I immediately sat up and coughed up so much water I thought I was going to drown again. But no, I was out of the water. My lungs were technically water-free but I couldn't stop coughing.
The lights at the bottom of the pool were back on, so everything was blue again. Blue? Blue! Oh my God.
Ethan was kneeling next to me, looking blue and wet and scared out of his mind.
"Holy shit, Bella," he sighed heavily, sitting back against he wall. "Why'd you jump in if you couldn't swim?"
"I can swim," I managed hoarsely. I cleared my throat. "I know how to swim. I can swim." I coughed again. "Did you do CPR?"
Ethan looked at me like I was stupid. "How else was I getting the water out of you? Did you hit your head or something?"
I coughed. "I almost drowned and you're being mean to me?"
He sighed. "Sorry. You scared the hell out of me. You know we're not supposed to be in here, right?"
"That seemed obvious long ago." Cough.
"I would've been in a shitload of trouble if we were caught."
"I would be too." Cough. "Do you cuss a lot?"
"Only when I'm mad… in this case, scared and mad. And," he scoffed, "you wouldn't be in trouble. You're the new girl who almost drowned."
"Not anymore—oh my God, what time is it?"
He frowned at me. "It's three thirty. You were out for maybe… three minutes? There're still some kids in school. After-school tutoring isn't over for another forty minutes."
Not a lot of time had passed. I could've died in such a short amount of time?! "How long was I in the pool?" Last cough.
His eyes widened. "I have no idea. You weren't moving when I saw you."
I frowned. "The pool lights were on?"
"Uh duh."
I kicked his thigh. "Don't duh me. They turned off when I fell in."
Ethan stood up. "They look fine to me." He offered me a hand, but I stood up on my own. "Do you want to call your mom or… something?"
"Hell no," I said, wringing out my hair. "This is just going to worry her."
"That doesn't seem like a good idea. You could've died."
"But I didn't."
"But you could have."
"But I didn't. Besides, she'll just get mad at the school and you'll get in trouble even though you saved my life. Thank you, by the way."
He sheepishly looked away. "Whatever…. Does she at least know where you are?"
"She knows I'm in school with you, which probably already gives her something to worry about. I don't keep everything from her. And I know how to swim."
YOU ARE READING
Cheshire Girl
Paranormal"There were three things about which I was absolutely certain. First, I didn't have my cell phone. Second, my hands hurt from gripping the trunk lid closed. They would probably be useless to put up a fight. ...
