Free Summerfield by Katie Miller Page B

I nod, taking a deep breathe. My head was a bit dizzy now. "Yeah, I
guess, thanks." I try to make an effort with a smile, but as they say,
epic fail.

She reached over and placed a cool hand over mine. "Hey, trust me, its
fine. Why don't you call Ben? You'll feel better."

Suddenly, as if tipped off by a physic, my phones rings and the caller
ID reads Ben. I smile a bit. "Looks like there's no need." I said,
giving a bit of a tense laugh, cut short by my answering the phone.
"Hello?"

"Belle, hey." My nerves seemed to extremely decrease when I heard
Ben's soothing and happy voice. It was like a wave of refreshment.

"Hey, what's up?" I ask, standing from my position on the beach towel,
giving Kara a smile, silently telling her that I'll be right back. She
simply nodded, smiling knowingly.

"Well, for one, that line is tiredly overused." He jokes and I begin
to ease. But somehow, I just can't shake the bad feeling in my gut.
Had I been right about the Ben thing? "Two, I've missed you."

I smile, quite widely. He had said it so sincerely that my former
doubts seemed to vanish to the very back of my mind. Like the thought
had been put on reserve. I was a tad disappointed that I hadn't been
able to rid it completely. "I've missed you too."

"So, having fun?"

"Yeah, actually, quite a bit. It's amazing here."

"Good," He said casually, like he too was easing into the
conversation. I hear him clear his throat and take a small breathe.
"So, um...have I been replaced yet with some California surfer dude?" His
voice was joking, but I smiled when I noticed how tense and forced it
seemed to be.

"Nah, I've never really been into babe magnets." I tease, rolling my
eyes a bit playfully, though he can't see me. I found it odd how he
worried that I would meet someone new. How could I ever give up a guy
like him for someone else. I wasn't even aware of other guys, quite
frankly. Not like I use to be anyways. Ben was quite honestly the only
guy in my sights...even if my suspicion may turn out to be true, and I
may not be the only girl in his line of view.

I shook my head, trying to rid the diseased thoughts. I trusted Ben, I
believed in him, I...loved him.

"Aw, thanks Hun." He remarked, his voice a bit more casual. I smiled
at the small gesture he had made of calling me Hun.

"Anytime dear." I mimicked.

He chuckled through the phone line. "So, when you get back there's a
surprise waiting for you."

"What?"

He laughed a bit more. "I'm not saying. It would ruin all my fun."

"You're evil." I remarked, obviously lying, as I glared at a surf
shack off to the distance.

"You think that now?" He continued to laugh, amused by his own joke.
"Just wait."

I rolled my eyes, shivers running through my veins. I froze, the
feeling rushing through my body about shocked me. It was nearly 90
degrees out here. I was suddenly very aware of how bad I currently
felt. My stomach was queasy, my head pounding, and my vision was
blurring. I blinked a couple of times, trying to keep myself steady.
"Listen, Ben, um...I have to go. I'll talk to you later." I hung up
quickly, knowing that I couldn't hold on much longer with any kind of
composure.

My knees buckled from beneath me, my pain seizing. The last thing I
could comprehend was falling to the ground, then everything was black.

***

"How long have you been having headaches?" The nurse at the hospital
was maybe near thirty, quite pretty, and a nice warming smile. She
wore her blonde hair in a bun, as did most nurses. Her hazel eyes
looking questioning, and a tad worried for my well-being. All and all,
she seemed nice enough to me.

I shrugged, the pain relief they had put me on starting to calm my
system along with the pain. "About every day for the last two or so
weeks."
    “And the fatigue?”
    “It’s been kind of bad the last week. But I haven’t passed out before now.”

"Anything else we should be aware of?"

I shook my head. I had