The Boy With Green Eyes

Chapter 25: Demons

WOAAHHH NEW CHAPTER! EXCITING. I really love this chapter. It's a bit more emotional and explores Terrie's emotions a bit more, so I hope you love it too! Also, I love all my readers immensely, your support has been amazing :) I never thought this story would get to 100 reads, let alone now 500! That was an awesome moment in life :D

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Tom came rushing to me and yanked me back above the water's surface, his eyes wide and searching my face. I inhaled desperately, my lungs aching for air. Ames came splashing over, the same concern written all over her face. Pursing my lips, I moved my head between the two, waiting for one of them to say something.

"What the fuck were you thinking Terrie?!" Tom yelled, hitting the water as he did so and spraying droplets of water everywhere. He spun in the now waist height water, dragging a hand down his face. His hair was darker, plastered to his head, the odd part sticking up. Ames' hair was dead straight, collected in strands sticking to her skin. She just stared blankly at me. I bit the inside of my lip, unsure of what to say.

"Jesus, Terrie, you fucking scared us. We saw you go under, then you didn't come back up. What the hell were you doing?!" Tom was so angry, attacking the water to release his frustration with me. I honestly didn't mean to freak them out. I was just admiring how peaceful the world was under the water, wishing a part of me could be brave enough to stay there.

Ames spoke, her voice wobbling, "Seriously Terrie, you freaked us both out. We had no clue what you were trying to do." And I didn't know what I was trying to do either. After the accident there was always a tiny part of me that wished I'd died alongside Jude and the others, just to end the pain and grief I was experiencing. Over time that feeling faded, but the thought still remained. I hadn't thought about it for weeks, up until today underwater. I guess it resurfaced along with all my other emotions coming out to play today. But it really wasn't my intention to scare Tom or Ames. They meant the world to me.

But so does Jude.

Shaking my head to clear that thought, I waded through the water to reach a very anxious and upset Tom. Gripping his wrists in mine to gain his attention, I gazed silently into his eyes, my heart aching to see the tears there. Enveloping him in a crushing hug, I closed my eyes, and mentally apologised. I didn't trust my voice to speak properly in this moment. I don't think I could've convincingly told them that I wasn't trying to kill myself. In all truth, I wasn't, but being under the water was so calming and so I'd thought, what if.

Tom's arms came around me, holding me tightly to his bare chest which was very nice. He was warm and comforting; I felt safe. Which is exactly how I needed to feel right now. As he released me, he quickly wiped away a stray tear, gripping my shoulders. "Fuck, Terrie, I'm always around for you, okay? Don't ever doubt that." I nodded, attempting to smile. Facing Ames, I saw her struggling not to burst into sobs. Why were they so worried? I was only under for like, a minute.

"No you weren't," Ames stated. Oops, spoke out loud again. "You were under for something like five minutes, which for someone like you who is unfit and can't even hold her breath for thirty seconds normally, is abnormal. We had a right to freak out."

I was under that long?

"Sorry," I managed to whisper. Both Tom and Ames could see how much I was struggling to speak. Ames was biting her lip and Tom was half glaring, half grimacing, their usual happy features blemished with their frustration and worry.

"We're leaving the beach. Terrie, you're staying at my house tonight. No questions asked, I'll talk to Adam and he can tell your parents." I knew Tom was looking out for me. If my parents found out what I'd sort of tried just now, they'd send me back into therapy. Just, no. Tom turned to Ames, his hard stare softening.