I Can't Drown My Demons / Chase Lawrence

Chapter 1

My alarm clock wakes me up on October 5th at 10:05 AM. I want to go back to sleep, but I know the maid will be arriving soon and my mother will be angery if I am in her way. I roll over and grab my alarm clock, throwing it violently across my room which has bright yellow walls that remind me of the Talk Too Much music video.

My alarm clock shatters on the floor, which is sad, but I stand up and dust myself off anyway. I go to the bathroom and stare at myself in the mirror. I have shoulder length blonde hair with front bangs and brown eyes. I have never felt pretty. I pull my short hair into a messy bun and put some chapstick and mascara on. That's all the make up I have time for with my busy schedule. I put on high-waisted, acid-wash jeans that my mom gave me from before she was rich and put on a crop top with a pop art girl crying on it and the caption "sad boi hours." 

When I am done getting ready, I go downstairs. Mom is sitting at the table on her 2019 MacBook Pro (rose gold). She is decked out in diamonds and rubies even though she never leaves the house except to shop. She is staring out the window at our massive pool. 

"Oh, isn't he just a darling," she drawls in he deep Southern accent, gesturing towards the pool boy outside. 

I follow her long, manicured hand to look at where she is pointing. 

Standing outside by the pool in a red speedo with white polka-dots is Chase. He used to be our gardener but he couldn't work the lawnmower and mom wanted to see him in less clothes so now he's our pool boy. He didn't know what a pool was when he started which was so cute. I wonder if he can swim. I'll have to ask him if I ever get up the nerve to speak to him. 

Chase and I went to school together but he was always wearing button ups and khakis and I got scared. Then he was hired to work at my house so I saw him like all the time. he is so cute, but my mom is like in love with him even though she's been married to new dad for five years so I back off. I still like to just stare at him sometimes though. 

I go outside when my moms not looking because I just decided in ten seconds that today was the day I would talk to Chase. I decide it will be easier if I am swimming so I go upstairs and change into a blue and red striped bikini with cutouts on the hips and go back downstairs. I grab a towel on my way out to the pool. 

I go to the pool and chase is standing there writing in his notebook he writes in every day. I don't think he knows how to clean the pool, but sometimes he stands there and puts the cleany thingy in the pool and gets out leaves and stuff. he's so hardworking. 

I don't say anything because I am nervous. I get in the pool and wait in the deep end for a minute but he does not notice me. I keep staring at him but he doesn't look, just keeps writing in his notebook and humming to himself. what a weirdo. I love him. 

Ten minutes later, he lookup. "Hi, Hannah," he says. I smile and giggle and throw my blonde hair over my shoulders as he smiles with his big, white teeth and winks at me with his blue eye. 

"Hey, chase." I continue to swim, trying to play hard to get. I get out of the pool and decide I will jump into the deep end from the diving board. I climb onto our six foot high diving board and take a deep breath, preparing myself for the drop. I decide to try to do a dive even though I have not done one in a while. I put my hands in the position and fall off the diving board, hitting my leg really hard on it in the process.

The pain takes the breath from my lungs and I feel myself gasping for air as I am falling. I hit the water hard and feel myself starting to sink. I look up through the water and see chase standing at the edge, staring at me as I drown. I panic and try to fight it and more water starts to fill my lungs. 

Then, I feel something hard hit my side. I look over as I'm about to die and see the pole of the cleany thingy and I look up and see Chase's concerned face. I grab the pole and he pulls on it with his noodle arms until I am safely above the water and can breathe again. 

"You saved me," I say, gasping for air. 

"Yeah," Chase replies, looking back at his notebook.

And that's when I knew I was in love with him.