𝐨𝐞𝐥 𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢 𝐤𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐢𝐞 ⛤ 𝐥𝐨'𝐚𝐤 𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲

breathing

chapter 12

present day (na'teya pov)

i woke up to neteyam shaking me on my bed. "na'teya, wake up."

"why?" i groaned, my voice muffled by the pillow.

"you've got hickeys all along your neck down to your chest," neteyam whispered urgently."what?" i shot up, my eyes wide with disbelief.

"hurry up, hide them," neteyam said, his voice filled with stress for me.

but before i could hide them, lo'ak walked into the marui. "hey, na'teya, we need to-" he stopped talking and looked straight at my neck before scoffing. "who was it?"

"what?" i said, feigning innocence.

"who gave you those damn hickeys, na'teya? was it koro?" lo'ak demanded, his tone sharp.

"none of your business," i sassed back, feeling defensive.

"holy shit, it was koro," he said sternly, his eyes narrowing.

"why do you care so much?" i asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

"why with koro?" he snarled, his frustration evident.

"because i'm 17 years old and i can make my own decisions, lo'ak. my love life doesn't concern you," i barked back, my temper flaring.

"whatever," lo'ak snarled, walking out of the marui.

i turned to neteyam with saddened eyes. he just pulled me into a hug until i felt a bit better. eventually, we made our way over to the rocks where everyone was gathered. i didn't bother covering my hickeys. when we arrived, i saw tsireya and lo'ak holding each other, and my stomach felt funny. was this payback? at that moment, i was mad, but not at lo'ak or tsireya. i was mad at myself.

i was mad at myself for how i'd been treating lo'ak. it wasn't his fault my parents were dead; it was mine. maybe if i had just talked to him instead of being so cold, things wouldn't have gotten this bad. but he had no right to call me a slut. what i do with other boys is none of his business.

i sat between tsireya and neteyam, our group leaning in to learn how to control our breath. first, we wanted to see who could hold their breath the longest. tuk wasn't there; she'd probably lose due to her smaller lungs. lo'ak lost first, then neteyam. i came second, and of course, kiri came first. tsireya started explaining different techniques, but for some reason, it involved her hands all over lo'ak. not that i cared or anything, but why did she have to be all over him?

i watched them intensely. he seemed captivated by her, even though everyone was helping him, he still couldn't get it. that's when tsireya said something that made my blood boil.

"lo'ak and i are gonna go find another spot to help him focus better. we'll see you guys tonight at dinner," she said, casually.

i watched as they rode away on tsireya's ilu. they were sharing an ilu? why were they sharing one? whatever, who cares.

"is training done for today?" i asked, and ao'nung nodded.

i dove onto my ilu and swam to the cave koro and i were at the night before to clear my mind. the pictures and bioluminescent corals were calming, but when i arrived, i saw an ilu already there—it was tsireya's ilu.

i climbed off my ilu and walked gently across the rocks, trying to make as little noise as possible. i peeked behind the rock i was behind and saw lo'ak leaning in to kiss tsireya.

what the fuck.

the world blurred as i bolted from the cave, the image of lo'ak and tsireya together seared into my mind. my heart pounded in my chest, matching the rhythm of my frantic footsteps. the sharp sting of seeing them together was quickly replaced by a searing pain as i slipped, my leg catching on a jagged rock.