“I’m not feeling well. I can’t swim,” I said
firmly.
L
Chloe pouted at Ethan, who immediately
bristled. “You’re a nationally ranked swimmer! You can’t not swim! She apologized to you the other day, and now she’s trying to be
nice, and you can’t even do this for her?”
He grabbed my arm, ignoring my protests, and, with Chloe’s help, dragged me towards the water. Chloe took a swig of beer. “Here’s to you, Olivia! Show us what you got!” She chugged the whole bottle, putting me on the spot.
“I told you I don’t want to swim,” I snapped,
irritated. “And I didn’t ask her to drink! And
why can’t I choose truth?!”
Chloe started to cry. Ethan’s face hardened.
He slammed his beer bottle on the sand.
“What’s your problem?! She’s not even
making it hard for you! She chugged a whole beer! Stop being so difficult!”
I looked at Ethan, playing the hero, then at Chloe, fake–sobbing. I laughed, a cold, hollow sound. “Did I ask her to drink? I said I didn’t
<
want to swim, and she forced me. How is that
not making it hard for me?”
Chloe’s sobs intensified. Ethan’s face turned
thunderous. He rolled up his pants legs. “Fine!
I’ll swim with you!”
In front of everyone, he grabbed my hair and
shoved me into the water. The cold shocked
my skin. Water rushed up my nose, and I
choked, coughing violently.
<
He didn’t let go. My eyes burned, tears and
snot streaming down my face. Just as my
lungs felt like they would burst, he finally
released me. A wave crashed over me. I
reached for his pants leg, but he kicked me
away.
The undertow pulled me under. Icy water
engulfed me. It felt like an eternity before I
finally surfaced, gasping for air.
Ethan was comforting Chloe, his arm around
her. “Don’t cry. I took care of it.” He walked
over to me, looking down with contempt.
“Apologize to Chloe. And chug a beer. Or
we’re…”
Everyone stared. Ethan’s eyes bored into me.
My eyes filled with tears again, but this time,
they were tears of rage. “Ethan,” I interrupted
him, my voice shaking. “Expect papers from
my lawyer. We’re getting a divorce.”
Shock filled his eyes.
L
I stumbled away, my legs weak. As I reached
the street, everything went black.
The last thing I heard were panicked voices.
“Someone call 911! She’s bleeding! There’s so
much blood!”
It felt like forever before I woke up to my best
friend, Sarah, yelling at Ethan. “Are you
insane?! You forced her to swim? She just
had a miscarriage, you idiot!”
“She… she had a miscarriage? When… why
didn’t she tell me…?” Ethan’s voice was
L
hoarse with regret.
