Page 34 of Blue in the Deep Blue Sea

Oliver was there, along with my brother, who held Isabella tightly against him. One of his hands rested on top of her headwhile she cried into his chest. I didn’t know her well back then, so I wasn’t sure if the person on the ground was someone close to her, but my heart still began to pound, urging me forward.

As I stepped closer, the murmurs faded. People glanced at me, then quietly moved aside.

The first thing I saw was a hand, its fingernails painted pink with tiny white daisies on each one.

I swallowed. My feet refused to move.

I passed Gianni and Isabella. Just before I reached the center of the circle, Oliver stepped in front of me, blocking my path.

I’d never stood this close to him before. He towered over me by at least two heads. When I lifted my face, all I could see were his green eyes, his jaw clenched so tightly it looked painful, and his brows drawn together as he slowly shook his head.

“Don’t,” he said.

I tried to brush past him, but he caught my wrist. I shoved him anyway, and this time he let me through, though I could still feel him behind me, close enough for his breath to brush against me.

That’s when I saw who was lying on the pebbles.

“No… no, no.”

The words tore out of me, catching in my throat. I lurched forward, my legs moving before I could think. A sharp ringing filled my ears, drowning out everything else as the world around me blurred.

God, please. Anyone but her.

I shoved past the people standing in front of me, desperate to prove my own eyes wrong.

They weren’t.

My heart pounded wildly, then seemed to stop the moment I saw the still body of my best friend.

“Annie!” I screamed, collapsing beside her.

The light that had always danced in her eyes was gone, leaving them clouded white. Her lips, once soft and pink, had turned purple, and her face was frighteningly pale. Pink glitter remained beneath her eyes, streaked down her cheeks as though she’d been crying. Her hair was soaked, her top and jeans drenched with sea water. Both of her hands were twisted at her sides.

“No.” A sob caught in my chest. “Please… no.”

I shrugged off my denim jacket and draped it over her, pulling it gently up to her neck. Her top had become almost transparent from the water, and I couldn’t bear the thought of strangers staring at her.

My fingers wrapped around her hand.

It was ice cold.

I lowered my head and pressed a kiss to her fingertips.

“Annie…” My voice broke between sobs. “Why are you so cold?”

I clutched her hand against my chest as tears spilled onto our interlaced fingers. Footsteps approached behind me, but I didn’t look up.

Nothing else mattered.

Only her.

“Gabby.”

Oliver’s voice came from beside me, cold and controlled as always.

I turned to face him, meeting his eyes. “Oliver, why isn’t she waking up?”

He didn’t say anything. He just stood there, turning his head toward the sea.