Torn

Seven in the morning is always perfect for Olivia; it wasn't too early nor was it too late to feel the fresh morning breeze. It was just right and just the way she likes it. The beach is one of her favorite places to go take her beloved dogs for their daily walk. With her flip flops wedged between her fingers, she keeps in mind the coolness of the sand beneath her feet. She shivers a little and holds her jacket closer to her body than it already is.

Otto, her cute french bulldog, squeaks out a bark, urging Olivia to keep up. She smiles and builds up her speed to follow him and her other dog, Annie. She wouldn't be coming in for work until noon which gives her plenty of time to enjoy the peace and quiet of the shore. Her fiancé, Harold, had already left for work and Olivia knew she wouldn't be seeing him until later in the night or maybe even until the following day. It's difficult to maintain her relationship with Harold when she hardly saw him around. It was much easier for the both of them when they had been in school since there was more flexibility within their schedules. Harold has been out of school for a couple of years now while Olivia had just graduated with her D.V.M. in veterinary medicine a year and a half ago.

Sighing out loud, Olivia paced herself along the beach. She notices Annie a few feet ahead of her, barking at the ocean. She giggles to herself and thinks what a silly dog Annie is sometimes. She catches up with the mixed husky and kneels down beside her.

"What's got you all hyped up, love?" She asks her eldest dog. Annie continues to bark in the direction of the ocean. Confused, Olivia follows her gaze and sees Otto struggling to swim back to shore.

"Oh my God!" Olivia freaks out, having a hard time deciding whether or not she should jump right in the freezing temperatures of the ocean. She didn't realize that the tides would be strong today and even more, she didn't even realize that her puppy had mindlessly ran out of her sight.

"Stay here, Annie!" She instructs the dog and runs towards Otto. She closes her eyes as her body makes contact with the water. All of a sudden she knew that she has made a terribly bad decision. A tide came crashing down on her and she is immediately engulfed by a sea of darkness. She could taste the saltiness of the water and could no longer breathe. A thought pops into her head about how dumb she is for getting herself into her current situation without even being able to save Otto.

This is it, her brain tells her as the water overpowers her. Her heart beats right out of her chest, afraid that should would not get the chance to even say goodbye to her loved ones for she can no longer fight the wave. Her body goes limp and she could feel the air being sucked right out of her lungs.

The last thing she hears is a man's voice and Annie barking from a distance.

Then all she sees is darkness.



Garrett was sitting under the lifeguard tower when he heard a dog incessantly barking. He couldn't think with that single nuisance constantly ringing in his ears like an alarm. He often comes to the beach early in the morning in order to get some writing done before the hustle and bustle of downtown begins. At his apartment, there is always something going on outside - construction (which is the absolute worst), someone fighting and shouting, or an annoying taxi driver that would not stop honking at everything that gets in their way. The beach that is the closest thing to his place is the only place where could concentrate and find inspiration.

He leaves his guitar, pen, and notebook behind him and looks for the source of the barking. He sees a beautiful snow white husky panicking at the view of the waves. He reaches out to pet the magnificent dog on the head when he or she growls at him. He puts his hands up in the air in surrender and continues to wonder what's got the dog so bothered. He looks out into the ocean and squints to find the answer. Another wave crashes and suddenly he sees a woman's head which then disappears within seconds.

"What the-" He starts and also sees another dog in the ocean. It doesn't take him another second before he jumps right in, heading towards the little dog first since he or she was much closer to shore. Once the puppy is safe, he jumps right back in to find the woman. It takes him what feels like hours since he constantly has to come up for air before he is able to capture her arm and drag her up. Garrett quickly swims back and lies her pale, cold body on the sand.

"Oh shit, how do I do this?" Garrett asks himself. He's never really rescued anyone before which means he's never done CPR or anything. He tries to recall what he's seen in lots of movies and imitates the motions. He starts pumping her chest, followed by pinching her nose and opens up her mouth. He takes a deep breath before exhaling into her. He keeps doing it and doing it until his arms started to get tired of pumping.

With a final breath he could give her, he slumps down beside her lifeless body and gives up.

"Oh fuck," Garrett breathes out. "I am so fucking sorry, miss. I am so fucking sorry."

A few seconds pass and all he could hear is the crashing of the waves. He couldn't believe that he wasn't able to save the woman lying beside him and now she's dead.

A cough mixed with a gargle of water startles him and looks over to see that the woman started choking out all the water that had consumed her body.

"Holy fuck!" Garrett exclaims. Olivia continues to try and cough out all the water as much as she could. Garrett automatically gets up and helps her into a sitting position. He pats her back gently until it was safe to say that she's alright.

Olivia hazily looks at the man who could have possibly saved her life and sees that he has the biggest smile she has ever seen.

He gets up and starts jumping up and down. "I can't fucking believe this! You're alive! Oh thank you Lord! This is fucking unbelievable!"

Olivia starts to stand up when Garrett stops her. "No no, just sit still for a second or two. You're still weak. Just take a couple of deep breaths."

She follows his instructions until her mind wanders back to her dogs.

"My dogs! Oh my God, Otto! Did you save Otto?!" She asks frantically. On cue, both her dogs run up to her and is smothered with their wet kisses.

"Oh my babies, I love you so much. I am so sorry mommy couldn't help you." She cries out and then turns to Garrett. "Thank you so much, sir. I don't know how I could ever repay you. You saved my life and my dog's life. I can offer a reward if you'd like, it's no problem."

Garrett shakes his head, "That won't be necessary. I'm just glad you're alive and your dog too. I thought you were..."

"You thought I was going to die?" Olivia asks. Garrett nods.

"I thought I was too." She quietly admits.

He touches her shoulder which makes her glance up at him. It was the first time both of them got a good look at each other. Garrett thinks she is absolutely beautiful with the sun shining brightly behind her, making her tanned skin glow. Olivia, on the other hand, sees a handsome face that shows much experience. The crinkles by his eyes shows years of nothing but happiness and she can't help but smile at that thought.

"What?" He chuckles as he finds her staring.

Olivia tries to hide her blush. "Nothing."

He laughs again and holds out a hand for her to shake, "I'm Garrett."

Olivia shakes it, "Olivia."

"Olivia." He repeats. His deep voice sends shivers down her spine.

"Thank you again, Garrett. So much. I definitely owe you big time."

"Nah," he waves her off. "As long as you're fine, I'm good. Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital or something?"

She shakes her head no, "I'm fine really. My boyfriend's a doctor so I'm sure if later on I start to feel funny, I can just ask him."

Of course she has a boyfriend. Garrett tells himself.

"That's good then...uh...well, I'll see you around I guess." He says while slowly making his way back towards the lifeguard tower where his guitar and notebook waits for him.

"Oh! Let me give you my number. I know you said you don't want a reward or anything but I do insist that if you ever need help, just call me. Just remind me that I owe you for saving my life." She laughs.

He smiles and agrees with her wishes. He quickly jogs back to his little space underneath the tower to grab his pen and notebook so that she could write down her number. He hands it to her and she flips it open to the first page.

"Is this a diary or something? Should I not being reading this?" She jokes after seeing the sign PROPERTY OF GARRETT DE LUCA.

"It's uh, I uh, I write songs in there." He responds.

Olivia says nothing in return as she jots down number by the property sign. She signs her name and hands it back to him.

"Well I hope to hear your songs one day, Garrett De Luca." She says and walks away with her dogs back towards her home.