Chapter 29

“So tell me what happened,” Benjamin asked. “How did I end up in hospital?”

Mick shook his head. “That’s somethin’ I never want to go through again.”

“Tell me.”

“I saw ya fall and hit the rock. I scrambled down and pulled ya out of the water. Ya weren’t breathing. Fuck, ya scared me. I carried ya back to the beach and tried mouth to mouth.” He glanced at Benjamin. “Ya were really pale. Ya lips were turnin’ purple.” He shook his head again. “I had my mobile phone, but didn’t know the doctor’s number, so I called Mum and she rang the doctor. I tried some more mouth to mouth. Ya coughed and a whole lot of water came out. And a bit of vomit. Ya were breathin’ again, but only barely. I carried ya up to the house to save time and that’s where we met the doctor.”

Benjamin felt a moment of numbness when he considered how close to dying he’d come. Perhaps he had died. That thought was even scarier.