Sharkbait

Hammer pushed us hard early the next morning during our beach workout. The three of us were on our return run on the beach, catching up to the twins. The girls hadn’t built up the endurance for the full length run yet. “Your travel can’t stop you from your workouts,” Hammer said as he set a punishing pace in the wet sand. “You need to find time for them. Fitness centers, morning runs, swimming pools, whatever it takes. If you slack off workouts with how much food you eat, you’ll start gaining weight.”

“It’s worked so far,” I complained.

“A youthful metabolism covers a multitude of sins,” he answered. “Your body isn’t growing as much now, and the calories have to go somewhere as your metabolism slows. You need to start thinking and eating like an elite athlete.”

“You mean like Kai eats,” Amy asked. The guys loved my barbecue, but they balanced their plates with grains, fruits, and vegetables. We were eating a lot of lean meat on weekends now, mostly fish and chicken.

Hammer grunted his approval. “Exactly. Lots of protein, low fat, low carbs. Fuel your muscles without the other stuff that doesn’t help your body, like the sugars and the fats. Your bodies are your work, girls. You need to keep them in top physical shape, or your careers will die.”

“I’ll never be one of those models that eats a bite and says she is full,” I said.

“You’re too active for that. Two hours a day of workout, and eat right. You’ll keep your strength up and the fat off.”

“Hammer’s right, Vicki. No one wants to see a muffin top over your bikini bottoms.”

The horror! I looked at Amy’s body; her curves were more generous than mine, but her muscles were well-defined as her bodyfat was low. “You’re right,” I said. “I skipped workouts during my travel, and ate a lot of restaurant food and barbecue.”

“It only takes a few days to lose everything you gain over weeks of hard work,” Hammer replied. “That’s why it is so important for you to learn and maintain healthy habits.”

“It’s just like when we were in training for swim team, Vicki,” Amy said. “We never missed a workout.”

“I get it,” I said defensively. “There’s just been a lot of shit going on in my life! It will get better now.”

“Probably not,” she laughed. “If anything, you’ll have more demands on your time. Do you have any idea how many people want a piece of Sharkbait now? Your publicist says you are up to triple-digit marriage proposals a day now.” I was SO glad Mercedes had talked me into hiring a person to take care of all that. There was no way I could keep up with the emails, social media upkeep, and media requests without her. “Sudden fortune will change your life more than fame has, so you need to focus on what is important to you.”

I was breathing hard, and our run was almost over. The parking lot only a hundred yards away as we pushed towards the finish. I was thinking about everything and not paying as much attention to where we were going, and Amy paid the price. Her foot caught on a clump of seaweed I hadn’t warned her of, and she fell to the ground with a wet thump. I stopped running and turned around; she’d face-planted in the sand, her hands unable to stop her from our run at full speed. “AMY!”

She pushed herself back up to her hands and knees, spitting out the sand. When I got to her side, she was crying. “Are you all right?” Looking her over, I could see scrapes and small cuts on her knees and arm. Amy didn’t respond; she rocked back onto her knees, holding her hands out in front of her as she sobbed uncontrollably.

I wiped the sand and tears off her face, and she looked at me. Her right hand came up and touched my face. “Vicki?”

“Talk to me, Amy! What’s wrong?”

“I can see!” She was looking around in wonder as the twins ran up. “It’s all right. These are happy tears!”

Hammer held up three fingers from five feet away. With the blurred vision Amy suffered from, she’d only see a blob where his hand was. “How many fingers am I holding up, Amy?”

“Three.” He dropped his hand. “I didn’t realize how good a body you had! Mom’s a lucky woman.”

“Your vision isn’t blurred now,” I asked.

“She looked into the distance. “Around the outside, it is still blurry, but I can see things I focus on now!”

“Makani, Noelani, run home and let Susan know what happened.” They took off for home as I knelt in front of my best friend. “Amy, I want you to look at my nose, all right?” She nodded, and I saw her eyes looking at mine. “Can you see my face clearly?”

“Yes,” she said as tears ran down her face. “It gets blurry again at your shoulders.” I had her focus on my nose, then tell me how far my hands could move before they got blurry again. She had a roughly circular area of good vision in the direction she looked, but that was huge for her. It meant that she would be able to function again.

“Come on, let’s get that sand off you,” I said as I helped her stand up. She looked like a sugar cookie. “Susan knows, and she will call your neurologist and set up a call.”

“Can you tell Kai for me?”

“I’ll link him when we drive past to head to the dojo. You stay home and figure out what happened.” We reached the beach shower, and I helped her get all the sand off of her hair and body. While we were cleaning up, Hammer grabbed our bags for us. I pulled out Amy’s towel and tossed it to her, and we both smiled as she caught it. “We need to get Amy home so she can talk to her doctors,” I said. “They need to know what happened.”

“Better vision through faceplanting?” Amy laughed as she dried her hair. She didn’t care HOW it happened; she was thrilled it HAD happened. Even partial vision was a significant improvement over what she started with today. It meant being independent again. “Maybe I should smack my head again and get the rest of my vision back.”

“NO,” Hammer and I both said.

“Don’t mess with a good thing,” I said. “The doctors will check you over and tell you what is going on.”

“I was just kidding,” Amy replied with a smile. “I’d never risk this going away.” We put our shoes back on and started the cool-down jog home. You couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces as we arrived back at the condo, where Susan was waiting. Tears ran down both their faces as Amy ran into her mother’s arms.

Hammer went back to his house to shower and change while I ran back to my room to do the same. Ten minutes later, I was helping get breakfast on the table. Susan had an egg bake with sausage and mushrooms in the oven, so I helped with toasting the English muffins and setting the table. Everyone dug in, and I made an effort to eat more fruit with the meal. The mood was festive, and Amy was over the moon. I was starting cleanup when Amy’s neurologist called back. He was excited about the changes and wanted to figure out why. He gave her an appointment to get an MRI, with a follow-up appointment after lunch. “I guess I won’t make your meeting,” Amy said.

“I’ll leave you my notes,” Susan added. “Hopefully, you can find a new place quickly.”

“If you get in a jam, you can move in with us,” Hammer said. “Although money takes care of many issues, so I’m confident you’ll figure this out. Nobody wants to move back in with their parents, right, Amy?”

Amy blushed a little. “I’ve gotten used to this,” she said. “I love you all, and I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for me, but someday I’ll have a place with Kai!”

“Not too soon, I hope,” I said. “I kind of like having a roommate.”

“Things are going to be nuts until his training ends,” she said.

“Speaking of which, we better get going,” Hammer said. “Vicki is going to spend a lot of time eating the mats if she doesn’t pull her head out of her butt and focus today.”

“It wasn’t THAT bad,” I complained.

“Vicki, everyone in that dojo is out to dominate you today. The men want to date you, and the women hate you.”

I rolled my eyes. “They better be ready, because I’ll choke a bitch!”

“Get ’em for me, Sharkbait,” Amy said.

“Come on, kids. I’ll drop you at school and bring lunch for you,” I said.

“Not so fast,” Hammer said. “Luke, you take twins to school in the car. Vicki, you don’t go anywhere alone now, and you know it. I’ll take you to the dojo, and you can hang out there until Amy and Susan pick you up.”

“Fine,” I said. “We’ll talk about living arrangements when you guys get home.” I was a little pissed off as I grabbed my gear. Here I was, a multi-millionaire at eighteen, and I couldn’t even get a ride home from the dojo!

It was time to spend some money.