The Older We Get

Chapter 21

"Chandler?" I push off the wall, watching him come into the sun setting glow filled room with a large glass window far behind the lobby, nobody really here except him and I, plus that nice lady at the desk.

I was so nervous I had to chit chat with her while Chan collected himself in the dressing room. He looks ok now, except his hairs still kinda wet, but at least he showered. At least he's still alive.

"Chandler." My feet try to keep up with his, not hard to do since my legs are longer, but he's still ignoring me. What the heIl for!? I know we're not on good ground but I just saved his life! "Hey." I grab his arm, his pissed face greeting mine as a response. "It's very rude to disregard someone who saved your life like this."

"What do you want?" He spits. "You told me to get lost and I did and now you're bothering me?"

"You almost drowned!"

"Shh!" I hear the woman hiss us quiet, mostly me, and I feel an embarrassed blush go over before Chandler clicks his tongue and shoves both hands in his pocket, how indifferent, but I don't let him stand still for much longer.

One tug of his elbow and he's nearly tripping as I lead him to the sea breeze filled dock with the cliché seagulls sounding off in the air over the kids making the most out of the sand and waves before Coach Rob rounds us all up for the trip home.

"Let go!" He yanks away. Gosh this kid!

"You're impossible!" I snap.

"What do you think you are!? We're both complicated! There's nothing simple about you unless you count your body!"

"What?!" What the heck did he just say that for?!

"You heard me." He leans on the wooden railing before scraping the bottom of his sandal on the sand scattered on the pathway. "You're nothing special."

"I know that." I dismiss his odd statement and feel his dislike towards me that surpasses indifference sting my vital organs a touch, but that's not what this is about. This is about what in the actual heIl happened out there. "I also know I taught you how to swim."

"So?" He doesn't look at me but I can see his eyes staring out with his hair breezing away, exposing those cheeks and ear lobe. "People can get into trouble even if they swim."

"But that's just the thing. You were...paralyzed out there!" I gesture towards the lake. "You didn't even make one attempt to paddle your as$ back to shore. You were terrified."

"I was disoriented! There's a difference Sage." Chandler's eyebrows dip closer together developing his stare into one of singular focus to convince me that what I'm thinking, him not being able to swim anymore for some odd reason, is bogus.

But it's not.

"Then what did you mean when you said you didn't want to die like she did?" This is the moment I wait carefully for his response.

"What?"

"You asked me not to let you die...like her." My voice calms a level but he's just lost all will to argue with me to get off his back. "What was that about?"

"I don't know." He barely enunciates his whisper, turning away from me again to bury his lips in his pale here and there freckled forearms exposing a bit of his muscles to me. "Why did you save me?" He changes subject.