9. Chapter 8
Chapter 8
I floated just above the surface of the water. I had been able to sense her while unpacking my bags and knew she was about to head to the pool, so I grabbed my swim trunks and ran to her yard. I needed to see her, and although I needed rest and a shower, I needed her more. I had slipped into the pool just as she opened the sliding glass door. She was wearing her white and green bathing suit. I tried to keep my mind from wandering, from focusing on the curves of her figure and her cascading hair. It wasn't honorable to be so focused on her looks.
She was safe, she was alive, and she was breathing, and I had done my job. It felt wonderful for a moment to know that she lived and breathed. I still could succeed in my duty, to her, at least.
Emma was indeed stunningly beautiful, but she was also so much more than that. She seemed so much more put together than I had ever seen her before. I waited for her to walk down the pool steps and ease her way in, but she just stood there, looking into the pool as if she were looking into her own soul. I moved around the pool’s edge and grabbed her foot, pulling her into the depths of the water. As she popped her head out of the water, she looked terrified, and I was afraid that I had made a mistake. Maybe she wasn’t well at all, I thought.
“Ryker, you almost killed me!” she spat, splashing water into my eyes.
We joked for a moment. “We just got home, like an hour ago,” I lied, there was no we , only me. But I said it with a smile. “You seem better, Emma.” That was the truth. One lie, one truth; that was a good balance.
“I feel a little better. Every day, it’s a little more bearable,” she shrugged.
“I hate that I was away for so long. My dad really wanted some quality time as a whole family,” I lied as I pulled her into a hug, resting my chin on top of her head. My melody hummed inside of me, and for a moment, I let it float around us, and she leaned in closer to me, no doubt to feel the pull of warmth from our connection.
“Where did you guys go again?” she asked, her body leaning in closer and closer to mine. It was hard for me to breathe. The pull I had for Emma was so strong.
“Camping,” I said with a laugh, trying to pull my feelings and my melody back, to avoid releasing them fully and ruining everything.
“What! That’s funny; you and camping,” she giggled, looking at me with a bright smile, and I knew that if I wasn’t careful, I would bend down and touch my lips to hers, and that was not a good idea, not yet. So I moved my arms from around her, releasing her.
“Hey, I can camp. Seriously, I have skills,” I retorted as I splashed Emma with water.
“I vaguely remember a boy who looked like you, trying to build a fire back here in the fire pit, and—” I swam closer to her and placed my hand over her mouth. I shoved my melody back, shielding it again.
“Okay, okay, so I am not good at making fires; I get it.” I looked into her beautiful, green eyes. They seemed to glow as I gazed into them, entranced. I couldn’t look away. I wanted to tell her everything, to confess all to her, but I knew that she needed time, and I had to do what was right for her. Her melody sent her thoughts about me, right to me. She loved my blue eyes—they looked like an ocean after a storm. I was so surprised by her feelings about me. Grey eyes came into my mind, and I quickly shielded my soul again. I felt Emma's emotions change. She moved away from me, and my hand dropped from her mouth.
“I came out here for a swim, so if you don’t mind,” she said, taking one last look at me and then diving under the water, and then her feelings were that of escape; she wanted to escape me. I wanted to die, knowing that because that's not what she needed from me, so I had failed her. I had failed her once again.