Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 69910 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69910 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
I let go of the edge and swim to the middle of the pool and start treading water. I never take my eyes off Patience, and the whole time, she says nothing. She’s not giving me a murderous gaze, but she doesn’t blink either. Her gaze is scalding, but it’s the wrong kind of heat. She didn’t come out here to fling off all her clothes and join me in a nearly nighttime dip.
I wonder if our dads have been at it again in the house, but I don’t think so. She would have said so by now if they were. She’s so oddly silent that it feels like she’s going to become part of the near dark itself and evaporate right before me.
“Patience?”
She starts, which is extra creepy, given the way she’s had her eyes locked on me the whole time, and then she finally blinks. I let out the smallest sigh of relief.
“My dad lied to me all these years.”
Holy fuck, he told her?
“And so did you.” Those words aren’t an accusation, and they’re not filled with the fire I’d expect.
I nod, still bobbing up and down.
“You could have told me.”
“That would be betraying another promise I made. Your dad asked me for my word, and I agreed. I thought I would hurt you. He said you’d been left by enough people who loved you.”
“I know what he said. He told me. But it’s not okay. You were just a kid. He should never have done that. He put a massive burden on you, and he let me be angry with you all these years. Wait, no. He didn’t let me. He didn’t make me angry. I stayed angry all on my own. I told you that I didn’t care and I was over it, but I’m not over it. I’m not over leaving, and I’m not over you coming back. I don’t want you in my life, but I also can’t imagine it without you now.”
Holy banana trees. What?
I bob up and down a little too hard and get a mouthful of water. I’m pretty sure I just lost all my swimming prowess. I feel like I could—
“Fuck! Ow!”
I’ve never had the kind of cramp that takes a person under, but I know they can decapacitate even a skilled swimmer. Both my calves lock up at once, and then the pain shoots through my thighs. White hot isn’t even the right color. This pain doesn’t have any color. It’s a vicious animal churning through me, its claws and teeth out, shredding my muscles. I can’t move my legs. I beat my arms hard at the water, not panicking, but not breathing either. I can’t think through this. My legs. Fuck, it hurts.
Float. You’re good. Just turn yourself upward and float.
But I can’t. Not when those teeth are devouring my skin and tearing into my bones.
I’m still good for now, though. I still have my arms.
Until the cramp spreads, right in the middle of my shoulder blades.
There are no words. I don’t have time for them. I can’t move. My whole body is cement, and it’s a living entity I don’t recognize. I’m strong, but right now, I have nothing left. Nothing at all. The water comes for me, and I inhale just enough air to hold my breath as I go under.
I have extremely good lung capacity, so I can probably last for a good long while and—
Right then, the pain slices me apart. It’s a dagger coming at me from every angle. My breath is nothing as it all shoots out of me. The next inhale just fills me with water, and I’m slowly sinking, which isn’t a problem if I can get something to work. I’ve spent so many years in the water that it doesn’t scare me anymore. I know I’m going to be okay if I can somehow get through this. The cramps are going to let up at any time. They’re going to let go, and I’ll get something working. Even if I don’t, I’m going to force myself to kick. Reach up. In just another second, I’ll get my brain to go from a screaming ball of fiery agony to something that obeys my commands. I’ll get my body to function.
I don’t even realize I have my eyes open until a dark shadow plunges into the pool right beside me. Black clothing, bubbles, hair, and arms, reaching for me. They’re tiny, but they close around my waist, and then Patience draws up right beside me. The pain is explosive, and it’s moving into my lungs now. I don’t have any breath left. There are already black spots at the corners of my vision, but I keep my eyes open.
I stare right at her as those tiny arms of hers close around my shoulders, locking her torso to torso with me. I didn’t realize I was already at the bottom, but then I felt her use it to push off. I didn’t know she was so strong or such a good swimmer, but she was kicking as though our lives depended on it, reaching for the top.