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~ Day Dreams ~
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~ Chapter Seventeen ~
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~ Chlorinated Water ~
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~ Eighteen-Years-Old ~
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~ Hazel's POV ~
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The cold metal of the bench presses onto my thighs, which will more than likely leave a red mark imprint on the skin. The only items covering my body are a beach towel hanging loose around my upper body and my sky blue, skirt overalls. Underneath the items is forest green, two-piece swimmers, lovingly donated by Honey, who no longer needs them herself.

I know I do not have to take swimming lessons because deep down I did not want to be a part of it all. However, I want to be accepted into the group and not feel like an outsider, but I am so used to that concept that it feels so natural to me.

My fingers grip onto a fantasy novel in hopes of it distracting me from the water of the pool, which has failed horribly so far. The cold empty swimming arena echoes throughout the hall, as I wait in silence for the swimming coach who happens to be late and happens to be my long-lost, best-friend, Jake Gilbert Rivers.

My mind fails to wrap around the fact that Jake is in Seaside Florida, State College, and not in another college, city or another country for that matter. His mother sure hates my guts, so I am surprised that they're still living in Seaside. On that note, I have Ms. Rivers to avoid and thank God that she did not recognize me the other day, not that she would anyway. I look immensely different so both of them could not figure out it was me, but if they catch onto the truth and if Jake finds out my real name from someone else he will sure hate me too.

After seconds turns to minutes then turns into breathless hours, as the pool water stares dead straight into my soul and causes shivers throughout my entire body. Will I drown again? Am I strong enough to handle this? Will Jake save me again? Can I really risk it? Nope, I cannot handle this... this was a BIG mistake...

Before I could even move an inch, bailing on the lesson and sprint for the entrance doors, the arena doors open and Jake walks in with a vacant expression. As soon as he glances towards me his face softens with a smile painted on his lips as dimples carve his cheeks.

I drop my gaze towards the stone of the floor, tomato-faced, soon after as guilt consumes me. I cannot let myself hurt Jake again, but I know I already have and it kills me that he does not know the truth, but it is for the best... I am sure of it. I hurt him because I never fought for him when he left, so I deserve the punishment.

In some aspects, I regret ever meeting Jake in the first place, so I could have caused him less grief in his life. To be selfish for a moment, I do not regret meeting Jake, as he made my life worth living again but I am also lying to him. Am I a horrible person? Letting Jake go was the biggest mistake I have ever made in my entire life... and if I tell him the truth now, I might lose him again, forever this time and I cannot let that happen.

"Hey, sorry, I'm running late," Jake said, rushing through the doors.

"No, don't worry about it," I gulp at the sight of the water again and at the sight of Jake and glance towards the ground again, as my fingers fiddle with the pages of the novel in hopes to push away any thoughts of Jake and the water viciously staring at me. "If you're too tired we can cancel if you're not feeling up to it?"

"Wait, how long have you been waiting?" Jake said, as his white hoodie and red board shorts crinkle and the large sports bag sling across his back swaying while he ambles towards me.

"About an hour or so, not too long," my stomach hitches dead still as Jake nears and when he halts an arms width apart from me, I could have sworn I forgot to breathe. Why am I so nervous around him? We used to do everything together now there is just awkwardness. I hate this feeling. I just want it to be like how it used to be between us. But this feeling is only one-sided because Jake is only doing his job.

"Sorry, I got caught up with work. It was a busy day at the beach," Jake said, rubbing the back of his neck as he places the bag on the stone of the floor.

Is he a surfer or something? No, I do not think that is it... he is always been an amazing swimmer and was always destined for greatness.

Jake notices the confusion written all over my face and intervenes, "I'm a lifeguard at Seaside main beach and when I'm not working I'm coaching swimming lessons. When I'm doing neither of those things I'm actually training for the Olympics."

I always knew Jake would do some amazing things with his swimming career. But is he happy? I cannot tell for sure. "I always knew you woul—" my eyes widen and my stomach drops to the bottom pit of hellfire. Why am I such an idiot? I am so pathetic...

To my surprise, Jake did not give my comment a second thought or maybe he did but he did not show it. "I mean, I thought you might have been a lifeguard. It makes sense that you are," I indicate with my free hand towards his lifeguard uniform and trail off, changing the subject before I dig myself into a deeper grave. "Olympics huh... do you ever hitch a break?"

"Yeah, once I graduate college I'm off to train for the Olympics. And to be completely honest, I haven't had a break in a very long time," Jake ponders for a moment as the silence deafens us, changing the subject, "So, tell me again, what made you sign up for Survival 101?"

"I signed up with my friends," I said in an casual manner.

"Did they not know you couldn't swim?" Jake said, leaning on the brick of the wall next to the metal benches.

"I might not have mentioned that part," my gaze lingers towards my slander fingers then back towards his direction.

"Well, after these lessons you'll be able to keep yourself afloat," While leaning, Jake folds his arms across his chest and reminds me of the moment in his mother's car on the last day that I saw him.

"So, just an estimate, how many lessons will there be?" I said, narrowing my eyesight to the floor.

"Whenever you're not scared of the water anymore and possibly not drown and cause harm to yourself and others around you."

"What makes you think I'll drown?" I will definitely drown without him.

"I'm a lifeguard, so I know the signals," Jake said with a little bit of pride in his voice.

"Tell me, what are the first steps to not drowning?" I say in a sarcastic tone of voice. Please say to eat rainbow ice-cream till I drop because I can do that in a heartbeat.

As soon as the thought enters my brain, there are floods of intoxicating memories with Jake and me eating our ice-cream cones. I am not sure if Jake notices my sudden change of features, however, I recover my bearings so he did not query me any further.

"To be able to stay afloat," Jake simply said, without tearing eye contact with me.

"Okay, teach me your ways on how not to drown," I confess, leaning over and placing the book into my leather, brown backpack at my feet and zip it up.

"So, let's start with something simple and do some arm and leg stretches," Jake instructs, "Then after that I want you to sit on the edge of the pool of the shallow end and dangle your legs off the edge."

I nod staring at the ground, "O-okay," I trample to my feet, beginning to undress myself. Jake turns around like a gentleman facing the pool and kneels to the ground, unzipping his sports bag, revealing a foam kickboard and a few other essentials.

"Whenever you're ready," Jake said, still facing the other direction as his voice brings me back to reality. "Don't worry, we can go as slow as you like. Whatever pace you are comfortable with."

I nod to myself and drop my towel, skirt overalls on the metal bench and kick off my shoes, spining on my bare heels to face the water. Okay, here we go again. I stretch my arms and legs individually how Jake instructs me to do and after a couple of minutes, my feet guide themselves towards the ripples of the pool.

You can do this, Hazel. I wrap my arms around my waist in hopes to calm myself down. Do not be an idiot and just act normal. My toes hit the chlorine water that is oozing out from the side of the pool into the drains surrounding the edge. I sit on the edge of the pool as I dip my legs into the chlorinated freezing water. Yep, it is colder than I thought it would be.

"Okay good. I now want you to slowly slide into the shallow end of the pool. And then tell me when your feet are able to touch the bottom," Jake said behind me.

"S-sure," I nod again and biting my lower lip in order to help myself not to panic or make a scene. Which by the way, If you have not noticed by now I am a professional at making dramatic scenes. My body slowly but surely manoeuvres into the chlorine of the water, feet touching the bottom of the shallow end of the pool as the water hits above my shoulders.

"You're making great progress so far," Jake praises me with a wide grin imprinted on his face, "Alright back to business, I want you to warm up your body with some star jumps and do as many as you like until you feel warm."

I do as I am told and warm my body with star jumps as water droplets fall around me. This is actually going better than I thought it would. So far, I am taking this really well. Go me. Now, all I have to do is avoid going headfirst into the water.

"Great job, now I will give you a kickboard to help you stay afloat and teach you some floating exercises," Jake motions to his sports bag and pulls out a white styrofoam board and hands it to me. "Now, I want you to hold the board tight to your chest and lean backward with your core arched back then float towards me."

This is a bad idea. My trampling hand reaches for the board as I hold it tight to my chest and hesitantly lean backward. This is a really bad idea. As soon as my face is in contact with the water I panic. Body going into a complete shock faze as numbness spreads throughout my entire porcelain skin.

Oh my God, I cannot breathe...! It is happening again. I cannot breathe...! I am being sucked into a blackhole. I cannot breathe...!

Shifting through the thickness of the water as the styrofoam board slips between my fingers and hits me hard in the head. Sinking fast, my mind spins in circles as I inhale a gallon of chlorinated water. Panic scorches throughout my entire body as I hit the back of my skull on the side of the pool's concrete wall.

It is happening all over again, I cannot do anything to stop the horrid feelings nor the darkened memories flooding my brain.

Head still spinning and sinking fast, the sunset dies off in the distance as I am left alone in the middle of the ocean. Incapable to stay afloat, the dark water chokes and reels me further into the dark, blue sea. I am sinking deeper and further towards the bottom of the ocean in slow motion. The ocean will drown me whole like I am held captive in a riptide all over again...

The soft sand impacts my body as I lay on the ocean floor in silence watching my life flash before my eyes. Splashes and bubbles form from above the surface of the water as a blurry figure emerges in front of me, with shimmering red hair sculpting around her face. "Mom, is that you? I've missed you so much. Please, don't leave me again."

"Hazel, remember, we are closer than you think. I love you my darling, but you need to wake up now. Be brave, be strong, you can fight this."

I lay limp on the sand as two strong hands grip my arms and pull me towards the surface, emerging out of the water. I try breathing, but to my disappointment, my breath hitches at the back of my throat, choking and coughing on the water. My weak body turns pale white and the only thing my blurry vision can see is nothing but darkness.

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Please, tell me in the comments what you thought about Chapter Seventeen? 🙈 I'll be greatly appreciated. Thank you, you very kind soul!
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~ Chapter Seventeen ~
~ Dedications ~
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HeliiBoh
DebMorey
PeterPetruzzella
CaitlinWoodward9
DaniJones_14
ChloeMayerhofer
savvvy1998
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You guys should totally check out PeterPetruzzella short story! Lighthouse. It's amazing! Please also go check out Peter's YouTube account pure56 for awesome content on movies, tv-shows, and game reviews!
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You guys should totally check out ChloeMayerhofer story! Fallen! It's awesome!
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C.Morey 🥕 xoxo
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