And Then, There Was Fire.

twenty nine.

The skin of her finger traced the cement as her eyes followed, feeling at ease with the body of chlorine water surrounding her as she could feel the momentum of the water shift as her hand moved.

She ignored her hair that floated around her, her eyes peering through whatever gaps her hair created as it shifted through the water slowly.

The sound of the surface breaking above her caused her to turn her face to look upward, noticing Trey's blurring image squatting at the edge of the pool as he lifted his hand out of the water. She continued staring up at him, hoping that he got the hint with her not immediately moving.

She turned, pressing her face against her arm again, laying still at the bottom of the pool while continuing to trace the cement with her fingers. She was unsure how long she's been down there, she just knows she didn't want to leave in fear of her overwhelming reality returning and not having the water to calm her.

She could hear the faint, shallow sounds of Trey's movement and footsteps, assuming he was obeying her wishes and walked back inside the house until she heard the shallow sounds again breaking the surface of the water.

She inhaled the water deeply to form a deep sigh, feeling the water flow into her lungs as it has been since she entered the water earlier. The water in her irregular lungs absorbed through her organs lining, as the rest fluidly swam back up her lungs and through her nostrils as she exhaled heavily.

She could feel his presence in the pool due to the water's rhythm, making his way down the wide, elongated steps before swimming down towards her.

She appreciated the gesture; she just wanted to be alone. She remained still, focusing on her mental racetrack that her fingers continued tracing on the cement until Trey's shirtless body appeared across from her, imitating her as he slowly got into a laying position next to her.

She narrowed her eyes as she watched him in disbelief, laying beside her as if he's done this before.

"What are you doing?" She asked, hearing her voice muffle through the water and the pressure of the water hitting his face that was close to hers.

She could tell he was holding his breath, shrugging his shoulders rather than replying to preserve his oxygen.

"Go back up." She told him, knowing he was holding his breath. He ran his hand softly from her cheek and to behind her head to pull her hair from in front of his face. Although she adored his touch and his attempt to cheer her up, she didn't want him run out of oxygen.

"I'm fine." She mouthed, touching his wrist softly with hers as she held it behind her head.

She watched his face become strained slowly, knowing he was trying his best. "Stop playing, go back up." She said vocally, watching him shake his head which caused her to roll her eyes and sit up.

Just then, she watched a few bubbles escape his mouth, a look of panic washing over his face as she quickly took his wrist and pushed herself off from the ground with force. She dragged him to the surface quickly, exhaling all the water out of her abnormal lungs and nostrils on her way up as forcefully as she could, so that her lungs were empty once she was to reach the surface.

In order to have maximum space in her lungs for oxygen, she typically did this to avoid coughing water residue. It was her least favorite thing about chlorinated water.

She placed her hand on the ledge of the pool, ensuring that his face was to hit the surface first before she took her first breath.

He immediately began coughing up water just as he mistakenly inhaled water before breaking the surface.