Chapter 30 – Sinking
ATHENA
I’ve read so many articles about drowning, but no one has ever given it justice.
No one ever explained what it really feels like.
They wrote about the silence, the stillness–but not the agony.
No one warned us how the cold water would punch the air from your lungs the second you hit the surface.
The first thought that comes to my mind is that i can’t swim.
I open my mouth to scream, but all I taste is water.
Panic explodes in my chest. I thrash wildly–arms flailing, legs kicking–but the dress clings to my skin like a vice, dragging me
down. My hair fans out around me, floating like a dark halo as I sink deeper.
The muffled sounds of the party above me fade. With how loud the music is, no one will find me.
If only Alex would change his mind and look back, turn to look for me. Maybe I’ll get a chance to live.
But every second that passes is a cruel reminder.
He’s with Leah.
He won’t notice.
No one will see me.
My lungs burn, a searing pain growing with every second. The need to breathe becomes unbearable–an animalistic instinct
overriding everything–until my body convulses, demanding air.
But there is none.
My ribs contract painfully, as if trying to wring out the water filling my lungs. It hurts–God, it hurts more than I thought
possible.
I fight.
I claw at nothing, kicking harder–harder–until my limbs grow heavy, sluggish. The pool lights blur, growing dim as the weight
of my body pulls me down.
This is the second time I’ve fallen this month.
Was it the alcohol? Did I slip?
Or… was I pushed?
1/5
Not that it matters now.
I think of my parents.
Would they be proud of me? Will they be sad when I meet them again and tell them that I drowned alone in a pool and couldn’t
become a surgeon?
Tears blend with the water.
And then- my thoughts drift to my husband.
Even at the brink of death, he’s still inside my head–inside my soul–like a cruel ghost that refuses to leave.
Will he mourn me? Will he regret the words he said before I died?
Or will he celebrate–sweep the love of his life into his arms and disappear on some perfect honeymoon while I rot beneath the
water?
I tried.
God, I tried so hard to love him, to be enough. But maybe I never was.
Maybe if we had met first–before Leah, before everything–he could have loved me back.
Would it have made a difference?
Or would he still have looked at me the way he did tonight–with disgust, with hate–like I was nothing?
The pain in my chest becomes unbearable, like fire and ice all at once. My body jerks, my mouth opens in a desperate gasp, but
there’s no air–only water, flooding in, stealing the last bit of life from me.
Tiny bubbles escape my lips, floating upward–like a silent scream no one will hear.
The cold isn’t just a feeling anymore–it’s a presence, suffocating, dragging me deeper into the dark.
The world fades at the edges.
The fight leaves me.
I don’t want to die.
But the water doesn’t care.
They say water is life, but right now, it’s my enemy and drowning out every breath in me.
It claims me–filling me, consuming me–until there’s nothing left.
The last thing I feel is the silence.
And then–nothing.
2/5
ALEX
Anger doesn’t cut it.
It’s something darker–something venomous–as I storm out of the house party.
I heard her calling my name but I couldn’t bring myself to look back. My control was hanging by a thread, and if I didn’t rush out,
it would have driven me to insanity.
The air reeks of sweat and cheap perfume. Normally, I wouldn’t go within three feet of a place like this–hell, I wouldn’t even
look at it.
But tonight, I did.
And now, I wish I hadn’t.
The pictures Luca sent flash in my mind–burning brighter than the fucking streetlights.
That fucking dress.
Short, tight, barely there. I wanted to rip it off her–burn it to ashes along with every other thing in her closet.
She’s under my skin. It’s a poison I can’t get rid of, a constant itch I can’t scratch.
My heart pounds harder and just the thought of her reminds me why I can’t give in to this desire.
Maybe that’s why I’m losing myself, because I can’t have her and the thrill of chasing is getting to me.
My phone buzzes.
I glance at the screen–Noah.
I decline the call.
The only reason my cousin is still breathing is because I know she didn’t insist on keeping him around. She doesn’t know it, but I
have the whole house wired–cameras, mics, everything.
Call it paranoid. I don’t give a fuck.
Sliding into my Mercedes, I grip the steering wheel, torn between driving off or going back–dragging her out by her hair, throwing her over my shoulder, and spanking that ass until it’s red for making me lose my mind like this.
“Fuck.”
I slam my fist against the wheel, raking a hand through my hair.
Then–my phone rings again.
3/5
This time, I let out a frustrated groan.
Leah.
I clench my jaw before answering.
“Hmmm?”
“Alex, I’ve been searching everywhere for you. I’m done,” she says softly. “Where are you?”
I stare out at the dark road, the memory of Athena’s cold glare still haunting me.
I swallow the fire burning in my chest.
“In the car.”
There’s a pause. “I’m coming.”
Minutes later, Leah slides into the passenger seat, a small first aid kit clutched in her hands. Her skin looks paler than usual, and
she presses her palm to her forehead like it might keep her upright.
“You okay?” I ask, voice gruff.
She forces a smile. “Just tired. I don’t feel well, but I’ll be fine. I just need some rest.”
I start the engine. “We’re going to the hospital.‘
She frowns. “Alex, I’m a doctor. I don’t need a hospital. I just need sleep.”
“You might be a doctor,” I mutter, “but a check–up won’t kill
She leans her head back against the headrest.
“If you insist. Let’s go.”
There is a beat of silence before she breaks it, “I didn’t know you cared.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m just joking. No need to sound so serious. Honestly, I was shocked when you offered to tag along with me. You hate such
places.”
Her voice sounds hopeful so I remain quiet so I don’t burst her bubble.
The hospital is quiet when we pull up- and something in my chest feels unsettled. A part of me feels like driving back to that
house.
“Is something on your mind?” Leah’s voice pulls me back and I look up, placing my phone back in the pocket.
“No.” I respond as I walk Leah to the reception.
4/5
She’s still talking, and I’m trying so fucking hard but it’s really hard to listen.
What seems like hours pass and I’m sitting in the reception when I see a figure.
A woman–so deathly pale she’s almost blue–being wheeled in on a stretcher.
Dark hair, soaked and clinging to her face–her features blurred, but there’s something–something familiar-
My heart slams against my ribs.
Athena?
I stand and rush forward to verify the games my mind is playing with me.
“Alex?”
Leah’s voice stops me in my tracks.
“Yeah, I just need to check something.” I respond but as I turn back, the woman disappears through the emergency doors.
Leah hooks her hand in my arm and I gently pull away,
“You won’t hold me even when I’m sick?” She complains but I don’t respond.
“Fine, I’m just too tired, I’ll need to take a few days off. Come on!” She says as she starts walking through the exit.
My legs walk after her but my heart is so fucking heavy like something is pressing it down.
What’s this feeling I’m getting?
