Love Song (LGBTQ+) (COMPLETED)

22. Drowner (Interlude 2)

I began to spin around as the sight of the water made my stomach churn. "Do whatever you want to me, just please don't do it here."

Courtney gave a belittling laugh that matched a derisive expression. "What are you, a fucking cat? Is the dirty little bitch afraid of water?"

As I tried to head for the door that lead back to the gym, one of her friends blocked my path and pushed back in between the three of them. I was circled, surrounded by the queen and her slaves with nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. It was just me and them, I had no Nathan or anything else to protect me from her or her friends. There was no shield to take the brunt of the pain, there hadn't been a single thing I could use to protect myself.

A strong shove into the wall was the precursor to a fist that connected with my mouth, sending waves of disorientation and loud ringing in my ears. In a star-filled daze, I was unable to protect myself as her punches continued to connect and send me further and further in. One after another rained down on me, leaving me with only the sight of Courtney and her laughing friends. Then, out of nowhere, she stopped and stood up for what felt like no reason at all.

One by one, my senses came back to me with some form of clarity as Courtney still glared at me with an intent I hadn't quite felt before.

"I said I was going to make your life hell." Courtney shook her fist, closing the distance once again. "Or did you think I was just joking?"

As I dizzily stood up, I could already feel the blood puddling in and running out of my mouth. Her words had only made me shake my head in a disbelief, of sorts. Most girls, and even me a week ago, would have considered this situation hell. They would've been beaten and bruised, likely crying in pain while they begged for it to stop. That was normal, and I probably would have been the same way.

Except for the fact I was already in hell, and I had been for the better part of two days. When every breath I took made me feel like I was being choked, this had seemed so small. When every step I took made me feel like I was being stabbed, this had seemed so trivial. This hell had already been so much darker than the one she was trying to lead me into, so much more evil in every way.

"You have something to say?" her voice grew in sharpness.

My eyes met her fancy shoes as I eyed the floor. "I don't think you could make my life any worse right now, Courtney. I really don't."

As the last word left the tip of my tongue, my head was ripped back by my hair and a harsh breath collided with my ear before I was thrown to the ground. Slammed down onto my shoulder, two pair of hands took the collar and sleeves of my shirt and began to pull me away from the wall. Slowly, the sound of the crashing water became more and more prevalent - and so had my inability to take in a clean breath.

"I really think the dirty bitch needs a bath." Courtney sneered.

I could feel my eyes shoot wide open as my upper body was pinned down by Courtney while my skirt was being pulled off by her friends. Even as I writhed, trying to fight myself free, the image before me continued to flicker between Devin and Courtney. Back and forth, it slowly became harder and harder to tell the difference between them. That was, until my shirt was pulled over my eyes.

Roughly tugged up by her friends, I found myself stripped down to my underwear and Courtney glaring at me with one of the dirtiest looks I had ever seen on a human. A short-lived curling of her lips passed, replaced with knitted brows as she pulled me away from her friends and to the ledge of the pool I had been so desperately trying to avoid. There I stood, trembling like I was at the edge of Kalaupapa.

"Please don't. . .Pl-"

"Gross." A pair of hands hit my back and the next thing I knew, I was falling face first into the water