Eli grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “It’ll be over soon,” he said, as we made our way to the marker.
The dark cloud was upon us now and the wind had picked up even more. Biting my lip, I scanned the mountains in the distance. A lightning bolt cracked, jarring me.
“Lightning!” I exclaimed, pointing.
Another bolt struck somewhere off in the distance. “What the hell. Is this even safe?” Eli demanded.
“It’s safe,” Shay insisted harshly.
More lightning flashed.
“Nah. Screw this. We aren’t going in the water in this weather.” Eli glared at her, still holding my hand.
“There’s a pretty hefty fine for not completing the challenges,” Shay warned, matching his glare.
Fine?I couldn’t pay a fine. In the beginning I had been trying to be all high and mighty when insisting I’d leave, but the truth was, I was broke.
“Let’s just do it,” I said. “We can get it over with before it gets worse.”
Eli looked down at me, bewildered. “You’re willing to risk your life for this?”
I stood on my tiptoes so I could whisper in his ear. “I can’t pay a fine. Let’s just hurry up.”
He scoffed and shook his head. “Fuck that. I’ll pay your fine.”
“We really need you two to get out there.” Shay was obviously irritated. “We have footage from the rest of the cast, and we can’t have another incomplete challenge.”
Eli and Shay started full-out arguing as I tried to shrink away and calm my rapid heartbeat.
Robert rushed over, waving his hands. “Hey, hey. Let’s all calm down.” He turned to Eli. “I promise you, the weather is not impacting the safety of this challenge. That storm that you see over there in the mountains is still miles away. It won’t be overhead for at least another hour. There’s plenty of time to finish up your leg of the challenge.”
Eli’s face softened slightly as he looked from Robert to me. While Shay might not be trustworthy, Robert was. He wouldn’t endanger us when his entire job was ensuring our safety. The set of Eli’s jaw said everything—he was ready to keep fighting if I was still uncomfortable. And while I didn’t feel great about this, Robert had assured us that it was safe. I couldn’t be the only wimp who didn’t complete the challenge.
“Let’s do it,” I said.
Eli gave a slight nod. “I’ll be with you the whole time, okay? I’ll swim right next to you.”
I followed him to a mat at the edge of the water and forced myself not to look at the storm again.
“Okay, drama queens. I’ll count you down,” Shay said.
“You’ve got this, Calla,” I heard Arnie cheer from somewhere behind me.
“Go, Calla!” Trace called.
Their encouraging words only spiked my anxiety more, knowing that every eye was on me.
“Hey.” Eli captured my attention. “Just focus on swimming, okay? Don’t worry about anything else.”
“I got this,” I promised, even though in reality I had no idea how it would go.
A whistle blew and we were in the water, limbs flailing and water splashing around us. I made an awkward dive and splayed my arms out in front of me, pushing the water back and thrusting my body forward. The wet suit helped fight off the chill of the water more than I had expected, but my hands and exposed face still felt the icy drops with every stroke.
The buoy that held our puzzle pieces bobbed up and down in the distance and I set all my focus on that orange target in front of me. One arm in front of the other. Kick. Kick. We were almost there. I could hear muffled cheers, but my focus on swimming was so intense that the world felt muted around me.
Ten more feet.
Five.
