The Palmer Pool

34 | Live Again

I floated in black water or nothingness for a few seconds or an eternity, and then I was coughing up water tinged with chlorine and blood on a slab of wet cement.   A dark, rusty cloud was dissipating in the illuminated pale turquoise water.  It was nighttime, but birds were chirping.  A pair of warm hands swept over my wet skin.

"Hey Nessie.  You're alright."

I wasn't convinced.  I sat up and inspected myself, lifted and bent my arms and legs.  My left leg was still numb, but that was it.  That and a crushing pain in my chest.  I whimpered, almost wishing I had some physical damage to show how much I was hurting.

I loved you. I really did.

Eric Anderson took the tourniquet off my leg and my calf pulsed and throbbed. 

"What the heck? Whose belt is this?" he frowned.

I took Pete's belt from him and held it gingerly.  Eric grabbed his phone and began to dial a number.  I knocked the glowing screen out of his hand and it skidded across the cement.

"Don't!  Don't call anyone."

"I'm calling 911."

"You said I'm alright. Look!  I'm fine."

"Are you fine?  There's blood everywhere! What happened to you?"

"I'm okay.  Really."

I wiped the residual water from my eyes and face with my hands and saw him clearly.  He was a mess.  His hair was wild, his eyes shadowed and tired, he was shivering in his wet clothes.

"How long have you been here?" I asked.

"Awhile."

"Waiting for me?" He crossed his arms and looked away.  "But, I've been so mean to you."

"You're just acting that way to hide something.  Obviously."  His eyes darted to the pool then back to me.  "Or you legit hate me, but anyway, I don't think anyone else thought to look for you here. Honestly, I felt pretty ridiculous sitting here all night watching for you up until a couple minutes ago."

It occurred to me that after all I'd been through, if Eric hadn't been there and pulled me out of the water, I might have drowned at the bottom of the pool anyway.

"Whoa. Thank you."

"Sure.  So will you tell me what's going on with you?  If it's as weird as it seems, I swear I won't tell a soul.  Unless you want me to, if you're in some kind of trouble or something."  He sat down next to me and dipped his feet in the pool.

"How many nights have you spent here? "

He ran his hand through his hair and shook the water out as he grimaced.  "I guess the first night no one really knew you were gone.  Then your mom called Sophie and found out you weren't with her family.  After Sophie told me you were missing, I came here at night in case you came back, so someone would be here."  He shrunk into his shoulders.  "So, this was the fourth night."

We sat quietly until I finally said, "I'm going to be grounded until I graduate."

Then I wondered if I told Eric the truth, and he did tell anyone else, if it would even matter since I'd likely be on house arrest with no social life until I left for college anyway.

"I should get you home. So your family knows you're alive." 

He shook his head sadly and gave me a long look.  I looked into his eyes, wondering if I had the memory erasing capabilities that Liz and Paul had.  I started to feel warm again.  I was going to tell him.  I didn't have Liz anymore, and I couldn't stand the thought of keeping it to myself.  If Eric Anderson sat by the pool for four nights expecting me to magically appear, he was almost as delusional as I was about to seem.  And if I didn't tell someone right then, I never would.  I'd wake up the next day and my life would be so shockingly normal that I'd doubt any of it actually happened.