the clearwaters

Tama sat in Bella's soon to be bed with her arms crossed, a scowl on her face. She had been stuck in the room for the entirety of last night and a majority of the day. The only time she had been allowed out were for supervised showers and bathroom breaks. She hated it.

"It's just until you get your strength back," Mitena reassured her daughter. She placed the tray of food on the bed in front of the annoyed teenager, stepping back a few inches.

Tama examined the food her mother had made, grumbling a small thank you as she remembered her manners, taking a few bites to please her. "How am I supposed to get my strength back if I'm stuck in bed?"

"Girl's got a point," Charlie piped in, appearing in the doorway of the room his daughter would soon inhabit. Tama smiled, happy to know Charlie was almost always on her side when it came to the rare disagreements with her mother.

Mitena sent Charlie an annoyed glance, to which he shrugged. "She's not broken, the girl's just got a few bruises," he reassured her, always the mediator between the two women.

She finally relented, throwing her hands up in surrender. Both Charlie and Tama smiled, giving each other high fives much to Mitena's annoyance. "We'll start small and simple, I promise. You can hang out with me outside while I clean the boat and get some fresh air, maybe even come fishing with us."

"Us?" Tama raised an eyebrow as she looked over at her mother, knowing she wasn't the "fishing" type whatsoever. In fact, Tama had inherited her non athleticism from her very own mother. They both despised anything active besides swimming and surfing, the latter only a result of Tama being friends with Tallulah Uley, the best surfer in the state. "Since when do you want to go fishing?"

Mitena scoffed while Charlie failed to hold back a laugh, the two old friends sharing a smile at the thought of her being in a boat to fish. The woman turned to her daughter, playfully rolling her eyes at Charlie's teasing. "I'm not going, of course. The Clearwater's are coming over later, they wanted to see you."

"They wanted to come visit in the hospital but," Charlie trailed off, cutting himself short when he saw the look Mitena sent him. He cleared his throat awkwardly, adjusting his belt before tilting his head in the direction of the hallway. "Let's get a move on, they should be here soon."

Without skipping a beat and completely missing the unspoken interactionl, Tama went to throw the blankets off of her with a smile, happy to be out of the room that received no direct sunlight for a majority of the day. Her mother stopped her of course, a stern look on her face. The older woman stared down at the half eaten breakfast expectantly. "You have to eat, Tama. You can't get well on an empty stomach."

Tama didn't argue with that, finishing the sandwich in a whopping two bites. "I can walk, mom," Tama told her mother for what seemed like the fifteenth time since being discharged from the local hospital.

Mitena backed off, standing next to her daughter awkwardly as she fiddled with her hands. She and Tama had always been close, as they were always the only two in the apartment and in the shop. Their closeness had been interrupted with the arrival of Paul Lahote into their lives for a brief but entirely blissful moment, for Tama at least. Mitena even hated the boy's name and frowned in disgust whenever it was mentioned. However, she waited somewhat patiently until the inevitable came and welcomed her daughter back with open arms and home-baked sweets when it did.

Now, the closeness seemed to be fading once more. Tama had always seemed to love when her mother cared for her whenever she had fallen ill. She would jump at the chance to stay home from school when she had the slightest fever and Mitena would jump even higher it seemed, to let her stay in bed and tend to her only child. Now, here she was, refusing her help. It was unlike her and Mitena felt a sense of deja vu; she just hoped she wasn't right this time.

Charlie wrapped his arm around Tama's shoulder once she came to stand in the doorway, offering his help in the most subtle way possible. She was like her mother, stubborn and prone to not asking for help, unless it was from her mother of course. "Let's go kid, boat isn't gonna clean itself."

Mitena followed them, stopping at the doorway and watching as the two descended the stairs, a frown etched upon her face. She contemplated for a moment before sucking her teeth, deciding against it before she too made her way down the creaking steps.

The trio made their way out front, gathering around the mud and debris covered boat that sat on the side of the Swan residence. With some help, Tama got onto the boat, being tasked with cleaning up all the old beer cans and snack wrappers that were left behind. "I never thought I'd be happy to pick up trash."

Mitena rolled her eyes but smiled, happy to see her daughter happy. She held out a garbage bag for her to toss the trash into, shifting slightly when Charlie nudged her. He sent her an "I told you so" look, also noticing the teen's change in demeanor but was met with a quick middle finger from his old friend. They laughed while Tama paid them no mind, used to their playful banter.

Their workflow was interrupted when the sound of a car engine filled their ears, turning to follow the noise. The sight of an old, beat up Toyota truck made Tama grin widely, the girl forgetting she was injured and jumping off the boat without help. She sucked in a breath as she remembered mid-jump, waiting for the pain upon impact, confused when it never came. Her once bruised body felt good as new, as though she had never had a brush with death days ago.

She made eye contact with her mother, who looked just as confused as she did before the older woman quickly looked away, meeting the car as it pulled into the driveway. "You're here early."

Sue Clearwater, one of Mitena's closest and oldest friends, smiled as she exited the passenger seat. In her left hand, her right she used to support herself while getting out, was a bag filled with what Tama could only assume were herbs. Sue was known around the reservation for being a medicine woman, curing anything from a spider bite to a broken leg. When she wasn't taking up extra shifts at the local hospital, the nurse was helping out in her own community. "Blame these two, they practically shoved us into the car."

The two in question, Leah and Seth Clearwater, were out of the car before it could come to a complete stop, the siblings running towards Tama. Leah won, always the fastest of the two siblings, pulling her best friend into a tight hug, careful not to harm her. "I'm so sorry."

Tama said nothing as she allowed herself to be engulfed into a air restricting hug by the Clearwater siblings, grateful for the human contact outside of her mother and Charlie. She offered them smiles once the hug was broken, happy to see them. Seth offered her a small stuffed animal, the words "get well soon" displayed on poorly stitched embroidery written across its chest. Tama laughed, taking the gift happily while thanking the younger boy.

"We missed you," he told her sincerely, the trio following the adults into the home. They all stood together as though they were connected by the hip, that being somewhat true. Since childhood, they had always been together, along with the Uley siblings, Samuel and Tallulah, the latter of whom Seth had a crush on. In all honesty, this was probably the longest they had been apart.

The absence of both Samuel and Tallulah didn't go unnoticed however, and neither did the bags beneath Leah's eyes and the sadness that still loomed despite the fact that the two best friends were reunited once more. Tama raised an eyebrow, studying the two. "Where's Sam and Lu?"

The adults ceased talking, turning to look at the teenagers who stood near the doorway of the living room. They exchanged looks before they glanced over to Leah and Seth, almost daring them to say the wrong thing. Seth stayed quiet, the boy was never a good liar and he was proud of it. Instead, he glanced at the floor awkwardly, shoving his hands into the pockets of his worn out denim jeans. Leah cleared her throat, putting on a false smile they both knew was forced. "They had to work but, they both really wanted to be here."

If Tama wasn't so keen on her best friend's behavior, she would've believed her. It was a known fact that both Tallulah and Sam were both forced into adult positions at their young ages. Sam had even taken his GED test in order to graduate earlier and spend more time working, something he was almost always doing. But, Tama could spot out a liar. Especially if she had known said liar since birth. They left the watchful gaze of their elders and made their way into Tama's temporary room, Seth making himself comfortable on the bed after discarding his dirty sneakers.

Leah fiddled with an old photo of Isabella, a curious look on her face. "It's been so long, do you think she even remembers anything about this place? About us?"

Tama shrugged, bringing her sweater closer to her body in an attempt to get warmer. Seth noticed this and frowned, offering her the small quilt that hung over the foot of the bed. She thanked him with a smile, accepting the handmade item and wrapping it around herself. "Maybe. I haven't talked to her in years though...I can't remember the last time she visited."

"I couldn't imagine not seeing my dad for more than a year, let alone six," Seth frowned, looking between his sister and his friend.

While Tama was grateful they refrained from talking about the accident, she had a feeling that they had other reasons for keeping quiet, reasons they didn't want her to know about.  Seth noticed her mood and attempted to change the subject. ""Thank god you're finally up, Leah's been forcing me to watch sappy romance movies with her."

Finally? According to her mother, she had only been unconscious for half a day, joining her mother at Charlie's only two days ago.

"Oh shut up you loved the notebook,"

"Yeah but it gets kind of boring after watching it fifteen times," he groaned back. "I wish Sam were still here."

"What, did Sam get tired of watching them with you?" Tama asked teasingly, her smile faltering slightly when Leah didn't immediately respond and Seth looked as though he had done the unthinkable.

Leah cursed, punching her brother in the arm and kicking him out of the small bedroom. Seth held his now-sore arm gingerly, muttering small curses under his breath as he swiftly made his exit, not wanting to face his sister's newly acquired wrath. Leah turned to face her bestfriend, sucking in a breath of air.

"Leah," Tama began nervously, unsure if she wanted to hear the answer to her question that was burning a hole through her throat, "how long have I been unconscious?"

Her friend turned away then, unable to look her in the eyes. She sighed, finally giving up and going against her parents and Mitena, unable to lie to the girl that she thought of as her sister. "They thought it'd be better if you didn't know for some stupid reason but..."

Leah reached for Tama's hands, holding them tightly in an attempt to comfort her. "You've been out for about a week. It took almost two days to find you, Tama. Your heart wasn't beating and...we thought you were gone."

When Tama didn't immediately answer, Leah continued as she struggled to hold back tears. "Sam went missing a few days later, I-I don't know what happened. Everything was fine and then one night he just didn't come home."

Tama, who sat at the head of the bed, shocked at what she had just been told, stayed quiet. Five days. She had been unconscious for five days and alone in the woods for two, dead. How she was resurrected from her premature death she was uncertain and it seemed as though in Leah's state, she wouldn't get an answer.

"I-I'm sorry," was all she managed to get out, "about Sam I mean. I think he'll come back. He wouldn't leave you, Leah. Especially not right after he proposed."

Leah said nothing, letting her tears fall down her face as she stared at the blanket they sat upon. Her usual bright demeanor was nowhere to be seen, her face dark and void of happiness. Tama wiped her tears and Leah let out a small laugh, drying what tears her best friend hadn't removed. Tama looked at her curiously, tilting her head to the side.

Rolling her eyes, Leah shook her head, still in disbelief. "You should've seen him, Tama,"

The brunette knew who she was talking about before she even continued, her heart stinging and picking up in pace simultaneously. It was her turn to avoid her friend's gaze, though the older girl continued. "He practically led the whole search, I'm surprised we were able to find you at all with how much they argued."

"He's the one who found you, you know?"

She looked up then, imagining her mother and her ex-boyfriend arguing in the wake of her disappearance and possible death. She pictured him holding her, some part of her wishing she had been awake to feel his touch again. She debated on whether she wanted to tell her about the hospital or not, deciding it was best they didn't keep secrets from each other. They usually never did, no matter what they had been told. "He came to visit me in the hospital."

Leah's eyes went wide but Tama waved her off. "Of course, my mother didn't let him. She didn't tell me–I wouldn't have even known if I hadn't seen the bear and the flowers...and the note."

"Were they daisies?" Leah asked, rolling her eyes when Tama confirmed. "What note?"

"She threw it all away but," Tama stood, slowly walking over to the desk where her small bag sat, as if her mother would walk in on them at any second. Part of her felt embarrassed, full of shame as she pulled out the crumpled note from her ex. She flattened it out poorly before handing the paper to her best friend, hugging her knees to her chest as she waited for her to finish reading it.

Leah scoffed, throwing it out of her hand. Tama resisted the urge to grab it out of the air but held back, watching it slowly float down onto the plum colored duvet. She stared down at the note while she listened to Leah ramble on. "Who the hell does he even think he is? Honestly! He breaks your heart, on your anniversary mind you, and suddenly he wants back in like nothing ever happened?"

Tama glanced up, meekly peering at her best friend, grateful to have her. Leah met her gaze and sighed, pulling her into a hug without another word, stroking her hair. "I'm sorry, for everything. I tried not to say anything but I just couldn't. I wish I would've been there."

"Then we both would've been in hospital beds," Tama mumbled, holding her friend a bit tighter then. She inhaled, the scent of jasmine and fresh rain filling her nostrils.

"I could've taken them," Leah shot back, the two giggling like young school girls at that. They fell back into the bed, Leah still holding onto her friend as if she would leave again. "I don't know what I would have done if I would've lost you. I can't even think-"

"You don't have to," Tama cut her off, holding up her pinkie finger. The girls smiled, linking their smallest finger together. "Promise."

Leah looked at their interlocked fingers and frowned, catching sight of the ring that had been placed next to it. Tama took her hand in hers, holding it gently. "Sam's gonna be okay, Leah. We'll find him like you found me."

Like Paul did, she thought.

Sighing, she looked away from the ring that almost begged for her attention. "I hope you're right."