“Heaven!” My voice was lost in the wind. “Heaven!”
I dove toward the wave, arms forward, using every ounce of skill, every hour of training, every moment of preparation to save my girl.
The cold water hit me hard, combining with the adrenaline pumping through my system. The denim of my jeans held me back but my arms are powerful and they searched through the water. I surfaced, shouting, “Heaven! Baby! Can you hear me?”
And got nothing back but the sounds of the ocean. I called again, my voice cracking, then smothered by a wave.
I swore I heard a cry.
It was so cold and my muscles trembled and I didn’t know how much longer I could stay out here. I looked to the sky and whispered a prayer. For me. For the guys. For Heaven.
Something hard kicked my leg and I jumped, spinning around. Bubbles floated to the surface and pale white skin shimmered under the water.
A wave rolled toward us and I dove under it, eyes wide in the dark, vast ocean, but she was here and I was going to get her. I would not leave without her.
32
Heaven
The water shocked my system, screaming at my lungs and piercing my skin…but then…numbness crept across my body and I curled into it like a blanket.
The peace I craved came rolling over me, draining away the pain—the heartbreak and loss. My ears filled with the roar of water. I was flung under, sucked down. Spit back out. I cried, feeling the cold air slap my cheeks.
Again, the ocean grabbed my feet and pulled me to the depths. My arms flailed and my lungs burned and flashes crossed my eyes. Anderson sitting next to me, pencil tucked behind his ear. Oliver smiling sweetly, caressing my marred skin. Jackson smirking cheekily and Hayden, his eyes holding mine, looking through my soul.
I reached for them, through the black, murky water, finding nothing. I panicked, flat, hollow screams—water searing my lungs. I flailed, hitting rock and succumbing finally.
Finally.
I bobbed under the waves, the blanket shifting, tugging, dragging me away. Life wasn’t easy. Death would be worse. My father told me I’d paved my way. The hands of the devil were strong and when I looked up, blinking away the salt and the water, he was handsome, too.
Not the devil but an angel, with sharp cheekbones and eyes as green as a field of grass.
“Help,” he cried, and I opened my mouth to speak but my lungs were full, so very full.
He lifted me like a feather and the sound of waves crashed into the skies above. I had no doubt that this angel was here to take me home.
I woke, searching for stars and only finding florescent light.
My mother sat in the chair next to my bed, an old, wrinkled tissue twisted in her hands, staring at my feet.
I’d been here before. Or was it the same time? The beep of machines. The scent of antiseptic. The sound of voices in the hall.
I shifted my head, feeling pain wracked through my chest, like a hundred-pound weight held me down. My hands were tied down. My throat dry and raw.
“Mom?” I whispered, closing my eyes in pain.
A shadow crossed over me. A hand touched my forehead, my wrist. “Heaven?”
“Mom.”
I didn’t know what to say. I’m sorry. How did you find me? Why did you save me?
I felt the tears on my face.
Mine or hers?
A chair moved. Feet shuffled. I waited for the prick of a needle. The sting of alcohol. I felt warmth and weight.