One late August day, it was blisteringly hot. After running down the burning sand, the girls dived into the sea and the beautiful cool enveloped them. Amy never ventured much out of her depth, but Martha swam as she always did, ducking under the waves and breast-stroking underwater until her oxygen ran out and she had to surface to breathe, then float in the deep water. She usually felt calm and happy at this point, but the new school year was about to start and it hit her. With no way to look for Dean, she had been treading water all summer and now she risked going under. Nothing was certain, and she was afraid she wouldn't find him. Instead of turning and swimming back towards Amy, Martha continued, swimming a slow, strong crawl directly out to sea. The rhythm of the waves comforted her. As the swell moved beneath and lifted her, she felt as though she was moving further away from the depths and not towards them. But after twenty minutes, the cold snapped her back to reality, and she looked back at the shore, which was a long way away. She bobbed a moment, not thinking about anything at all, just letting her worries drop down into the dark blue below her. Then she swam back to the beach, where Amy was wrapped in a towel, arms folded and shoulders boxing her ears. She was shouting. Martha couldn't hear, but could see she was mad.
Amy retreated to where their things were and Martha shivered her way up the beach to join her.
"What the hell were you doing? You had me worried. I couldn't see you for ages."
"I was just going for a swim."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I just decided. I'm not sure why. I'm sorry."
"Okay, I'm just glad I didn't have to call the Coast Guard."
"Me too. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I worried you, Amy."
YOU ARE READING
The Keeper
RomanceEvery schoolgirl has crushes, but could a schoolgirl crush last a lifetime? When 17-year old Martha starts at a new school, she carries a glimmer of hope that this time will be different. She doesn't seek popularity, but rather a quiet space where s...
