Life changes ( sequel to love never dies )

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Matthew and I are swimming inside the water pool he found and it's refreshing. I've been trying to get off this island for a while, but every time I almost drowned. Both of us relax while the cool water feels amazing.

,,Who knew water could feel so good?" I say, closing my eyes.

,,I know right? I can stay here all day. You can set up camp and get us food, right?" He jokes and I splash him with water. I lie back and float on the water as I listen to the hum of the jungle.

,,I'll never take water for granted again."

,,Well, me neither. I'm going to drink a lot more water if we make it off this island." I know Matthew has been here for a year already, but he sounds very negative as if he doesn't believe he will get off here.

,,When, not if. We can't give up hope yet. And when we make it off, I'm saying yes to Chloe. We will get married." I say and smile, thinking about the love of my life. Suddenly I hear something and startle. ,,What was that?"

,,I didn't hear anything. Maybe you hear voices in your head." He says, joking.

,,I'm serious. I think I heard something." I get out of the water and start to investigate. I squint through the forest for the source. ,,Hmm, that's weird. I really thought I heard something, but I guess I was wrong. I don't say anything." Matthew's hand squeeze my shoulder, his eyes fixed on the tree canopy above.

,,No sudden movements." I hear a low growl. Slowly I til my head up to find a pair of yellow eyes staring at me from the branches above. Oh, my, God! A panther! The panther prowls towards me. Its movements are completely silent and its eyes never leave mine. I begin to take a step back but Matthew stops me. ,,If we'll run, he'll chase us."

,,I'm not going to stay here and get eaten!" I'm afraid, but try to hide it.

,,I get that but we need to scare it away. If we stand our ground and look big, he might think we're the predators." The panther is ready to pounce. ,,Climb on my shoulders." Okay. I do what he tells me and climb on his shoulders. The panther is taken aback by our bigger form, but that doesn't take long because he's still ready to attack.

,,What now?" Matthew starts to stomp his feet. The panther shirks back into the branches and flees into the safety of the greenery. Once we know the panther is gone, I get off his shoulders. ,,Thank you for keeping me safe." I say and he nods.

,,I need to keep both of us safe to get out of here. It can be a long time before we're rescued." And then I'm reminded of my task.

,,We need to get back!" I say and take off back towards the beach, followed by Matthew.

Once we're back at the beach, I run into the ocean. I have to get back to Chloe, no matter what. I have to tell her that I agree to marry her, that I want to spend forever with her and even have kids someday like we've talked about before. I remember everything Chloe wanted. She talked about moving in together and buying a house. She talked about children and we even had names. Ryan, Nola, Emma, Liam, Luke, Elena, Hailey, and Wyatt ( which I'm not so sure of anymore, just because my brother has the same name ). Chloe must be so worried. That's why I have to get back to her because I know I can't live without her.

I hear Matthew screaming my name, but I keep on swimming, but the current is strong. It's letting me float back to the beach where Matthew is. I try to swim again and again, but every time the current lets me come back to the island. Ugh, this is so frustrating! I get up, take a deep breath and jump into the sea. I dive underwater, swimming away from the island as I see different fish swim across. Beautiful fishes and reefs, with jellyfish and a few crabs. It's a pretty sight, but that's not why I'm swimming. I need to get back!