An Untold Secret

Chapter 14

   Of course, he would be here. How could I forget? Anthony is apart of this group. He's one of our friends, or at least was. Maybe here would be a good time to bring up last night up. Everyone is already together, so I might get a straight answer, or maybe not.

   "You okay, Becca?" I snap out of my daze and look away. I nod towards Rachel in assurance and follow them to the rocks. We climb up till we get to the boys' things. The sisters quickly strip their shirts and shorts and cannonball into the lake.

   I too, shred my clothing. I sit on the edge of a rock and dig into one of the bags. Pulling sunscreen out of the bag, I pop the lid and put a glob on my hand. I rub the sunscreen over my face and shoulders. I don't really need it, but better safe than sorry. I don't want to end up looking like a peeling tomato.

   I spread out a light blue towel across a flat part on the rocks. I lay down and slide on a pair of sunglasses. Surprisingly this spot is rather comfortable. Quickly, my eyes start to droop. I must've gotten less sleep than I thought. Hoping I won't get interrupted, again, I let my heavy eyes close. The sounds of splashing and voices start to drift off, and soon I go with it.

   The feeling of drowning is never pleasant. You kick and move, but you don't get anywhere. I reach up, but it's just endless abyss. Oxygen seems to have vanished and cold water shoots through my body. It feels like tiny needles poking every spot it can inside of me. This a crazy dream, I think. I suck in a breath, but no breath makes its way in. I shoot my eyes open to see I'm surrounded by blue. My dream wasn't a dream, I'm actually drowning.

   I kick and claw my way to the surface. Once I reach the top I drag myself onto the shore. Instead of bringing air into lungs, I'm coughing up water. My lungs feel like someone set them on fire, and my eyes sting. I hear voices, but they seem quiet and distant. The sounds are fuzzy, and my vision is still blurry. I roll onto my back after I cough all the water out.

   "Are you okay?" A quiet voice says above me, blocking the sun. Delicate fingers pull back strands of wet hair out of my face. I keep my eyes closed and slowly nod.

   Whoever it was, helps me to sit up. I open my eyes, my breathing still heavy. I look up to see Rachel squatted beside me. Emotions of scared, concern, and relief fill her face. "Are you okay?" Rachel asks again.

   "Yeah, I'm fine," my raspy voice assures. "What happened, anyway?"

   "You about died, that's what happened," Amelia cuts in, sitting on the other side of me. Rachel shoots a glare at her sister. She looks back at me and her face softens.

   "You were taking a nap, and the boys thought it'd be funny to throw you in," Rachel starts. "What we didn't know is that you're a very heavy sleeper."

   "Yeah, I think you could sleep in the middle of a war zone," Liam says walking up to the shore. The boys follow suit, and soon everyone is sitting around me.

   I chuckle at Liam's comparison. My face falls when I remember I could've been dead a few seconds ago. "I thought it was a dream," I whisper. "For a second it really was, but then my body woke up. I realized I couldn't breathe and I actually was in the water. By the way, water going through your body when it normally shouldn't is very painful. I had no idea what happened. It was so scary, so surreal. That was the worst nightmare I ever had."

   "Holy crap," Amelia squeaks out.

   "Yeah, holy crap," Jaxon agrees.

   "So?" I ask.

   "So?" Rachel repeats.

   "So," I say again, "who was the one that threw me in?"

   No one speaks, but smirks fill their faces. Slowly their heads turn to face Max, whose eyes widen. He puts his hands up and shakes his head. "Hey, Rebecca," Max drags out. "So, so, so sorry for almost killing you." He smiles, but it's a terrified one. "I was just trying to have some fun."