Blue | Rafe Cameron

xvi

Once upon a time, water had been a safe haven for me. The one place in the world where I could escape every problem, every pressure and just be free.

At the ripe age of three, my dad took me for swimming lessons, decking me out in inflatable armbands and goggles as we splashed around in the local pool. And as I grew older, he taught me to ride the waves, buying me my own personalised board- the latest and best edition, of course.

He was always encouraging me to push myself further and further. It didn't matter how many times I wiped out or how hard I fell, he was always there to pick me up, dust me off and push me to try again.

And I did, for him, I always did.

I kept trying until swimming and surfing became as easy as breathing until the feel of the water became more comforting than a brush of wind until every aspect of myself was in tune with the waves.

And then one day it all changed.

The water, once my sanctuary, now felt like poison- deadly, terrifying, unnatural. The memories of that fateful day were seared into my mind, haunting me every time I neared the ocean.

Every time I neared the water.

And that brings me here, drowning in that very nightmare.

My body was like lead, the water closing in around me like walls, smothering me, making it impossible to breathe. I flailed my arms and kicked my legs, fighting against the pressure holding me down, that weight of my soaked clothes and terror-stricken body.

Flashes of light and sound attacked me, every suppressed memory and emotion searing into my mind like a hot knife. I hear my father's voice cursing as he pressed down on the accelerator, pushing us faster down the road. I see the fear in his eyes, but we hadn't crashed yet.

Then came that moment.

The sound of metal crunching against metal as the car veered left and into the railing, the free-fall into the ocean, and that brutal impact as we hit the water's surface. The darkness swallowed me up, the icy waters seeping into my bones, numbing me to my core.

But the worst part was the fear.

It was a fear that consumed me from the inside out, twisting my mind into a psychological nightmare. I hated it. I hated the way it made me feel, the way it held me down like shackles, keeping me captive.

As I bobbed my head under the surface, water filling my lungs, I let out a scream of terror- or was it a plea for help? It doesn't matter. I gasp for air, coughing and spluttering, water gurgling in my throat as I sob.

Suddenly the water ripples around me, and I jerk back from the sudden intrusion. Through my fogged gaze, I see him. The long, muscled body. The sun-kissed blonde hair. But it was those piercing blue eyes that shattered me completely.

Rafe.

***

Rafe's POV:

I see the exact moment when she realises that I've come for her.

And the way her fear-stricken eyes widen and her body trembles, ignites something so feral and dangerous within me, I could burn down cities and massacre thousands to try and placate it.

She was afraid.

And it fucking killed me to see it.

I don't waste any time and quickly swim towards her, my muscles constricting as I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her towards me. She melts into me immediately, her body fitting perfectly against mine, locking against me like a magnet.