Jellyfish Girl

Chapter 2

Last summer, Carson invited me to go to the pool with him. Carson was a great swimmer; he was on the varsity swimming team. I, on the other hand, could barely stay afloat. I also detested swimsuits- how they clung to my body and left me exposed- showed all the flaws in my body. I've never had a great body- I was short and curvy, with fairly large hips and thighs. My upper arms had no muscle, and jiggled slightly when I moved them. The only part of my body I was proud of was my hands- they were the hands of a creater. My fingertips were calloused from years of piano playing, and the side of my forefinger had been smoothed out from holding a paintbrush or pencil constantly. My fingers were long and thin, and my wrists were tiny.

I stood at the edge of the pool, soaking my feet, a baggy t-shirt covering up my unsightly body. Carson was in the water below me, smirking up at me.

"Come on, Eila. Get in the water already! It's just you and I. If you start to drown, I'll save you.", he said teasingly.

I looked away from him, trying not to meet his eyes.

"That's not the problem.", I said softly.

He gently tugged on my t-shirt, trying to grab my attention, but he instead pulled me into the pool. I shrieked  as I fell into the deep water, and Carson had to grab me around the waist and set me on the ladder on the pool's side. I came up coughing up water and rubbing the chlorine out of my eyes. Carson looked at me apologetically. 

"I'm sorry.", he said quickly. 

And then, stupid as it was, I started to cry. Carson didn't expect this, and he immediately grabbed my hand. 

"What's wrong? Is it my fault? I'm so stupid, oh my god. I'm sorry, Eila. I didn't mean to pull you in.", he said, his words all jumbled together. 

"It's not...hic... your fault... hic...", I managed to say through my sobbing. 

"Then what's the matter?", he asked gently, stroking my long, dripping wet hair.

"I look so fat...hic...In bathing suits!", I wailed. 

Carson sighed and then bit his lip, trying not to smile. He stepped onto the lowest rung on the ladder and pressed his lips to mine. I still hiccuped against his mouth, but he didn't mind. 

"Eila, you're so beautiful it kind of hurts me sometimes.", he told me.

Despite the tears still streaming down my face, I chuckled. 

"Hurts you how?", I asked him skeptically.

Carson thumped his fist against his bare chest, above his heart. 

"Right here. It hurts right here. My chest clenches, my heart skips a beat, and my stomach becomes a mess of knots.", he said with a huge grin. 

"You're so stupid," I mumbled as I leaned forward to kiss him again.

***

I walk through the doorway to the hospital room again today, my eyes settling on his sleeping face. The sunlight streaming through the large windows illuminate his form. His eyelashes are impossibly long, dusting his cheekbones, and his dark brown hair falls in lifeless curls around his forehead. 

I walk up to him and place my fingertips on his face, tracing the outline of his cheekbones and his lips. His skin is warm, which makes my chest squeeze. Not dead, not alive. Almost like he's frozen in time. A perfect, beautiful statue. 

Someone clears their throat behind me, startling me. I whirl around to face a tall teenage boy with short, auburn hair. I feel my face go hot, blushing so much that my scalp tingles and my ears burn. I quickly step away from Carson, staring at my boots.