Imperfect Perfection

Chapter Ten: The Water

I slowly walk inside the cave and realize how long it is. At the back, I see the back of a person, who I assume is Nico.

I lift off the ground a little so I can approach him without him knowing. When I get about two feet away, I look over his shoulder and see blood on the wall. Oh Gods, no.

I loose focus, so I drop down with a thump.

Before I could say or even think anything, I was pinned up against the wall with a firm hand wrapped tightly around my throat and a sword poking my stomach.

His body slightly presses against mine from how close we are. I look into his eyes, and I see pure rage. His eyes have a tint of red, which scares me slightly.

He must have realized it was me and saw the look of fear on my face, since his eyes go back to normal and he lets me go, dropping his hand from my neck and the sword from my tummy.

"Andy." I nod and try to fight back the cough forming in my throat from how tight his grip was. The urge becomes too much, so I start coughing really hard and I cover my mouth with my arm.

After the fit it over, I look up at him and see the regret in his eyes. "Sorry, I didn't know-"

"It's *cough* okay *cough cough*. I snuck *cough* up on you."

I clear my throat and nod my head. "Kay, I'm good now. All good. I'm good. You good? You okay? You don't look okay."

I raise my hand to poke his cheeks but his hand swats it away. I look at him and try to catch his eye, but he looks further and further away.

"Nico, talk to me." I move my head around to try to get into his view, but he just turns his head the other way.

My eyes start to get watery. This is my fault, I think, I did something wrong.

"You need to leave, Andy."

"Nico, what did I do? Did I do something? Please just talk-"

"NO! I'm NOT going to talk!"

"Nico, please-"

"And yes, you DID DO SOMETHING! You don't even know what it IS! That's what MAKES IT WORSE!"

By this point his eyes are glowing red and my eyes are filled with tears. His glare into mine breaks my heart, knowing I am the reason for his pain.

The tears stream down my face like a river. I wipe them away, but they keep coming back. I sniffle, and look up into his red eyes.

"I'm sorry. Whatever I did, I am so, so sorry. I-I'm sorry."

My voice cracks all throughout the sentence. I gently push to my left, not touching him, and walk towards the exit. I turn around one last time and see him still staring at the wall.

"I'm sorry." I nearly whisper. I turn around, crying, then run out. I run into the water right outside of the cave, and dive in, feeling the water calling my name. I open my eyes, and see the bottom of the lake.

Poseidon help me breath.

I take in a breath, and immediately choke on water. I try to gasp for air, but none is there to get. I try to swim back up, but my lungs burn too much.

I scream, or try to, but nothing works. My vision starts to fade, blackness starting to surround me. I try to breathe one last time, and I feel air enter my watery lungs.

I start to choke, coughing up water and blood, trying to breathe normally. I wheeze in and out, and I relax my body on the bottom of the lake.

My vision still doesn't clear, everything looking like a blob. All I know is that I can breath and that there is no air around me.