I swallowed hard. I took a step back into deeper water. “It’s just a bikini, Jackson.”
He followed.
“I’ve never seen it before.”
Before I could respond, his hand was suddenly on my waist, sliding down my back. His touch was too familiar, but compared to Max’s, foreign. I tried to shrug him off, but he pulled me closer.
“Don’t,” I snapped, but he wasn’t listening. His mouth was in my ear, whispering.
“You think they’re all staring because you look hot?” he said. “You think Max is jealous because he wants you? Or because you’re making yourself look easy?”
My lungs clenched tightly. He pulled me even closer, a predatory grin on his face. Suddenly, his hand slammed against the back of my head, smashing me under the dark, suffocating water.
The water was freezing as it forced its way into my lungs, a numbing sensation that made me scream in agony while he held me down mercilessly. In an instant, darkness consumed my vision. At first, it felt unreal—a cruel joke, a twisted display of power. I flailed desperately, expecting him to loosen his grip, but he didn’t. Instead, his hold grew tighter. Water shattered my eardrums, muffling the screams. I thrashed around, panic ripping through my chest like a beast unleashed.
The seconds dragged into eternity. I opened my eyesunderwater, darkness pressing in around me. My lungs screamed for air. I clawed at his arm, desperate to scream, but only bubbles escaped my mouth. A suffocating weight enveloped me. I was drowning.
Memories of my father’s motorcycle outside our burning home flashed violently in my mind. I could almost hear his screams,“I’ve had enough!”He often shouted that from his basement.
I broke the surface of the lake with a harsh cough, but the terror still gripped me. Then I was pulled under again, drowning in darkness. I could hear Jackson’s mocking laughter through the water. Was this a cruel joke to him? A wave of panic and adrenaline surged through my veins as I blindly kicked out, desperate to break free. I managed to hit something, and then he yanked me out of the water.
“Oh, shit. You, okay?”
I opened my eyes, rubbing the water out of them.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I choked out, wiping water from my face, my voice shaking. Everyone around us seemed too far to hear. No one was paying attention. “You trying to fucking drown me?”
Jackson’s smile was calm.
“You needed to cool off.”
My entire body trembled.
“You’re an asshole.”
His eyes were dead—flat, empty, terrifying. For a moment, they stayed that way before suddenly snapping back to their normal honey brown, the horrifying emptiness still lingering behind.
And then the tears began. They flowed down his face, hiding his evil.
“I didn’t mean it! Promise,” he sobbed. “Please don’t be mad at me, Kenz.”
My entire body shook. My chest felt like it was on fire.Tears, mingling with the lake water, poured down my face in torrents. I was consumed by an overwhelming terror—much greater than anything I’d ever known. You always expect to escape terror by running. But in moments of pure panic, your mind turns against you. You struggle to accept what’s really happening because it’s impossible, right?
You’re not going to die.
It’s impossible.
You feel sluggish, unable to process any emotion except the fear pulsing through your body.
That’s exactly where I was. I was facing the impossible. My breath came in frantic, searing bursts as I fought to keep myself together. My mind was an empty void, churned by terror and devoid of any rational thought.
He put his hands on my waist, and I quickly slapped them off.
“Don’t touch me, you fucking psycho,” I threatened him.
He put his hands up, the sobs continuing.
“Okay, okay! Look, I’m sorry for what happened back home. I was an idiot, and I’ve been trying to call you for weeks. It’s unfair that you ghosted me when we broke up.”
