Love in Dangerous Waters

Chapter 36 - Second Performance Night

I stepped off the bus ten minutes later, running into the orphanage building. The front desk people didn’t even acknowledge I was there and I ran upstairs, and I didn't care if it was eleven o'clock at night, I was alone. I changed into my swimsuit and ran back down, going to the back of the building and exiting quietly, letting the door slowly slip from my fingers and click into place. I ran out to the bars and slipped between, then ran out onto the sand, and then the water, jumping in, feeling the cool, calm water over my skin.

They were gone, they were away. I felt myself relax as I felt myself become more and more distant from the shore…

"That was not a smart move." I gasped as I heard the echoing voice, and saw Lucille out in the distance, laying against the sand calmly. "Now none of them can come save you."

"I don't need saving." I growled, perching myself on a rock as she swam to the surface. "Why are you here? Why haven't my parents found you yet?"

"Parents?" She smirked, followed by laughing. "I'd check up on them if I were you."

I froze, kept my eyes locked on the ocean far away. "What did you do to them?" I said lowly, my nails digging into the rock.

"Oh, you think it's always my fault." She replied, swimming closer. "But let's just say your Dad is too busy doing other things then searching for me right now."

"Why? What else is he doing?" I replied automatically, realizing the two days would go by tediously. "What happened?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out." She replied, and I jerked close, snapping my hand across her face. She shrieked and swam back a little farther.

"Tell me!" I ordered, leaning into her face, seeing her sea-colored eyes.

"I don't think so." She whispered, returning the slap, making me fall off the rock. "And that's for you slapping me." She stated.

"I trusted you." I stated, mocking her tone. "I can't believe I thought you were my friend!"

"And I can't believe you fell for that!" She laughed, her voice going high-pitched. "Now, you see, if I'm going to take over, I'm going to need you to do something for me."

"I will never do anything for you again." I stated, jumping back on the rock, crouching down. "But just for laughs… what do you want me to do?"

She approached the rock slowly, waving her index finger at me, so I leaned closer. "Die." She whispered, and I shot my body backwards as she grabbed my shoulders, pulling me into the water, dragging me closer and closer to the bottom. The only thing I could do was claw and kick at her, and I saw the surface grow farther and farther away until my back slammed against the sand.

"Hope you have fun in Hell with your mother." She told me as I saw other dark figures from the surface, but my vision went black before I saw anything else.

~~~~~~~~~~

I blinked my eyes open slowly, coughing up water and struggling to breathe. I didn't have the time to do anything else because I was in the arms of multiple people, but I pushed them away because of my breathing problem.

"Oh my God, you're okay." Dillon breathed, and he hugged me more gently. "We really thought you were dead."

"What…?" I asked weakly, seeing Danny next to him, and in the opposite corner… Nicole.

"What the hell? You could've gotten yourself killed!" Danny stated, but my eyes were locked on Nicole, and I was too shocked she was here to say anything.

"Nicole…?" I asked, and she pushed herself off the wall, approaching me on the other side.

"Hey Lily…" She trailed, bending down to the ground so she could be closer. "How are you feeling?"