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WAVES crashed against the shores of La Push like a storm was vibrating the earth. Margo had driven both her and Melinda onto a patch of rocky sand, right beside Tyler Crowley's van. It was Saturday, and the weather man said it was supposed to be nice, but nice days in Forks just meant no rain. The sky was covered in endless clouds, all gray in color.
Aunt Jenny was a bit shocked when Margo told her of her plans the night before. Margo hanging out with Melinda and other teenagers? That couldn't be true. She didn't even believe that there were beaches near Forks until Margo did a simple Google image search for her. Nevertheless, she allowed her niece to go.
Margo had never liked the water, but she just simply enjoyed the environment of a beach. It reminded her of California. She knew how to swim, but she chose not to for her own reasons. While the rest of Bella and her friends hung out by Tyler's van, pulling on their wet suits, Melinda was dragging Margo to the sandy shores. "Stick your feet in the water!" Melinda instructed, tugging off her shoes as they ran.
Margo sighed loudly as she did what she was told. Melinda basically carried her towards the water, but Margo's feet stopped just a few inches before it. She bit her lip hesitantly. "It's not going to kill you," Melinda said.
"The water could be poisoned," Margo replied.
"Shut up."
Margo dipped one toe in the water, and then let in the whole foot. Moments later, both feet were in the water, allowing the waves to rock back and forth against her cold skin. Margo had been smiling towards Melinda, but then she had been reminded of something – something that she buried deep inside her mind so she would forget.
She felt darkness cloud her mind again. She felt the water invading her lungs. She felt her father's firm grip on the back of her head. He was angry with her. She wasn't learning to swim as quickly as the other kids in her summer camp. She had to be good at everything; his daughter was the gold child. She thought, maybe – just maybe – his intentions were to show her how to drown so she'd never do it again, so that she would learn to just swim. She was eight, and her head was being shoved into a sink full of water by her own dad, as her mother watched in pure horror. Margo Richards learned to swim the next day at summer camp.
She immediately back herself away from the water, feeling a shiver run down her spine from the cold. Margo hugged her arms around herself. She closed her eyes, pushing the memory back into her mind yet again. She didn't want to remember. She didn't have to.
Melinda looked over her shoulder at her friend before approaching her. "Hey," she muttered, holding her arms, "you okay?"
"Yeah, fine," Margo nodded. She plastered a false smile on her face.
