeah.”

“Ava looked good.”

“Yes, she did.” Tyler couldn’t hide the mischievous smile that crept over his face

Without looking, Katie reached over and slapped Tyler across the chest. “Get your filthy mind out of the gutter, little brother!”

“You brought it up!”

“And I’m sorry I did. Anyway, how did Ava take it?”

“She was good, I think. I mean, she was definitely surprised when I showed up. And in the ad break she was a bit pissy, but we went for breakfast after. All good.”

“And the car?”

“Yeah. The car.”

“Well?”

“Well, I’m not one hundred percent sure. Yet.”

“Meaning?”

“She’s got it. For now. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see if I can convince her to keep it,” Tyler proclaimed with a dismissive wave.

Katie muffled a laugh as she changed lanes. “You do understand what a gift like that does…don’t you?” Tyler shot Katie a confused look. “A car is a big gift, Tyler. It’s not like a CD or a book, which is a normal person present. It’s a freaking car. An expensive reminder. Every time Ava gets in it, she’s going to know you paid for it. Not her. It takes away some of her independence. I’m not claiming I know her as well as you, but I do know this about her. Ava likes to be strong. Likes to depend on no one. I’m not saying that’s right or how it should be, but she’s been on her own for a while now and she’s had to learn to do it all herself. And you just handing her the keys to a new car might make her feel like you don’t think she can stand on her own two feet. It might be a little intimidating, that’s all.”

“That’s all? Gee, thanks for your support, Katie. All I wanted to do was something nice for her. To make sure she has everything she needs. Everything she wants.” Tyler was angry. He could feel the blood pumping through his veins and the compulsion to punch something was all consuming.

“Calm down there, hero. I’m not saying it wasn’t a nice gesture. I’m sure Ava will appreciate it. Think about it from her point of view for a second. How can she ever pay you back for this?”

“She doesn’t have to!” Tyler boomed ferociously.

“My god, Tyler. Stop being such a Neanderthal! I’m not suggesting she does. But think for a minute, before you blow a gasket, if you were Ava and someone had just handed you the keys to a brand new Jeep, what would you think?” Katie left him hanging as she pulled into the underground parking lot.

Tyler’s mind was spinning silently as they stepped into the elevator. He couldn’t bear to say the words aloud. He was nervous. He’d never liked doctors and waiting rooms notoriously caused him grief, but today it was worse. Today, he felt like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Whatever happened next could change the course of his life. And not just his life, but Ava’s too.

The elevator pinged as it came to a stop and the doors opened, revealing an unassuming white marble reception area. A huge bouquet of fake flowers dominated the corner of the room and a receptionist sporting a wide smile and long almost white blonde hair sat behind the high desk. She was speaking in soft, reassuring tones into her ear piece, but that didn’t deter her from making Tyler feel welcome. Katie nudged his shoulder in support and he took a tentative step forward.

The girl finished up her call and turned her mega watt smile and attention to Tyler. He felt like he was going to crawl out of his skin. Clenching his fists, he stuffed his hands in his pockets, trying to ensure no one saw how completely shit scared he was. He didn’t want to be here. He’d rather be anywhere else. Doing anything else. Even running sprints up and down the sand dunes in the midday sun sounded like fun right now.

“Good morning, sir, can I help you?”

“Umm…I have an…appointment,” Tyler stumbled.

“Certainly, sir. What name?”

Tyler froze. He didn’t mean to but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out. He felt his cheeks burn under the scrutiny but even that couldn’t spur him to action. Feeling Katie step beside him, he exhaled the breath he didn’t remember taking.

“Andrews. Tyler Andrews,” Katie offered with a weak smile and a squeeze of Tyler’s arm.

He gulped loudly. He heard it so he could only imagine that everyone else in the waiting room had as well. At least that would explain why they were all staring at him. He watched as the receptionist’s fingers flew across the keyboard as she punched in the information.

“Here we go, Mr. Andrews. If you could just fill this out as much as you can, and take a seat, the doctor will be with you shortly.” Tyler watched completely disconnected as she handed Katie a pen and a black plastic clipboard that had seen better days before leading them towards the busy, noisy waiting room.

Slumping into the plastic chair with a deceivingly uncomfortable blue cushion, Tyler dropped his head in hands and leant forward. He’d felt miserable for weeks. Something wasn’t right and he knew it. His times had stalled, and instead of improving it seemed like no matter what he did he was getting slower. Not something he wanted to be doing only months out from Olympic trials. At first he’d ignored the aches and pains which racked his body almost constantly, just accepting it as part of pushing too hard on his bone weary body. Years of lapping up and down a pool had taken its toll on his aching muscles, right now though something didn’t feel right. And nothing he did made it any better.

For forty minutes Tyler answered question after question about his life. It seemed nothing was off limits. They discussed his training, his diet, and even his sex life. It had taken all the self-control he possessed when the middle aged, grey haired, bespectacled doctor started questioning his relationship with Ava, especially when he subtly suggested that maybe she hadn’t been faithful. Tyler couldn’t help but see red. Even with Katie sitting beside him, trying to keep him calm and reasonable, every muscle in his body was tight with frustration the instant he put the thought in Tyler’s head.

“Look, Doctor. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I barely drink caffeine. So tell me, what the hell is wrong with me? For weeks now I’ve been exhausted and battled headaches that just won’t go away. Depending on the day, my throat is scratchy but it never eventuates. At first I thought it was just the damn flu but that should have been long gone by now. It’s driving me nuts, the not knowing. Any idea what it could be?”

Tyler watched as the doctor scratched his head thoughtfully and finished up his illegible notes on the yellow notepad. Usually Tyler was cautious of people having his medical records, but after sneaking one look at these, Tyler knew he could have published the notes online and no one would be able to decipher them.

“I’d like to take some blood just to be sure…”

“Sure about what?” Tyler snapped irritably.

“Tyler, until we have the results to confirm it, I’d prefer not to speculate.”

Katie didn’t even give Tyler the chance to rant again. “But you have an idea?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“Are you sure you’re comfortable discussing this with Katie present?”

“Of course. What do you suspect?”

“Mumps.”

“Mumps?”

“Yes, mumps. The symptoms you’re describing lead me to believe that you may have been struck down with a strand of the virus. The headaches, pains, sore throat are all symptoms. Can you recall any fevers or swelling around your neck?”

Tyler dropped his head. He hadn’t been expecting good news but he wasn’t prepared for this, either. “I think I had maybe a mild fever probably three of four weeks ago. But I didn’t think much of it. I thought it was the flu bug.”

“Most people do.” The doctor shrugged. “Well, I’d like to get some blood and confirm before we get too carried away.”

“Okay,” Tyler conceded, unable to mask the defeat in his tone.

Hastily the doctor prepared the paperwork and handed it to Katie, who seemed to have it more together than Tyler. He wasn’t used to being the weak one. The patient. The one who needed to rely on others. He’d always been the big tough guy who could face anything.

“Thanks for your time, Doctor,” Katie acknowledged as she scooped her handbag up and slung it over her shoulder.

“Anytime,” he confirmed, shaking their hands. “Just one thing, Tyler, if it is in fact the mumps, you should start thinking about anyone that you could have infected.”

“I could have given it to someone?” He barely got the words out. Even the idea that he could be responsible for making someone else sick was abhorrent to him. “H-h-how?”

“Those at risk are someone who could have come in contact with your saliva. A cough or a sneeze would have done it. Also anyone you could have shared food or drink with.”

Nervously, Katie asked the question that was barrelling through Tyler’s mind but he couldn’t put it into words. “What about a…a kiss?”

“A kiss could also carry the virus.”

Katie and Tyler exchanged concerned glances. If Tyler was worried about making others sick before, as the realisation that Ava could be the one most at risk settled in he felt nauseous. “A-A-Ava.”

“She’ll be fine, Tyler. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Katie, the voice of reason, attempted to calm him. Although it didn’t work, it soothed him enough to be able to shuffle from the doctor’s office, pay the bill, and wobble his way down to the car.

Thankfully, Katie drove in silence all the way back to her place. Tyler didn’t know if he had the strength to discuss it right now, so instead of talking, he’d been Googling. Not his brightest idea. After entering his symptoms into the Google search bar, WebMD had diagnosed him with cancer. Another site had him suffering from bipolar, while a third had him with a severe toe infection which had infiltrated his blood stream with the only cure being to amputate. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he tried again, this time searching ‘mumps.’

“Fuck me!” Tyler swore, running a frustrated hand through his hair.

“What?” Katie asked startled.

“Did you know that in men my age there is a fifteen to forty percent chance that mumps can cause infertility?”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. Part of the virus can cause ‘painful testicular inflammation,’ which basically means it swells ten days after the virus, but can be up to six weeks. What if…”

“No! Stop right there, Tyler. It hasn’t even been confirmed that’s what you have yet, so there is no point playing the what-if game. So, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go straight to the collection centre. You’re going to get your blood taken. Then we’re going to wait patiently for the results. Then and only then, we will deal with whatever we need to. Okay?”