Stranded - Chapter 16 (Finale)

STRANDED

Chapter 16: The Other Side

From the moment Adam had spotted Alfredo on the beach to the moment they were rescued and brought back to the coast; things had gone so fast that Jonas and Adam did not have time to talk to each other.

What would they do?

More importantly, perhaps, what would they tell about their journey?

Both men were dreading the reunion with their wives but apparently, Jonas would see Laura sooner than later, as she was currently in Peru while Erica was still in the States.

Adam did not know how he felt about that.

Was he eager to reunite with his wife or not?

He knew he would have to talk with her about their future and he had never been more afraid of anything else in his life.

After the medical checks, which revealed their physical state to be incredibly good given their adventure, they met with a shrink inside the rescue boat who warned them individually.

“You’ve been through a very traumatic experience. The media and the people around you, including your loved ones, will have questions. You might want to tell your whole story, but that could also be overwhelming at first. You should only share what you want to share, all right? Keep that in mind, this is entirely up to you. You can also tell people you need time. There’s gonna be an adjustment period and that's okay.”

The trip from the island to the coast on the rescue ship chartered by the American Embassy took about seven hours; it was still too little time for our heroes to adjust to their new reality.

The island on which they had been stranded was one of the last rocks in a series of small islands off the northern coast of Peru.

The problem was that, since it was too far away from the other, larger islands that were more interesting to tourists, the small rock they had landed on had never received much attention.

There were better places much closer to the coast for tourism, fishing or just exploring.

It was not on any nautical route either, since the area was known for its strong currents and impracticability.

Without Fernando, they could have been stuck there forever.

They were given clothes that barely fit and coffee.

The coffee was nice; Adam had missed it. The clothes, however, made both men feel weird with such unnatural, tight fabric against their skin.

It did not feel right anymore.

Everything was a shock: seeing themselves in the mirror, especially Adam, who had changed the most; eating cookies and any food which was not fish or fruits; and, most of all, being surrounded by so many people.

It was not quiet anymore.

In fact, it was the exact opposite. Their lives had never been more chaotic.

 For some reason, everyone wanted to talk to them.

The rescue team wanted to know everything: how they had shipwrecked, how they had survived, how they had built their shelters, and how they had dealt with the isolation.

“Were you getting on each other’s nerves?”

“I mean, could you still stand each other after that many months on the island?”

“Were you scared all the time?”

“What did you eat on the daily?”

“You were building a raft, were you seriously considering using it?”

Following the advice of the therapist, they dodged most of the questions and they both decided they needed some time alone.

“You'll meet with a media trainer when we dock.” The captain told them.

“A media trainer? Is that really necessary?"

“You made the news months ago in both Peru and the U.S. when you disappeared. Your wives have done everything to get you back, including involving the media all throughout the process. The whole country has been moved by your stories, especially with the...”

The captain bit his lower lip.

“With the?”

“You're two young married men with bright futures, and your disappearance was a complete mystery. We had no idea where to look and we didn’t know exactly when you vanished. There was wild speculation online. People pretended they had seen you in Argentina or that you had run away together. Most people thought you were dead.”

Adam and Jonas looked at each other.

Run away together...

It was not such a crazy idea when they thought about it.

There was a lot of information to take in. A guy showed them a newspaper with their faces on it, in big black letters, it was written: “MISSING”.

There were pictures of them on a surveillance camera from the morning before they took the motorboat.

People were clinging to anything they could find for clues related to their disappearance.

It was overwhelming.

They had thought about their families looking for them, but not about an entire country or online communities searching for them.

Adam and Jonas were offered the chance to sleep before the coasting began, but it was impossible.

Honestly, they just wanted a moment alone together, but they could not have it because, they were constantly monitored and had to see each doctor or therapist separately.

It was standard protocol, and they did not want to push back on anything.

Besides, even if they could have spoken privately, what would they have said to each other?

At that moment, both Adam's and Jonas's minds were racing and they could not think clearly.

Docking and touching the mainland for the first time was another huge shock.

This time, there were cameras everywhere, and they were instructed to walk a specific path to avoid crowds of journalists and onlookers.

Nevertheless, there were still flashes and microphones all around them.

Spontaneously, Jonas held Adam’s hand as they ran.

“What the fuck?!”

After being alone together for so long, seeing hundreds of people would have been a lot to deal with in any case, but when those people were there to scrutinize them, it was even worse.

Thankfully, the embassy took good care of them and quickly brought them to a safe, private place in their headquarters.

“Are you okay?” Adam asked Jonas in the car which was driving them there.

They were not alone — the driver and an embassy agent were with them — but at least, it was quiet.

“Yeah. Well, I don’t know. It's...”

“It's a lot to take in but it's going to be okay.”

“I didn't expect so many people to care about us.”

“I know.”

“It's because of our wives. I mean, it’s thanks to them. They went above and beyond to try to find us. I can’t believe Laura’s been in Peru all this time. Can you believe she’s here?”

The thought made their stomach hurt.

“Is she going to be there? Wherever we're being taken right now?”

Jonas nodded and spontaneously removed his hand from Adam’s thigh.

“Yes, she should be. At least, that’s what I’ve been told. Do you have any news from Erica?”

“Not directly. They said I could call her once we’ll be at the embassy.”

“Adam, what should we do about…?”

Jonas glanced nervously at the agent accompanying them. He could not end his sentence but Adam knew exactly what he was referring to.

“For now, let’s just try to remain calm. We'll have time to readjust once things have settled down. This is just too much information right now.”

Jonas agreed.

“Yeah, I'm not going to tell Laura anything now. But then...”

“Yes, afterwards, we'll have to talk to them.”

“Fuck. I just didn't anticipate the media caring so much.”

“It should help you find clients for your personal training after this. Everyone will see how shredded you are.”

It was so strange to see Jonas with a top on by the way, even it was only a tee-shirt.

“You’ll find more patients too! I bet people will trust a dentist who can survive 143 days stranded on an island.”

Adam chuckled.

“We'll be the breaking news of the day, but in 48 to 72 hours, the news cycle will have totally forgotten about us.”

“I kinda hope so.”

The car arrived at the embassy and they knew it was time to face reality.

Before meeting with Laura, though, they met with another familiar face. A much more surprising one.

“Mario?”

The man who had rented them the motorboat ran toward them.

“Stupid Americans! Stupid! I told you not to go out in the storm! You didn't listen!”

He was laughing and yelling at them.

“We did not go into the storm, but we… We ran into some problems.”

Mario hugged Adam warmly.

“You bet! Crazy story! Loco!”

“Sorry about the boat, Mario. We’ll pay you back.”

“You better, you American rascals!”

“That's enough, sir.”

Someone intervened to break their embrace.

Adam was pissed; they could not even hug whomever he wanted? Mario was obviously good-spirited.

“Hey, I was the last person to see them alive. I can talk with stupid Americans!” Mario said.

“They're very tired. Please. Let them be.”

“Yes, we do have to go Mario. But I promise, we’ll talk soon.”

“Okay, okay. Good you're alive.” Mario finally said.

He was smiling to his ears.

The truth was, he had been feeling guilty ever since he had learned about the two Americans going missing.

He remembered them vividly and aside from losing one of his motorboats, he kept thinking about how they were probably dead, in the depth of the Pacific Ocean.

Standing slightly behind, Jonas barely took part in the interaction.

He knew Laura was nearby, waiting for him, and it was the only thing on his mind.

He dreaded seeing her more than anything, and that realization only made it worse.

Why did he have to come back?

Once they were finally given a private space to have a breather, Adam decided to give Jonas some space and sat outside.

He was feeling sick, too.

Had he not checked the beach that morning, they would still be on the island.

No embassy agents. No rescue team. No media. No wives.

Adam wanted to throw up in the waiting room, and as he showed signs of weakness, immediately, one doctor ran to him.

“I’m fine, it’s just…”

“Come with me, you can lie down on a couch.”

Jaded, he followed the instructions.

About half an hour later, Jonas and Laura came together to see him.

“Oh my God!” Laura said immediately, in shock.

Adam had changed so much physically.

She ran over to hug him while Jonas stayed behind, uneasy.

The reunion had gone better than he had feared even though nothing was solved yet.

Laura was sweet and patient.

She did not expect anything from him; she just cried a lot and wanted to hug him. She held him very tightly.

They did not even kiss.

Jonas apologized for putting her through that, but she did not want to hear it. She thought that seeing him alive was the miracle she had prayed for and it was the only thing that mattered.

When she saw Adam, she started crying all over again.

He thanked her for all she had done to try to find them.

“Trust me. I talked to Erica on the phone about an hour ago, and she's so upset about not being here. We've been spending our time between the U.S. and Peru, or other Latin countries anytime we had a lead.”

“A lead?”

“People were always pretending to see you. I now realize that they were all lying, but we had to check each and every time… I travelled so much, just in case.”

“Goodness, I'm so sorry about that. It must have been torture.”

“It was, but you’re here, the both of you, alive and well! That’s just… That’s incredible. That’s more than we could have ever hoped for.”

“How is Erica?”

Adam asked, feeling awful.

He may have actually thrown up at any moment during that conversation.

“She’s been so brave... You know her, there’s nothing that can break her. This whole thing, it got the two of us much closer. Well, you'll see her when we land in the U.S.”

“Is this already planned?”

“If you want to of course, we can leave tomorrow. You’ll sleep at a nice hotel tonight. God, you'll have beds! Can you imagine? Then, we'll leave tomorrow morning so you can be with her, and we can all return home, finally.”

Adam faked a smile.

“That'd be great.”

Moments later, they were separated with Jonas again.

It was very late in the evening at this point. Someone drove them to a hotel and Jonas would share a room with Laura, while Adam would be on his own, which he was glad about.

He needed to have some time to think and consider everything.

But first, both men needed to take a real shower, trim their nails and their beards, and attend to their scratches and bruises.

Adam barely recognized himself in the mirror, - it was like looking at a much older version of himself or a different person entirely -, so he avoided his reflection, but he did enjoy a long warm bath.

Afterwards, he finally felt ready to call Erica.     

Well, he was not ready, but he never would be.

Like Laura, she spent most of the call crying on the phone.

She said she prayed to Jesus and believed in her heart that he was still alive, for all this time.

“I had this faith, like, I never ever thought that you could be dead. I refused to even consider it.”

“You were right, here I am…”

“Still, I went over so many scenarios. For some reason, I thought you may have wanted to leave me. But then, I reasoned myself, you couldn’t have been this cruel to disappear willingly without saying a word.”

“I would have never done that to you…”

The sick feeling in Adam’s stomach only grew stronger.

“And the motorboat had disappeared… Oh dear Lord, I swear we looked everywhere but we had absolutely no idea where you could be. East, west, north, south… Everything in between… We checked all the islands close to the mainland but nothing. We weren’t even sure you had ever really used the boat. This was just a theory and there were so many people saying they had seen you here or there.”

“I’m here now. Okay, we just had a stupid accident with the boat, we got lost but we were fine.”

“But how did you… Like, how did you survive for so long?”

“Jonas and I us stuck together. We have resources and we were very lucky.”

“Oh yes, you were. And I feel so lucky too.”

Every other word was another dagger in Adam’s heart.

He cried a lot too.

He could not stay longer on the phone; it was way too hard. He felt like he was lying to his wife, betraying her all over again.

She did not deserve it.

He pretended he was not feeling well – which was true - and that he could not wait to see her the very next day – which was not as true.

He also mentioned that he was not comfortable with this reunion on the phone, he preferred to see her for real to go over everything.

“I’m just glad you’re here. I still can’t believe it. I’ve been crying non-stop since this morning.”

“You can… It’s all very real.”

“You should sleep now. Don’t worry about me, honey. We’ll see each other tomorrow. Oh God, I can say that now! I can actually say those words! You’ll be here for Christmas.”

The evening was awkward for Jonas, too.

He felt like he was cheating on Adam while he was with his wife. How fucked up was that?

He could not be intimate with her; even holding hands was too much. Kissing was simply out of the question.

Apparently, the therapist had warned Laura that this might happen and that Jonas might actually want to sleep alone.

“She even told me you might prefer to sleep on the floor.”

“I won't sleep on the floor when there’s a mattress. We’ll just sleep together, normally.” Jonas replied, annoyed.

“I’m just saying, baby, however you want to go about it, that’s fine. Okay? No pressure.”

“Thanks…. I'm sorry if I'm being weird. It's like... I have lost all my bearings.”

“I know, and we’ll have to adjust for sure. But we’ll take our time. The worst is behind us.”

Or was it the best which was behind Jonas?

“I’m sure I’ll feel better tomorrow and then, we can have a talk.”

“Sounds good to me. Five months in the wilderness is just… I can’t even begin to imagine. But you're a hero, you know? All around the world right now, there are people talking about your story and how amazing it is that you’ve survived that long, on your own.”

Jonas tried to smile. It was not easy.

“I'm no hero, and there were two of us… I didn’t do it alone. Actually, without Adam, I’d probably have died on the first day.”

“Yes. You two have made quite the team.”

She made another move to get closer to Jonas but he took a step back.

Seeing the disappointment in her eyes was the worst of all, but he physically could not give her what she wanted.

“I’m sorry, Laura.” He said sheepishly.

“No, that’s fine. Just take your time, and I’ll follow your lead.”

She was so thoughtful and caring.

Why could not she be a bitch? That would have made things much easier.

In the end, Jonas slept next to her, but when Laura tried to make contact by caressing his hair during the night, he quickly got up to go to the bathroom.

She was incredibly hurt by that because she had been waiting, hoping, and praying for this for months and she only wanted to feel him.

However, she tried to reason with herself. She had been told about this adjustment period and Jonas had just come back.

Believe it or not, things got even more intense the next day.

After giving their first interview for a Peruvian media, Adam and Jonas took a plane to the United States.

Laura was of course with them, seating next to her husband the whole flight.

Jonas pretended to sleep to avoid talking to his wife, while Adam was too preoccupied to relax.

He was about to have his big reunion as well.

Any time he closed his eyes, he was back on the island.

Many times, during the night, he thought he heard the monkeys. In the middle of the flight, he had intrusive thoughts about keeping up the fire or checking on Jonas.

It would take months to get over the trauma and the constant state of alert.

Despite the comfort, he had barely slept and everything in his mind was blurry and jumbled.

And clearly, he was not prepared for what was to come.

At the airport, journalists were waiting to get the first pictures of the "castaways" back in the U.S.

A media trainer took care of them and basically told them the few words they should say to the cameras.

Adam spoke for the both of them.

“We first want to thank everyone for their support and their kind words, and of course, our families. We know it’s been very hard on them. For now, our priority is to reconnect with our loved-ones but we’ll take some time later on to share our story. Thank you!”

Dozens of journalists (rudely) screamed questions at them but the heroes were brought to a private lounge.

Adam’s mind was elsewhere anyway; his wife was waiting for him.

He crossed the threshold of the lounge, shaky, Jonas and Laura following closely behind.

The first thing he saw was a shining bright light in the middle of this mess.

His dog, Mushy, was there. The labrador retriever ran like crazy and jumped on him, licking his face like never before.

Adam got down and let his dog going wild.

This was beautiful, and in fact, it felt so good that, at this moment, Adam thought that he was right coming back.

It was the only decision that he could have made.

But then…

Everything changed.

He looked up and his wife was there, on the other side of the room.

The shock was tremendous. Bigger than anything he could have expected.

It was the secret that had been kept from him ever since they were rescued.

Erica walked toward him, crying, of course, and showing a large baby bump under a white dress.

Adam dropped to the floor, speechless.

He was shaking from head to toe when Erica got on her knees and hugged him.

“Y… You...?”

“Yes, I’m pregnant.” She smiled between her tears.

“How?”

“I found out the day after you left with Jonas. I wanted to wait for you to come back from your trip to share the news, but then, you disappeared and…”

“Oh my God, it means that… Oh… All this time… You’ve been…”

He could not find the words, this was impossible, unthinkable.

“Yes.”

“How far along are you?”

“More than six months.” Her smile grew wider. “It's a girl.”

Adam broke down crying even more.

Although he stayed still and did not show anything, Jonas broke down too, right behind them.

It was also a life-changing news for the personal trainer.

He had planned to wait until he was home with his wife to tell her it was over.

He had planned to talk to Adam and confess his true feelings for him.

He had planned to start a new life with the man he loved.

But now...

Adam was staring a new life of his own, kissing the belly of his pregnant wife.

*

Ten weeks later

“I came as soon as I could. What happened?”

Jonas ran over to Adam and hugged him.

Adam had changed a lot since Jonas had last seen him, about a month prior.

Due to the impossible situation they were in, they had decided to take a break from each other for a while.

Many thought that sharing a traumatic experience had created a rift between the two best friends, but nobody understood that it was precisely because they loved each other too deeply that they could no longer be close.

Adam had lost a lot of weight and cut his hair and beard much shorter.

He looked like a different man and right there, he was very unwell.

“She started bleeding during the night, we came here as soon as possible and she has to have an emergency C-section.”

“Oh, fuck... But she's gonna be all right? And the baby?”

“I don't know, Joe. I fucking hope so. The doctors say it should be fine, but there are always risks. Her pregnancy was difficult because of the stress she's been under..."

“Hey, Adam. Look at me. You have nothing to feel guilty about.”

“I should have been there. She spent most of her pregnancy alone, worrying about me, traveling the world to find me… Of course, she couldn’t handle all that pressure.”

This hurt Jonas and there were so many things he wanted to say but that was definitely neither the right place nor the right time.

“Listen, Adam. You’ve beaten much tougher odds.”

“I have…”

“In a few hours, you'll have a beautiful little girl, and everything will be all right, okay? I’m sure of it.”

“Yes… You’re right. It has to be.”

They sat down, but not directly next to each other.

They could not even do that anymore.

The thing was, when Adam learned that Erica’s health and the pregnancy were at stake, Jonas was the first person he thought to call.

Despite everything, Jonas dropped everything and came to the hospital right away.

He would always be there for Adam, no matter how badly things had ended between them.

A couple of days after they returned to the U.S., they talked, and, for once, Jonas led the (difficult) conversation.

“Everything is different now. You're going to be a dad.”

“I am… But that doesn’t change the fact that I don't think I love Erica anymore.”

“Still, I've seen how you've been acting since you learned about the pregnancy. I know you’ve been wanting this so bad.”

“I just need some time. I—”

“Adam, let’s not pretend that you’re not going to try to give your family a chance. I mean, I get it. I wouldn't be your best friend if you weren't trying to do the right thing.”

“So, that’s what you are? My best friend?”

“Yes.”

They tried to pretend for a while to keep their friendship afloat.

But after a few weeks, Jonas told Adam he could not see him with Erica anymore. Seeing them reconnect hurt way too much and he could not stand between them either.

Adam understood.

For his part, Adam was doing everything he could to convince himself that he might be happy with his wife.

She had gone through so much already.

What could he do anyway? Break up with Erica when she was seven or eight months pregnant? When she had always been faithful and loyal to him?

The timing was simply impossible.

Jonas and Adam parted ways until that day at the hospital.

Once he had heard some reassuring news about Erica and the baby, Adam eventually asked about Jonas’ relationship.

“How is it going with Laura?”

Jonas chuckled nervously.

“Not good. I'm going to file for divorce. I actually told her yesterday.”

“Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Sincerely.”

“You shouldn't be. I’m setting myself free, Adam.”

They were interrupted by a doctor with more news.

The emergency C-section had gone well, and both the mother and daughter were doing perfectly fine.

Relieved and drained, Adam cried in Jonas’ arms.

About twenty minutes later, he went to meet his baby for the first time.

When he returned to the waiting room, Jonas was gone.

They would not speak again for another year.

[THE END]

*

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I hope you guys enjoyed this story, it was pretty different from what I usually write.

I know this bitter ending sucks but I thought it was realistic and you know I like to mix happy endings stories with sad ones.

Also, who knows? Maybe Jonas and Adam will fall back into their old patterns a year later... ;)

The E-book to save/download this story will be available next week for the Avid Readers!

Thank you for your support!