Water of Hell

Chapter Four - Ocean Calling

ღNaidaღ

When the storm had finally passed, it was far too late for us to stay at the reef. Reluctantly we made our way back to Triton’s boat.

“Silly storm,” I heard him mutter as he started the engine. I smiled as I pulled the dry towel tighter against my body. Triton may think this was a disaster, but I had enjoyed myself far too much to complain. Of course, the storm had ruined it, but we had cuddled closely in that cave. The ride back to the harbor was relatively quick and we hurried to his Jeep.

“I had a really nice time,” I said honestly as he drove me to the high school.

“Me too,” Triton said as he smiled. “I mean, it would’ve been better if the storm hadn’t hit,”

“Ah but then we wouldn’t have gotten to cuddle in that cave,” I pointed out my earlier thoughts.

“Good point,” he agreed. The sky had darkened when we arrived at the school and I turned to face him.

“I have been meaning to ask you something,”

“And what’s that?” he asked curiously.

“Why did you kiss Pamela at the party?” I asked. Triton’s eyes went big and I kept a straight face. I hadn’t forgotten about that kiss, I had just been waiting to ask him about it.

“Honestly, I don’t even have an answer for you,” he said slowly. “Pamela can be possessive, and we’ve had this kind of on and off-again relationship,”

“And is it on or off right now?” I questioned curiously.

“Off,” the single word made me smile and when he leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine, I let him. The kiss was quick but amazing. I jumped out of his jeep and ran over to mine. The drive home was used to think about him. My small school crush had grown into actually liking him. Entering the house, I was half and half expecting my parents to be on my case about Triton but surprisingly they just smiled and continued watching their tv show. Things had shifted slightly, I could feel it, but I wasn’t sure what it was. I headed upstairs to my room and did something I never did. I laid on my bed and daydreamed about Triton and reliving every second of our time together. I had turned into a lovesick fool and I was loving it.

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I woke up with a strange feeling. It was as if I could feel someone calling me, but I couldn’t hear a voice. Something was drawing me to the ocean and as I walked out of the house, I followed the silent calling. I used other people’s yards as a shortcut to the harbor and then promptly dove straight into the water. The sea welcomed me, and I felt complete. I swam towards the reef; the silent calling was getting stronger and stronger and the need to be on that island was overwhelming. When I reached the island, I headed straight for that pool. I didn’t stop, I didn’t get lost. Reaching the pool, I didn’t hesitate to jump right in. The water was slightly warmer, and I rested on my back, the water gently lapping at my sides as I gazed up at the morning sky. I smiled as I closed my eyes and relaxed.

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“What the?” I mumbled out as I opened my eyes. I was freezing cold and I frowned as I looked around me. I was in the pool on the island and I was still wearing my pj's. I pulled myself out of the water and tried to find my way back to the beach. It wasn’t easy as I took a few wrong turns but eventually, I found it. “Ok, this isn’t funny,” I said as I looked around for the boat. It was at that moment that I stopped and stared out into the sea. How had I gotten here? I didn’t remember. Where is the boat? Didn’t I anchor it? I had a strange feeling, and I shook my head. “No, there is no way,” I remarked. Surely, I didn’t swim all the way out here? The island wasn’t far out but it was quite a distance to swim. Looking around once more, I knew that I didn’t have a choice. I would have to swim back. The water was cold, and I shivered as I took a deep breath and started swimming. I was utterly exhausted by the time I reached the harbor. I did my best to pull myself out of the water and then I stood there. What was I going to do? Walk home? Again, it wasn’t far, but I was freezing. I decided to head over to the harbor's local café and use the restroom. I locked the door and used the hand dryer against the wall to dry my flimsy pjs. I did the same with my hair, as best I could. I felt better after I was warmed up and although my clothing wasn’t soaked, it wasn’t completely dry. Leaving the café, I walked home, and the whole way, I hoped someone would drive by and offer me a lift, but no one did. When I finally got home, I headed straight upstairs and into the bathroom. I turned on the water for the bath and while it filled up, I went into my room. I grabbed a fresh towel and some clean clothes. I also grabbed my phone. No messages and no miscalls. Did no one miss me? It must have taken me hours to walk all the way to the harbor and swim out to the reef. I wasn’t even sure how long I had been in that pool. I checked on the bathwater and closed the bathroom door. I peeled off my clothes and eased into the bath before turning off the taps. I could feel the warm water heating my body and I completely relaxed, enjoying the way it made me feel. Warm and happy. I closed my eyes and leaned back. Of course, even though, I felt relaxed, I couldn’t stop the questions from running through my mind. How the hell had I gotten out there? And how long had I been out there? When I finished bathing and I got out of the bath, I felt a weird stinging sensation on the back of my leg. Not really being able to see, I wrapped the towel around me and hurried to my room. I checked in the mirror and gasped. What the hell?

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“Thank you for coming,” I said to Abby when she entered my room an hour later.

“Girl, I came as soon as you called, what is going on?” she asked as she sat down on the edge of my bed. “Wait, before you get into it, please can you tell me why you were so upset with me?” I rolled my eyes and as I sat down next to her.

“You ditched me, Abby,”

“What do you mean, I ditched you?”

“You left me alone at that party,” I said softly. Abby reached out and took a strand of my hair and gently tucked it behind my ear.

“No, I didn’t. I watched you go over to Triton and when I looked again the two of you were walking down the beach. I got a text from him to say that he would take you home,” she explained, and I sighed. Why didn’t he tell me he was going to do that? “Did you really think, I would just ditch you?”

“Obviously,” I muttered.

“You don’t even know how many times I checked up on you. At the café, ha! Kim told me you were on a date with lover boy and I saw you through the window,” she further explained. “So, the reason I didn’t freak out and text you all night was that I knew exactly where you were. I was so excited to hear all about it but girl, you know how to give attitude,”

“I’m sorry, I honestly thought you just ditched me and that you didn’t care,” I admitted.

“Never, I would never,” she said. “Now tell me what the hell happened,” I went into as much detail as I could about what had happened. Since I couldn’t remember waking up, I couldn’t truly describe how I got to the island.

“And then when I got out of the bath, I saw this,” I said as I got up and turned around. I pulled down my pants and revealed the deep cut to Abby.

“Oh! Naida! What the hell?”

“I have no idea, I can only assume I must’ve hurt myself in that pool, but I don’t remember it,”

“We need to clean that up,” Abby said as she stood up. “Where is the first aid?” she asked.

“In the bathroom in the cupboard,” I said. I kicked off my pants and laid on my bed. Abby was going to nurse it and I was grateful for that. It was pretty deep and painful. My first reaction had been to scream for my mom but just the thought of trying to explain how I had gotten it, well, it made me call Abby instead.

“Ok, let’s do this,” she said when she returned from the bathroom, kit in hand. I laid on my stomach quietly as she worked. I felt her every move and I did my best not to cry. It was so painful that when she cleaned it, it stung. When she rubbed ointment on it, I wanted to rip her hand off and when she finally put a plaster over it, I wanted to strangle her. The process was painful and when she was done, I put on my pants and gave her a hug.

“Thank you for doing this,” I whispered.

“Of course, no need to thank me,” we sat in silence for a bit, and then Abby smiled.

“So, are you going to tell me about your date with Triton or do I have to beg?”

“Which date?” I asked as I wiggled my eyebrows.

“You left with him yesterday, didn’t you?” she looked shocked and I gently slapped her arm.

“Did you think I left my jeep at the school for any other reason?” I asked and she smacked her forehead. “Anyway…” I told her about my date with Triton. About our time at the market and then at the reef. “When that stupid storm hit, I was so mad,”

“I would be too,”

“But then we cuddle in a small cave together,” I said with a smile. “It wasn’t the most romantic thing, but it was sweet,”

“Aw, did you kiss?” she asked, and the smile faded as I blushed. “You did, didn’t you?!”

“We did,” I admitted.

“Omg! Naida! You kissed your crush!”

“I know!” we both squealed loudly. “And it was so sweet,” I added.

“I take it, he is sweet,” Abby teased, and I once again slapped her. “What? You keep saying sweet!”

“Well, because he is sweet,” I pointed out as I threw myself back on the bed. “I really like him, Abby,” she flung herself back too and our eyes met. “Like, I really, really, like him,”

“And does he like you?” she asked, and I thought about that for a moment.

“I think so,”

“Oh! Girl!” we squealed in delight and then a loud knock on the door interrupted us.

“If you two are hungry, dinner will be ready in about ten minutes,” my mother’s voice filtered through the door.

“Will you stay?” I asked her and Abby nodded.

“Sunday night is pizza night; did you think I had forgotten that?” she teased as we got up. Heading downstairs, we continued to tease and laugh at each other. My mother, of course, was over the moon that we were all sitting around the dinner table for once. It wasn’t always easy to do, my dad worked at the butcher and my brother always had his nose in a book. And I was either swimming or studying. Dinner around the Saylor family table was quite enjoyable, and I was quite sad to see Abby leave afterward. However, as we hugged goodbye with the promise of tomorrow, I realized two things. One: my long-time crush had taken me on, not one, but two, dates. Two: swimming and school were still going well. At this point, everything was perfect.