Once The Light Fades ✅

Chapter 18 | Dive In

HUNTER

I sigh, "You need to go under water, Zia."

She pouts, "I thought you'd teach me how to swim? Not dive."

I chuckle, "This is not diving. I already told you, this is step one – bubbles."

She's holding on to the sides of the pool for dear life. The pool isn't even that deep, the deep part is on the other end. I've been trying to help her get comfortable by teaching her the basics, but she's scared to go under water.

"Do you want to learn or not?"

She rolls her eyes, "What's your credentials ba, ha? Are you even an equipped to teach me swimming?"

I lean my back against the cement, "I've been swimming since I was six, I've been surfing since I was ten. I've also been a lifeguard a couple of summers back home. Would you like to see my identification or certificates?"

She huffs and leans her cheek on the hard cement, "I'm scared."

I put a strand of her hair behind her ear, "I know. That's why we're starting with the basics. You need to get comfortable going under, getting the rhythm of your breathing right before we start with the good stuff."

She bites her lip before saying, "You won't let me drown?"

I chuckle, "I'm going to suck as a teacher if I let you drown doing the bubbles."

She rolls her eyes and I take the opportunity to remove her glasses.

"You need to remove these because they might fall, and you'll end up having broken glasses again."

I hoist myself up on the cement and place her glasses on the chair where her dress is. I look back at her and see her uncomfortable blinking while looking around.

I slowly go back into the water to not startle her, "I'm back. I just placed your glasses on the chair."

She nods at the direction of my voice.

I grab her hands underwater, "Are you okay? Can you see anything at all?"

She knits her brows, "Nothing. It's just bright, but I can't make out the shapes."

She lifts her hands and puts them on my cheeks, "Not even your face."

We're standing really close to each other, but she still doesn't see me. My heart aches as I watch her eyes move around, trying to see my face.

I put my hand on top of hers, "Well, lucky for you I've got an unforgettable face. I bet you can still see me with your eyes closed."

She laughs, "Jerk."

I chuckle, "Handsome jerk is more like it."

She laughs and gently pushes at my chest, "Tell me what to do now. It's hard to not see anything."

I smile and put my hands on her shoulders, "Now you need to trust me, okay? I'll go under with you. You need to breathe in while above water, then release the air slowly when you're under. You can keep your eyes open when you go under, but it might sting a little because of the chlorine. So, you can choose to close your eyes if that makes it more comfortable."

She nods.

"I'll count to three, you need to take a deep breath in two, and we both go under in three. I'll hold your hand the whole time."

She nods again, a bit faster.

I take a deep breath and count, "One, two...

She takes a deep breath.

"Three."

I push down on her shoulders and go under with her. She chooses to close her eyes and I hold her hands. She releases the air fast and before I can even start exhaling, she pushes back up again and sprays the air out.

She furiously wipes at her face, "I'm sorry. I panicked."

I sigh, "Why? I thought you trusted me?"

She pouts, "I can't see and I'm underwater. It's a bit overwhelming."

I nod, "Fine."

She keeps breathing hard and I realize she still hasn't calmed down at all.

I've lived a lot of my life in the water, I've loved how the water helps me calm down. Even when I'm surfing, there's a peace that comes with riding the waves. It's something that I want to share with Zia, it's something that I would like for her to learn. But I guess losing her sight the same time I'm teaching her something new is not helping her focus on her breathing.

So, I try a new approach.

I take her hands again, "I want you to learn this because being in the water helps me calm down. I'm at peace. There's no noise. The world just fades away when I'm under water."

I take her right hand and put it on top of my chest, Zia immediately freezes.

I take deep breaths and calm my breathing, "The water won't drown you, not here. Not while I'm around."

I can see her focus on the beat of my heart, "You can't see anything, but I know you can feel it. See that? No panic. Even beats. Just a calm beat under my chest. I'm fine. You're fine. I've got you."

She's looking down at her hand, focused on feeling the beat of my heart under her palm.

I wrap my free arm around her waist and pull her closer, "We're going to try again, okay? Keep your hand on my chest. Feel the calm there. I've got you, Zia. You just have to trust me."

She just nods and closes her eyes.

Having her near like this, it's difficult to calm down, but I have to show her that she can do it.

I smile and count again, "One, two..."

We take a deep breath together, "Three."

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