back to Nicole's P.O.V.
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Chapter 17
All of us watched in horror as Jake and Janey fell backwards.
"Oh my god. He's gonna hit the concrete!" Tess gasped in terror. Jake managed to take a couple steps back, so that he was closer to the pool, but it looked like he was falling towards the corner or the planter.
We waited in tense silence, afraid to move. All of us breathed easier, as they landed in the deepest part of the pool with a big splash. I slowly swam towards them, and what I saw horrified me. There was a growing cloud of blood in the water, and neither Jake nor Janey had come up yet.
"Trey!" I yelled, as I attempted to grab dive down and grab both of them. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and dove beneath the surface. I felt around at the bottom of the pool, and felt a slight sting on my hand, but lack of oxygen was making me numb. I searched 'til my lungs were screaming for air. Just one more minute, I told myself. Finally I touched two hands, one larger than the other and I knew it was Jake and Janey.
I grabbed both hands and kicked off the bottom as hard as I could. When I surfaced, I was gasping for air and my legs were starting to cramp up. Jake and Janey were not easy to carry while treading water. My ears started to flood with water, making everything eerily silent.
"Someone! Help me!" I tried to yell, but there wasn't enough air in my lungs, so it came out as more of a gasp. Jake was starting to slip back into the water, and I was slowly sinking. "Damn!" I muttered.
I felt the water ripple around me, just as my head went under. Strong arms circled my waist, bringing me back to the surface. I took deep gulps of air, unable to get enough oxygen.
"Nic? Are you ok?" I heard someone say, but I wasn't able to tell who.
"Jake? Janey?" I managed to gasp.
"They're right here." The voice said, and I smiled, right before everything went black.
*~*~* Devin's P.O.V. *~*~*
I watched as the scene unfolded, fear washing through me, as I saw Nicky dive into the water and not come back up. I was starting to panic, when she resurfaced, Janey and Jake in her arms. She was gasping for air, and half her face was already submerged in water.
I saw her lips moving, but I couldn't quite hear what she was saying. I strained my ears, and finally heard her. "Help me!" She gasped softly. She started to sink faster, and I broke out of my trance.
"Caleb!" I yelled, already swimming towards Nicky as fast as I could.
"On it!" He yelled back, running over to them and jumping into the water. We got to them at the same time, and instantly grabbed whoever was closest to us. Caleb had grabbed Jake, and was easily holding him up. I had Nicky in one arm and Janey in the other.
"Come on. We need to get them out of the water." I said urgently. Nicky was still gasping for air and I could feel her heartbeat racing under my hand. "Nic? Are you ok?"
"Jake? Janey?" She asked. The words sounded raw, like her throat was coated in sand paper.
"They're right here." I said, and she smiled faintly, then her body went slack, prompting me to get to land as soon as possible. When we got to the pool side, I laid Janey and Nicky out and listened for their breathing.
Janey looked unharmed, but Nicky somehow had a deep gash on the palm of her hand, that was still bleeding. When Cal dragged Jake out of the water and laid him on the concrete, blood started to seep out from underneath him. I carefully picked up his head, and immediately saw a deep cut on the back of his head.
